Tuesday, November 1, 2005

Presto! A new Houdini photo appears

How is it after 30 years of collecting Harry Houdini memorabilia I'm still constantly surprised to see photos of the magician I've never seen before? I mean, how many photos of one man can there be?


Nevertheless, one such photo is above showing Houdini emerging from a safe. A very nice picture.

This photo and some other rare items recently sold on eBay. The above photo sold for $800.

This post originally appeared on Houdini Lives.

Post Halloween report: Houdini still dead

According to the best séance intelligence, Houdini once again failed to escape the grave on Halloween, the 79th anniversary of his death.



Sidney Radner held his Official Houdini Séance in Boston this year. The celebrated annual seance was attended by none other than Ken Silverman, author of Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss. (View pics here.) 

Meanwhile, escape artists around the world performed the Worldwide Escape Artist Relay (WEAR) in tribute to Harry.

The S.A.M. will hold its annual Wand Breaking ceremony at Houdni's grave on Nov. 25, which marks the date of Houdini's death on the Jewish calendar.

This post first appeared on Houdini-Lives.com

History Channel airs new Houdini documentary


Last night the History Channel aired an all-new Houdini documentary, Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery (not to be confused with 1995's Houdini: Unlocking the Secrets). Produced by New Wave Entertainment and hosted by Lance Burton, Variety gave the doc a very positive review:

An auction of Houdini collectibles provides the excuse for yet another documentary about the legendary magician that nevertheless proves extremely interesting — an unsentimental portrait capturing both his enduring influence and cultural importance in turn-of-the-century entertainment. Beyond a better understanding of the man, the various aficionados who weigh in include the usually mum half of Penn & Teller, who is shot in silhouette so as not to see him speak. It’s just one of the nifty wrinkles in this unusually engaging spec.

A highlight was footage from last years auction in Las Vegas where David Copperfield bought the Water Torture Cell for $350,000.

UPDATEHoudini Unlocking the Mystery released on DVD.

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