For Mark Cannon it all began when he was nine.

He was watching “Houdini,” a film about the famous magician and escape artist from Appleton, Wis., who would entertain crowds with his spectacular stunts in the earlier part of the 20th century.

It wasn’t long after when Cannon, an impressionable nine-year-old, went against the clich saying and tried a stunt at home.

Cannon had a friend tie him up in a bicycle chain and then he was thrown in a swimming pool.

Thirty-three years later, Cannon — who has traveled around the nation and recently came back from Europe — made his way to Winona, along with another escape artist, Thomas Blacke, to perform for crowds on hand.

Cannon and Blacke came to Winona for the Victorian Fair, which took place this past weekend in Winona.

“Every year we add a new theme,” Mark Peterson, chair of the Victorian Fair, said. “This year we decided to have a Houdini theme.”

Peterson went online and searched for escape artists. He found information for Cannon, the world’s largest seller of escape and magic merchandise.

Peterson then contacted the Houdini museum in Appleton, and he was soon in touch with escape artist and magician, Thomas Blacke, the International president of Escape Masters, the International Association of Escape Artists and editor and publisher of Escape Master Magazine.

“Most audiences might never see this again,” Blacke said.

Two full shows of two escape artists including stunts and carefully wound tricks made the show interesting, Blacke said.

Blacke, who has been performing magic tricks for 21 years professionally, has appeared on television in Canada and the United States and has performed all over the world.

Blacke began performing as an amateur when he was nine, but had dabbled in magic tricks by the time he was six or seven.

“I’m fascinated by many types of magic,” Blacke, who performs a collection of many different tricks and styles of magic, said. Blacke said he also tries to be unique in his performances so that he does not perform “stuff that others do.”

In addition to being an escape artist, Blacke works as a magic dealer, inventor, author and lecturer.

Blacke said that escape is special because of Houdini.

“Houdini separated himself from magic, and what made him spectacular were exploits, death defying stunts and escapes in front of the audience.”

The owner of 2,000 or more books on escape, Blacke owns a large reference library on books about Houdini, magic and escape.

“There is a lot of information,” Blacke said.

“The key is taking the information and dissecting it from 1920 and making it work in 2003.

In addition to his personal library, he took over as editor and publisher of Escape Masters magazine and has access to the articles published — all of which are written by escape artists and magicians.

“I’ve been doing this professionally for 20 years,” Blacke said. “It’s kind of like Jell-O; there is always room to learn more.”

Blacke’s show, for those not on hand, was a blend of comedy and mystery. Blacke, who says he likes to keep the audience entertained by keeping them guessing, did an assortment of tricks that kept the audience entertained.

Blacke eats razor blades and he performs balloon animal tricks to dazzle the crowd and baffle a participant from the audience.

He performs a series of optics tricks to tickle the humor of the audience in which he places his hands in a black bag after they have been bound by a leather strap and then quickly removes his hands, unbound, from the bag to the confusion of the audience participant —but to the laughter of the crowd.

“I like to keep the crowd guessing,” Blacke said, “to keep them off their guard and make them surprised.”

While Blacke’s style of showmanship focuses more on humor, Cannon’s style of performance is strikingly different.

With a degree in theater, Cannon has dabbled in work as a locksmith, police officer and professional stuntman and has read nearly every book published on Houdini, escapology, magic and other related subjects.

“I certainly have a tough performance to prepare for in Winona,” Cannon said.

For the first time ever, Cannon was bolted into

a water-filled 55-gallon drum. The stunt was presented as a challenge to Cannon by the Winona Daily News.

With the help of representatives from the Winona Daily News in making sure the stunt was up to par, Cannon was able to escape.

Cannon also has a backup plan, in the form of his technician who rescues him when a stunt goes wrong — and Cannon has had his close calls, which is why his technician is on hand.

Cannon recalled a time in 1982 when he performed a stunt on a cruise ship in the Bahamas.

Cannon said every Wednesday and Saturday he was chained up and locked inside a U.S. Postal Service mailbag and tossed into the ship’s pool.

“The pool used saltwater,” Cannon said. “The act went well for several months.”

Over time, the salt had begun to corrode the inner-workings of the locks and then one night Cannon was tossed into the pool and when he tried to escape the locks were dead.

Cannon credits a massive adrenalin rush into allowing him to rip through and exit the side of the canvas bag.

In addition to touring performances, Cannon is a member of the Hollywood Magic Castle, a world famous performance club.

He has experience performing on television, the Disneyland Hotel, resort hotels in Palm Springs, Calif. area and cruise ships.

In addition to his challenging escape provided by the Daily News, Cannon also presented a humorous, theatrical escape from a straightjacket as well as anaudience stunt of simulating chopping a man’s head off by placing him in stocks.

Finishing his show, before his spectacular challenge finale, Cannon made an escape from the bed of death — a stunt done so well that Cannon appears to be seconds away from being gouged to death by a 150 pound wall with 24, 10-inch steel spikes.

“The crowd was pretty lucky to see two of the world’s best escape artists in Winona,” Blacke said.

“Mark is recognized as the world’s largest seller of escape artists merchandise, and me as the president and publisher of the magazine,” Black said the crowd saw something they’ll never seen anytime soon.