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When I was 16, I decided I didn’t want to be the next Houdini. I wanted to be the next Milbourne Christopher. That's why I'm so honored to have been among this year's recipients of the Milbourne Christopher Awards. The ceremony was held at the Garde Arts Center in New London, Connecticut, last Saturday, September 16, 2023 (which also happened to be David Copperfield's birthday).
Below is a list of this year's winners:
As a surprise, an additional award was presented to David Haversat, who has long worked with The Milbourne Christopher Foundation and, along with Thomas Ewing, puts on these Awards each year.
After the awards presentation, we were treated to a terrific and very funny magical performance by Tim Wright. Tim did his excellent Skilldini act and a special Abbott's Magic act which had the room rolling. A great show.
But there was still one more surprise waiting for me.
When we returned to the hotel for an after-party, magician Rob Allen, who had traveled from Niagara Falls (not Farmington!), invited me to his room, saying he had brought something to show me. I nearly fainted when he took it from its case! Yes, that's the famous steel straitjacket from the Tony Curtis Houdini movie! Rob even let me put it on, and it fits (just). What a fantastic way to end a magical day.
Thanks again to The Milbourne Christopher Foundation for making this dream come true. You can see more photos from the event and my subsequent "Ambassador's Tour" on my Patreon.
Related:
Anna Thurlow – Margery Crandon’s Canadian ConnectionsBoston medium Mina (Stinson) Crandon and her older brother Walter Stuart Stinson were born in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Focused on the Stinson-Crandon family’s Canadian connections and illustrated with family photos and historic documents, this presentation will discuss the Crandons’ friendship with T.G. and Lillian Hamilton and their shared interest in psychical research.Anna Thurlow – Remembering the MediumHow does the perspective of the medium as a mother, sister, daughter, or wife change our understanding of her mediumship? A look at the mediumship of Mina (Stinson) Crandon, known internationally as “Margery,” through the intimate lens of her great-granddaughter, with insights from the private Crandon family archive and recent academic partnerships. A new perspective on the famous July-August 1924 séances with the magician Harry Houdini will be shared.
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| Atlantic City Daily Press, July 29, 1915. |
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| Atlantic City Daily Press, July 29, 1915. |
A girl discovers a surreal hotel where no one ever leaves. When the clock strikes midnight, she'll be trapped there forever unless she's able to break free from magic that in turn breaks all her rules.
Life has gone according to plan for Anna--she stays in the background, letting her sister, Emily, shine in the spotlight. But on Emily's wedding night, Anna learns that her sister is moving away, abandoning her--and all their shared dreams. Devastated, Anna leaves the reception in the middle of a raging storm, taking shelter in a hotel she's never seen before: the Houdini.The Houdini is a hotel unlike any other, with sumptuous velvet couches, marble tiled floors, secret restaurants, winding passageways, and an undercurrent of magic in the air. And when Anna meets Max, who has lived his entire life inside its walls, she's captivated. For the first time in her life, Anna is center stage, in a place that anticipates her every desire, with a boy who only has eyes for her.
But there's a terrifying secret hidden in the Houdini. When the clock strikes midnight, Anna will be trapped there forever unless she can find a way to break free from its dreamlike magic. But will she be able to do it if it means leaving Max behind?
Enchanting, mysterious, and utterly fantastic, Midnight at the Houdini will cast its spell on you.
Related:
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| https://autographcertificationexperts.com/ |
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| McCord Stewart Museum |
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| The San Francisco Examiner, April 21, 1923. |
Joe M. Notaro brought Houdini’s full novella, The Zanetti Mystery into print and now he tackles Houdini’s Schooldays. Houdini’s Schooldays was serialized over 30 weeks (9/18/1920 to 4/2/1921) in the Merry and Bright comics and has never been published in book form until now. Herbert Allingham was the author and Harry Houdini owned the dramatic and screen rights.
This is a BIG story. An extremely fine production in all respects. Don’t miss this amazing yarn.A MAN LIKE HOUDINI could not fail to have had a wonderful early life, and this story tells of his adventures while still at school. In addition to sharing Houdini’s Schooldays with original illustrations, Joe. M. Notaro shares his research on the history of the story, along with photos of rare items (from various collections). Research includes other Allingham stories with Houdini’s name attached, Copperfield’s Merry and Bright books, Houdini and Allingham correspondence, Houdini’s education (Appleton, Milwaukee), and a look at possible illustrators for the story.
Houdini then went on to say that while traveling through China in 1908, the natives challenged him to escape (privately and under their own conditions) from a Chinese sangaw--a wooden contraption similar in form to a horizontal bar on uprights, but being furnished also with a lower crosspiece. Houdini accepted their challenge, and had secretly introduced a movie man and his camera that the outcome of the challenge might be seen by the outside world. And so, on The S.A.M's. "Houdini Night," there was flashed upon the screen Houdini's escape from the sangaw of the Orient. In the picture the Chinese are seen binding Houdini securely and in the most businesses-like manner. First, securing each wrist to the central portions of the uprights, then securely binding the feet to the floor-piece, and lastly running a loop under the front part of the neck, thence around the head in such a manner that the head may not the lowered; then remainder of the rope is then securely fastened to the central part of the upper most cross-piece. At the conclusion of the picture, Houdini repeats his escape in real life before the audience, using a genuine Chinese sangaw and extracting himself with lightning-like rapidity from bonds identical to those used by the Orientals.
"Something will happen to that man H. You mark my words. Better to get between the metals when an express is due, than block the way of the spirit."
In my collection, I have a wooden lathe, a nail, and a brick from Houdini’s home in Harlem. The current owner has been selling pieces of the original structure to pay for remodeling and refurbishment. The lathe has a thin splatter of white paint, indicating the exact color of the bathroom where Houdini practiced his famous escapes in a bathtub filled with icy water. I steam my suits in hotel bathrooms and practice close-up effects in front of my mirror at home, so when I hold this lathe, I imagine the intimate moments, both mundane and creative, that took place in Houdini’s home.
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| Atlantic City Review, July 27, 1915. |
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| Atlantic City Daily Press, July 30, 1915. |
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