tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post3416261062098700714..comments2024-03-28T08:03:31.442-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: Houdini's escape from Murderers RowJohn Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-74718447166722715402016-11-18T16:02:18.940-08:002016-11-18T16:02:18.940-08:00There's also that famous pic of him handcuffed...There's also that famous pic of him handcuffed with arms spread wide across the cell bars. That appears to be this same location. Makes me suspect this was a photo shoot, and not the escape itself.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-41996781890234030222016-11-17T19:01:05.409-08:002016-11-17T19:01:05.409-08:00Pretty sure that it is Boston; compare it to the B...Pretty sure that it is Boston; compare it to the Boston photo on p 54 of "Adventurous Life of a Versatile Artist". The painted stripe on the wall above the padlock matches in both photos.Bill Mullinsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-48431119776842656882015-04-06T10:39:00.955-07:002015-04-06T10:39:00.955-07:00So all The Grim Game whatnot came between this and...So all The Grim Game whatnot came between this and my promise of continuing the D.C. story "next week." Things are finally settling down, so I'm planning on getting that delayed post up this week.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-59605505341569866472015-04-06T10:37:08.704-07:002015-04-06T10:37:08.704-07:00Ha! :)Ha! :)John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-31314492039577577892015-03-29T19:21:01.809-07:002015-03-29T19:21:01.809-07:00All of that Paprika Chicken and Bread and Butter C...All of that Paprika Chicken and Bread and Butter Custard caught up with dear old Harry...Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-89827062122220538512015-03-29T16:35:31.602-07:002015-03-29T16:35:31.602-07:00As a final thought I leave you with this.....there...As a final thought I leave you with this.....there are many photos of Houdini dressed in only shorts or less that show a very muscular Sandow like physique. This is undisputed...just do a google search of Houdinis name and you will find them. The very day that the first photo posted Bove was taken there are several others both show a heavily muscled Houdini void of any pot belly. Why then Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-59362536901107878032015-03-29T09:50:09.008-07:002015-03-29T09:50:09.008-07:00A picture is worth a thousand words...A picture is worth a thousand words...Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-47022549339894045542015-03-29T08:19:11.986-07:002015-03-29T08:19:11.986-07:00You guys are starting to beat a dead Hungarian hor...You guys are starting to beat a dead Hungarian horse here. Might be time to agree to disagree.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-50646571733039662802015-03-29T06:26:46.973-07:002015-03-29T06:26:46.973-07:00Just one more point to further discredit you. Th...Just one more point to further discredit you. The man from beyond was Houdinis last film and he was approaching 50 years of age. To put this in perspective it would be akin to a man approaching 60 years of age in 2015. You pointing to what amounts to an old Houdini as evidence that he had an ordinary physique is a huge stretch from your original statements. My points are just to be truthful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-80413410219085005412015-03-28T15:58:39.556-07:002015-03-28T15:58:39.556-07:00It seems that you have become HH's guardian an...It seems that you have become HH's guardian and protector. Norman Bates felt the same way about his mother...Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-41590252415449415582015-03-28T14:17:39.183-07:002015-03-28T14:17:39.183-07:00Every person has times in their lives where they m...Every person has times in their lives where they may gain weight. That's not the claim you initially made. There was no Steve Reeves back in Houdinis day. Men like Sandow were considered the perfect male build. Sandow was, depending on accounts, 5'7 to 5'9. He looked nothing like Steve Reeves. Houdini if you understood his history was a fantastic athlete. With that athleticism Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-85043299557676180982015-03-27T20:48:05.807-07:002015-03-27T20:48:05.807-07:00That photo of a middle aged HH next to the USD sho...That photo of a middle aged HH next to the USD shows him, stouter, and heavier than when he started to perform the USD in 1912. Were you aware Mr. Anonymous that he injured his right ankle on that tour of Britain in 1920 performing the USD? I've wondered about that injury and I suspect that it was because he was heavier by about 10, 15, maybe even 20 pounds by 1920.<br /><br />That doesn'Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-68734760214338137472015-03-27T18:48:50.100-07:002015-03-27T18:48:50.100-07:00Leo takes the prize for having the most distorted ...Leo takes the prize for having the most distorted view of Houdini I have ever heard. One thing though...where is the pot belly you re claiming he had in all the films where he is bare chested? He strips down to his shorts to jump off that bridge in Rochester in 1909....perfect physique. Many other photos show him to be very trim at the waist. The photo of Houdini standing by the USD in a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-17007512230747912262015-03-26T21:20:29.091-07:002015-03-26T21:20:29.091-07:00I'm not feeling it. Houdini was athletic, not ...I'm not feeling it. Houdini was athletic, not godlike as you have suggested. Gods are much more taller, more imposing than mortals. And take a look at his later images in The Man From Beyond and that recently published USD photo from Britain. Not exactly what was...Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-39479167006068860942015-03-25T02:54:59.979-07:002015-03-25T02:54:59.979-07:00You could not be more wrong. I believe you are co...You could not be more wrong. I believe you are confusing his audience linking his on stage struggles with their own immigrant past with how he was perceived as a performer. People who saw Houdini felt they were seeing him perform miricles. An ordinary man does not have the capability to produce miricles. An ordinary man does not have a dynamic intense personality. Take a look at Houdini Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-3574347844072792852015-03-24T18:58:47.826-07:002015-03-24T18:58:47.826-07:00No--they went to see an ordinary man do extra ordi...No--they went to see an ordinary man do extra ordinary things. Also, I have yet to read a review of HH's performance where the audience oohed and awed over his physicality. He could have been godlike but was just too short. Look at the photo of Harry in Silverman's book just after page 113 with the caption: A Sandowesque moment. These is a small belly protruding. That won't win you a Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-49630250705959208602015-03-24T01:53:16.864-07:002015-03-24T01:53:16.864-07:00I could not imagine anyone further from an everyda...I could not imagine anyone further from an everyday man than Harry Houdini. The photo shows a very muscular man...do you see the knot like calves, broad over muscled shoulders, thick chest and how about that tricep flex? If you look at the other two photos taken that day you do not see a pot belly as you described it. So obviously what you believe you're seeing is a play of light and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-53162081542131734452015-03-23T17:56:16.702-07:002015-03-23T17:56:16.702-07:00I thought I was describing that short, stocky man ...I thought I was describing that short, stocky man emerging from that prison cell. He doesn't appear to be a Hercules character to my eyes. Perhaps you are confused about what you see in the photo. And I also don't believe his audiences felt like they were witnessing something resembling a Greek god. Do you?<br /><br />It was HHs everyday man personality that audiences related to. The Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-73548151982076601832015-03-22T18:33:06.916-07:002015-03-22T18:33:06.916-07:00Leo is confusing how Houdinis feats were subconsci...Leo is confusing how Houdinis feats were subconsciously perceived by some during his time vs the persona Houdini projected. Houdini was a man of mystery who performed feats that many perceived as miracles. His intense personality and handsome features were mesmerizing to his audience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-46568537896401683202015-03-22T12:03:03.179-07:002015-03-22T12:03:03.179-07:00Have you guys ever read "Houdini, Tarzan, and...Have you guys ever read "Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: The White Male Body and the Challenge of Modernity in America" by John F. Kasson? It's all about the stuff we're discussing here. Very interesting book. Sandow's story is fascinating.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-18106253266815228132015-03-22T11:54:51.886-07:002015-03-22T11:54:51.886-07:00The Hercules of Houdinis day was Sandow not Reeves...The Hercules of Houdinis day was Sandow not Reeves. Houdini with his exotic look and incredible presentation was looked at as a mystery man not an everyday man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-3568518537100236222015-03-21T18:44:17.974-07:002015-03-21T18:44:17.974-07:00Houdini embodied the image of the everyday man, th...Houdini embodied the image of the everyday man, the average Joe who stood up to authority and succeeded in defying the restraints imposed on the citizenry by governments. Yes, he is muscular and athletic, but he is also short and stocky. I don't see Hercules. When I think of Hercules, I see an image of Steve Reeves: tall, handsome, and incredibly muscular:<br /><br />http://Leo Hevianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-4991307204242201412015-03-21T14:02:26.840-07:002015-03-21T14:02:26.840-07:00Further proof would be the other two photos taken ...Further proof would be the other two photos taken that same day. Looking through the bars at a handcuffed Houdini all you see are thick muscular legs, broad shoulders and thickly muscled arms and chest. If thats an average Joe then average is Hercules. No sign of a pot belly....looks like a mini Sandow.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-24906331245368521072015-03-21T11:52:25.720-07:002015-03-21T11:52:25.720-07:00Especially at that time! Houdini had the build of ...Especially at that time! Houdini had the build of a circus strong man of his era. Muscles of this kind were far from common.<br /><br />And I've never seen a "belly" there. I see hard muscle. It's just the shape of his body that's odd to our eye and, yes, the light and angle of this pic.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-29259643186551635082015-03-21T11:00:30.422-07:002015-03-21T11:00:30.422-07:00Average Joe? What average Joe has those muscular ...Average Joe? What average Joe has those muscular legs. Arms, Chest and shoulders? Quite a Hercules standing there by any standard. The belly you think you are seeing is a function of shadows and angle in which the picture was taken more so than anything else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com