tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post9064029115333487834..comments2024-03-28T21:34:40.656-07:00Comments on WILD ABOUT HARRY: Guest Blog: Chronicles of the Mystery WTC (Part 2)John Coxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-76228629201996815892022-05-07T07:43:17.257-07:002022-05-07T07:43:17.257-07:00From the wilds of my fertile imagination.
A. Orig...From the wilds of my fertile imagination. <br />A. Original working Prototype? Kept for spare parts. I was taught from DIY magic books to build a cardboard mock up first. Houdini had the resources to build and test. He wouldn't have left it behind for it only to fall into the hands of imitators. <br />B. Confiscated Cell of a Rival? Doubtful but possible, if I was Houdini I wouldn't have Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-3403043964771035352021-04-15T20:45:23.102-07:002021-04-15T20:45:23.102-07:00I've spoken with Dayle about this and it seems...I've spoken with Dayle about this and it seems the close up of the hasp in the video matches the one on her cell. She may possibly have the cell that is pictured with Houdini inside but with the final version of the stocks.Ron Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094167478468883440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-65951716109341469352021-04-15T15:31:22.923-07:002021-04-15T15:31:22.923-07:00You can see the same pic HERE. It does indeed appe...You can see the same pic <a href="https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2018/05/rare-photo-of-houdinis-early-water.html" rel="nofollow">HERE</a>. It does indeed appear to be a Yale lock of the same kind. Good catch.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-17814409572930822902021-04-15T13:09:07.481-07:002021-04-15T13:09:07.481-07:00Please go to You Tube and watch the In Search of H...Please go to You Tube and watch the In Search of Houdini Secrets S6 E11.The segment about the WTC shows Houdini inside the cell which looks to be an early version with the hasp on the front of the stocks. They show a close-up of the Yale lock. That lock matches the one on the Krall Mystery cell as shown in the comparison photos of the Copperfield hasp and the Mystery Cell hasp. This is the firstRon Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094167478468883440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-48977961859245228962021-02-23T07:52:44.151-08:002021-02-23T07:52:44.151-08:00Blair Robertson said he stayed a week with Randi i...Blair Robertson said he stayed a week with Randi in 1980 and was told the story about Randi's activities regarding the USD at that time. Here is his quote from the Facebook post: "I stayed with James Randi for a week in 1980. He told me that early in the 1970's at the Magical Hall of Fame he took the WTC "apart" to see how it worked (without permission, I might add)." Jim Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-5802620252266056852021-02-22T20:24:19.057-08:002021-02-22T20:24:19.057-08:00The way I heard it was Randi did have permission. ...The way I heard it was Randi did have permission. And I've never heard anything about photographs.John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-31961186813055145682021-02-22T19:06:52.898-08:002021-02-22T19:06:52.898-08:00It seems that, according to posts both here and on...It seems that, according to posts both here and on Facebook groups, James Randi told others about his photographing and measuring the USD when it came to the museum in 1971. We are also told he did this work without permission and then kept the plans to himself until 1988 when he related the story about the USD and gave the plans to Dean Gunnarson. Who else can corroborate that this is indeed Jim Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-65854690424866708612021-02-17T03:23:35.538-08:002021-02-17T03:23:35.538-08:00From the cover photo in Magic magazine of the rest...From the cover photo in Magic magazine of the restored cell I noticed that Gaughan left in that uneven row of screws in the side wood panel. That tells me he did indeed receive Radner's cell. As Ron pointed out, you can see the uneven row of screws in the Radner basement photo. Or Gaughan restored a duplicate that closely matched the uneven screws on the panel. Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-67403910787560813092021-02-16T10:29:15.808-08:002021-02-16T10:29:15.808-08:00Here is a brief video ('94) of the USD I shot ...Here is a brief video ('94) of the USD I shot in the Niagara museum about 8 months before it burned down: https://youtu.be/nlqYAxpCYQY?t=2098Oscar Tealehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17477958813253379968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-52557351800836151632021-02-15T18:27:16.857-08:002021-02-15T18:27:16.857-08:00If you blew in, and there was sufficient air then ...If you blew in, and there was sufficient air then disregard my idea.Jay Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936583640373656432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-9666001580820315492021-02-15T16:26:28.105-08:002021-02-15T16:26:28.105-08:00Hello Jay. How are you?
I have blown through th...Hello Jay. How are you? <br /><br />I have blown through the tube and it was fairly easy so I imagine if you were to try to pull in any air it would be just as easy. I haven't had the courage to try! James Randi claimed that there was a rubber breathing tube and I'm wondering if maybe it attached to this metal tube. Richard Sherrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-88141384403869032372021-02-15T16:19:51.970-08:002021-02-15T16:19:51.970-08:00Are you able to breathe through a standard drinkin...Are you able to breathe through a standard drinking straw? The only scale reference in the photo is a hand, which isn’t so helpful, but this looks larger than a coffee stirrer but narrower than a milkshake straw. The idea here, I think, is that the pipe is an emergency fallback possibly triggered by an assistant’s whacking the board. In a pinch, and “in order to save my life,” I suspect I’d dcbyronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840304483560716664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-73679146701989112462021-02-15T13:52:29.759-08:002021-02-15T13:52:29.759-08:00To address dcbyron's question, if we accept th...To address dcbyron's question, if we accept the premise that that the mystery cell is the original cell minus a few parts, it would mean that the folks at the Hall of Fame sent Gaughan a phony cell with a few genuine parts on it to restore. Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-25758599325324653692021-02-15T13:36:03.290-08:002021-02-15T13:36:03.290-08:00I have to disagree with "resemblance is not p...I have to disagree with "resemblance is not provenance." Bob Dylan's Fender Stratocaster electric guitar went up for auction a number of years ago. It was purported to be THE Fender Stratocaster he actually played at the Newport Jazz festival in 1965, when he embraced electric. A photo analyses of the grain pattern in the wood of the guitar from festival shots proved it to be an Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-88822629104060295272021-02-15T13:17:24.898-08:002021-02-15T13:17:24.898-08:00The small tube seems too small to get any airflow ...The small tube seems too small to get any airflow from it. I would think that it allowed a heavy thread to pass through it. Could a thread have been attached to a bell for an emergency escape warning?Jay Lesliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936583640373656432noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-12832613398829952512021-02-15T12:48:37.971-08:002021-02-15T12:48:37.971-08:00It would still be nice to know who the seller was ...It would still be nice to know who the seller was and where he got it. Pat Culliton put it well in a FB comment: "Until the identity of that mystery seller is revealed, there is no chain of custody -- meaning no provenance. Resemblance is not provenance."John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-43036412982148772312021-02-15T12:24:03.741-08:002021-02-15T12:24:03.741-08:00SUPPOSE we were to take at face value the simplest...SUPPOSE we were to take at face value the simplest explanation of the Mystery Cell’s features—its weathered wood, familiar rust pattern, strengthening screws, Collins locks, period penny as ad hoc shim, screw alignment consistent with photos, secret breathing tube in a spring-loaded panel straight out of Gibson’s _Houdini’s Escapes_, and similar favorable details— namely, that it is, in fact, dcbyronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02840304483560716664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-38269289726386523732021-02-15T10:55:20.646-08:002021-02-15T10:55:20.646-08:00I was trying to make 2 points in answer to your po...I was trying to make 2 points in answer to your points and suspicions. First, I gave reasons why I would expect John Gaughan and David Copperfield's cells to be both the same and both lacking in detail from the original Radner cell. Second, as I later told you privately, I am not interested in the plans themselves and the timing you mention isn't really important at this stage. I was not James Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-42201497953511995342021-02-15T09:37:02.490-08:002021-02-15T09:37:02.490-08:00Hmmm….that’s interesting.
You know, we're thi...Hmmm….that’s interesting.<br /><br />You know, we're thinking of this thing as a whole, but maybe we should think about it as parts. This could be a Frankenstein, some of it from the real cell and some of it reproduction. I remember seeing Sid and Henry at the LA auction disagreeing over what one of their trunks was -- Sid kept saying it was a USD trunk and Henry just kept shaking his head John Coxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391313393222271260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-16586521976350713612021-02-15T09:04:46.059-08:002021-02-15T09:04:46.059-08:00Hello James. How are you? I just wanted to clari...Hello James. How are you? I just wanted to clarify a couple of things. We purchased the Mystery Cell in the fall of 2019. Dean Gunnarson was given the plans from James Randi himself. Dean was kind enough to share the plans with me in Oct 2020 which is nearly a year after we purchased the Mystery Cell. <br /><br />I am sorry that I could not share the plans with you when you asked for them Richard Sherrynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-62103394419381306862021-02-15T08:46:11.380-08:002021-02-15T08:46:11.380-08:00Look at the photo of the cell in Radner's base... Look at the photo of the cell in Radner's basement. If you look at the section of wood right underneath the lifting frame there are three screws going across it. The screw on the far right is higher than the other two to the left which are at an even height. The mystery cell's screws placement is identical on that section of wood.Ron Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18094167478468883440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-40010668858881328342021-02-15T08:07:48.828-08:002021-02-15T08:07:48.828-08:00I have tried in vain to find out exactly which met...I have tried in vain to find out exactly which metal parts survived the fire at the museum in 1995. Some parts did survive and with some repair/restoration were able to be used when John Gaughan rebuilt Sid Radner's cell. We know he also built a replica cell for himself that was identical to the one he was building for Sid Radner according to all the stories I have read about it and photos James Criswellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-36588224065923424492021-02-14T22:27:24.336-08:002021-02-14T22:27:24.336-08:00Possible scenario: The Radner cell leaves the Hall...Possible scenario: The Radner cell leaves the Hall of Fame for restoration but never makes it to Gaughan's workshop. The duplicate is shipped out with the correct knuckle hinge and other parts attached to it. The cheap hinge from the duplicate is attached to the Radner cell wherever it's being housed. Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-44336741260296138502021-02-14T22:13:03.210-08:002021-02-14T22:13:03.210-08:00You thought the hardware survived cuz you posed fo...You thought the hardware survived cuz you posed for a photo with the charred remains of the cell. Mostly the metal frame was the only thing standing.Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4732721553418878547.post-48625839771762488552021-02-14T20:26:02.078-08:002021-02-14T20:26:02.078-08:00My eyes keep getting drawn to that rust spot on th...My eyes keep getting drawn to that rust spot on the left side of the metal frame between the third and fourth rivet on the mystery cell. It's a close match to the rust spot on Radner's cell in the Hall of Fame. You can see the rust spot in these photos from Joe's site: <br /><br />http://harryhoudinicircumstantialevidence.com/?p=8489<br /><br />If you look closely at the metal frame Leo Heviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12990057178465581105noreply@blogger.com