05/18/09 - The Life and Times of Emil St. Sherbernaise, Part 2
The Life and Times of Emil St. Sherbernaise, Part 2
And now, Part 2 of the Life and Times of Emil St. Sherbernaise, the world’s greatest escape artist in an iron lung…
PREVIOUSLY: Screw you… Go look up Part One in my blog archive, ya lazy-reading, rassem-frassem… (Kisses, JG)
Emil’s first performance following being placed inside the prototype lung (which he lovingly referred to as “Lil’ Pedro”) was on February 29, 1916. Due to lack of preparation, it was decided to keep things simple— he and Lil’ Pedro would escape from beneath a bedsheet in less than twenty minutes. The “Linen of Death” illusion played to small crowds, but benefitted from dumbfounded word of mouth.
In his next illusion, St. Sherbernaise raised the stakes; in less than fifteen minutes, he and the lung would escape from a barricaded outhouse. After performing “Satan’s Water Closet” for dozens of audiences, neither man nor fellow magician would underestimate Emil’s prowess again.
What followed was one of the most curious chapters of escapology history. Emboldened by success, Emil toured the Americas and Europe once again, dazzling fans and skeptics alike. Throughout the Midwest, he became known for his “milk truck” escapes. In London, Emil and Lil’ Pedro were thrown into the Thames covered in locks and chains…Only to emerge unbound. He escaped the 1st National Bank of America in Washington, D.C. in mere moments. He even had custom straightjackets designed so he could emulate Houdini’s famous mid-air escapes.
In France, noted physician François Godert almost stumped St. Sherbernaise. He challenged Emil and Lil’ Pedro to escape an even larger iron lung specifically built for the occasion (Les Pedro Grandeaux). Emil would have the last laugh— he completed “the Breathy Escape” in just over thirty-five minutes.
Perhaps remembering the cool reception of his early years, Emil was very guarded of his secrets, refusing to reveal even a single detail of his act. In addition, incensed by the spate of copycats that appeared in his wake, he led several debunking tours, exposing iron lung “fakers”. Many historians argue that St. Sherbernaise’s campaign, while solidifying his position as the world’s top encased illusionist, may have single-handedly chased the iron lung out of Vaudeville.
Continued success meant Emil could indulge other interests. A lifelong hunting enthusiast, he went on several African safaris between 1920 and 1927. An investment in a fledgling motion picture studio led to a starring role in a cliffhanger serial (Lung of Vengeance, 1924). He purchased a biplane and on July 6, 1926, proclaiming quizzically, “I have an itch that no man can scratch without a crowbar,” became the first enveloped man to fly from New York to St. Louis. And of course, in 1922 he purchased the Fulton Bros. Tobacconist’s shop in Charlotte, which he would own until his death.
October 31, 1926 was a dark day in staged illusion history. Erich Weiss, better known as Harry Houdini, died at the age of fifty-two. His passing had a chilling effect on the magic industry. Without its figurehead, the world of illusion was swept away by the rising prominence of radio and motion pictures. Emil St. Sherbernaise soon found himself easing into semi-retirement, content to spin tales of glory days past in the back of his tobacconist’s shop with several of his thirty-seven siblings.
The autumn of 1928 hit Emil with two tragedies— his loving wife of sixteen years, Katya, died of kidney failure on October 18. Perhaps worse, with Katya gone and young Lucas away at military academy, there was no one to put lit cigarettes in Emil’s mouth anymore. He quit smoking soon after.
The death of Emil St. Sherbernaise remains one of magic’s greatest unsolved mysteries. On June 4, 1930, Mr. Rufus Lafayette, Emil’s business manager and agent for over ten years, came calling at the St. Sherbernaise home on a financial matter. Finding no reception at the front door, Lafayette entered the house and proceeded to the study. There he came upon trusty Lil’ Pedro…but St. Sherbernaise was nowhere to be found. It would be his “final escape”.
Officers on the scene, though convinced of Emil’s dependence on the lung, were forced to file the case under missing persons. Three years later, with no major leads having developed, Emil St. Sherbernaise was officially declared dead at age forty-five.
The estate was divided between Lucas and Emil’s forty-two surviving siblings. Lil’ Pedro was bequeathed to Lucas, who kept it in the family home until it was stolen in 1938. Some claim it was taken by a jealous rival—legend has it Emil etched all his secrets of escape onto Lil’ Pedro’s inner wall. Others attribute the theft to Nazi operatives collecting uncanny artifacts for Adolf Hitler, and further claim Lil’ Pedro perished in the Battle of Berlin. The world may never know.
Eclipsed in his time by more conventional counterparts, forgotten by future generations, the mark left by Emil St. Sherbernaise may never be fully quantified. His was the magic of adaptation; fulfilling a need for overly preposterous spectacle the public didn’t even realized existed. Almost eighty years later, one thing is clear: the act of escaping one thing, while completely encased in another thing, will never be the same again.
Afterword: Elisa Ann Shibbershabberties, Emil’s mother, died in 1927 due to complication in the birth of her and Samuel’s fifty-fourth child. She was sixty-five.
END
Still in love with the mental picture of an iron lung wrapped in a straightjacket,
JG
