Houdini (1953) screening with Ben Curtis, Sept 20

The Waldo Theatre in Waldoboro, Maine, will screen Houdini (1953) this Saturday, September 20, at 7 PM, followed by a discussion with Tony Curtis' son, Ben Curtis, and local film expert Alan Magee. 

The 1953 film "Houdini" is a biographical drama starring Tony Curtis as the legendary escape artist Harry Houdini and Janet Leigh as his wife Bess. The movie, directed by George Marshall, fictionalizes Houdini's life, tracing his journey from a Coney Island sideshow performer to an internationally renowned magician and escape artist. It explores his daring escapes, his relationship with Bess, and his fascination with the afterlife.

Join us after for a conversation with Tony Curtis' son, Ben Curtis, and local film expert, Alan Magee.

The Waldo Theatre is located at 916 Main Street in Waldoboro, ME. You can get more information and purchase tickets HERE.

Related:

• A magical weekend with Tony Curtis
• TCM Festival screens 35mm print of Houdini (1953)
• Million Dollar Theater celebrates The Magic of Tony Curtis

The Art of Magic by Ken Trombly

Ken Trombly's lavish new book The Art of Magic -- A Lifetime of Collecting has just been released by Vanishing Inc. While not among the preview pics, know that the book contains not one but two chapters of Houdini treasures, including several items never before published. Here's a taste of what's inside.

Step inside one of the world’s most astonishing private collections of magic posters—now revealed for the first time. The Art of Magic chronicles one of the world’s finest collections of magic posters. The oversized book is, itself, a work of art. It is a collection dedicated entirely to the art and artistry of magic history.

Author Ken Trombly is one of the industry’s most fervent collectors of magic art: lithographs, posters, etchings–if it depicts a magician in history, Ken probably owns a copy in mint condition. His house is a wonderland from the golden age of magic. But few of us will ever get to see his collection in person. So…The Art of Magic brings that collection right to your fingertips.

You’ll learn about the heroes you know–Kellar, Chung Ling Soo, Thurston, Houdini–but you’ll see images here that you won’t find anywhere else. You’ll learn about John Henry Anderson and Robert-Houdin, who preceded the golden age of magic, and what’s particularly fascinating here is that you can see, literally, as the technology and art evolve, from broadsides of almost all types, to some wood etchings, to bursts of color in the stone lithographs we all know and love.

Ken Trombly provides the commentary for each image. He tells brief histories of each performer, how he acquired the piece, and often why the piece speaks to him as a collector. It’s a deeply personal accounting of one collector’s journey in our craft.

The Art of Magic -- A Lifetime of Collecting is being released as a Regular and Deluxe Edition. You can purchase it now at Vanishing Inc.

Related:

• Houdini and the Spiritualists with Ken Trombly
• Houdini hanging out in Houston

LINK: The Cancer of Superstition reviewed

Our friend Michelle Ainsworth recently reviewed The Cancer of Superstition for the Skeptical Inquirer website. Click the headline or image below to read.

Purchase The Cancer of Superstition exclusively from 1878 Press Co.

Related:

• Read 'The Cancer of Superstition' TODAY
• The Cancer of Superstition is FOUND!
• Houdini Lincoln cover story in Skeptical Inquirer

America: A History: Who is Harry Houdini?

Last month, I had the pleasure of being a guest on Liam Heffernan's America: A History podcast. Click below to listen on Apple or the website.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen at the America: A History website

By the way, Liam says in his intro that Houdini "allegedly" went over Niagara Falls in a barrel. I had told him that was not true, and we had planned to debunk it in the course of the interview. But we never got around to it!

Related:

• How Houdini planned to (not) go over Niagara Falls
• And now for something completely different
• Catching up with Houdini on Halloween podcasts

Did Bess and T. Nelson Downs have an affair?

Recently, two different people have asked me if it's true that Bess and T. Nelson Downs had an affair after Houdini's death (Downs was married at this time). I've never heard this before, but this rumor is coming from somewhere, so I went in search of the source.

As it turns out, this comes from an anonymous and unsourced edit on Downs' Wikipedia page.

Unfortunately, this has been ingested by A.I. and will now show up as part of any search for Downs and Bess Houdini. But I'm certainly not ready to accept this without a proper source. There's also the possibility that this is a prank as anyone can edit a Wikipedia page. (Without a citation, I suspect it will eventually be removed.)

If you are the anonymous descendant who posted this, please contact me. I would love to know your source, even if it's just family lore. 

Related:

• Bessie and the Colonel
• Bess and the "bad woman"
• Houdini on being "not too tall"

Escaping Obscurity at the Magic Castle

Monday's Escaping Obscurity book event at the Magic Castle was a big success and a lot of fun. There was a lot of love in the room for Harry and Bessie, and genuine excitement about the book. Mike Caveney sold every copy that he brought. As a surprise, Dr. Bruce Averbook brought along the actual diary from his collection and even allowed attendees to handle it, just as Houdini had done 128 years ago. Wild. 

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us and to the Magic Castle for hosting us. I've written more about the evening and shared photos on my Patreon below.

If you haven't yet grabbed a copy of Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899, you can do so at Mike Caveney's Magic Words. There are still plenty of copies left, but the print run was not huge, so one day this book's availability will vanish and Houdini's diary will go back under glass. Just saying!

Related:

• Escaping Obscurity book signing at the Magic Castle
• ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Reviews & Reactions
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY

Arnold Leibovit on HOUDINI (1953)

Here's a nice video about my favorite Houdini biopic from the Trailers From Hell YouTube channel. A few details here I didn't know, such as George Pal initially wanting Marlon Brando to play Houdini? Wow. Anyway, enjoy.

Thanks to Diego Domingo for the alert.

Related:

• The men who almost played Houdini
• Joanne Gilbert and Houdini (1953)
• Graded Houdini (1953) VHS, because I'm a nut

Houdini opens at the Alvin 100 years ago today

It was 100 years ago today that Houdini opened his full evening 3 Shows in One at the Alvin Theatre in Pittsburgh with a special Labor Day matinee. While Houdini had previewed the show in Cumberland, this marked the true start of his 1925-26 tour. Howard Thurston attended the opening show, perhaps to see what kind of competition he would be facing that season.

The Houdini show was extremely well promoted. He had arrived in the city early and threw down his famed $10,000 challenge for any proof of genuine membership. The show played the Alivn for two weeks. He was off to a great start! 

The Alvin Theatre was located at 119 6th Street in Pittsburgh. While no longer a theater, the building still stands today.

Want more? I've created a Google map showing every stop on both his 1925-26 and 1926-27 3 Shows in One tours, available exclusively on my Patreon.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• Houdini's "3 Shows in One" turns 100
• Guest blog: Houdini in Pittsburgh by Zabrecky

Did Houdini escape from a lion's den?

Here's a new one. Did Houdini do an escape from a lion's cage at a Belgian circus? The following is from The Football Post on January 4, 1913.

Football Post, Jan. 4, 1913.

Before we dismiss this as the product of an overly imaginative reporter, know that there is supporting evidence for this from Houdini himself. During his run at the Circus Hagenbeck in Brussels in late 1912, Houdini sent one of his circus playbills to his friend Quincy Kilby in Boston. On it he wrote:

I performed my act in the Lions cage. H. H.

The entire menage was ironed off like a hugh [sic] cage.

I'm still not entirely sure what Houdini did here, but he appears to have done something involving lions, and that's pretty wild!

Interestingly, one of "The Amazing Exploits of Houdini" stories features Houdini escaping from a lion's cage. "The Cage" ran in the February 18, 1922, issue of the Kinema Comic and is one of the stories collected in the new book from Joe Notaro and Arthur Moses, Kinema Comic 1922 (Jan-Jun) The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI.

Want more? You can see the original playbill Houdini sent Kilby as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon.

Top image generated by A.I.

Related:

• Locating Houdini's lion
• Houdini's bizarre plan to fight a shark
• When Houdini escaped the belly of the beast

Escaping Obscurity reviewed in September GENII

I'm excited to see a review of Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899 in the September issue of Genii magazine. It's more of an overview than a review, but it's a good one, and you gotta love that first paragraph. Thank you, Michael Claxton.

You can subscribe to Genii HERE. Also, check out their new website Genii Magic.

Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899 is available exclusively at Mike Caveney's Magic Words.

Related:

• ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Reviews & Reactions
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY
• How we made the Deluxe Edition deluxe

Reviewing the Ghost Adventures Houdini Séance

Here's an excellent video by our new friend Kenny Biddle, Chief Investigator for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, dissecting the recent Houdini Seance episode of Ghost Adventures (which I happened to be on). Kenny debunks it piece by piece, and even has a special guest star explain his boneheaded comment that "Houdini believed in Spiritualism." You can view it below or check it out on YouTube. 

Thank you, Kenny!

Related:

• Houdini's spirit trumpet on Ghost Adventures
• A Winchester Mystery House mystery...solved?
• Houdini seance at the Winchester Mystery House in 1938?

Escaping Obscurity book signing at the Magic Castle

Just a reminder that I will be joining Mike Caveney, Bruce Averbook, and Michael Albright for a discussion and signing of our book Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899 next Monday, September 8, at the Magic Castle. The event is open to all AMA members. It will also stream live on the Magic Castle website.

Looking forward to a magical evening at the Magic Castle! If you are a member, I hope to see you there.

Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899 is available exclusively at Mike Caveney's Magic Words.

If you can't make the event but still want a signed copy, know that I'm currently listing one of 25 signed Author Copies on eBay. The auction ends on Wednesday.

Related:

• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY
• ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Reviews & Reactions
• Escaping Obscurity event at the Magic Castle, Sept 8

Houdini's "3 Shows in One" turns 100

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Houdini's full evening 3 Shows in One at the Maryland Theater in Cumberland, Maryland, on August 31, 1925. Below is the ad for that very first show from The Cumberland Evening Times.

The 3 Shows in One was unlike anything Houdini had ever presented before. In many ways, it was the culmination of his career, with acts devoted to Magic, Escapes, and Fraudulent Mediums Exposed. The show played in Maryland for three days. This appears to have been a test run for the new show. After a week off, the show opened in its primary 1925-26 tour at the Alvin Theater in Pittsburgh on Labor Day.

This wasn't the first time Houdini played Cumberland. On September 24, 1898, the Welsh Bros. Circus played the city with The Houdinis as the feature of their concert. Houdini recorded in his travel diary that day: "Rain hard. No dinner." He'd come a long way!

Want more? To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 3 Shows in Own, I've created a Google map showing every stop on both his 1925-26 and 1926-27 tours. You can see that as a member of my Patreon below. My September reward will also be a review of the Maryland show.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• Big Houdini news 100 years ago today
• Houdini debuts 3 Shows in One, but not where we thought