Final farewell from daring magician Vic Odin

And it proved a family affair for well known magician and illusionist Vic Odin whose wife Louise was his answer to Debbie McGee.

Tributes have been paid to the performer from Stourbridge who has died at the age of 76 - remembered for his star quality, his humour and his love for the stage.

It was his famous trick, performed in honour of Houdini himself, that made Mr Odin's career performing on TV and shows across the world.

His dare-devil act involved being suspended by a rope from a crane and escaping from a straitjacket all while dangled upside down.

Mr Odin established a reputation for his act with several outdoor performances including at Stourbridge's Mary Stevens Park and at the Wordsley Gala.

The daring trick, which was reported in the Express & Star in 1963, helped launch his career travelling the world as an escapologist with the help of his assistant, his wife Louise.

Thousands gasped and held their breath as Vic brushed with death before their eyes, struggling to free himself from cuffs and straitjackets.

Friend and theatre impresario Ray Hingley, who helped establish the Black Country Night Out, today called Mr Odin a wonderful performer.

"I support he was like the Black Country's Harry Houdini," said Mr Hingley. "It was captivating and he could really hold a crowd.

"But whatever shows he did he was always a true professional and a great performer."

In 1968, the pair were introduced when the magician walked into Mr Hingley's pub, the Robin Hood in Brierley Hill close to where Merry Hill now stands.

Mr Hingley says he shouted to his wife Phyllis saying Mr Obin was 'showbusiness' as soon as he entered with Louise for a drink.

The pair got chatting as Mr Hingley ran the Citizens Theatre at his pub and was keen on bringing on local talent and acts.

The chance meeting was the start of a long friendship between the two men, which would see Mr Odin play a pivotal role in the redecoration and regeneration of the pub's theatre.

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"He was always showbusiness. He was 'the one' and he used to carry himself like that. Everybody knew who he was and what he was doing," Mr Hingley added.

Mr Odin's career flourished after he met his wife at the Stourbridge Odeon when they were aged 15.

Until then his love of magic had come from seeing acts perform at his father's pub in Smethwick.

Mr Odin's fledgling career kicked off during military service. He developed a trick - the bullet-catching act.

He would take a .303 rifle and a 24-pack of bullets and get someone to select one of those bullets and mark it.

These were then loaded into the revolver and fired at him and he would stun crowds by catching it in his teeth.

But his bride-to-be started to encourage him to perform himself - initially on the pub and club circuit in the Midlands.

Mr Odin also spent time with a circus in Ireland and went off to spend time working in showbusiness in Orlando, where he was on board a cruise vessel that was parked up next to the Queen's QE2 yacht while she was visiting the United States.

Mr Hingley said while she was not on board the boat, Mr Odin would go on board the QE2 to entertain the ship's staff with some of his acts.

Later the renowned magician and illusionist who appeared on Opportunity Knocks, the TV talent show and in a number of circus shows.

Mr Odin featured in an extensive interview with the Express & Star in 2003, in which he recalled the many times he had diced with death over the years.

He told how he perfected his signature trick, catching a bullet between his teeth, while on military duty in south east Asia.

While he confounded his audiences on most occasions, he recalled one time when it went badly wrong.

It was while trying to escape from a straitjacket attached to a burning rope that the rope snapped, sending him hurtling to the ground.

He was bruised black and blue, had a blood clot on his eye, and his shoulder was put out of joint.

The 76-year-old died at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley on February 8 after suffering a heart attack, while he also had lung cancer.

He added the entertainer lived with his wife Louise for 60 years and they were never apart prior to her death in 2007.