Another guess I had after guessing part of Joe's criminal record was, the reason why I never knew about Joe's death until I saw the video, mainly about Bill's attempt, was because he was NOT famous for escape stunts. Just a criminal.

I had never seen this much of any video of Joe Burris's stunt that he died attempting. I watched Bill Shirk's stunt on tv, but not on the news, or as it happened. After Bill's attempt, they mentioned Joe Burris attempting the same stunt and was also unsuccessful and that he died. When they mentioned Joe after showing Bill's attempt, the first thing they showed before Joe's attempt which was only like 10 seconds long, were police searching him for anything illegal. Just from the looks of that clip, I assumed he was either a robber, or drug dealer, or similar. Even though not all suspects rob or do drugs. Still, my guess about part of his criminal record made me think Joe was even less concern for his life than Bill was for his own. Joe was way calmer during his stunt than Bill was during his own stunt. Another guess I had after guessing part of Joe's criminal record was, the reason why I never knew about Joe's death until I saw the video, mainly about Bill's attempt, was because he was now famous for escape stunts. Just a criminal. So I thought they either showed Joe's attempt only on the news, or also the moment it began. I saw Bill's attempt on World's Most Amazing Videos a couple of years ago, and even longer ago on Maury: Outrageous Moments Caught On Tape or some similar title of videos like this one that I like to watch only, but are less common on Maury. Once I started watching World's Most Amazing Videos and others similar, they became my favorite. In every episode. Unlike Maury. I have seen almost every episode, and I still enjoy watching them again.

here is a link to the Criss Angle episode with a little bit of the Amazing Joe footage.

watch starting at the 3:15 time mark.
http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=3875397309390065180&hl=en

here is another clip from a fox tv show.

What the hell are you talkin' about?? Of course Joe died, I'm the guy who dug his body out of the ground. I put him in the ground and I took him out. I poured the cement as he instructed and when that coffin collapsed, he died from suffication. The immense weight of the cement and wet soil crushed him instantly and he couldn't fill his lungs to breathe. (assuming there was any air TO breathe) I pulled his body out and he was dead as he was stupid. The only thing I can figure, is that he must've had a death wish. Shortly after we had the coffin made, Joe jumped up and down on it and broke the lid. Yet, he insisted on doing the stunt. He was high when he did it, too. He smoked pot like there was no tomorrow, that's probably the REAL reason he died. When he was stoned, he thought he was really great.

my grandmother kathie has a copy of the tape. if you go by pauls transmission repair off of belmont and first, and tell my grandpa and uncles, gary and paul jr. who you are i'm sure they would give u her # to call and get the copy

HE WAS AN AMAZING MAN! AND SHAME ON ANY ONE WHO THINKS HE IS STILL ALIVE! MY MOM WAS GOOD FRIENDS WITH JOE AND SHE WAS THERE WHEN THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED. MY MOM USED TO TRIM PALM TREES WITH HIM AND HELP OUT WITH HIS SHOWS! I REMEMBER HIM AND HIS BOYS COMING OVER TO MY GRANDMA'S HOUSE AND HE'D DO TRICKS FOR MY BROTHER AND I WHEN WE WERE LITTLE. HE WAS AN AMAZING MAN! MY SYMPOTHY GOES OUT TO HIS FAMILY, HAVING TO ENDURE THIS. I REMEBER UNCLE JOE EVERY HALLOWEEN! I WISH THE BEST FOR YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY JOE JR.
-SARAH RUTLEDGE
Gay Cron's daughter.

Respond if you like but i was there when this stunt was performed my brother was 1 of the assistants and they did follow instructions and tried to tell him it was not going to work but when joe said do it or i will get others to do it they helped him better them that had worked with him help that night then those that had never did it before.

I am writing because a lot of people are saying negative things about my dad the Amazing Joe. My dad died on Halloween night in 1990 at Blackbeards in a freak accident. I along with my entire family was there in the front row and know that he indeed did die. He did not fake his own death, he is not living somewhere else, he is dead, his ashes are at my house. I was there when he was pulled out of the grave, I have the video and have watched it numerous times and know he is dead. He had dirt and cement under his fingernails which indicated he fought for his life and suffered until the end. Many people say he poorly planned his show, and he did to some extent poorly plan the stunt, but he did not have a lot of money to test several coffins. He did however successfully complete the stunt a year before in Salem Oregon. The second time he did use a plexiglass coffin as well as cement, however the cement was only supposed to be a half a foot on the top of the grave so he could write his name after escaping. After watching the video, you could see there was well over 4 feet of cement poured into a 7 foot grave. The poor planning can also be blamed on his assistants for not following directions. I am proud to call the Amazing Joe my dad and know if he had made it out he would be bigger than Chris Angel, David Blane or anybody else who may come up. Magic was his life, he died at 32 years old and was doing magic over half of his life. The Amazing Joe is dead, but definately not forgotten and I guarantee his story will be told very soon. To those who have said nice things about him, thank you and to those who have said negative things, please shut up, if you don't know the truth, ask me. Thank you----Joe Burrus Jr.

I am the daughter in law of the "Amazing Joe Burrus." I married his oldest son, Joe. To those who believe that he "faked" his death or that he is still alive, this is to inform you that in fact, he was cremated. His remains are in my home along with the cremation certificate. I never met him and until 8 years ago never knew about him. But when I met my husband and watch the home videos of his magic shows as well as coverage of that fateful nite, I was mortified. What hurts the most is that he wasn't present at our wedding, at least not in body, and he's not around to enjoy his grandchildren. I know my kids would have loved the magic shows as my husband still does some of his tricks.

I hope this puts to rest all of the rumors of him being alive. It would be an honor to actually meet him but it will not happen as long as I'm living

Hi Josh-
After some 20+ years I can still picture your Dad talking to me and handing out the flyers a few nights before the trajedy. He had an energy about him that was magnetic. I wish I had got to know him better. The brief encounter with him reminds me of something Buckminster Fuller said about himself: "I seem to be a verb". IOW, your Dad was moving/flowing/full of energy.
I'm sorry you have to endure some of the non-sensical comments on this board. My best to you and your family. You were blessed to have such a Dad!
Scott
Capitola, CA

I was working in Fresno and staying at a motel that was "U" shaped and had a bar in the middle of the U shape near the road. About 2 or 3 days before Halloween and Red haired guy came in and was passing out Orange flyers and telling people to 'come see him' on Halloween night. It was Joe Burris himself. Just seemed like a high energy guy trying to drum up business. We said hi and I told him I might come see the show on Halloween. Sure glad I didn't. Felt really bad for his family for a long time. Worst part was that many people had cautioned him about the weight of concrete versus dirt, and he ignored their concerns.
RIP Joe

i heard all that shit had to do with ms-13.

She is into digging stuff up!
I bet she knows the real truth.

Joe was not cremated because Joe did not die! Cremation was just part of the cover up. It was known to many that Joe Burris was afraid of fire. Do you think that he would have been cremated? This was done to put a completion to Joe's life for those who might want to have harmed him. My source was correct and items such as this just continues to prove the point. Joe did not die that Halloween night, at least not physically. Amazing Joe is dead, but Joe Burris continues to live in seclusion under an assumed alias.

http://www.aintnowaytogo.com/burrus.htm

Apparently a story that ran in the OC Register.

hi my name is josh i'm amazing joes youngest son, and u guys all r a bunch of idiots how can u say he didnt die?? i was there i seen it he was cermamted my brother and i share the urn.

Wow, do not remember that story. Why have I not heard of it since then? Reminds me of the scene in Kill Bill Vol. 2 where Uma Thurman it buried alive.

This makes no sense at all. In order to get that type of a deal, he would have to testify at trial. That's the deal when you flip and go to the feds. You have to testify later at trial. Did Amazing Joe ever walk into a federal courthouse and start singing? If not, then you know he died that night.

if that was true then who's corpse did they dig out of the muddy earth?

you failed to mention that it had recently rained that day and the soil was heavy because of the water saturation.

I heard years ago from a very good source that The Amazing Joe did not die that evening as many were lead to believe. The story that I heard was that Joe had some very important information that members of law enforcement were interested. The story goes on to be that Joe worked out a deal with these members of law enforcement, but was fearful for his life for being a "rat". The info dealt with Joe witnessing something very bad by some people in Southern California (russian mob I believe). The agreement was similiar to a witness relocation program, only with Joe faking his death and to be given a new identity and moved to another geographical location. Even his son has commented on this board on how great of a magician that Joe was, and I believe him. There is no way that a professional magician would test a plexiglass casket trick by using only dirt instead of the concrete that was used that evening. Joe knew that concrete was heavier than just plain 'ol dirt, he was a professional right? This was all just a way to get out of some trouble, and it seems to have worked. Anyway, if anyone knows the whereabouts of "The Amazing Joe" please post your info on this board. I, for one would love to hear his side of the story firsthand. Anyway, the person in power that Joe allegedly witnessed is no longer alive and poses no threat to Joe in any way.

I dug him out that night. Do you stil lown a copy, I would like to see it after all these years.

Shawn:

I dug the guy out of the ground. Do you still have the video? It has been a long time since I thought about that incident and wondered if anyone still had footage.

Here's one some of you Fresno people may have forgot from the 1980's

target="_blank">The Lighthouse at Blackbeards

Didnt something happen with the pirate ship too??

If you want to see some old footage of the Amazing Joe tragedy, look for a rerun of Criss Angels Mind Freak episode 'Buried Alive'. They briefly talk about the Amazing Joe stunt going wrong.

I was working at KKDJ at the time. It was horible His wife and kids were there. There were posters all over town promoting the stunt. Everyone started stealing them. Mix 1027 was the sponcer!

Gnarley Charley Kiss Country

Three years ago after experiencing a ghost in my house and it freaking me out, I asked the next door neighbor if he knew who lived in my house through the years. He told me that no one died in the house that he can think of because he was around when it was built. This is a 30-40yr old house. Anyway he gave me five or six tenants and said that two women was friends with Amazing Joe. He would park his vehicle outside and spend the night at times. Just friends he said. Another thing, im not getting at that maybe he is the ghost, the ghost was child size. It was pitch dark but with the moon light somewhat coming into the house we saw a figure walking into my childs room (We wouldnt have seen the ghost if we had not heard the tacked up papers on my wall near my door by hallway next to my daughters room move back and forth) Its like i focused on the papers but then looked to the left to see the ghost going into her room.That night she was sleeping in our room,my husband didnt know it at that time because she was at the foot of our bed. He gets up to see if she was ok but me on the other hand knew that it wasnt her because i could feel her by my feet. I just watched to see what he was going to do. He turned on the light,went into her room and pooked his head out and looked puzzled. We went back to bed and now leave at least one light on everynight. And boy do i yell at my husband if he turns it off. I say that if i ever see it again even though no problem (nice ghost) I will move out so fast that he wont be able to stop me especially if it comes right up to me. By the way, we or should I say I havent seen it since. That was 3yrs ago,weve lived in this house over 10years. Yes there are ghosts walking or should i say floating around. If you dont believe me try turning your lights out once in awhile and look around, you just might see one or two. Haha. Rest in peace Amazing Joe. Oh and if you decide to come by and visit,give me advance notice so im not home,Joe! Happy Halloween.

Since no one else has made any mention of your presence and their lack of tact, as much as i adore most of those involved, is a shame, i will apologize on their behalf for speaking of the deceased in such a crass manner.
unbeknownst to them, you are among the subscribers....that is if, you are in fact, the Amazing Joe's son.
so sorry. for your loss and our ignorance.
i remember that. and it was a shame.

either on the highwire, or spinning on one of those ropes that had a loop at the end and they put their neck through. I remember when it happened. It was mid-70's. The girl nextdoor was there, and she said they moved the spotlight away really quickly, had people over there and acted like nothing happened.

I kind of remember hearing stories of that, I think my cousin's may have gone to that show.

Was it a tight-wire walker who did not use a net?

I thought that watching a gal performer at the circus fall and die on the concrete floor of Selland arena was worse.

My dad was the Amazing Joe, and I don't appriciate all of the negative things about my dad. People are only going by what they heard on TV or read in the paper. My dad was a very successfull magician and excape artist, He died when he was 32 and was doing illusions since he was 18. He had excaped from many tricks and died during one mistake that was the fault of his assistants. He was not an idiot or stupid or anything else that people are calling him. He did not have a lot of money to to extensive testing on some of his stunts. But he was foolish in a lot of ways. He was desperate to be famous to provide a good life for my brother and I, and if he were alive today, he would be better than David Blane or Chris Angel. He made a lot of mistakes that anybody desperate for fame would have made. Nobody knows about the many good things he did while alive and even after death. When he died, his eyes were donated to two young girls who were blind and they can now see because of him. I wish people would not talk shit unless they know the facts. Its too bad people are that way, but unfortunately they are. I hope this sheds a little light on the situation. By the way if anybody has a tape of that night, let me know, I haven't even seen it. Thanks.

I did work at Blackbeard's and I want to know who this is.

I am the Amazing Joe's son, and I want to know who claimed to be his wife, he was not married when he died.

The most tragic part of this all is that Amazing Joe DID in fact test out the weight-bearing capabilities of the plexiglas, but curiously he did so a week prior with loosely packed dirt, not the wet cement (concrete?) that did him in.

I remember I was ten, and on my way out the door to get to school. And they kept showing the footage of that cement dropping all of a sudden. I remember feeling a chill, and then feeling really sick. Amazing Joe Burrus. What a sad tale.

YES ! I remember this guy because I drank coffee with him at Dennys a night or so before it happened and I think of this poor guy everytime Halloween rolls around.
His name slips my mind but if I asked my mother in law she might know as she conversed with him often.

Fresno was fun at night back then!

i was there when it happened. i remember it pretty well, i was like 13 or so and that was the first death i had been around. the guy didnt check his plexi coffin to support the weight, he just assumed that it was good enough, obviously fatal mistake. i remember his wife and his son there, the look on their faces when the ground sunk about 3 feet down is something i never want to see agian. actually, the son recently worked as a security guard at blackbeards. he no longer works there though. i wouldnt mind seeing the video agian. morbid as i am. i just wont look at the wife and son's faces lolz.

this subject came up at a party a few years ago...after rolling on for a few minutes about what an idiot the guy must have been....the lady next to me said "that was my husband"...how do you say your sorry for that??

I have a poor copy of the video. It ran as a segment on "A Current Affair." It's about a 6 minute segment. You should be able to find it archived somewhere.

I remember that happening. We went on a field trip with my school a few days after it happened and we saw where it was. I also remember seeing his plastic box on display at the Pumpkin King prior to the events. People were putting money in it for donations and my dad had pointed out a small hairline crack on the bottom.

funny and a lil off the sublect but i also moved to fresno on halloween it was in 88 i think

Tokyo Garden still has a promotional poster from that day..

Yup, Criss Angel is probably the best illusionist around today. He did the stunt easily, and it was not one of his most difficult, for sure. He's amazing.
I believe I saw footage of the Blackbeard's tragedy used on Criss's Show, "Mindfreak", just recently ( probably during the episode of his escape). Did anyone else see it?

That actaully happened the night we moved to fresno. Halloween 1990. During the drive in it was all over the national news and we were listening to people on talk radio stations talk about it. I didn't get to see it... But as a child I have to say I was a little disapointed when I actually saw Blackbeards and realised that it was just the insident which made national news and not the themepark itself. though I love Blackbeards now. It makes me happy... especially the photobooth.

With all due respects to the history of this town, (and much respect to Anti, who I care a great deal for, as a person,)

I, for one, would not want to watch the video of a man,
smile, do magic tricks for little kids, (including his own,)
capture their attention and delight, then (accidentally?) commit suicide in front of them.

It's clear the performance went awry.

Having (in the distant past,) been a part of 'escape' performances, I can assure you that the 'ILLUSION' of cheating death and escape,' is all about the presentation and the equipment. Done correctly, there is no danger.

-The equipment has to be built properly, it has to be tested repeatedly,
There is no danger to the performer whatsoever, if everything is going as planned, built, and practiced.

Failing to be concerned about weak equipment, as well as others concerns during the dry run reveals:

-either a complete disregard for others (justified,) concerns,

-or (if not a suicide,) failure of specific steps of the process, to go correctly,
-that must go correctly BEFORE the next step is taken,
BEFORE the box is interred, 'put in harms way,' etc.
He, more than likely, wasn't so concerned about being in the box, under the weight of the concrete, BECAUSE, he was not supposed to be IN the box under the concrete.

--again, with this type of performance, there is no true danger if things are designed and carried out in the most basic of fashions.

Further:
All performers work with assistants who can shut things down if things are not going precisely as practiced, or they are violating the most basic of rules.
The assistants are actually just as involved with the performance as the performer, and anything going slightly foul means an immed. shut-down of the performance.

In short:
-a performance of this nature is not the work of just one person, but of a team.
-that it failed, that he died would speak to either the poor judgement on a lot of people's behalf, (or) a deliberate act by that peroformer that ended his life.

Rereading the article that was linked by Anti- shows that all around the performance, (including local venue owners,) were not comfortable with what they saw,
-and that local business' did not want to be associated with the performance, (...when's the last time you heard of a radio station not wanting free publicity?)

The (brief,) write up speaks towards someone who was delusional, if not suicidal in their efforts.

It's sad, and it's sick that others, (particularlly children,) had to witness this, baffling, that people would allow the man to proceed with the plans, (considering all the concerns along the way,)
-I'd hardly consider it entertainment, any more than watching people burn to death in car accidents, or be smashed by freighttrains, would be considered such.

you should get that on a dvd disc and upload the clip of the video to a video blog site, like googlevideo, youtube, myspace, or blip.tv

I'm sure people would like to see it.

I've got the a copy of the home video,
I watched it once and yeah it is a bummer to watch when they dig him out.

i saw it on a show, i remember when they put him in and poured the cement and with collapsing sound his demise came to be

i wish fresno was known for good things instead of crazy people having unusual deaths in family "fun" centers
and having a mayor also known as bubba

its my home i can complain if i want

BWA HA HA HA HA

oh yeah try looking for the faces of deaths videos i think they have it in there im not sure though

maybe that can help..?

...I remember this being covered and talked about as far away as Philadelphia and NY, (I lived outside of Philly at the time, --and the TV stations from both cities ran the story...

(-Didn't realize it was at Fresburg though...)

At least we don't have David Blaine running around the place... dude is creepy, (verrrrrrry creepy.)