Belated R.I.P. Kenny Stewart, who revealed the trick to escape a straitjacket.

We finished dinner tonight and were talking about people who collect things. For the first time in a while I thought about Kenny Stewart, and wondered about him. Alas, he died just three months ago, on November 10, 2018.

He was hale and seemingly hearty on that evening in November of 2013 when the documentary film about him premiered at the Carnegie Center. 

What a long, strange trip it's been ... for all of us. Here's NAC's coverage from 2 November 2013. The links are active; enjoy.

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The world premiere of The Trick to Escape a Straitjacket was Wednesday evening at the Carnegie Center, and it was well attended, with perhaps 70 people filling all the folding metal chairs and requiring staff to bring more. The documentary profiles lifelong New Albanian resident Kenny Stewart, whose eclectic worldview defies description.

The Trick to Escape a Straitjacket - Official Trailer

An eccentric old man from a small town in Indiana recounts his passion for show business and the enchantingly bizarre stories of his life as he attempts to perform the one secret trick he’s always wanted to pull off: escaping from a straitjacket.

A feature length documentary film by Rosie Nakamura.

Note that if you watch the film, be aware that it took eight years to make, causing some references to dates and events to seem skewed. They're not. In fact, Kenny Stewart is alive and well and pushing 87 years of age.

Official web site