Steve Baker's Houdini tributes

Here's an ad for Steve Baker's Houdini Tribute show in Eugene, Oregon, on Halloween 1974. I especially like the juxtaposed images of Steve and Houdini. Steve Baker once said in an interview that he was inspired to become an escape artist after reading Walter Gibson's Houdini on Magic at age 8. 

The Register Guard, Oct 31, 1974.

The Register Guard, Oct 25, 1974.

While Steve would sometimes boast that he was "better than Houdini" (a very Houdini thing to do), he frequently honored Houdini by recreating his escapes. Below is Steve doing a suspended straitjacket on Hollywood Blvd. in 1976.

Press Telegram, June 12, 1976.

On Halloween 1976, the 50th Anniversary of Houdini's death, Steve did the Water Torture Cell at the Mayfair Music Hall in Los Angeles. Below is a flyer I picked up at a magic shop in Tarzana, where Steve and his wife, Julie, lived. Did you know the Water Torture Cell was "the escape that brought about Houdini's death"? Now you do!

I wish I had gone and seen this. What a way to spend the 50th. But I was only 11, and Halloween was all about trick-or-treating back then. By the way, the Mayfair Music Hall was converted into a variety theater by none other than Milt Larsen.

You can dive a bit deeper into Steve Baker via the links below.

Related:

• Remembering Steve Baker
• Baker beats Houdini (sorta)
• Steve 'Mr. Escape' Baker launches blog