What happens in Vegas...

Actually, I don't know if this is Las Vegas. In fact, I don't really know anything about this photo of Bessie Houdini in a casino that I found among The Culliton Papers. Who are these men that are either rewarding Bess or taking her money? One thing I do like is in this pic is you can really see just how small Bessie was, even in heels!

Click to enlarge

But there's something more here. This photo actually debunks a major myth. Check out Edward Saint at the slot machine in the background. Not only is it cool to see him holding a cigarette, but look at that big smile on his face. Well, that shouldn't be!

According to The Secret Life of Houdini (page 555), Ed Saint suffered from "nerve paralysis of certain facial muscles" making it "impossible for him to smile." Saint actually took advantage of this condition and performed during his carney days as "The International Smileless Man", in which he would offer audience members $1000 if they could get him to crack a smile.

Well, either that isn't Saint back there (and it sure looks like him to me), or he's put one over on us all. But now he's busted.

By the way, Patrick Culliton can't recall where he got this photocopy, and several other candid shots of Bess and Saint around town (a second shows Saint smiling), so he warned me that it might not be okay to post this. If you are the owner of the original and want me to take this down, just shoot me an email and it will vanish like magic.

Or, better yet, let us know where this was taken and who these men might be. It's a pretty cool, revealing shot, and I think a great way to conclude The Culliton Papers.

UPDATE: Mystery solved. This photo is part of the Richards Studio Collection in the Tacoma Public Library and the caption reads in part: "Beatrice Houdini, widow of the famous magician Harry Houdini, tries her luck with the slot machines while attending a party at Ray Gamble's 'Elephant House' during a visit to Tacoma in July, 1941."

Also enjoy:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Houdini's wristwatch
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?

Did Houdini have claustrophobia?

This is an odd one -- an incident that I've never heard of before. It comes via a letter from Houdini biographer Kenneth Silverman that I found among The Culliton Papers, and relates a bizarre accident that Houdini was involved in in Boston in 1922 [see update].

While doing research for his book, Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss, Ken uncovered a clipping from an unidentified Boston newspaper dated January 11, 1922. Under the headline, HOUDINI IN FALL, the paper describes how Houdini was badly hurt "a couple weeks ago" in a traffic jam on the Boston Elevated railway.

When the trains were stalled by a short circuit, Houdini forced open the door of his car. He then jumped a four foot space to the roadbed of the bridge, and then dropped 12 feet to the street. On landing, he hit a piece of ice and his feet shot out from under him. Houdini fell on his hip, "wrenching it badly." He was, however, able to continue his engagement in Boston without canceling.

There are a few ways to think about this incident. As this is 1922 and Houdini is still in the thrall of being a movie "action hero", this could be yet another example of Houdini attempting to play the role of real-life action hero with predictably un-movie-like results. This hearkens back to another incident while filming Terror Island on Catalina Island when Houdini tried to rescue a stalled boat in the bay and was almost drowned himself.

But there is another, much stranger way of reading this.

I can't help but think about how this curious story helps support Bernard C. Meyer's provocative theory, put forward in his 1976 book, Houdini: A Mind in Chains - A Psychoanalytic Portrait, that Houdini may have suffered from latent claustrophobia, and that his escapes where compulsive attempts to "master" his anxiety disorder.

Meyer notes how in several real-life situations in which Houdini found himself unexpectedly "trapped", he would fly into rages or act out in ways that could be classified as claustrophobic panic. One famous example was when he was jokingly locked into a telephone booth at the Savoy hotel. He flew into a rage, kicking and banging at the door until the terrified prankster let him out. Meyer also suggests Houdini's famous seasickness could be partially attributed to the disorder. Bess even once had to tie him to his bunk for fear that he would make good on his threat to throw himself overboard.

So here we have another example, and a classic one at that. According to Wikipedia, "a typical claustrophobic will fear restriction in at least one, if not several, of the following areas: small rooms, locked rooms, cars, tunnels, cellars, elevators, subway trains, caves, airplanes and crowded areas."

So what do we think? Was Houdini playing action hero that day in Boston? Was he having a claustrophobic panic attack? Or did he just have somewhere he really needed to be?

The doctor is in.

UPDATE: While this was reported in the paper in 1922, it's likely this happened during the week of December 19, 1921 when Houdini was playing Keith's Theater in Boston.

Also enjoy:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Houdini's wristwatch
• What happens in Vegas...

New Culliton Papers coming soon

Just a heads-up that I will be posting a new installment of The Culliton Papers soon.

This time I'll reveal the bizarre details of an untold incident from 1922 that may help support one of the more provocative theories ever put forward about the psyche of Harry Houdini.

So don't panic! (hint) A new Culliton Papers is coming your way soon.

Houdini's wristwatch

In my recent post about Houdini's third buried alive test, an eagle-eyed reader spotted what appears to be a watch on Houdini's wrist and posted in the Comments section:

"The first pic of Houdini standing by the pool I see he is wearing a wristwatch and this is the only pic I have ever seen of Houdini wearing a watch that I can remember. Does anyone know what brand of watch Houdini wore? (watch enthusiast here)!"

At the time I didn't have any information for him, and I even doubted whether it was a wristwatch. We all know of Houdini's pocket watch (a present from Bessie that famously contains his actual birthdate), so I wasn't convinced Houdini ever wore a wristwatch. I thought maybe this was a band to monitor his pulse during the Shelton buried alive test.

But now, thanks to The Culliton Papers, we have information on, yes, Houdini's wristwatch!

According to an article that appeared in The New York World under the terrific headline: "Dainty Darby Grips Iron Wrist Of Houdini In Resistless Clutch," Houdini was given a wristwatch by The World editors during a luncheon at Moneta's restaurant at 32 Mulberry Street in New York City in commemoration of his first year "as a newspaperman."

The reference here is to Houdini's weekly Red Magic insert, a collection of puzzles, brain teasers, and magic tricks "Edited by the World Famous Houdini" that ran in The New York World and syndication from November 16, 1924 to February 22, 1931 (328 issues).

The article notes that this is the first wristwatch Houdini "has ever had on -- his wrists are more familiar with the grip of the handcuffs from which he so easily escapes than the gentler grasp of a leather strap." It goes on to quote Houdini as saying it is "one fetter from which he will never be freed by any action of his own."

The clipping is without a date, but as Red Magic started in 1924, we can assume it's from that year. This makes it very likely to be the watch we see in the Shelton photo, which was taken in August 1926. Unfortunately, the article gives no indication of what kind of wristwatch was presented to Houdini that day, but our eagle-eyed reader offers up one suggestion:

"I actually have a watch that looks similar to the one Houdini appears to be wearing. Its a 1925 Waltham in a tonneau style case. I cant say its THE watch but sure does look similar."

Of course, this raises the inevitable question. Where is this wristwatch today?

By the way, Moneta's remained in business until the 1940s, and the original Moneta's name could still be seen on the building at 32 Mulberry Street until at least 2010 when it was converted into a Parisian nightclub called La Baron.

Publication dates for Red Magic came from the invaluable Houdini Periodical Bibliography by Arthur Moses.

Also enjoy:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?
• What happens in Vegas...

Tomorrow...

I'm looking to get the next installment The Culliton Papers up tomorrow. Just a small morsel of Houdini trivia this time, but it's something I never knew, and it answers a question a reader posted in a story a while back. I'll get it up tomorrow when I have the time (that's a hint).

Miracle Mongers the Movie

On March 4, 1921, Variety reported the formation of the Houdini Picture Corporation. With $500,000 in capitalization, the trade paper announced that Houdini planned to make four films a year. Of course, only two films were ever made, The Man From Beyond and Haldane of the Secret Service. But what other films did Houdini plan?

There do exist several unmade Houdini film treatments with titles such as The Vulture, Floating Through Space, and The Great Tontine. Probably the best known of these is Yar, The Primeval Man, a lively caveman story that has Houdini rescuing a "Sun Girl" from a rival tribe and bringing her home to his mother (who's name is, incredibly, War).

But now thanks to a clipping in The Culliton Papers, we have evidence of exactly what would have been Houdini's next film, and it wasn't one of the familiar treatments. On October 13, 1923 (the day before the release of Haldane) Houdini laid out his future plans for stage and screen for the L.A. Times:

"I have signed to deliver twenty-four lectures on 'The Negative Side of Spiritualism' after closing my Orpheum tour. I am also planning to make a picture from my book, Miracle Mongers, which will be an out-and-out stunt picture."

Published in 1921, Miracle Mongers and their Methods details the history and techniques of a wide variety of sideshow acts such as fire-eaters, snake-handlers, frog-swallowers, and strong men. Much of Houdini's experience with these performers came first-hand from his early days in show business. It's all terrific fodder for the screen, actually. But what did Houdini have in mind here? Would he play a man among the miracle mongers -- an agent infiltrating the bizarre world to solve a crime maybe? Calling it an "out-and-out stunt picture" is also intriguing.

Now, one could argue that Houdini is just saying this here to promote his book. However, Miracle Mongers had already been in stores for three years at this point, and Houdini had a much newer book to promote, Houdini's Paper Magic. I think there might be something to this Miracle Mongers movie, if for no other reason that it sounds like good idea and is a pretty crafty bit of cross-promotion. One can easily imagine a new edition of the book with movie poster cover art.

Unfortunately, Haldane of the Secret Service was a flop with the critics and public, and this coupled with financial problems with his Film Developing Corp (not to mention a burgeoning new career and anti-spiritualist crusader) led to Houdini giving up movies altogether.

You can read Houdini's film treatments in Houdini's Strange Tales.

Also enjoy:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Houdini's wristwatch
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?
• What happens in Vegas...

Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight

In 1910 Houdini became the first man to fly a plane in Australia. This put Houdini's name into the historical record of early aviation, but the feat is largely forgotten by the general public today. Now, thanks to an intriguing clipping in The Culliton Papers, we have evidence that Houdini considered a dramatic return to aviation in 1920 in a feat that could have cemented him as one of the greatest aviators of all time.

On June 19, 1920, a news flash appeared in the Los Angeles Times stating that Houdini was planning to make a transatlantic flight from Paris to New York. This is fundamentally the same flight (in reverse) that, seven years later, would make Charles Lindbergh the most famous man alive. And here's Houdini talking about doing it in 1920!

Under the headline HOUDINI TO FLY, the paper says news about the flight has come from "no less authority than Houdini himself", who at the time was staying in the Grand Hotel in Scotland. The plan was for Houdini to depart London by air on June 27 for Paris. On July 2 he would fly from Paris to Cherbourg. Then, on July 3, he would depart Cherbourg "and cross the Atlantic for New York City."

The report continues: "He doesn't say say how long he expects the trip to take, nor who is accompanying him. However, he does say that he expects to rest three months after he reaches home, before he begins work in pictures or anywhere else."

Unfortunately, the article doesn't say what kind of a plane Houdini planned to use.

Transatlantic crossings were big news at the time. In June of 1919, British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown had made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber. Winston Churchill presented them with a prize for the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean in "less than 72 consecutive hours" and they were knighted by King George V.

How serious was Houdini about this flight? It's hard to say. This was during a time when Houdini was downplaying his role as magician and escape artist in favor a new identity as all around man of action and adventure (a better way to tie into his movie career). Just a year before he had announced plans to wrestle a live shark. But the fact that he had a time table suggests this might have been more than an idle boast.

However, transatlantic flights where quite dangerous back then. Alcock and Brown's flight nearly ended in disaster several times owing to engine trouble, fog, snow and ice. Houdini would have needed to be highly skilled aviator to pull it off, or he would have needed an experienced pilot to accompany him. Maybe it was this realization that led him to abandon the idea and return to America by ship, where he entertained the passengers as, "Houdini The World Famous Cinema Star."

But what a chapter it would have been in the Houdini story had he made his Transatlantic Flight.

After 1910, Houdini's aviation exploits would be confined to the movies,
The Grim Game (1919)

Willard's side

Every Houdini biography contains the story of how, in 1915, Houdini traded verbal blows with heavyweight champion Jess Willard from the stage of the Los Angeles Orpheum. Hearing that Willard was in attendance, Houdini invited him onstage to be part of his committee. Willard refused, calling Houdini as a "faker." The verbal battle went back and forth until Houdini delivered the knockout line: "I will be Harry Houdini when you are not the heavyweight champion of the world." (A wire release reported that he said, "I'll be in the spotlight when you are in the discard.")

CLICK TO ENLARGE

The audience of nearly 2000 sided with Houdini, and Willard left the theater, reportedly to boos and hisses. The papers also sided with Houdini, especially the Los Angeles Record, keeping the story alive for days until Willard left town. Houdini wrote gleefully to his sister Gladys that when he now walks down the street he's greeted with, "Hello champ."

I don't know. I've never been a big fan of this story. I don't think it shows Houdini in his best light. He had the advantage over a member of his audience and he certainly pressed it. In Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss, author Ken Silverman says Willard's bluster that night might well have been a cover for stage-fright -- that outside the ring Willard was self-conscious about his enormous 6 ft. 6 1/2 in. size. I don't know much about Jess Willard, but it seems he not only found himself on the wrong side of Houdini that November day in 1915, but also the wrong side of an emerging media machine. What we would call a "media backlash" today. Also, history has only recorded Houdini's side of the story.

Now, thanks to The Culliton Papers, we can hear Willard's side. This letter he wrote to the Los Angeles Examiner on December 3, 1915 has never been transcribed or quoted (as far as I could find) in any Houdini biography. It's a pretty good counterpunch, and despite calling Houdini's act "moth-eaten" (kind of funny), it's hard to not sympathize with Willard's point about how, as paying customer, he was "entitled to decent treatment."

Willard also shows a pretty crafty understanding of media himself by not using Houdini's name in his letter, thus not giving Houdini the publicity Willard claims was the real intent behind this episode (and certainly Houdini openly boasted he'd received "at least a million dollars advertising space from this fray"). Ironically, not using Houdini's name also makes this letter hard to find via modern keyword searches, so Willard's side of the story has been lost to history. Until now.

By the way, I was surprised to learn that Jess Willard lived until 1968! But this article in the Examiner seems to be the last time he spoke publicly of his encounter with Houdini.

UPDATE: Make sure you click in and read Patrick Culliton's own comments on this. Did Willard use an anti-Semitic slur against Houdini that night that went unreported in the papers? If so, that certainly explains why Houdini and the audience turned on him as they did. Very interesting notion. Thank you, Pat!

Also enjoy:

• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Houdini's wristwatch
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?
• What happens in Vegas...

First installment of The Culliton Papers this weekend

This weekend I will post the first installment of my special series, The Culliton Papers. This first story might come as a surprise to those who think we are just Houdini's cheerleaders here at WILD ABOUT HARRY, as we'll climb back into the ring and take: "Willard's side."

The Culliton Papers

Recently, noted Houdini expert Patrick Culliton, author of several books including the most recent Houdini The Key, generously gave me a large cache of his personal research papers to examine before donating them to the Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York.

Among the hundreds of clippings, photocopies, notes, and letters are some real gems. Last week I shared one of those gems -- Smiley's sketch. As I continue to sort through and organize the papers, I'm finding even more interesting nuggets of untold information about Houdini's movies, his encounter with Jess Willard, a curious "traffic" accident, and even evidence of a post 1910 aviation exploit. And then there's that photo of Bessie in...Las Vegas?

So this is a just a heads-up that over the next several weeks I will be sharing some of these intriguing discoveries here on WILD ABOUT HARRY as special series: The Culliton Papers. Watch for it!

UPDATE:

• Willard's side
• Houdini and the Transatlantic Flight
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• Houdini's wristwatch
• Did Houdini have claustrophobia?
• What happens in Vegas...
  

The eyewitness - Smiley's sketch

While examining a large cache of research papers this weekend, I came upon this remarkable image from Henry Gordon's World of Magic. This is a sketch made by McGill University student, Sam Smilovitz (aka Smiley), who was witness to the infamous dressing room assault on October 22, 1926 at the Princess Theatre in Montreal. That started a chain of events ending in Houdini's death on Halloween.

This is not the portrait sketch Smiley was doing of Houdini at the time (I've always wondered what happened to that). This appears to be a sketch he made later, probably for the insurance company deposition, showing the position of each man in the dressing room at the time of the incident.

Sketch by Sam Smiley of scene in Houdini dressing room, Friday,
October 22, 1926. Whitehead is at the left, Smiley at the right.

In the drawing we see Houdini reclining on his dressing room couch or cot. Smiley is on the right with a sketch pad in hand. Jacques Price is in the center. And, of course, J. Gordon Whitehead, who administered the fateful blows, on the left. Interestingly, Whitehead appears to be bald (or balding). In the lower right, Smiley has sketched the action of the blows themselves. This sketch also gives us a good idea just how small the dressing room at the Princess really was.

Over the years, illustrators have offered up their own versions of what the incident looked like, mainly in books about Houdini aimed at children. Below is a sampling.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

Top (left to right): Escape King: The Story of Houdini by John Ernst. Illustration by Ray Abel, 1975; The Great Houdini by Monica Kulling. Illustration by Anne Reas, 1999; The Great Houdini by Anne Edwards. Illustration by Joseph Ciardiello, 1977.

Bottom (left to right): Harry Houdini Master of Magic by Robert Kranske. Illustration by Victor Mays, 1973; Houdini by Laura Alden. Illustration by Betty Raskin, 1989; A Picture Book of Harry Houdini by David A. Adler and Michael S. Adler. Illustration by Matt Collins, 2009.