Did Blackstone kill Houdini?

How's that for a clickbait headline? See, I can play that game! Really, this should be headlined, "Houdini was headed back to Buffalo in 1926." But that's not nearly as provocative. But now that you're here, here's the story.

During his 1925-26 season of "3 Shows in One," Houdini played the Shubert-Teck Theatre in Buffalo, New York.  I recently discovered that Houdini planned to return to the Teck for his 1926-27 season. Check out the below from the Sept. 2, 1926 Buffalo News.

The Buffalo News, Sept. 2, 1926.

Going by the "tentative" schedule, this would have put Houdini at the Shubert-Teck during the week of October 18, following the close of Gay Paree. But that didn't happen. Instead, Houdini went to Montreal, and we all know what happened there! (If you don't, punch this link.)

But guess who did open in Buffalo on October 18? Harry Blackstone.

Buffalo Courier Express, Oct. 17, 1926.

Blackstone played the Lafayette Theater this week in conjunction with the movie The Four Horsemen starring Rudolph Valentino. He even accepted a challenge packing box escape from the Nash-Buffalo Motor Corp. 

The Buffalo Times, Oct. 21, 1926.

Did Houdini change his route to avoid a head-to-head with Blackstone in Buffalo? The Vagabond King, which had opened at the Teck on the 18th, was held over for a second week, suggesting the theater did have an open week on their schedule.

So did Blackstone kill Houdini?

It's also possible we have these backwards. It could be Houdini canceled his Buffalo appearance for reasons unknown, and Blackstone decided to swoop in and give Buffalonians the magic and escapes they had been anticipating.

Another one to investigate.

Want more? You can read the various newspaper clippings I gathered for this post as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon below.

Related:

• Blackstone can't escape virtual Houdini
• Blackstone gives Bessie a lift
• When Blackstone, Houdini, and Thurston shared a stage