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Based on the description, this appears to have happened during Houdini's 8 week run at Princess Theater in Chicago in early 1926. A bad year for accidents!
Houdini wasn't the only magician to have a mishap with the Needles. In 1946 an amateur magician named Stanley McAuley garnered headlines when he swallowed a needle during his own performance of the trick. It took two operations to retrieve it.
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One of the added pleasures of these newspaper gems you've been finding are "quotes" of Houdini's patter. His self-deprecating humor to counter-balance his public bravado could only endear him that much more to the audience.
ReplyDeleteYes, good point!
DeleteSee David Price, Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater (1985), page 467 (A “Needle King’s” Accident) for one performance that ended in surgery.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Pub Med, "We report a case of acute appendicitis after perforation of the appendix by a swallowed needle. An appendectomy was performed without any knowledge of the reason for perforation."
ReplyDeleteIs it possible that this is what led to Houdini's busted appendix and not a punch to the gut?
Ha! Now that's an interesting new theory. But this was early 1926, several months before his death.
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