At 32-years-old, Joseph Burrus had made a name for himself
as an amateur magician. Specifically, the name was “Amazing Joe.” On October 31, 1990, Burrus planned on performing
a stunt so spectacular that it would move him from working small crowds of
children to a spot as a big time illusionist.
Looking more like someone from the 1920s, he set up his
stunt at Blackbeard’s Family Fun Center in Fresno, CA. His plan was to be handcuffed, enter a clear
coffin, lowered into a “grave,” and
allow himself to be buried under three feet of dirt topped with four feet of
cement. He would then free himself from the chains, burrow up through the dirt
and cement, then appear to the wonderment and applause of his fans.
So, in front of an audience of 150, including his wife, two
children, and parents, Burrus smiled and joked before being put into the box
and lowered into the ground. Sadly, though Burrus was buried alive, he was
pulled out of the grave dead.
After the workers had finished topping up the hole with
cement, the level of whole slab sunk about two feet. Realizing the stunt had
gone wrong, people rushed the grave and tried to dig Burrus out. He was eventually
pulled out, but paramedics on the scene were unable to revive him. His death was
due to asphyxia.
He had preformed a similar stunt before using only dirt. Reports
state that he did not do enough testing or calculations for his equipment
before deciding to add the cement to the act.
For more information here is an article from Ain't No Way To Go.
Also, here is a report on Burrus from "A Current Affair" :
