Sunday, May 11, 2014

The mothers Houdini

On this Mother's Day, here's an unpublished shot of Bess, Cecelia Weiss, and Bessie's own mother, Balbina Rahner. This photo comes from the collection of John C. Hinson and appears to have been taken in Southampton when the Houdinis brought both their mothers on a tour of Europe in 1909. I expect the photographer was Houdini himself.

Let's treat all our moms as well today!

Click to enlarge.

Happy Mother's Day.

8 comments:

  1. BTW, does anyone know the year Harry and Bess brought their moms to Europe? I couldn't seem to fish that info out.

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    1. 1911 would be my guess. That is when he played the Hippodrome Theatre in Southampton.

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    2. Could be. I feel like I just recently read it -- but I couldn't find a reference to it it in Silverman or Kalush.

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    3. It was actually 1909. See Silverman page 138 for the clue. He performed at Palace Theatre in Plymouth, UK in August where the two mothers and Bess cheered him for ten minutes.

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    4. Great detective work as always, Joe! 1909. Thanks.

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    5. According to Jon Oliver, they brought the mothers to Europe a couple of times.

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  2. I am in awe of the interesting things you keep posting a regular basis. Thanks a lot and keep up the amazing work and research you do. Best wishes from Germany.

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    1. Thank you very much, Thorsten. I will do my best to keep giving you some great stuff. :)

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