Did John Bengtson make one last Houdini discovery?

Earlier this week, I shared the sad news of the death of John Bengtson, historian, silent movie location expert, and all-around great guy. In 2012, John helped uncover many locations from The Grim Game. At the time, I asked John if he could identify some of the locations from Terror Island, particularly the rustic streets outside Harry Harper's home at the start of the film. John admitted that the location had him stumped.

Fast-forward to seven months ago, when John posted the video below about the locations for Harold Lloyd's The Kid Brother. John's video is well worth watching in full.

As you can see, much of it was shot on the Lasky Ranch in Burbank. While I knew the site of what is today Forest Lawn Cemetery was used to shoot the battle scenes for Birth of a Nation and was the original site of Universal, I never knew it was associated with Famous Players-Lasky. Of course, Famous Players-Lasky made Terror Island. So as soon as I saw this video, I wondered if the Terror Island town could have been shot at the Lasky Ranch?

Something that argues for this. There are several shots in which the street is visible through the window of Harry Harper's room. This suggests the room was an open set, which would best be built on a backlot.

I planned to email John to ask what he thought about this idea. But I delayed, and now that isn't possible. But what is possible is that the late great John Bengtson finally found the elusive Terror Island town.

Related:

• John Bengtson has passed away
• Discovering Terror Island
• Terror at the Hot Springs

John Bengtson has passed away

I'm very sad to learn that the great John Bengtson has passed away. John was a giant among film historians and THE man when it came to finding silent movie locations. He was an incredible researcher and sleuth, and a true inspiration. He shared his discoveries in several books and on his YouTube channel, Silent Locations. He was also a very nice guy who was incredibly generous with his time and knowledge. In 2015, he hunted down several locations from Houdini's The Grim Game. I'll share links below. As a specialized historian, he seems irreplaceable. His work lives on through his books and videos, but he will be missed. 

Happy travels, my friend.

Hollywood Heritage

I encourage you to visit John's Silent Locations YouTube Channel, website, and pick up his books: Silent Traces, Silent Echoes, and Silent Visions.

Below are some of John's Houdini-related discoveries that I have shared here over the years:

John Bengtson uncovers Grim Game filming locations

More Grim Game locations identified by John Bengtson

John Bengtson finds Houdini's crash site

The Grim Game house

Houdini's great wall

The Grim Game jail break behind the scenes

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini!) alley

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini) Alley video

LINK: Houdini solves a Charlie Chaplin mystery!

Houdini in the Cahuenga alley

Locating Houdini's lion

Houdini's Westlake leap

Christopher Awards roundup

When I was 16, I decided I didn’t want to be the next Houdini. I wanted to be the next Milbourne Christopher. That's why I'm so honored to have been among this year's recipients of the Milbourne Christopher Awards. The ceremony was held at the Garde Arts Center in New London, Connecticut, last Saturday, September 16, 2023 (which also happened to be David Copperfield's birthday).

I had arrived in New London the night before, so I had a full day before the ceremony. I started off with breakfast with David Haversat who had brought some amazing Houdini treasures from his collection for me to see. He also gave me a set of Milbourne Christopher's handwritten notes from Houdini The Untold Story. We talked for a long time about collecting and Houdini and hatched an idea for a potential book project. In fact, I would have been happy to talk to David all day, but I had a plan for the afternoon. So I set off on an hour's drive to Farmington, Connecticut, in search of a little-known Houdini location. Which I found!

These are the rapids on which Houdini filmed part of the climatic action of The Man From Beyond. Not Niagara Falls. Farmington! (This is also the location D.W. Griffith used in Way Down East.) I really didn't know what to expect. I only had the address of the former Winchell Smith Grist Mill, which I discovered is today part of Miss Porter's School. But the rapids are easy to see and enjoy, and because it was Saturday, I had them all to myself! (If you want to see video, check out my Instagram.) Also down the street is the Elm Tree Inn where Houdini and his crew stayed during the shoot in May 1921.

It was then back to New London for a quick lunch and rest before the big show!

The Award ceremony was held in the Garde Arts Center in downtown New London. It's a beautiful old theater built in September 1926. Things kicked off with a reception of delicious hors d'oeuvres and a bar. I was happy to see many friendly and familiar faces, including Adele Rhindress, Blackstone's Elusive Moth, who, as always, was so sweet and supportive.

The awards ceremony was hosted by Thomas Ewing. I got a nice laugh during my acceptance speech when I shared my defaced childhood copy of Houdini The Untold Story. The Christopher Award itself includes a handsome plaque, a heavy-duty magic wand in an engraved wooden pop-up display case, and a Milbourne Christopher gold token.

Below is a list of this year's winners:

Illusionist Award - Jason Bishop 

Close-Up Award - Bernardo Sedlacek 

Mentalist Award - Brian Curry 

Ambassador of Magic Award - John Cox 

Literary Award - Jim Hagy 

Masters Award - Paul Lembo

Lifetime Achievement Award - Craig Diamond

As a surprise, an additional award was presented to David Haversat, who has long worked with The Milbourne Christopher Foundation and, along with Thomas Ewing, puts on these Awards each year.

After the awards presentation, we were treated to a terrific and very funny magical performance by Tim Wright. Tim did his excellent Skilldini act and a special Abbott's Magic act which had the room rolling. A great show. 

But there was still one more surprise waiting for me. 

When we returned to the hotel for an after-party, magician Rob Allen, who had traveled from Niagara Falls (not Farmington!), invited me to his room, saying he had brought something to show me. I nearly fainted when he took it from its case! Yes, that's the famous steel straitjacket from the Tony Curtis Houdini movie! Rob even let me put it on, and it fits (just). What a fantastic way to end a magical day.

Thanks again to The Milbourne Christopher Foundation for making this dream come true. You can see more photos from the event and my subsequent "Ambassador's Tour" on my Patreon.

Related:

• LINK: The Man From Beyond in Farmington
• Guess who's getting a Milbourne Christopher Award?
• The Steel Straitjacket

Finding Houdini's 278 at Paramount

Recently my buddy and former co-worker Sterling Silva altered me to the possibility that the exterior of Houdini's house from the 1953 Houdini biopic starring Tony Curtis still stands on the Paramount backlot. Yesterday I joined him for lunch and a little studio exploration and, sure enough, the block of homes as seen in the movie is still there!

Known as Washington Square, the block consists of five "upscale Georgian style facades". There have been cosmetic changes over the past 70 years, but it's all still very recognizable. Three of the facades match the film. Try as we might, we couldn't establish conclusively which of the three was the house. But the one I'm standing in in the above pic seemed to line up in our camera lens the best. And if you're wondering what the inside looks like, here you go. A little less square footage than the real thing, but that's movie magic for you!

In the movie the filmmakers elected to renumber the house as 273 W. 113th Street (as opposed to the real 278). This can be spotted on an invitation that immediately precedes this shot. The house interiors were shot on a Paramount soundstage along with the rest of the film. One day I hope to identify exactly which stages were used in the production. Paramount now lists on the outside of their stages which famous movies were made within, so it would be great to see Houdini (1953) added to one of those historic markers.

Our exploration also turned up a couple other Houdini connections. Adolph Zukor and Jesse Laksy both have buildings names after them. A large bust of Zukor sits in the lobby of his building. These men worked with the real Houdini to produce his two Paramount movies, The Grim Game (1919) and Terror Island (1920). Although Zukor may have ghosted Houdini when it came to the possibility of a third.

Unfortunately, the real Houdini never walked on the existing Paramount lot. His two films were shot at the now long gone Famous Players-Lasky studio in Hollywood. But Bess did! I didn't snap any pics of that spot on this visit, but I thought of her as we walked that same path.

Believe it or not, this is now the second standing 278 in Hollywood. The brownstone facade used in The Great Houdinis also still stands on the Fox Studio Lot in Century City.

What a joy to discover this piece of Houdini (1953) history is still around and is still in use. Paramount does offer studio tours, so you can always check it out for yourself.

Thank you Sterling!

Related:

• Tony's 273
• Houdini rises at Paramount
• Bessie visits Paramount (and so do I)

Locating Houdini's lion

Below is a photo that I think most people are familiar with as it appears in the book The Secrets of Houdini (although I don't recall it appearing anywhere else). It shows Houdini doing a headstand atop a stone lion. Because why not!?

Of course, when I see something like this I want to know the where, when, and why of it. The Secrets of Houdini identifies this as Houdini "practicing a handstand at the Lasky Studio, Hollywood." But I have a different idea about where this was taken.

Last year I did a post in which I was able to identify (with the help of John Bengtson) the famous photos of Houdini hanging from a large wall as being the retaining wall that fronted the old County Court House in downtown Los Angeles. Here he's dressed the same, he's doing yet another piece of public acrobatics, and that appears to be his Grim Game co-star, Ann Forrest, who is also present in the wall photos. So I had another look at the photo of the old Court House and, sure enough, it had two stone lions out front!

Below is a better photo of one of the court house lions. Sure looks the same to me!

I would say it's almost certain one of these court house statues is "Houdini's lion". I guess we won't know which one unless another photo surfaces. But as the statues and the court house are now long gone, this is a photo op that can only roar in the past.

Related:

• Houdini's great wall
• When Houdini played human fly
• The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini) Alley video

Houdini's great wall

While browsing photos at the online archive IMAGO, I spotted this shot of Houdini in Los Angeles that I've never seen before. 

You may recognize this as Houdini atop a large wall that appears in several stills from The Grim Game. The wall does not appear in the movie itself, so it's unclear if this was a cut scene or if the wall was just used to stage these "action" shots.

You'll notice Houdini is having his feet tied in this new image (is that Jim Collins doing the tying?). I'm wondering if this is how he pulled off the shot that shows him holding co-star Ann Forrest.

In 2015 the great Los Angeles locations sleuth John Bengtson identified this as being the retaining wall that fronted the old County Court House on what was then New High Street in downtown L.A. If there was any doubt about this, this new pic confirms it as you can see the court house behind Harry.

The old court house is long gone, but John did point out that some people believe part of the retaining wall remains on current corner of Temple and Spring. You can see that below. Thinking back on those times I've done jury duty in this building, I never knew I was passing in front of Houdini's great wall!

Thanks to John Bengtson.

UPDATE: Another photo mystery solved at this same site. Check out Locating Houdini's lion.

Related:

• John Bengtson uncovers Grim Game filming locations
• More Grim Game locations identified by John Bengtson
• Unpublished Houdini: Harry at work

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini) Alley video

Exciting news for silent movie buffs and fan of Hollywood history. The famous alley off Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood has now been officially named the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley. The below video, made for last month's Silent Movie Day gives a rundown of all the famous silent films shot in the alley, including Houdini's The Grim Game!

The recognition and naming of the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley was thanks to the efforts of silent movie historian John Bengtson and Hollywood Heritage. (John is also the guy who identified the alley in The Grim Game.) You can watch a video of the September 29, 2021 dedication ceremony HERE.

Related: 

• The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini!) alley
• Houdini in the Cahuenga alley
• The silent cinema of Harry Houdini

Visiting High Tom's aka Houdini Cliff (video)

Last year Sean Doran of The Mysteriarch identified the location of Houdini's cliff fight in The Man From Beyond as High Tom's peak in Palisades Interstate Park, New Jersey. Now Walls of Time has posted a video of the site on YouTube. Great stuff, but let's not tell them how Houdini did it!

Thanks to Kevin Connolly at Conjuring History for finding this one.

Related: 

• LINK: 'Houdini Cliff' found in the Palisades
• Ransom Center reveals stunning Houdini 3-sheet
• Days of Thrills and Harry Houdini

The ship(s) from Haldane of the Secret Service

The "Carvania" as seen in Haldane of the Secret Service.

In Houdini's 1923 film, Haldane of the Secret Service, Gladys Leslie's Adele Ormsby travels to Europe via the ocean liner Carvania. Houdini's Heath Haldane, after dealing with some thugs in a warehouse, literally "catches" the ship by grabbing hold of a tow cable and being hoisted aboard. Several scenes then play out on the ship itself.

So what do know we about the Carvania? Well, for starters, it didn't exist. In the movie we get several establishing shots of the ship at a distance. But those shots appear to be the RMS Aquitania. 

RMS Aquitania (Wikipedia)

The RMS Aquitania was a British ocean liner launched in 1914. Aquitania was the third in Cunard Line's grand trio of express liners and the last surviving four-funnelled ocean liner. After being used as a troop transport and a hospital ship in World War I, she was returned to transatlantic passenger service in 1920, earning the nickname "the Ship Beautiful" from passengers. Houdini captured his shots of the "Ship Beautiful" in 1921.

The Aquitania was retired from service in 1949 as was scrapped the following year. Houdini never sailed on the Aquitania. But he did sail on her sister ship Mauretania in 1920.

While the Aquitania may be the ship we see in Haldane, I recently I found evidence that Houdini used a different vessel to film the scenes aboard the ship itself. The below is from the August 12, 1921 Variety.

This makes it pretty clear Houdini shot his scenes aboard the America. In fact, it appears to be the final "CA" in the name AMERICA can be glimpsed on the lifeboat in this shot from the film.

USS America (Wikipedia)

The SS Amerika was launched in 1905 as part of the Hamburg America Line of Germany. She sailed primarily between Hamburg and New York. On the night of April 14, 1912, Amerika transmitted a wireless message warning about icebergs near the same spot where RMS Titanic would sink less than three hours later. 

At the outset of the war, the Amerika was seized by the United States Shipping Board and became a Navy troop transport with her name Anglicized to America. In 1920, the ship was assigned to the United States Mail Steamship Company and returned to passenger service. Houdini filmed his scenes aboard the ship in August 1921. The America remained in service until 1949. She was sold for scrap in 1957. 

This means we now know the famous photo that Marie Blood used to sign and give out to fans (including yours truly) was taken aboard the America. I wonder if Marie recalled the name of the ship as those years later? If not, it would have been fun to have been able to share it with her. Alas, Marie passed away in 2004.

Finally, I don't know which vessel was used for the stunt in which Heath Haldane is dragged along the side. It certainly appears to be a real stunt using a real ship, but I find it hard to believe any in-use passenger ship would allow this. So it's possible this may have been a third yet identified Haldane ship.

Below are some more locations from Haldane of the Secret Service.

Related:

• Finding Houdini's Washington Square...in Brooklyn
• Houdini found at Beaver Falls!
• Finding Houdini in Hull

Finding Houdini's Washington Square...in Brooklyn

Houdini's 1923 movie Haldane of the Secret Service begins with a sequence set in New York's Washington Square. This is identified by a title card that calls it "that mellowed stronghold of aristocracy." It's clearly a location shoot on a real city street, but was it really Washington Square?

Turns out the sequence was actually filmed at the corner of Henry and Remsen streets in Brooklyn Heights. The filmmakers chose the location to take advantage of the stately former home of New York subway magnate Alexander E. Orr (also known as the Thomas Hunt house), which stood on the southeast corner and had become a boarding house. In the film it would stand in as the exterior of the Ormsby home where much of the action at the start of the movie is set.

An excellent article about the shoot appeared in The Standard Union on July 22, 1921. Under the headline, HEIGHTS IS STIRRED BY PICTURE ACTORS, the article begins:

For more than two hours last night the crowd estimated at five thousand had thrills aplenty at Henry and Remsen streets. The crowd cheered itself hoarse. So did the occupants of houses in the neighborhood. A motion picture concern used the Heights section as a scene for some lively incidents in a play featuring Harry Houdini and Gladys Leslie.

The article goes on to explain how the Haldane crew arrived at 8pm and set up large arc lights that illuminated the entire street and attached a large crowd. In some shots you can see the crowd in the background as well as their shadows. Many in the crowd believed Gladys Leslie was Mary Pickford and shouted out to the actress by name. Diners at the nearby Hotel Bossert left their tables and watched the action from the roof.

The article describes the scenes shot, which pretty much matches what we see in the finished film:

Shortly after nine o'clock the arc lights were put to work and the street was alight as if by sunshine. Miss Leslie, attired as a bride and carrying a suitcase dashed out from the rear of the old Orr mansion and ran along Henry Street towards Remsen shrieking for help. Houdini, in a dinner coat, was in her path and she threw her arms around him. At this point an automobile dashed up to the curb and two men leaped out. They tore Houdini from the girl and beat him to the sidewalk.

It's possible another scene may have been shot this night that did not make it into the final film. The below ran in the Dunkirk Evening Observer on September 2, 1921.

I'm somewhat skeptical of the above account. This was two months after the actual shoot and the dramatics sound a little too much like a publicist's embellishments. But it should be noted that Haldane of the Secret Service lacks the traditional hero and heroine coda that we see at the end of Houdini's other movies, so maybe this wedding scene was the original intended ending? I do like the idea of the movie beginning and ending at this same location.

This was also the night a photograph was taken that Houdini would later send to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for examination. (For more on that read: The photo Houdini thought would fool Conan Doyle.) The photo gives us a nice look at the crowds and arc lights as described by the Standard Union.

So what about this location today?

Unfortunately, the Orr mansion is long gone and replaced by a modern condo building. However, the other buildings still stand and are still recognizable. The corner of Henry and Remsem, where Houdini's Heath Haldane discovers a bag full of counterfeit cash, looks very much the same. So one can stand in this same spot and examine your own bag of cash!

Below is an embedded Google maps so you can explore Houdini's "Washington Square" in Brooklyn.

Orr house photo from the Brooklyn Public Library Digital Collections.

Related:

• Houdini in the Cahuenga alley
• Finding Houdini in Hull
• Machpelah of the West

Houdini in 1921

Let's kick off 2021 with a look back at what Houdini was up to 100 years ago.

In 1921 the only way to see Houdini was at the cinema. Fortunately, this was not difficult. All three Houdini movies were still playing in theaters across the country with his latest offering, Terror Island, continuing to open in new markets. 

This post is now retired. 

You will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1921 in my upcoming book(s).

Nothing to do with Houdini

Here's another WILD ABOUT HARRY first; a post that has nothing to do with Houdini! But Brian Young at the "History Ramblings with Lauren and Brian" Facebook Group reminded me that today is the 89th anniversary of the release of the original Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff, which is my favorite of the Universal Horror movies (yes, even more than the much praised Bride of Frankenstein).

I've always been a huge Universal Horror buff (an interest that even pre-dates Houdini), and in 2009 I wrote a guest post for Pierre Fournier's Frankensteinia. Pierre's incredible blog covers all aspects of Frankenstein and was the inspiration and model for WILD ABOUT HARRY, which I launched a year later. So if you care to take a rare non-Houdini excursion and explore another obsession, click the link below and go.

Frankensteinia: Return to Malibou Lake

Unfortunately, Pierre no longer updates Frankensteinia. But if you are a fellow Frankenstein fan, I recommend the podcast Frankenstein Minute with Thom Lange and Bill Evenson, who dissect the Universal Frankenstein movies one minute at a time. And for current Universal Horror news, I enjoy Universal Monsters Universe.

Related:

• Houdini and the first Frankenstein
• Shooting stops for a famous visitor
• Transatlantic History Ramblings go Wild for Houdini

Yonkers studio where Houdini filmed The Master Mystery found

We know Houdini filmed interiors for The Master Mystery at a studio in Yonkers. But exactly which studio has never been identified (to my knowledge). That's why I was so excited yesterday when I found an article in the August 13, 1918 Yonkers Statesman about Houdini breaking his wrist while filming the serial. The article provides several unknown details, including the location! It says the film was being shot at the "Unexcelled Film Company at 120 School Street, Yonkers."

Below is a 1918 advertisement for the Unexcelled Film Laboratories and Studios ("For Rent by Week, Month or Yearly Leases"). As The Master Mystery was an independent production, it makes sense they would be renting studio space.

The Unexcelled Film Laboratories and Studios started business in March 1918. Its directors where Joseph E. Cavanaugh, John B. Brown, Charlies J. Volpe, Inez M. Collins, and William E. Murphy. They purchased and renovated a building at the intersection of School Street and Herriot Street, which at one time had been Canepi’s Skating Rink. The building spanned the addresses 120, 122, 124 School Street, and included a working film lab, fire-proof vaults, and studio rental space. It was described as being a three story frame structure with a stone base.

It's not known how long The Master Mystery used the studio space. But the 15-part serial filmed intermittently from mid July to the end of November 1918, so it's conceivable they may have been there for some time. Houdini would commute between the studio and Manhattan where he was appearing at the Hippodrome.

The Unexcelled Film company caused fiction with its neighbors as fire insurance rates for the residential buildings on the block soared. And for good reason. On the night of June 27, 1919, lightening struck the building and ignited a spectacular fire. Despite a downpour of rain, by the time fire fighters arrived the building was lost. They instead concentrated on saving other buildings on the block.

The fire marked an end to the Unexcelled Film company after only a little more than a year in business. One wonders if any props from The Master Mystery had remained behind and were destroyed?

Today an empty lot marks the site of where Quentin Locke battled the Automaton 102 years ago. However, remains of the "stone base" appear to survive. (The white structure, which I do not believe was there in 1918, today carries the address 118-122 School Street.) Below you can explore the site and street via Google Maps.

Stay tuned for more details about Houdini's accident while filming The Master Mystery at the Unexcelled Film Company in Yonkers.

Related:

• Houdini's dye job
• The saga of Houdini's Film Developing Corporation
• The Grim Game jail break behind the scenes

The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini!) alley

Our great friend John Bengtson who runs the phenomenal blog Silent Locations has mounted an official campaign to name the the famous alley off Cahuenga near Hollywood Blvd. the "Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley". This is in tribute to the three masters of silent comedy who each used the alley in their films. Of course, Houdini also used the alley for a quick shot in The Grim Game. It was actually John Bengtson who made this discovery. 

This video further explains the alley. You can help by leaving a thumbs up on YouTube.

Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid (1921), Buster Keaton’s Cops (1922), and Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! (1923), were filmed in the heart of Hollywood at a humble alley south of Hollywood Boulevard. Each inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress as “works of enduring importance to American culture." This six-way constellation of timeless movies and iconic stars is absolutely unique in Hollywood history. The alley deserves a name - Chaplin Keaton Lloyd Alley. The north-south alley already has a great name, EaCa Alley, but the cross arm at the top deserves a name too. 

Download a pdf Chaplin Keaton Lloyd brochure HERE. 

Learn more at Silent Locations. 

Houdini in the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley in The Grim Game (1919).

Good luck John!

Related:

• Houdini in the Cahuenga alley
• John Bengtson uncovers Grim Game filming locations
• More Grim Game locations identified by John Bengtson

LINK: The Man From Beyond in Farmington

Joe Notaro has joined Sean Doran in the hunt for filming locations from Houdini's The Man From Beyond. Joe has turned up two remarkable articles that reveal details about the crew filming in Farmington, Connecticut, on May 8, 1921.

Among the finds is that the company stayed at the historic Elm Tree Inn (above) and filmed scenes at the Winchell Smith dam on the Farmington river. This is fantastic stuff (and gold for my 1921 chronology), so click the headline and have a read at Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence. You can also check out Sean Doran's recent discoveries below.

Related:

• LINK: A ghost of the Gilded Age found
• LINK: 'Houdini Cliff' found in the Palisades
• LINK: Houdini's sensational swim in the rapids of...the Hudson?

LINK: A ghost of the Gilded Age found

Sean Doran at The Mysteriarch is back with yet another found location from Houdini's The Man From Beyond. This time it's the stately home of Dr. Crawford Strange which features throughout the movie. Click the headline to find out what this was in reality and what is there today. I love this stuff!

Below are more recent Man From Beyond location finds by The Mysteriarch.

Related:

• LINK: Houdini's sensational swim in the rapids of...the Hudson?
• LINK: 'Houdini Cliff' found in the Palisades
• LINK: Houdini and The Tombs

Machpelah of the West

In early May 1976 the Home of Peace Memorial Park & Mausoleum in East Los Angeles doubled for Machpelah cemetery in Queens New York for the ABC television movie The Great Houdinis. Founded in 1853, Home of Peace is the first and oldest Jewish cemetery in Los Angeles. Among those who rest in peace here are MGM head Louis B. Mayer and Curly and Shemp Howard of The Three Stooges.

For the 2-day shoot a corner of the cemetery was dressed with a mockup of the Houdini family plot and exedra. Here the opening scene of the movie was filmed with Sally Struthers as Bess, Vivian Vance as Minnie, Adrienne Barbeau as Daisy White, and Bill Bixby as Arthur Ford. Also shot was a scene in which Paul Michael Glaser as Houdini grieves at his mother's grave while being consoled by Bess. A third scene that didn't make the final cut featured the young Harry and Bess gathering information off headstones for a spiritualism act and then making love among the graves.

I discovered the existence of this location back in 2011 while researching this post, but I've never visited and have long been curious if I could find the exact spot where they filmed. So yesterday I finally made the trip in search of the Machpelah of the West. Below is a video and comparison pics of what I found. Enjoy.

"This place is starting to look like his dressing room." -Minnie

Related:

• 278 of the West
• Making the great Great Houdinis
• 'The Great Houdinis' title mystery is solved