Thomas Solomon (magician)

He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Solomon developed an early interest in mechanical devices. At the age of thirteen, he apprenticed with a locksmith in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which introduced him to locks and locking mechanisms. In his late teens, he combined these skills with an interest in stage magic to create a performance act. He honed his craft in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Chicago nightclubs including The Limelight and later in Brooklyn, New York's Coney Island. == Works ==

By 2013, Solomon had escaped from more than 5500 pairs of handcuffs of all different types from all times in history. He has performed underwater releases from restraints in the Hudson and East Rivers, Boston Harbor, Potomac River, Mississippi, and numerous others. He won the coveted "World's Greatest Escape Artist" award from the Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences. He performed his handcuff escape act, escaping the restraints of the Los Angeles Police Department on the televised World Magic Awards in 2000. He has accomplished hundreds of straitjacket releases, most notably an escape from the all-leather straitjacket specifically created to thwart him by Menkes Leather Works. He has performed aboard ships for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line traveling throughout Bermuda and the Caribbean. He has also performed at Hollywood's Magic Castle, Bally's, Mohegan Sun, MK and many others. Recently, Solomon performed an underwater handcuff escape at the New York Aquarium in which members of the New York Police Department locked him in four pairs of handcuffs. In forty degree frigid water, he escaped in less than three minutes thrilling onlookers. Solomon performed live on the Plaza outside for Fox Television network's "Fox and Friends" in which he escaped five pairs of handcuffs in full view of the audience in under one minute. He has created several original escapes including his "Cabinet Obscura" which allows escapes to be performed in full view of the audience. He created an on-stage water escape called "The Nuclear Aquatic Containment Trap" which was inspired by real-world storage devices that hold nuclear fuel rods. ln this escape, Solomon is lowered into the tank that is filled with 200 gallons of ice-cold water, his head, held under water by a Locked metal top and grate that, in the presentation would hold fuel, rods in place. The audience can see his struggle to escape in the glass fronted tank. This escape has been a fixture for years in his theatrical show, "American Escape Artist." == Career ==

In 2010, Solomon co-founded Patriotic Performers , an organization dedicated to providing free entertainment for American service members and their families, both domestically and abroad. A significant part of his work has involved appearances at military hospitals, where he has performed for wounded personnel from all branches of the armed forces. He has entertained at numerous installations, including Fort Dix, McGuire Air Force Base, Lakehurst Naval Base, Walter Reed Military Hospital, Fort Detrick, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Naval Submarine Base New London, Fort Bragg, and Andrews Air Force Base. ==References ==