tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post5907997534876316279..comments2024-03-28T03:39:00.025-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: Uncovering Houdini's 1915 Los Angeles straitjacket escape (at last!)John Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-15063894110184922832019-09-06T08:08:04.973-07:002019-09-06T08:08:04.973-07:00I've now done a post about the Salt Lake City ...I've now done a post about the Salt Lake City escape <a href="https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2019/09/houdinis-salt-lake-city-sequel.html" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-7725933022781420782019-08-18T14:48:31.707-07:002019-08-18T14:48:31.707-07:00Post about this now HERE.Post about this now <a href="https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2019/08/dean-gunnarson-recreates-houdinis-la.html" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-15208573511001611762019-08-17T12:21:20.158-07:002019-08-17T12:21:20.158-07:00Very happy so many people enjoyed this post. I wil...Very happy so many people enjoyed this post. I will have two "spin off" posts coming up, one on Dean Gunnarson's recreation (thanks Joe Notaro) and one on his Salt Lake City escape, which ties into this one.<br /><br />I also plan to get back into the microfilm at the Central Library and track down a few elusive LA stunts.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-64031123144445636862019-08-14T06:57:23.635-07:002019-08-14T06:57:23.635-07:00Yes, I happened upon that tweet yesterday. Too per...Yes, I happened upon that tweet yesterday. Too perfect! (Yes - believe!)Tom and Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01133250855806942658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-5434195165329821512019-08-13T13:31:31.010-07:002019-08-13T13:31:31.010-07:00Speaking of Houdini and the Los Angeles Fire Dept....Speaking of Houdini and the Los Angeles Fire Dept. <a href="https://twitter.com/HoudiniWild/status/1161371316823314432" rel="nofollow">See this tweet</a>. A thank you from Harry? Believe.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-88351653216628321022019-08-12T18:58:11.219-07:002019-08-12T18:58:11.219-07:00BTW, the building that housed Fire Dept. No. 7 sti...BTW, the building that housed Fire Dept. No. 7 still stands and "No. 7" is still visible over the door. I came upon it by chance when I was leaving the library, but I was driving and couldn't stop to get a pic.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-9743124541017361122019-08-12T18:04:00.581-07:002019-08-12T18:04:00.581-07:00Beyond this particular L.A. stunt, I don't rem...Beyond this particular L.A. stunt, I don't remember ever seeing fire trucks on the street in photos of Harry escaping the jacket.Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-31504258649216186962019-08-12T11:46:07.543-07:002019-08-12T11:46:07.543-07:00Yes, the Fire Department involvement is brilliant ...Yes, the Fire Department involvement is brilliant (and wouldn't the fire truck down below Houdini have looked great on a poster) but the logistics of arranging it must've been colossal. And I suppose it would've been decried in some cities as potentially pulling resources away from an emergency. But that's our Harry -- always pushing the envelope!Tom and Johanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01133250855806942658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-4090592666458806032019-08-12T08:52:18.997-07:002019-08-12T08:52:18.997-07:00Yes. That part was disappointing, but no one expec...Yes. That part was disappointing, but no one expected Houdini to return. But, the show itself was fun. William Shatner was funny in between the commercials. <br /><br />I even met the Amazing Randi who was on a stretcher. I had the nerve to ask him for his autograph. He could have said no being in the condition he was in. But, he was very nice. Michael Pascoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10314595383329719714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-39782413561504790922019-08-12T07:49:39.347-07:002019-08-12T07:49:39.347-07:00I've always believed it would be in the Ernst ...I've always believed it would be in the Ernst archive as so much of Kellock seems to have come from there (diaries, etc). The Laid Bare book is now 10 years old, so possibly it has been found. I've never really doubted it. It sounds like HH to me.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-31637125994360070992019-08-11T22:56:16.468-07:002019-08-11T22:56:16.468-07:00That's the first time I've ever read that ...That's the first time I've ever read that a Houdini author might have faked the information--Harry excepted of course. Kellocked referred to this letter to Gladys as possibly HH's longest. If it's a real letter, it might be somewhere in one of the boxes at the Ransom Center Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-65968754698962786382019-08-11T12:06:16.170-07:002019-08-11T12:06:16.170-07:00Did you witness this supposed paranormal occurrenc...Did you witness this supposed <a href="https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2012/11/was-there-paranormal-occurance-during.html" rel="nofollow">paranormal occurrence</a>?John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-54098985173139214912019-08-11T10:02:19.735-07:002019-08-11T10:02:19.735-07:00I was in the audience for the Search For Houdini s...I was in the audience for the Search For Houdini special. It was at the same Hill St. theatre mentioned in the article. To this day, I still remember every detail about that show. A great memory indeed. Michael Pascoehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10314595383329719714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-30999733195575400302019-08-11T09:42:01.401-07:002019-08-11T09:42:01.401-07:00Fantastic! I wonder if the building owners are awa...Fantastic! I wonder if the building owners are aware? Certainly something to include in its official history. Btw, the date of the escape was Dec. 22, 1915.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-69122282888811353522019-08-11T09:35:10.729-07:002019-08-11T09:35:10.729-07:00Yes it's still there. I suspect I might have e...Yes it's still there. I suspect I might have even been inside that building but I had no idea that there was a Houdini connection.<br /><br />https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_CenterJack Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15975667357575553159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-71617585297024484862019-08-11T09:21:49.464-07:002019-08-11T09:21:49.464-07:00It was fun to realize that he wrote this letter on...It was fun to realize that he wrote this letter on the day of the escape. I wonder if he wrote it before or after? I also wonder if he wrote the lengthy letter to his sister Gladys on this same day (quoted at length in Kellock). IF that Gladys letter is "on the square." There are some who think it might be an invention of Kellock. According to Kalush, no one has ever located the John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-51148215165566829142019-08-11T08:37:24.646-07:002019-08-11T08:37:24.646-07:00Got it!Got it!Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-37801814677377394472019-08-11T00:50:59.311-07:002019-08-11T00:50:59.311-07:00You'll find it sourced in the Silverman and Ka...You'll find it sourced in the Silverman and Kalush Notes books. I believe the original is in the Huntington Library.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-59749735471266769432019-08-10T21:32:33.052-07:002019-08-10T21:32:33.052-07:00The letter to Jack London. Where did that come fro...The letter to Jack London. Where did that come from?Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-50007025070066703292019-08-10T17:17:41.567-07:002019-08-10T17:17:41.567-07:00His hair is neatly combed back and I could swear h...His hair is neatly combed back and I could swear he has make up on in both photos. It must have been a photo shoot deliberately staged for this "challenge" event. The newspaper people probably asked him if he could pose in the jacket for the article.Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-68657746088572139932019-08-10T17:02:04.617-07:002019-08-10T17:02:04.617-07:00Yes! Great catch, Leo. I actually thought the exac...Yes! Great catch, Leo. I actually thought the exact same thing when I first saw that clipping.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-32743465217375456082019-08-10T16:51:06.671-07:002019-08-10T16:51:06.671-07:00An interesting twist here and another mystery solv...An interesting twist here and another mystery solved. The undated press photo of HH in a straitjacket from the March 27, 2017 post is a close match the the press photo of HH with the two cops:<br /><br />https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2017/03/a-houdini-birthday-present-from-kevin.htmlLeo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-23996839847478855492019-08-10T16:43:59.954-07:002019-08-10T16:43:59.954-07:00Hey, I just discovered I have a couple clippings o...Hey, I just discovered I have a couple clippings of Dean doing this escape in my scrapbook. He did it from the Garfield Bldg, which is not the same spot. In fact, it appears he's on 8th St instead of Hill. But it's the same block.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-58735316262378397552019-08-10T16:15:34.507-07:002019-08-10T16:15:34.507-07:00Oh! That explains why it was in that flyer then. T...Oh! That explains why it was in that flyer then. They did their research. I haven't watched that special in decades, but I'll check it out now. Thanks!John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-14633718212237786722019-08-10T15:52:33.103-07:002019-08-10T15:52:33.103-07:00Thanks John! I'm always thinking of you when I...Thanks John! I'm always thinking of you when I go on an LA location search. :) BTW, on this same day I drove past one of The Grim Game locations you found.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.com