Ever seen the guy who swallows pool-type balls, the brings them back up?
The only real question is “Is he really swallowing them, or is it some trick?”
It just seems pretty amazing that he can swallow balls in a certain order, the expel them in a different order.
It’s the Vomit Guy!
Really! There was this guy a few years back, from the Shetlands I think, and an accent thick as salt cod who would swallow all sorts of things and urps them back up. Gross and fascinating at the same time. I kept thinking “wow, it must be really boring in the Shetlands for someone to spend the time to develop that useless talent”
Wonder if it’s the same guy?
I bet the guy referred to in the OP is The Regurgitator, Stevie Starr. I remember his name because I had a coworker named Steve Starr.
I saw that act once. Not only did he do the billiard ball trick, he took a ring from a female audience member, swallowed it, a master lock, and the key to the lock. After some visible struggling he brought it all back up with the ring on the lock. Never understood that one, always figured it was a hoax.
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In my opinion, Stevie Starr is a fake, a fraud, a hoaxer, whatever you want to call it.
I’ve seen him several times on television, and can work out a standard magical way to duplicate everything he does. So on the extremely small chance that he’s genuine (I’d bet my life savings he’s not), he’s a moron taking unnecessary risks at the very least, because his act could be duplicated by any parlor magician with a big (but not unusually so) mouth.
He irritates me, because every appearance I’ve seen him make includes some reference to being brought up in an orphanage and learning to swallow things and regurgitate them in order to keep them safe from thievery. What a load of crap.
If anyone is ever injured or choked attempting to do what he does, I wouldn’t weep to see him facing litigation.
As to the OP, I don’t believe you’ve ever seen him swallow more than one billiard ball. He “swallows” ONE, then drinks water to prove he did (How that proves it is beyond me). He does “swallow” coins and bring them back in whatever order the audience requests. This is accomplished by the use of a mouth version of a pocket index … he knows where they are, and is able to spit out the correct one.
I’m not a doctor, but I will never believe that it is physically possible for someone to manipulate their stomach enough to put a key in a lock. That’s ridiculous.
In fact, if you see him do that routine again, watch him carefully. The borrowed ring is locked onto a palmed lock before he ever places the ring in his mouth.
If you’re gonna do magic, do it as entertainment, not as a medical marvel.
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I saw Starr on The Tonight Show, back when Carson was still hosting, and I think on some other show more recently.
My assumption was always that he has some basic ability to swallow and regurgitate big stuff, and has used slight-of-hand magic to embellish that skill (and/or physical anomaly) into an act. For example, he might swallow a lock and key, bring them back up, and then palm them, substituting the prepared key-on-lock).
If PRNYouth says that tools like an oral “pocket” index are feasible, I can accept that too. However, it really, really looked like he was swallowing some pretty big stuff, particularly the lightbulb and the billiard ball. Just how is that accomplished as a trick? Is he somehow switching collapsable props for the real items?
I might have to actually see his basic swallowing trick duplicated to believe that I wasn’t seeing what I thought I was seeing (though it has admittedly been a few years since I’ve seen it).
In the link Revtim posted, it says that he swallowed a bowl of sugar, then several glasses of water, then brought the sugar up dry. Now, granted I haven’t seen this feat, I really don’t see how this would be possible whether or not he was actually swallowing it or just faking it.
I’ve seen this guy too, on those awful Fox Saturday night type shows that you watch when you have no social life on a Saturday night. Never really figured it out.
I’ve seen him live. I’d have to go with the real ability (billard balls) embellished with slieght of hand (the locks, the sugar).
Oh, and even if it is all trickery, PRNY Youth, don’t you think that’s a bit harsh? I mean, it’s not like he’s Jon Edwards, or Slyvia Browne, or someone claiming to be able to do something important. All he’s really claiming, when it comes down to it, is that he’s providing a show of freakiness and sophmoric humor, and, IMHO, he delivers.
Imagine a dental appliance that has a version of a change purse attached. That’s a bad analogy, but it’s the closest I can get. Anyway, it’s a flat waterproof pouch that rests against the roof of his mouth. It has a spring closure and a tab so that he can pull it open with his tongue, pour the sugar in (he tilts his head back) then let it snap shut. Drink water, tilt head down, open pouch with tongue, and dry sugar pours out. That’s my explanation.
Granted. He’s not harming anyone (though he could, if anyone attempted to duplicate his feats, believing they’re genuine). And I suppose his act wouldn’t have nearly the draw it does if he admitted it was a magic act and not a medical oddity. I guess what bugs me is the lack of incredulity among those who feature him. I mean, bring a magician on the Tonight Show and Jay will ask “how did you do that?”. Bring this guy on, and he gets treated as a medical marvel. I suppose that’s a credit to him. But it bugs me. I guess that’s my problem to deal with. 
I don’t believe he really swallows ANYTHING in his act. It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but I recorded it and watched it multiple times. I’m convinced that the larger things remain in his mouth. It’s just the way he holds his mouth that makes me believe it. I think he discovered that he has a large mouth and decided to capitalize on it. Again, I suppose that’s a credit to him.
We may just have to agree to disagree. You have the right to be wrong. 
(That’s a joke, just for the record.)
Aw, c’mon PRNYouth - it’s an act, it’s entertainment. The point is to amaze and make you go “Wow! How did he do that?” If he makes up a fake backstory, well, that’s a longstanding tradition of magicians, sleight-of-hand artists, and sideshow performers. It’s part of the act.
Yeah, some might hurt themselves trying to duplicate his tricks. Someone might watch Jackass on MTV and decide to light himself on fire, too. Why should a performer be held responsible for someone else’s stupidity?
For the record, doesnt it take food like 40 minutes to reach your stomach in the first place? Or maybe I’ve just mistaken a fact from something and transposed it… But if I am right then that puts a major hole in his story.
Food gets to your stomach within seconds. It just follows the esophagus (less than a foot). Now, to get through the small intestine to the terminal ileum and then on to the large intestine–that can take a while.
Point taken. As I’ve said, this guy bugs the crap out of me so I’m hard on him. I know that some people find him entertaining, and I understand why. I just still don’t like him. So like I said, we’ll just have to agree to disagree. I fully admit that my feelings are in large part probably based on my dislike for him and his act. He just seems smarmy and smug. Pile that on top of his fakery and the way talk-show hosts and others accept what he does as real, and I don’t like him.
So if he ever comes to my town, I won’t be going to see him. (I’m sure I won’t hurt his pocketbook.)
Until it’s confirmed on whether what he does is a trick or a talent, I hope nobody will use whether or not his acts are “real” as a point in the argument. This is like arguing over the credibility of the Bible.
I’m sure that everyone from 10 years ago will be right on top of it.
Or they’re dead from trying.
Either way I think we can move on.
Is this the same guy who swallowed a scrambled Rubik’s Cube and coughed it back up solved?
Now that’s some damn magic! His stomach acid is smarter than I am!
No, it is just a trick–he just swallows a couple of trained hamsters beforehand and they do the work.