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It's Larrian's contention, as laid out in her book, that Houdini died from a bowel obstruction, and not from the effects of a ruptured appendix, as history had long recorded.
"I just felt this injustice had to be corrected," she said. "Since I knew and could prove he didn't kill Houdini, I was the one who had to be responsible."
Larrian was accompanied to the cemetery by George Hardeen, Houdini’s great-nephew, J. Gordon Whitehead’s nephew D. Whitehead, Canadian escape artist Dean Gunnarson, and magician Marc Trudel, the first recipient of the Michel Cailloux Grand Prix de Magie.
Whitehead's grave is located in the Complexe Funéraire des Trembles Cemetery in the Pointe-aux-Trembles borough of Montréal, Quebec, Canada. It had previously been unmarked.
Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice is available at Houdini True Crime. International buyers should use Cipher House Books. Larrian will soon release a new "Murder Box Edition" that includes updated images and information.
Top photo © 2026 Healthy Life Publications Inc. All rights reserved. For licensing, contact Larrian Gillespie.
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Bowl obstruction? Wasn’t peritonitis via a ruptured appendix reported from day one prior to his death? Once his appendix ruptured he was on borrowed time. There was no cure.
ReplyDeleteThe second operation was to clear a bowl obstruction.
Houdini told Max Malini at the train station that he let a college kid get to him. Clearly Whitehead's punch or punches had something to do with the tragedy. The bowel obstruction was after the fact and was the fault of the doctor who gave him the chop suey.
ReplyDeletePeritonitis was an absolute death sentence prior to antibiotics being developed decades later. So how can anyone 100 years later say the guy who did the punching had nothing to do with Houdinis death?
DeleteI won't let Whitehead off the hook. He showed up in Houdini's dressing and threw punches. That's my post above on Malini.
DeleteLeo Houdini was infected by Bess in Providence with Strept Pyogenes. That is what caused the peritonitis.
DeleteTraumatic appendicitis does not exist medically as proven by path reports. Well documented in a recent scientific article which I reference in the book. Bruce even told me....no pathology...no proof. The scientific artile refuting traumatic appendicitis had pathology and none were ruptured but instead severely swollen due to Strept Pyogenes infection. This bacteria is actually becoming more common again as people eat "raw" food, milk etc. It causes all abdominal tissue to swell, including the omentum which becomes stuck to the abdominal wall trapping the bowel.
Deleteoh. my...you obviously don't understand medicine, medical records, death certiicates. In the book I show how Houdin was actually getting better after the first surgery and the serum. However, Dr Cohn fed him with the presence of bowel sounds a dish of Jewish Chop Suey which is raw vegetables and sour cream. As the stomach was unable to process the food, it creates attempts to push the food along but meets lack of small bowel motility ( called delayed bowel transit) and begins to kink on itself..which cuts off the blood supply. Surgery for a bowel obstruction at the time required another operation in an attempt to remove the food. It uses a horrendlously long metal tube stuck into a hole in the bowel to try and suck out the contents but is never successful. That spillage of food and bacteria caused the final blow. Having seen a patient die from a bowel obstruction as a surgical resident even in today's time is a horrible death. If you read the book which clearly you have not, Dr Kennedy said the punch ( as there was only 1 according to the man who actually interivewed Smiley and left that message here on John's forum) occured on the 24...when Montreal was the 22. An traumatic appendiceal rupture must occur right after the impact....which it did not. The second surgery for the bowel obstruction was NOT mentioned as the operation immediately preceding death as required in order to avoid a coroner's case and the revelation that he had been fed against all medical standards in textbooks, and even today, showing an obvious case of malpractice. In addition, the absence of E Coli or Entercoccus from the abdominal culture suggests strongly the appendix did not rupture, which was very trypical with Strept Pyogenes. Again, all the supporting material and documentation is well shown in the book.
ReplyDeletefew typos: Houdini, fed him WITHOUT the presence of bowel sounds, but meets a lack of small bowel motility, not mentioned on the death certificate as required,typical
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