LINK: The trouble began with Harry Houdini’s beaver-skin top hat.

If you're part of the magic-collecting world, you already know about this painful scandal. This Rolling Stone article by Nina Strochlic and Michael Greshko lays out the story. Click the headline or the image below to read.

UPDATE: Looks like this is sometimes behind a paywall. But I believe it will open to first-time visitors. If it's open for you, be sure and read it all. If you click away, you may not be able to return.

 
Related:

• There's a skilled Houdini forger out there
• Houdini fakes are flooding online auction sites
• Alleged "Houdini stunt-used straitjacket" at auction

“I’m Houdini, [expletive]!”

I haven't shared something like this in a while, but this one spoke to me. And he kind of looks like Houdini! This comes from The Preston County News & Journal. Enjoy.

KINGWOOD, W.Va. — A 25-year-old man faces a felony charge after he allegedly attempted to disarm two law enforcement officers following a violent struggle in which he repeatedly broke through his restraints, according to Preston County Magistrate Court records. 

Kevin Michael Joplin, of Greenwood, is charged with attempting to disarm law enforcement in connection with a March 5 incident at the Preston County Sheriff’s Office. Chief Deputy Jason G. Rodeheaver stated in the criminal complaint that Joplin, who was in the custody of the West Virginia Department of Corrections for hearings in the circuit court, began using his body weight to pull against a steel chain restraint attached to a wall. 

Despite being verbally confronted, the 5-foot-8, 163-pound Joplin reportedly broke his restraints and became physically resistant with a corrections officer. According to the complaint, Joplin broke his restraints several more times at a transport van, taunting officers by exclaiming, “I’m Houdini, [expletive]!” and claiming no restraints could contain him. 

Below are some more slippery Houdinis.

Related:

• Michigan woman goes viral over Houdini-like escape from police cruiser
• Kevin Mitnick's secret identity
• Escape artist charged in Halloween hoax

Houdini historic marker destroyed for second time

Star Weekly reports that a roadside monument commemorating Houdini's historic first flight in Australia has been destroyed for a second time this year.

The historic plaque was first established in Diggers Rest with help from the local Lions Club in 1990. The Melton council had the monument rebuilt in March after hearing of the first destruction. Melton Lions Club member and former president Greg James is saddened to see the monument destroyed once again. 

“I was there when it was first put there – it took a lot of effort from the Lions Club,” he said. “It’s a valuable monument for the aviation industry and for Australia. To see it destroyed I was devastated, absolutely devastated.” 

Residents believe the most damage is caused by vandals, while tire marks on the road lead others to believe the damage was caused by "hooning," an Australian term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner to provoke a reaction from onlookers. 

Greg James said locals want the monument restored. “We want it back. The local residents and Lions club members are disappointed that it’s like this.”

Related:

• LINK: Houdini monument in ruin
• When Houdini showed Australia that a man can fly
• Houdini soars at new Diggers Rest Pavilion

"Haunted" Houdini printers block MISSING

Last night I was talking to our friends Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz at the Houdini Museum in Scranton and they gave me some troubling news. One of their original Houdini printing blocks has gone missing from the museum. This was the block that mysteriously tipped over during the 2020 Original Seance. Dorothy and Dick fear it may have been stolen.

I'm throwing out an APB on Dick and Dorothy's behalf. As you can see by the photo, the block has many distinguishing features and is likely one-of-a-kind. So if you see this show up on eBay, at auction, or in a private collection, know this is property of the Houdini Museum in Scranton. Anyone with information should contact the museum via the phone numbers that can be found on their website www.houdini.org.

Here's hoping somehow, some way, this comes back to where it belongs.

Related:

• Houdini Seances go virtual for 2020
• Set of Houdini printing blocks sell (quickly!) on eBay
• ALERT: Be on the lookout for this missing Houdini photo

LINK: Larger than Life: Harry Houdini & Mickey Cohen

Paranormal investigator Scott Markus has a nice post on his blog What's YOUR Ghost Story? about Houdini and gangster Mickey Cohen. Scott explains:

I love the concept of taking two seemingly opposite figures in history, putting them up next to one another and then seeing what types of comparisons we can draw and what ironies might present themselves. I’m not fully trying to do that here, but I can’t keep myself from doing it entirely.

Scott touches on a lot of Houdini Los Angeles history in this delightful and original read. So click the headline to check it out What's YOUR Ghost Story?

Related:

• Scary Harry
• Haunting Houdini in Los Angeles
• Halloween 1936: The Final Houdini Seance

Rapper who went by "Houdini" killed in Toronto

A Canadian rapper who called himself "Houdini" has been shot and killed in an ambush attack in Toronto. He was 21.

According to a report in the Mirror--which used the headline "Houdini Dead"--the rapper, whose real name is Dimarjio Antonio Jenkins, was one of Canada's most streamed independent rappers with 19.2 million plays on Spotify in 2019.

Ironically, Houdini said he would not reveal how he received his name until "later in life" when he became more successful.

UPDATE: The Toronto Sun is catching flack on Twitter for this headline:

Related:

• Drake scared away from "haunted Houdini house"
• "The lean make me feel like Houdini"
• Houdini gets a bad rap

Mystifier, Third Quarter 2001

Continuing my issue by issue look back at the Mystifier, the newsletter of the Houdini Historical Center that ran from 1991-2003.

The third quarter 2001 Mystifier kicks off with a review by HHC curator Kimberly Louagie of the new book Houdini's Box: The Art of Escape by Adam Phillips. While somewhat critical of the author's undeveloped ideas, in the end she still recommends the book as "a first step in delving into a very difficult discussion about Houdini's psyche." A highlight of the review is a terrific photo of Houdini in his plate glass box in Pittsburgh in 1907.

A list of new members and a gift shop update follows. We then get a terrific piece by George Hardeen introducing himself and talking about how he has only recently come to know the Houdini world. George writes:

I'm surrounded by new friendly people willing to guide me, and faces from the past who seem oddly familiar. They should. The faces are my family, and the new people are those who knew them, love them and love them still.

Sid starts his "Backstage" column with a rundown of several new books: Final Seance: The Strange Friendship between Houdini and Cohen Doyle by Massimo Polidoro; Spellbinder: The Life of Harry Houdini by Tom Lalicki; Houdini, Tarzan, and the Perfect Man: The White Male Body in the Challenge of Modernity in America by John F. Kason; and the aforementioned Houdini's Box: The Art of Escape by Adam Phillips. Sid also notes that the bestseller The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon "features repeated references to Houdini."

Sid continues with a shoutout to a Houdini article in the November 2001 Games magazine. He officially announces that the Houdini Stamp will be issued on July 3, 2002. He speaks about meeting George Hardeen, and that plans are underway to hold The Official Houdini Seance in Detroit that year.

Sid closes by announcing that a Houdini straitjacket was stolen from the Houdini Museum at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. He asks for any information that could help in the recovery of the jacket and arrest of the guilty party. (I'm not sure if it was ever recovered.)

Mystifier

Volume 11, Number 3

Third Quarter, 2001

6 pages

Contents:

Houdini's Box Reviewed
New Members
Magic Items for Young Children
Seeking Hardeen

Backstage with Sid Radner

PREVIOUS ISSUE | INDEX | NEXT ISSUE

Related:

• Hardeen in the House!
• NPR unlocks the secret of Houdini's bloodline
• Las Vegas Houdini museum closed

Listen to Houdini's 'The Right Way to Do Wrong'

If you're stuck at home (and who isn't these days), here's a nice time killer. The good folks at Bookflix on YouTube have posted a full read of Houdini's 1906 book, The Right Way to Do Wrong. Enjoy.

Related:

• Houdini the writer
• Teller introduces new edition of 'The Right Way To Do Wrong'
• LINK: 10 nifty tips for becoming a criminal, according to Harry Houdini

Houdini fakes are flooding online auction sites

Fake Houdini signatures have been flooding online auction sites such as Liveauctioneers and eBay lately. These all appear to be the work of the same forger whose fakes started appearing last year.

The signatures are similar enough that it may be some kind of technology in use, such as an autopen. But when the forger attempts other "Houdini" handwriting, they fall down entirely. Also, the context in which they appear--on sheets of blank stationary for example (also fake)--is suspect as this is not something Houdini was known to have signed.

But the signatures are good enough to pass, which I think now makes any standalone Houdini signature suspect. Likewise, any clipped Houdini signature in or outside a frame should be avoided. A legitimate Houdini signature should be part of something that can help authenticate it, such as a contract, letter, or part of an inscription in a book.

All these fakes come with a "Certificate of Authenticity", which, ironically, has become a red flag in itself. There appears to be no shortage of bogus or just careless authentication services out there. But there is a discernible style to these fakes, so they are not fooling experienced Houdini collectors and auctioneers. These are being made to snare novice collectors and they have been selling, sometimes for many hundreds of dollars.  So buyer beware!

Related:

• There's a skilled Houdini forger out there
• What's wrong with this picture?
• USD presentation piece on eBay (UPDATE: Fraud confirmed)

There's a skilled Houdini forger out there

Last week I posted about a Houdini fake being sold by High End Memorabilia of Gardena, CA via Liveauctioneers. That auction was removed. Today High End came back with another obvious fake, this time openly showing it to be from a book published seven years after Houdini's death. The auction was also removed.

This would be comical if it wasn't for the signature. It's looks pretty darn good. It's not perfect (and I won't say how, and please don't either), but if this were on something from Houdini's time, it could pass. That's frightening.

In fact, I'm starting to wonder if this is really all about the forger showcasing their skills?

Be careful out there!

Related:

• What's wrong with this picture?
• Who faked Houdini's signature on this photo?
• Houdini's Escapes and Magic by Walter B. Gibson

Break-in at Hardeen's house

Last night's "Houdini Jewel" episode of Strange Inheritance concluded with a story that might not be familiar to some Houdini buffs. Host Jamie Colby told of how, in 1927, Hardeen's home was broken into by thieves in search of items he had inherited from his brother. Hardeen later burned the items.

Below is the original New York Times newspaper article about the robbery dated August 16, 1927.

Click to enlarge.

As for the burning, that comes from The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. On page 531 it reads:

Sometime later in the presence of Joe Hyman, Houdini's old friend, Hardeen destroyed all of Houdini's personal files by burning them in the basement furnace of his home. According to Hyman, Hardeen "incidentally almost burnt his residence down doing so."

Kalush suggests that what might have gone up in flames that day were Houdini's investigative files related to specific spiritualist exposures. In fact, the book says Hardeen's life had been threatened earlier that year because "he fell heir to certain Houdini secrets."

Of course, Hardeen's true inheritance, Houdini's magic and escape props, were the items Houdini specified should be "burned and destroyed" upon Hardeen's death. But Hardeen passed the effects to his successor Douglas Geoffrey (Hardeen Jr.) and collectors like Sidney Radner.  Fire finally claimed the Water Torture Cell in 1995.

Strange Inheritance airs on FOX Business Network. The "Houdini Jewel" episode (which dealt with Bessie's royal crown brooch) was well done, and they gave my blog a very nice shout-out. I expect you'll be able to catch the episode in repeats.

Thanks to reader Harry Houdini (real name) for the clipping.

Related:

• Preview tonight's Strange Inheritance, Houdini Jewel
• A new twist in the tale of the "Czar's brooch"
• Lost Houdini effects found in 1935

Johnathon Schaech shares story of sexual abuse

Johnathon Schaech, who played Houdini in the 1998 TNT cable movie Houdini, is latest person to come out with a story of sexual abuse at the hands of a person in power. In a piece written for People.com, Schaech says director Franco Zeffirelli made repeated sexual advances on the then 22-year-old during the making of the movie Sparrow.

Says the actor, "For my son, for the future of all of our kids, we have to stop it. Stop the evil. That’s why I wanted to talk. I want future generations to know they’re not alone."

Zeffirelli's family have denied the accusations, saying their father is currently ill and unable to defend himself.

Houdini, which co-stars Stacy Edwards as Bess and Mark Ruffalo as Hardeen, is available on DVD.

Related:

• HOUDINI (1998)
• Interview with Johnathon Schaech
• "You know what the lowest form of life is?"

Houdini eBay fraud alert

This 1st edition of Houdini's A Magician Among The Spirits is currently on eBay for just .79¢. Too good to be true? Indeed. This is a scam. Front sellers from what appears to be China keep generating multiple listings using these same photos. Don't bite!

Thanks to Kevin Connolly.

Related:

• Trick or Treat
• "Is that you, Mama?"
• Herman Weiss or an Italian Job?

Houdini and the grave robber

Here's one from the dark side of humanity via Planet Weird. I've been debating whether to share this because it's pretty disturbing. But it is Houdini related, and it's 20+ years old so it's all history at this point. Nevertheless, read on at your own risk.

Here's the story.

Sometime in the early 1990s, an underground video entitled "Grave Robbing For Morons" surfaced. It features a young man explaining the intricacies of grave robbing, something he claims he and his friends do "for the fun." He even shows off a freshly exhumed skull. He also claims there's a lucrative black market for the remains of famous people.

The identity of the man in the video remains unknown to this day, and there's debate online about whether or not it is for real. In hopes of trying to solve the mystery, last year Planet Weird posted the entire video here along with a email tip line.

What I'm sharing below is just the very end of the tape, which is the part that's relevant to us. But even this short except is disturbing, so watch at your own risk.

Houdini's grave did suffer major vandalism in 1993, but as far as I know, there were never any signs of attempted grave robbery. But as Planet Weird concludes: "If this video is the real deal, Houdini’s skull might be sitting on a shelf in someone’s basement."

However, having watched the entire tape (so you don't have to), I believe these guys, if for real, only robbed crypts and mausoleums and would never be able to exhume a coffin six feet underground. Houdini's grave is also visible from the street, and one of his "instructions" is to only rob graves well out of sight. So I think Harry is safe.

But I can imagine that on discovering the impossibility of robbing Houdini's grave, these guys deciding to vandalize it instead. So are we looking at the face of the '90s vandal? Maybe.

Told ya it was a dark one.

UPDATE: If you're interested in digging deeper into this (ha!) check out this thread on Reddit.

Related:

• 1996: Houdini's grave plot thickens
• The truth of what really happened to Houdini's bust
• Time to bury the Houdini exhumation

Kevin Mitnick's secret identity

Some of you will remember Kevin Mitnick, the infamous hacker who evaded the FBI for years before finally being arrested in 1995. While watching the 2016 documentary Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World, I discovered something about Mitnick that I never knew. Check out the clip below.

Mitnick appears to still be a Houdini fan. When Google celebrated Houdini's birthday with a Doodle in 2011, he tweeted out the following:

Cool Harry Houdini tribute on Google ;-) Houdini rocked!

— Kevin Mitnick (@kevinmitnick) March 24, 2011

Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World can be streamed on Netflix and Amazon Video or purchased on DVD.

Fred Pittella inherits Larry Weeks estate

Some important news in the word of magic today. Houdini collector and all around good guy Fred Pittella has inherited the estate of Larry Weeks who passed away in 2014. That's the good news. The bad news is a large portion of Larry's collection, including many important Houdini artifacts, vanished from his apartment following his death. Now that legal hurtles have been cleared, Fred could use some help. Below is the full press release.

Fred Pittella with Larry Weeks and Houdini assistant Dorothy Young.

It’s official. After a two-year long, legal proceeding, Fred Pittella of Queens Village, New York will now inherit the entirety of the Larry Weeks estate.

Unfortunately, there were many items removed from Larry Weeks’ apartments that shouldn’t have been, just as Mr. Weeks was taken ill, in the hospital, and during Mr. Pittella’s battle to have Mr. Weeks laid to rest.

At this time, no one is accusing anyone of anything directly. It could be understood why people may have removed items from the apartment in order to save them from being lost to the State or even thrown in the garbage by the landlord because people did not know Larry Weeks’ had documented his last wishes.

There are quite a number of items missing from The Larry Weeks estate that belong to and are now the sole property of Fred Pittella. These items mysteriously vanished from Mr. Weeks’ apartment. Some of the missing items include, but are not limited to the entire 16mm and 35mm film library which included many historic films (many were Houdini related / over fifty cans of films), The Houdini Spiritualist slide show, a part of the handcuff and key collection (the lineage of this collection will be lost forever, unless it is returned), Houdini books (some signed), Houdini Photos (some signed), other Harry Houdini and Bess Houdini autographs, two Houdini scrapbooks (one oversized and one small), and countless pieces of personal jewelry.

Before the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office gets involved again in a full scale investigation, this would be an opportunity to send anything back anonymously. If anyone has any information or any of the items that were removed from the apartment there will be no-questions-asked policy and no legal action will be taken.

A plea to the magic community for your help to choose not to deal in, purchase, or put up for auction any of these items. Please contact The Supervising Detective Investigator of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office regarding any information:

Robert Addonizio · 350 Jay Street Brooklyn · NY 11201-2908 · 718.250.2444

Mr. Weeks only sold or gave items after consulting with Mr. Pittella. Please use this address to send back items: Forum Novelties Inc. · c/o Fred Pittella · 1770 Walt Whitman Rd. Melville · NY 11747. If you wish to remain anonymous, please put the above address as the return address as well as the delivery address.

Among the films now missing are said to be complete prints of Terror Island and The Mastery Mystery. Larry sold his print of The Grim Game (the only known print in existence) to TCM shortly before his death.

Related:

• Larry Weeks had a complete print of Terror Island
• Larry Weeks now "Houdini's Biggest Fan" for eternity
• Finding The Grim Game | Saving The Grim Game

Larry Weeks had a complete print of Terror Island

The Grim Game restorationist Rick Schmidlin dropped a bombshell comment at Joe Notaro's "Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence" blog. According to Rick, shortly before Larry Weeks passed away, he said he had a complete print of Terror Island, Houdini's second film for Famous Players-Lasky Paramount released in 1920.

This is huge news. Until now, the only known print of Terror Island was the one in the Library of Congress, and that print is missing two reels that contain two signature Houdini escapes. Also missing are the original Paramount title cards. This is the print that has been used to release Terror Island on DVD, with descriptive cards filling in the missing reels.

We all knew Larry had The Grim Game, so there was always hope we'd one day see it (that dream came true last year). But the existence of Terror Island was unknown (at least to me), so the possibility of one day seeing the complete film seemed remote at best.

But it's not all good news. The Terror Island print was among items stolen from Larry's apartment after his death. Also stolen was Larry's print of The Master Mystery, which also may be complete. Rick says the police do "have a lead."

Let's hope the stolen prints can be recovered and Rick can do for Terror Island what he did for the The Grim Game. Might 2017 be the year of Terror? Fingers crossed.

In the meantime, Joe Notaro is piecing together the lost Terror Island scenes using photos and script excerpts from the Margaret Herrick Academy Library. You can read his first installment, which reconstructs the Rosemary Theby "vamp" scene, HERE.

Related:

• Now let's worry about Terror Island
• Larry Weeks now "Houdini's Biggest Fan" for eternity
• Finding The Grim Game | Saving The Grim Game

Here's why Houdini Himself is offline

Noted Houdini collector Kevin Connolly has taken down his Houdini website and blog: Houdini Himself.com.

Kevin launched Houdini Himself in May 2010 and used his blog to share rare one-of-kind Houdini images from his collection. In 2012, The Mandala recognized it as one of three "game changer" Houdini blogs. But Kevin found his images were continually lifted and used without permission, and even sold on eBay. Kevin finally gave up the fight to control his images and folded the blog last month.

I understand Kevin's decision. While image reuse can be accidental (I've done it myself), there are image pirates who seek out high resolution images, remove the watermarks, and sell them on eBay as "original reprints." Some even reproduce the images on t-shits and mugs.

One way to protect against image theft is to drop the resolution of any image to 72 dpi. The images will still look great online, but will not print well. Never put a 300 dpi image online or thieves will grab it, if for no other reason than it's the desired dpi for printed reproduction. It's also good to never buy a questionably sourced Houdini image on eBay, or any ephemera sporting Houdini imagery that isn't from a known or trusted source.

Unfortunately, with Houdini Himself now down, the many links I've shared here are now dead, including a link to Kevin's important 2012 post about how Houdini might have been considering a monkey gland transplant.

But it was a treat to have a look inside one of the world's great Houdini collections, if only for a short time.

Related:

• Kevin Connolly blogging at Houdini Himself (2010)
• The Mandala catches Houdini on the web
• Was Houdini considering a monkey gland transplant operation?

LINK: Houdini and Bess – The Sing Sing Connection

Chuck Romano has an excellent post on his blog My Magic Uncle about Harry and Bess Houdini's strange connection to Charles Chapin, the former editor of the New York World who was imprisoned in Sing Sing for the murder of his wife. Not only did Houdini regularly visit Chapin in prison, but Bess started up a correspondence with him after Houdini's death and at one point it was reported the two would marry!

This is a largely new story to me, so click the headline and have a read at My Magic Uncle.

The Guiteau cell

The other night I watched the excellent American Experience documentary, Murder of a President, about President James Garfield and his assassination just 200 days into office in 1881. I really knew nothing about Garfield and the documentary was extremely enlightening.

The documentary also covered the troubled life of the assassin, Charles Guiteau, and I sat up when this reenactment of Guiteau in his prison cell came on screen. Why should this be of interest to Houdini buffs?

In 1906, Houdini famously escaped from the United States Jail in Washington, D.C. The "Murderers Row" cell he was confined in was the same cell that had held Guiteau while he awaited execution. The United States Jail is long gone and I've never seen a photo of the Guiteau cell, so it was fun to see it in this reenactment, although I have no idea how accurate this is.

For a detailed account about Houdini's Washington D.C. jail escape, check out my blog from last year:

Houdini's escape from Murderers Row

You can watch the American Experience Murder of a President online at PBS.org.

Here are a few more links to enjoy on this Presidents Day.

Houdini and the Presidents

Houdini's toughest audience

Reagan in the seance room

LINK: Houdini and Lincoln

"Houdini" aided in Obama victory

Obama replaced Houdini with Gordon

UPDATE: Here are some other, potentially more accurate depictions of the Guiteau cell (thanks to Perry Reed).

Handcuff expert Joe Fox shares another Houdini-Guiteau association. The photo below was taken by Mark Lyons at the 2004 Great Houdini Auction in Las Vegas and show "Guiteau" cuffs in a Houdini display case (now in the David Copperfield collection).