This escape took place on June 30, 1917 in Westport (Saugatuck), Connecticut, during a special Red Cross charity drive at the home of Frederick E. Lewis II. Houdini is being lowered into Long Island Sound here. The below from the June 27, 1917 Bridgeport Times announces the event and Houdini's escape.
At the moment, this is Houdini's last known public overboard box escape.
Thanks to David Copperfield and the Westport Museum for History & Culture for their help solving the mystery of this famous footage.
Related:
Kellar was the giveaway for me. I always suspected some waterway off of NYC, and I wasn't too far off.
ReplyDeletewow! Love to hear HH situated in the Sound! Thrilling. Was that really his first appearance in CT?
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't. He made appearances in CT in his early years. But it had been a while.
DeleteInteresting that F Scott Fitzgerald lived close by the Lewis mansion. That mansion, it’s lavish parties are probably what are illustrated in The Great Gatsby based upon what Ive just read. Fitzgerald probably attended these parties. The Lewis home is long gone and is now Longshore country club.
ReplyDelete“The back story of Lewis — a descendant of one of the wealthiest families in American history — is particularly fascinating. He’s not a familiar name. But his parties at what later became Longshore — which the Fitzgeralds surely must have attended — were beyond legendary. One even featured Harry Houdini. (Yes, he performed an escape trick right there.)”
Sorry. The home still exists! It’s now The Inn at Longshore
ReplyDelete260 Compo Road South in Westport Conn.
DeletePerry from NJ.
Excellent! Thanks Perry.
DeleteWas the underwater sequence added in later?
ReplyDeleteIt was. It's from The Master Mystery.
DeleteHow does Patrick Culliton sign in so he can edit? The auto correct changed Saugatuck to Naugatuck.
ReplyDeleteHey Pat. You can't edit comments, but I can redo it for you. The comment interface here on Blogger isn't great.
Delete"Years ago, a midsummer day, Saugatuck, Long Island Sound, suddenly he stepped out on the shore, a bather smiling, bowing, in the sun. From "Houdini" by Melville Cane. "--Incredulous ones peered into a packing box. . ."
ReplyDelete