Showing posts with label Amedeo Vacca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amedeo Vacca. Show all posts
Sunday, October 8, 2023
Ambassador's Tour extra
After my 278 sleepover, homeowner Vincent showed me some curious writing they had recently discovered on a stairway landing. When I got home, I realized what it said. If you're a patron, click below to see for yourself.
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Monday, July 19, 2021
LINK: Amedeo Vacca - Secret Houdini assistant and much more
Click the headline to have a read at The Magic Detective.
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Sunday, November 29, 2020
Tony Spina reveals Amedeo Vacca
The Magic Times website has posted this intriguing interview with Tony Spina about his friendship with a little-known Houdini assistant, Amedeo Vacca. The interview was recorded in July 2006.
Meir Yedid interviews Tony Spina about Houdini’s secret assistant Amedeo Vacca. Amadeo was Houdini’s front man and secret enabler. You will learn Houdini’s behind the scenes secrets, that were implemented at his shows, stunts, escapes, and challenges.
Magic Times has several other Houdini-related videos by Meir Yedid, including the 2020 broken wand ceremony and a multi-part tour of the Houdini Museum of New York. It's a great site well worth a browse.
Thanks to Leo Hevia for the alert.
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Thursday, June 6, 2019
Houdini's secret mind reading system uncovered?
The restoration of Houdini's 278 continues with some interesting finds being made. Among them is the discovery of old wires that, according to the homeowners, run "everywhere." Some of the wiring is copper and hand wrapped with thread. A lot of it runs under the floors of the parlor and garden levels. What purpose this wiring served is a mystery. But Houdini buffs might have an idea!
On February 8, 1925, Houdini invited a group of notables, including Ralph Pulitzer, to his home for an experiment in "telepathy." He was looking to debunk the claims of a man named Earl Balfour who claimed he could divine what had been discussed in a room when he wasn't present. The next day The Brooklyn Daily Eagle covered the event.
Houdini never revealed the secret of his mind reading feat. But after his death, his nephew, Louis Kraus, did. In doing so, he also revealed one of the secrets of 278. Kraus's lengthy explanation was reprinted in Houdini The Key by Pat Culliton. Below is a key excerpt:
So is this mysterious wire part of Houdini's secret mind reading system? I think it almost certainly is. And while a few pieces of wire needed to be removed, most of it will remain as a historic part of Houdini's 278.
Related:
Houdini never revealed the secret of his mind reading feat. But after his death, his nephew, Louis Kraus, did. In doing so, he also revealed one of the secrets of 278. Kraus's lengthy explanation was reprinted in Houdini The Key by Pat Culliton. Below is a key excerpt:
"The whole house at 278 West 113th Street was wired. The room in which the committee sat was so completely wired that the least whisper was picked up and carried electrically to an operator concealed in the basement. The operator held a transmitter in his hand and repeated all he heard. His repetitions were carried by other hidden wires to the top floor, terminating in loops under the carpet. In this way, the spoken thoughts of the committee in New York, were actually carried to the magician, invisibly through wire and air, but the method was electrical not telepathic..."
So is this mysterious wire part of Houdini's secret mind reading system? I think it almost certainly is. And while a few pieces of wire needed to be removed, most of it will remain as a historic part of Houdini's 278.
UPDATE: The following is from a lengthy profile of Amedeo Vacca in the December 1947 The Linking Ring. In it Vacca says he was the man who wired the walls of 278 for Houdini's mind reading trick. It then says:
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