Showing posts with label Spiritualism lecture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spiritualism lecture. Show all posts
Thursday, November 20, 2025
Houdini in new Ryman Auditorium exhibit
The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville has a new exhibit, "Unexpected Company," showcasing famous names who have appeared at the historic venue. Houdini appeared at the Ryman with his spiritualism lecture on March 11, 1924, and a pair of handcuffs he is said to have used are part of the display.
“Unexpected Company” is now open as part of the Ryman’s daytime tour experience. Tickets and tour information are available at Ryman.com/Tours.
Friday, May 2, 2025
Where Houdini wasn't
Recently, four unusually nice Houdini letters sold at RR auctions online. Among them was a letter to Faber Birren in Chicago in which Houdini included the route for his current vaudeville tour. What stood out to me was that the list showed Houdini playing a split week in Sacramento and Fresno starting March 25, 1923.
That never happened. Houdini pulled a vanishing act and played Oakland this week instead. I don't know why his route changed, but it's likely Houdini was happy about it as it involved less travel. Oakland was a short hop over the bay from his previous booking in San Francisco, and a full week is better than a split.
However, this meant Houdini would never play Sacramento. He would have likely done a suspended straitjacket escape in the city as well. You were so close, Sacramento! But at least Sacramentans got to see Hardeen at the Pantages in 1908 and 1910. He even jumped off the Yolo bridge.
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| The Sacramento Bee, Nov. 9, 1908. |
Of course, I wanted to know precisely where Houdini would have appeared had he played these dates. This was a little tricky to find as the Orpheum circuit never built its own theater in either city. They used existing theaters that changed over the years. But with some digging, I discovered that the Clunie Theater on 811 K Street was the home of Orpheum vaudeville in Sacramento at the time of Houdini's planned appearance. (They would move to the State Theater later that year.) Below is the only photo I could find of the Clunie.
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| www.performingartsarchive.com |
Instead of Houdini, the Clunie featured William Gibson and Regina Connelli in the comedic skit "One Night in Spring" as the headliners. Gibson & Connelli also filled Houdini's spot in Fresno starting on March 29th. I'm sure they were the cat's pajamas!
In Fresno, Orpheum vaudeville was featured at the White Theater at 1317 Broadway. Houdini would give his spiritualism lecture at the White Theater on Oct. 26, 1924, so Houdini did eventually make it to Fresno, if only for one day.
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| The Fresno Morning Republican, Oct. 26, 1924. |
Both theaters are now long gone.
Friday, January 3, 2025
Houdini comes out swinging
Below are some clippings related to Houdini's important night.
Related:
Symphony Hall in Boston still stands today and doesn't look all that different from how it looked when Houdini took the stage one hundred years ago.
Want more? You can read a detailed account of Houdini's Symphony Hall exposure as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon.
Sunday, December 1, 2024
Houdini's grand finale at the Bardavon
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| Billboard Dec. 28 1924. |
The Bardavon was named for William Shakespeare (the Bard of Avon). In 1924, the theater played a mix of vaudeville, silent movies, and stage plays. The theatre survived the wrecking ball in the 1970s and still stands today as a popular live performance venue. According to its history page, the Bardavon holds the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating theater in New York State and one of the oldest in the entire country.
Houdini's 1924 lecture tours covered almost 12,000 miles. Surprisingly, these tours barely warrant a mention in most Houdini biographies. But they were filled with interesting stories and took him to many places where he had never appeared before, and Houdini was very proud of his work.
Want more? You see all the stops on Houdini's tours as a member of my Patreon below. Heads up that this is the last day of my Black Friday sale, offering 10% off all new memberships with the promo code BESS.
Tuesday, October 29, 2024
The Houdini way to San Jose
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It was 100 years ago today on October 29, 1924, that Houdini gave his spiritualism lecture at the Victory Theatre in San Jose, California. This was Houdini's only visit to the city. A review of the lecture in the San Jose Mercury News began:
A missionary with a message of sanity and common sense, Houdini, a powerfully built little man in a dress suit, left no doubt in the minds of an audience at the Victory theatre last night that so-called mediums are despicable frauds. It was a wonderful evening's entertainment, the best San Jose has offered in a long time.
During the lecture, SAM member Fred P. Faltersack came onstage to assist Houdini in demonstrations. Faltersack worked at the nearby Winchester Mystery House, the world's most vivid example of how belief in spiritualism can overtake a person's life. After the lecture, Faltersack gave Harry and Bess a midnight tour of the sprawling property. Houdini was reportedly impressed with Mrs. Winchester's seance chamber. The next day, Houdini and company left for San Fransisco.
I recently took a quick trip to San Jose and had a chance to visit the various Houdini locations in the city. There's more than you might think!
First up was the site of The Victory Theatre at 45 N 1st Street (the address later changed to 57 N 1st). The Victory later became a movie theater and was renamed The Crest. In October 1953, it played the Tony Curtis Houdini biopic. So I guess Houdini returned after all! It's fun to think that someone who saw Houdini at The Crest may have also seen the real Houdini there in 1924.
The Crest remained a popular San Jose cinema until 1965, when it burned to the ground. The fire was attributed to two teenage boys. The theater was never rebuilt.
Today, the site of the Victory/Crest is a parking lot. Ironically, an escape room currently sits at the end of the block.
Just one block over from the Victory is the site of the Empire Theater at 23 N 2nd Street. Hardeen appeared here twice in July and November 1908. The theater closed in 1926. Today, an attractive building stands on the spot, but it's unclear if this is the original theater building. (I don't think it is.)
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| San Jose Mercury, Nov 17, 1908 |
Not far from the sites of the Victory and Empire is the still-active Jose Theater at 62 S. Second Street. The Jose's vertical sign once hung outside the Victory/Crest. It was moved and re-lettered after the Victory's destruction in 1965. Theater lore holds that Houdini performed here, but I think it's being confused with the Victory. However, Terror Island played here in 1920, so it still qualifies as a Houdini location to me!
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| Evening News, June 11, 1920. |
San Jose once again became the center of Houdini activity when the PCAM (Pacific Coast Association of Magicians) held its annual convention at the Civic Auditorium in July 1938. Bess was an honored guest and featured in their big show inside the Mongomery Theater. Here, on July 21, 1938, it was proclaimed that Halloween would henceforth be known as National Magic Day in honor of Houdini.
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| Evening News, July 19, 1938. |
The San Jose Civic Auditorium and Mongomery Theater still stand today. So does the Hotel Sainte Claire (today the Westin), where Bess and Ed Saint stayed during the convention. The hotel sits just across the street from the Auditorium at 302 South Market Street.
Finally, the Winchester Mystery House still stands and is a very popular San Jose landmark and tourist attraction. They are proud of their Houdini connection. In their archives, they have a 1924 newspaper clipping that Houdini signed and sent to the house after his visit. A large Houdini poster also hangs in one of their dining rooms.
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| George Hardeen at the Winchester Mystery House in 2024. |
There was a plan to hold a Houdini Seance at the Winchester Mystery House during the 1938 PCAM convention to be attended by Bess and conducted by Ed Saint. The seance was announced in newspapers and magic magazines. But it never happened. In 1976, a local SAM chapter held a 50th Anniversary Houdini seance in the house.
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| Genii, July 1938. The seance never happened. |
This week, Houdini seances will be held in Appleton, Scranton, Las Vegas, Chicago, and more. But if you ask me, I think this year Houdini's spirit can be found in San Jose!
Related:
Friday, October 18, 2024
Houdini's Ku Klux Klan encounter
However, this was not a Ku Klux Klan event. While the auditorium bore the Klan's name and held Klan gatherings, it also served as a general civic auditorium for Fort Worth. The 2000-seat theater saw many varied events, including a concert by the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. It was also where the Lyceum circuit booked their lecturers, so...
If Houdini had any reservations about appearing at an auditorium bearing the name of the Ku Klux Klan, he never voiced them, as far as I know. But some citizens of Fort Worth voiced theirs. Just three weeks after Houdini's appearance, the auditorium was destroyed in a bombing.
Want more? I've uploaded a collection of clippings related to Houdini's infamous Klan auditorium lecture, including the full Star-Telegram review, for my "Scholar" patrons below.
The lecture that night proved to be one of Houdini's more combative. He was confronted by a medium named Howard Whitesides, who had failed to produce spirit photographs for Houdini earlier that day. The account in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram gives a blow-by-blow:
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| Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Oct. 19, 1924. |
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| The Paterson Evening News, Nov. 13, 1924 |
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Houdini's 2nd lecture tour began 100 years ago today
It was 100 years ago today on Oct. 9, 1924, that Houdini kicked off his second Spiritualism lecture tour at the Pine Street Church in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Houdini began his talk by telling the crowd that he had first been to Williamsport during his 1895 tour with the Welsh Bros. Circus and that he had never seen a town that had changed so much over the years.
Today, Williamsport commemorates both his appearances with a historical marker erected by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz in 2016.
Houdini's second spiritualism tour, now called "Can the Dead Speak To the Living?" took him on a 9000-mile cross-crossing route through Texas, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, California, Oregon, Washington, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New York. His two combined tours covered almost 12,000 miles during this single year.
For this occasion, I've created an interactive Google map showing the complete route of Houdini's two tours (as far as I know them). If you're a member of my Patreon, you can start the journey by clicking below.
Thanks to my patrons for supporting content like this.
Thursday, August 22, 2024
Choices, choices...
On the evening of February 27, 1924, both Houdini and The 4 Marx Brothers were appearing in Cleveland, Ohio. Houdini was giving his spiritualism lecture at Engineers Hall while the Marx Brothers were appearing in their breakout hit, I'll Say She Is, at the Hanna Theatre.
I'd love to think Groucho worked up a special ad-lib about Houdini being down the street that night. Maybe something about chasing ghouls instead of girls? (Give me your best Groucho quip in the comments.)
I'll Say She Is was never made into a Marx Brothers film. In fact, for the longest time, precisely what the show contained wasn't well known. But the great Noah Diamond has a particular passion for I'll Say She Is, and he recreated the show from his own research. He also penned the excellent book, Gimme a Thrill: The Story of I'll Say She Is, The Lost Marx Brothers Musical and How It Was Found.
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| The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Feb. 27, 1924. |
I've covered Houdini's spiritualism lectures extensively, so let's talk about The Marx Brothers and I'll Say She Is. Like Houdini, the Marx Brothers began as vaudevillians. But in 1923, they decided to try their luck with a full evening musical comedy, I'll Say She Is. It made them superstars.
This wasn't the only time Houdini and I'll Say She Is played the same city. At the end of 1924, I'll Say She Is was at the Missouri Theater in Kansas City while Houdini was at the nearby Mainstreet Theater. And when I'll Say She Is settled in for its long run at the Casino Theatre in New York City, Houdini appeared at the New York Hippodrome during the show's final four weeks in early 1925.
The Marx Brothers followed up I'll Say She Is with The Coconuts in 1925. Once again, we find Houdini and the brothers playing New York City simultaneously. In fact, The Coconuts and Houdini's 3 Shows in One opened on Broadway within a week of each other. The Coconuts opened at the Lyric Theatre on Dec. 8, 1925, and Houdini opened at the 44th Street Theater on Dec. 14th.
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| New York Daily News, Dec. 7, 1925. |
I've always wondered if Houdini and Bess ever saw I'll Say She Is or The Coconuts. I would love to think that they did. Houdini and the Marx Brothers would eventually appear at the same charity event at the New York Polo Grounds in 1926, but that's another story.
Thursday, June 13, 2024
Houdini chases spooks in Charlottesville
The Daily Progress reported that both lectures were well attended. It said Houdini's "stereopticon pictures" (slide show) was "rather tiresome," but the remainder of the lecture was "very entertaining," with Houdini demonstrating how mediums produce paraffin hands and how spirits write messages on slates.
Houdini also escaped from his Milk Can and showed film of The Grim Game plane crash and his suspended straitjacket escape in St. Louis. This is the first account of Houdini showing films as part of his lecture that I've encountered. He may have been taking advantage of the fact that the Jefferson was also a fully equipped movie theater. In fact, both The Grim Game and Terror Island had played the Jefferson during their first runs.
Happily, the Jefferson Theater still stands in Charlottesville today. Restored in 2006, the theater is located at 110 East Main Street and is a popular live venue. The official website says the theater has hosted many famous performers, "ranging from Harry Houdini to The Three Stooges." I can't speak to the Stooges, but we know Houdini was here!
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Want more? You can access a collection of newspaper clippings related to Houdini's Charlottesville lectures as a Scholar member of my Patreon below.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Houdini's war on fake mediums began 100 years ago today
Houdini's first tour ran for five weeks. He called it "Unmasking the Miracle Mongers" and concluded the lectures with the Double Fold Death-Defying Mystery. This sometimes led to confusion as to what kind of Houdini "show" this was supposed to be.
Houdini would drop the escapes for his second tour later in the year and also changed the name to what you see on the famous poster above (which I don't think many people realize was made for his lecture tour, not his vaudeville act).
Houdini's lectures truly kicked off his war on fraudulent spirit mediums.
Want more? You can see the program for Houdini's East Stroudsburg lecture on my Patreon below. Also, this month's free reward lists all the known stops on Houdini's tour. Is your town on the list?
Tuesday, January 9, 2024
Houdini and the spirits in Springfield
On Sunday, November 30, 1924, Houdini gave his lecture in Springfield, Massachusetts, under the auspices of the Springfield YMCA. His talk was preceded by an organ recital by Mrs. Dorothy Birchard Malroney. The Springfield Republican reported, "Houdini's talk was sprinkled with humorous allusions and statements that pleased the audience greatly. The story of the seance he conducted in a small town was one of the gems."
Houdini's lecture was held in what was then called the Auditorium. Built between 1911-1913, it was a popular public venue for live events in Springfield. And still is! Today, it's called Symphony Hall and looks very much as it did in Houdini's day.
Houdini's Springfield lecture was the second to last stop of his tour that year. His only other appearance in Springfield was early in his career as part of the American Gaiety Girls company. He even did one of his first police station handcuff escapes in the city. But that's another story.
Want more? You can see a collection of newspaper clippings related to this lecture and Houdini's earlier appearance in Springfield as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon.
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