Houdini opens at the Alvin 100 years ago today

It was 100 years ago today that Houdini opened his full evening 3 Shows in One at the Alvin Theatre in Pittsburgh with a special Labor Day matinee. While Houdini had previewed the show in Cumberland, this marked the true start of his 1925-26 tour. Howard Thurston attended the opening show, perhaps to see what kind of competition he would be facing that season.

The Houdini show was extremely well promoted. He had arrived in the city early and threw down his famed $10,000 challenge for any proof of genuine membership. The show played the Alivn for two weeks. He was off to a great start! 

The Alvin Theatre was located at 119 6th Street in Pittsburgh. While no longer a theater, the building still stands today.

Want more? I've created a Google map showing every stop on both his 1925-26 and 1926-27 3 Shows in One tours, available exclusively on my Patreon.

Related:

• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One
• Houdini's "3 Shows in One" turns 100
• Guest blog: Houdini in Pittsburgh by Zabrecky

Zabrecky conjures OUR MAGIC

Check out this terrific video by magician and musician Rob Zabrecky. It starts off with Houdini and continues with other magic masters and some pretty wild imagery. I love it! Watch it below or on YouTube.

You can pre-order OUR MAGIC as a 7-inch record from In The Red Records.

Related:

• Guest blog: Houdini in Pittsburgh by Zabrecky
• Rob Zabrecky talks Houdini with Dana Gould
• Another World by Rob Zabrecky

Houdini & Doyle S.A.M. banquet footage appears like magic

There was a fair amount of Houdini excitement over the holidays, but nothing more exciting than this. If you watched the PBS series Lucy Worsley's Holmes vs. Doyle, you saw rare footage of Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle at the 18th Annual S.A.M. banquet at the McAlpin Hotel in New York on June 2, 1922. I knew footage was shot at this banquet and hoped it would one day surface. Now it has!

Not only did we get to see Houdini, Bess, Sir Arthur, and Lady Doyle at their dinner table, but there's also footage of Howard Thurston, Horace Goldin, Max Malini, Carl Rosini, and Houdini on-stage magically producing their wives from a large cloth. Wow!

It's likely the production acquired this footage from a stock footage house. There are several listed in the credits. However, a search of their websites turned up nothing. It's also possible this came from the Doyle estate. Whichever the case, there may be more than what we see here!

I ran a moving picture, taken at the banquet, and if you desire a copy, I shall be pleased to let you have one. It is a remarkably good picture of Lady Doyle, and you have a very amused expression on your face as if you were in a good humor—and I hope you were!

- Houdini to Conan Doyle, June 1922.

If you missed the series, you can watch it for a limited time on the PBS website. The Houdini footage appears in S1 E3: Shadows and Sleuths. You can also buy the series on Amazon. For those in the UK, you can watch the series on the BBC iPlayer under the title Killing Sherlock: Lucy Worsley on the Case of Conan Doyle.

You can also view the footage and read MUM's report on the banquet as a member of my Patreon. Just click below.

Related:

• The true story of Houdini & Doyle
• Houdini in 1922
• Dark Doyle

Experience 'The Spirits Speakeasy' in New York

Here's one I almost missed! A new immersive Houdini play, The Spirits Speakeasy, opens tonight, September 19, at Sincerely, Ophelia in New York City. It will play through November 3, 2024. Below are details:

The Spirits Speakeasy summons you to step through the secret speakeasy door as a personal guest of the renowned Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Prepare to be enthralled by an evening that seamlessly blends magic with the supernatural—and a dash of bitters.

At the heart of the soirée, witness the enigmatic Margery (played by Krystyn Lambert), a medium whose powers are the talk of the town, as she faces the ultimate challenge—convincing none other than the skeptic Harry Houdini (played by Patrick Terry) of her genuine connection to the world beyond through a series of supernatural tests.

Will she turn Houdini into a believer? Or better yet, you? The talking board says YES.

Guests will be enveloped in an atmosphere reminiscent of the golden age of magic and spiritualism with close-up magic and intimate access to one of the three séances. The Spirits Speakeasy offers a meticulously curated selection of period-specific cocktails, designed to enhance the otherworldly ambiance of the evening.

The evening also features Rori Nogee as Bess, Lee Alan Barrett as Howard Thurston, and Brian Silliman as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is Patrick Terry's second appearance as Houdini. He first played the magician in the 2017 production Houdini Speaks To The Living.

You can get more information and buy tickets at The Spirits Speakeasy's official website.

Related:

• Houdini Plays
• 100 years ago on Lime Street
• REVIEW: 'Houdini Speaks to the Living' at The Players

Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums

A new exhibition, Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums, opens tomorrow, September 14, at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA. Below are details.

Explore the essential role art and objects played for mediums and magicians “communicating” with the dead during the 19th- and 20th-century Spiritualism movement in the U.S. and Europe — a time when people actively debated and wondered, "can spirits return?" See paintings, posters, photographs, stage apparatuses, costumes, film, publications and other objects that will transport visitors to the age of Harry Houdini, Margery the Medium, Howard Thurston, and the Fox Sisters, among others. Whether you’re a believer, skeptic or somewhere in between, gain a new perspective on the timeless draw of mediums and magicians, séances and magic shows.

Conjuring the Spirit World: Art, Magic, and Mediums will run through February 2, 2025. You can get more information and tickets at the PEM website. A companion book to the exhibition can be purchased in the museum's SHOP.

We'll forgive them for using Thurston as their key art instead of Houdini!

Related:

• Salem's "Houdini Way" mural
• Salem will rename street "Houdini Way"
• LINK: The complete account of Houdini's visit to Salem, Massachusetts

Where The Grim Game took flight

Today marks the anniversary of Houdini's The Grim Game opening at B.S. Moss' Broadway Theater in New York City on August 25, 1919. The movie played an exclusive two-week run with Houdini appearing in person at every performance. Our friend Joe Notaro has shared an original program on his blog, Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence. I encourage you to check that out.

What I want to focus on is the theater itself. The Broadway Theater opened in 1888 at the southwest corner of Broadway and 41st Street. It sat around 1,700. It was the seventh theater to bear the "Broadway" name. In 1908, it was purchased by B.S. Moss and played a mix of movies and vaudeville. As for the theater's decor, this comes from the excellent Cinema Treasures website:

The Broadway Theatre featured a somewhat generic facade on Broadway, in a five-story red brick office building with little indication of was inside, until a vertical marquee was added in the 1910’s. The elegantly decorated auditorium, with its large proscenium arch, six sets of boxes and twin balconies, featured such touches as antique copper chandeliers, gilded plasterwork around the proscenium, the box and balcony fronts and murals on the ceiling and balcony walls.

Here's something I never knew until today. On the same day as The Grim Game's opening, Howard Thurston opened at the Globe Theater on Broadway and 46th Street. Sorry, Howard, I'm seeing Harry! (But I might sneak over to the Globe the next day.)

B.S. Moss' Broadway Theater closed on January 2, 1929, and was demolished later that year. Below, you can see the site of the theater today. Where The Grim Game first took flight!

Want more? I've shared a nice selection of newspaper advertisements and reviews for The Grim Game at B.S. Moss' Broadway Theater (and a few Thurston ads) on my Patreon below.

Theater photos from Cinema Treasures.

Related:

• The Grim Game turns 100
• Grim Game plane wreck lobby display
• Houdini conquers Hollywood (at last) in The Grim Game

Sherlock Holmes in The Grim Game

Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson investigate the death of Houdini in this well-researched audio play by Scott McQuaid and Pop Up Theater. I really enjoyed how much Houdini's history is woven into this and, of course, the title! We even get an appearance by Howard Thurston. Enjoy.

Related:

• Sherlock Holmes (page)
• Who Done Houdini?
• Arthur Moses reprints the first Houdini & Holmes adventure

American Museum of Magic's 2019 Houdini print

This is the 2019 Houdini Commemorative Reproduction print created by the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan. Each year the museum offers a new Commemorative Reproduction as part of their membership package. These reproduction are struck from originals in the museum's collection and are printed on canvas.

The print for a 2022 memberships is a Howard Thurston poster. However, when the museum offered me a choice of print as thanks for my talk last year as part of their Speaker Series, I had to go with Houdini! I've always been wild about this poster. In fact, this was the first image of the real Houdini I ever saw.

Speaking of the American Museum Speaker Series, the first lecture of this year will be the legendary Jim Steinmeyer giving a talk on Thurston the Great and How History Fools Us. It will take place live on Zoom on Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 7 pm. All talks are free to members. Non-members can join for a $10 donation.

Visit the American Museum of Magic website for information, merchandise, and to become a member. We love our friends in Marshall!

Related:

• My first look at the real Houdini
• American Museum of Magic shares collection online
• REPORT: The Midwest Magic History Weekend 2015

Thurston's strangely familiar window card

When Houdini launched his "3 Shows in One" in 1925, Howard Thurston was touring with the 19th season of his own full evening magic spectacular. Houdini was certainly looking to emulate Thurston's success, and eventually hired away one of Thurston's assistants to help buck up the magic portion of his show. But it wasn't just Houdini who did some borrowing.

Below is a window card for Thurston's 23rd tour in late 1928. Look familiar? It's strikingly similar to Houdini's now well-known 1926 window card featuring Halloween imagery. There's even an owl perched over the first letter of his name. I've not dove too deeply into this, but it appears this artwork was unique to Thurston's 1928-29 tour.

For comparison, here is Houdini's window card.

So was this a delibrate effort by Thurston to evoke Houdini's show? Could this just be coincidence? Or maybe these elements are part of a basic template used by printers of the time? It's hard to say for sure, but the similarities here are unmistakable.

Reproductions of the Thurston card are available from the Museum Outlets website.

Related:

• The LAST Houdini window card
• "We all know Houdini has faults..."
• Looking into the future...

More magnificent Houdini images materialize

New images of Houdini just keep on appearing! Today David Haversat of David Haversat Magic shares news of a recently acquired unpublished photo that's pretty wild. I really don't know what the heck is going on here, but David does a nice job explaining his own thoughts below.

Recently I discovered and purchased this unique image of Harry Houdini climbing a ladder of swords.

This effect was common in the side-show and with Fakirs. However, Houdini never performed this feat for the public.

Based on Houdini’s appearance and clothing, we could place this image around 1908, the time he was performing the Milk Can Escape. 

Perhaps this was a prop housed in the workshop of a magic builder, or backstage and Harry just needed to try it to rekindle the “old days” when he worked the sideshows.

Another item in my collection makes reference the very same effect. On October 5, 1927, Howard Thurston wrote to magic builder Rudolph Schlosser asking him to build the very same sword effect!

"Please let me know if you can make a sword ladder for me. An apparatus containing four swords that my Hindu can walk on. It is an old museum trick and let me know if you can understand "the" best construction and give me an idea how you can make and when you will have it finished and how much it will cost.... Howard Thurston" 

 

I can't find a reference of Schlosser every constructing the illusion for Thurston. However, Schlosser did build a number of effects for Houdini, including two Blooming Flower Growth effects and two sizes of Houdini's last illusion known as The Flight of Time. It's also though that Schlosser constructed Houdini's Whirlwind of Colors. 

-David Haversat 

When I first saw this photo I instantly thought of this famous shot of Houdini standing beside his Milk Can, taken in Atlantic City in 1908. He's in the same bathing suit (which is red, btw), and looks very much the same age. Could this be a playful behind-the-scenes pic from that same shoot?

But there's more! These two photos credited to the Brown Brothers in New York City sold on eBay over the weekend for $515.00 (front facing) and $433.89 (profile). They show Houdini in the backyard of 278, likely in 1925-26, demonstrating a rope tie and paper tear. I believe these images were taken for a magazine article (but I can't seem to find it at the moment). I'm especially wild about that profile shot, which I think is a beautiful study of the older Houdini.

Congratulations to the new owners of these amazing images. Keep 'em coming!

Related:

• Houdini and Kellar photo flies away with $341
• Breedlove vs. Houdini trial photo fetches $400
• Ultra rare Houdini poster found at yard sale

10th Anniversary: Golden Age in bronze

In 2010 Mike Elizalde's special effects house Spectral Motion launched their amazing "Magicians Series" of bronze busts. I discovered these by surprise at Monsterpalooza and blogged about them 10 years ago today.

Houdini bronze by Spectral Motion

TEN YEAR UPDATE: Spectral Motion has thus far created busts of Houdini, Robert-Houdin, Kellar, Thurston, Chung Ling Soo, Alexander Herrmann, Adelaide Herrmann, Blackstone, Dante, and Cardini. All are on display at the Magic Castle. I've heard talk of mini busts and a new series of contemporary magicians. Mike Elizalde recently teased Ricky Jay on his Twitter. As for Houdini, I've never pulled the trigger on one of these (they are $2650), but I remain tempted and they still have a few in stock. My dream is they'll one day do a second Houdini bust at his older "Master Mystifier" age.

Related:

• Welcome to our WILD 10th year!
• 10 year flashback: The Worcester YMCA pool test
• 10 year flashback: Diggers Rest centennial festival

Straitjacket plus (update)

A clipping from the April 8, 1933 Toronto Star Weekly sold for $67 on eBay over the weekend. The article, "Peril Of Working With A Magician", interviews Ruth Hathaway, who claims to have assisted Houdini and other magicians such as Thurston and Blackstone. (I've never heard of her). But the true attraction is this dynamite photo of Houdini in "a rope-bound straitjacket".

I've been finding a lot of new images of a straitjacketed Houdini in newspapers from 1923, which is when I suspect this photo was taken. But this is the first image I've ever seen of him in a straitjacket with additional ropes added. I love it!

Thanks to Kevin Connolly for the heads up.

UPDATE: I've now discovered an even better (or at least more complete) version of this same photo. This appeared in the Boston Post promoting Houdini's upcoming suspended straitjacket escape in the city on December 22, 1921.

Boston Post, Dec. 21, 1921

Related:

• New image of Houdini in straitjacket
• A Houdini birthday present from Kevin Connolly
• Straitjacket fail

Looking into the future...

Yesterday I retweeted the many Houdini birthday wishes (58) that crossed the various Twitter hashtags. Among them was this standout tweet from Howard Thurston expert and mega collector Rory Feldman who shared a gem from his collection. A great photo and a terrific inscription. Perhaps they are looking at us?

#bff #bffs Harry Houdini and Howard Thurston (Circa 1922) 145 years ago today, #onthisday, March 24, 1874 Harry Houdini (Ehrich Weiss) was born. pic.twitter.com/pHmT4qKqg6

— Rory Feldman (@Rory_Feldman) March 25, 2019

You can check out all the other birthday tweets @HoudiniWild.

Related:

• Scandal
• Wild About Howard
• Jim Steinmeyer talks Houdini and Thurston (video)

The widows deaths

Today marks the 76th anniversary of the death of Bess Houdini on February 11, 1943. To mark the occasion, here's an article from Variety that ran shortly after her passing. I was not aware of this!

Variety, February 17, 1943.

Bess did know Paula Thurston, who was actually the magician's fourth wife. The widows had considered the idea of holding a joint seance in 1936 to contact both Houdini and Thurston (as well as Charles Carter). I'm shocked to learn Paula died at only age 33. But from what little is written about her in Jim Steinmeyer's excellent Thurston biography, The Last Greatest Magician in the World (where I nicked the above photo), I suspect it was related to alcoholism. 

Related:

• Marie Hinson remembers the death of her sister Bess Houdini
• Bess originally planned Final Houdini Seance as a "hunt for magician ghosts"
• 'Mrs. Harry Houdini's Rendezvous'

Podcast: Harry Houdini and the Golden Age of Magic

Here's a podcast from The Bowery Boys discussing "Harry Houdini and the Golden Age of Magic: Spectacle, sorcery and spiritualism in New York." You can listen below or at their website.



This is the first half of their magic discussion. The second will take place live on stage at the New York Historical Society this Tuesday, August 14, from 7pm to 8:30pm. Click here for more information and the buy tickets.

Related:

• Houdini's in New York
• Wild in Houdini's New York (2018)

Chuck Romano wins April Fools Day

Check out what our friend Chuck Romano of Chuck Romano Magic tweeted out yesterday, April Fools Day. Pretty spectacular!

Houdini Vanishing Elephant Lithograph. #Houdini #magician #magic pic.twitter.com/b2cmGuBTTJ

— Chuck Romano (@CRomanoMagic) April 1, 2018

While Chuck has not yet fessed up to this being an April Fools Day prank, there are clues here that tell us this is not a real Houdini lithograph. You might notice Houdini's body is actually that of Howard Thurston from a Levitation poster (cleverly reversed). And Houdini's head is from his 1914 Buried Alive lithograph, as is the typeface.

The subject, the Vanishing Elephant, is very well chosen, because there is famously no known poster for this iconic Houdini illusion. But if one ever surfaced, it would probably look a lot like this, so thank you Chuck!

Related:

• 100 years ago Houdini vanished an elephant
• The lost posters of Harry Houdini
• The Magic Castle announces name change

Houdini and Kellar and Thurston, oh my!

Here's a terrific image I've never seen before posted by Ken Trombly on his magic_posters Instagram. Quite the gathering!

Here is an unusual picture, as it includes three of Magic’s greatest names ...Harry Houdini, Harry Kellar and Kellar’s newly announced successor Howard Thurston ( seated to the left with dark bow tie) all at the Hotel Marlborough in New York City on June 4, 1908 at a banquet for the Society of American Magicians. While Kellar and Thurston were seated together, Houdini made sure that he was standing behind his dear friend Kellar when it was time for the photo. #photo #antique #magic #magician #ephemera #banquet #portrait #photography #old #vintage #history #paper #historic #group #magichistory #turnofthecentury #entertainment #escapeartist #houdini

A post shared by Ken Trombly (@magic_posters) on Jan 24, 2018 at 7:37pm PST

It's interesting to note that this was taken just one month before Houdini resigned from the S.A.M. in July 1908, due largely over his feud with Sphinx publisher Dr. A.M. Wilson. The full photo appeared in the June 1908 issue of Houdini's Conjurers Monthly Magazine.

Thanks to Ken for letting me share this image. Visit his website magicposters.com.

Related:

• Harry Kellar visits The Grim Game set
• Letter from Kellar to Houdini sells for $32,500
• The saga of Houdini and The Sphinx

Houdini in 1902

The year 1902 can be characterized as one of the most combative of Houdini's career. Having  proclaimed himself the "Undisputed King of Handcuffs and World's Champion Jail Breaker," the year would find him defending his title in a variety of arenas. Even in court.

This post is now retired. 

But you will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1902 in my upcoming book.

William H. "Bill" McIlhany (1951-2017)

A sad loss to report. William H. McIlhany has passed away at age 66. Bill was a major magic collector who specialized in historic magic film. In 1994, he became the Film and Video Archivist for the Magic Castle.

Bill's great contribution to the Houdini world was the release of The Master Mystery on two VHS cassettes in 1998. This was the first time the Houdini serial had ever been made available to the public. Likewise, Bill arranged for the release of Terror Island on VHS in 1996, paired with the only surviving fragment of Howard Thurston's own 1920 film, Twisted Souls. He also released the 1970 BBC documentary The Truth About Houdini.

In recent years Bill worked with Todd Karr to release various DVD collections of rare magic footage, including Vintage Magic Films, which includes Houdini's card manipulation footage and rare film of Bess.

I've long heard that Bill owned a near complete version of Houdini's 1909 film, Les merveilleux de Houdini à Paris. However, the last time I spoke with him (at the time of my Hollywood Heritage lecture), he was in declining health and wasn't sure where it was among his vast collection.

Bill lived in Los Angeles with his wife, Bobbie O'Toole McIlhany, who survives him.

Bill's The Master Mystery and Terror Island on VHS.

Thanks to Kevin Connolly and Phil Schwartz of Thayer Magic.

Related:

• Puzzling together The Master Mystery
• Film of Bess Houdini in 1938
• Christopher’s Houdini The Impossible Possible on DVD

Houdini's Coca-Cola connection

Reader Bruce East recently alerted me to a connection between Houdini and Coca-Cola that I've never heard before. The following comes from the book The Real Ones: the First Family of Coca-Cola, which discusses Asa Candler Jr., a.k.a. "Buddie," son of Coca-Cola founder Asa Candler, Sr., and his interest in magic.

Asa "Buddie" Candler, Jr.

Buddie arranged to meet and get to know Houdini, from whom he learned several tricks. He would do these tricks for the rest of his life. His grandson Tommy Thompson recalls that, "PaPa was in the Society of American magicians or something like that. They'd put on a show and he'd participate. He did quite a few card tricks. A lot of people didn't realize how talented he was, but he had some card tricks that he would perform like a master. He entertained us. I'd always sit there, and he'd do a trick, and I would ask him how he did that, and he would say, 'Nope, nope, don't ever tell anybody how you do a trick. Nope.'" [...]

Buddie had learned the tricks from Houdini with the promise to the master magician that he would never divulge them, and he never did. The other magician that Buddie knew well and admired was Howard Thurston, who was famous as a card manipulator and also for his large stage illusions such as the "floating lady." It was from Thurston that Buddie learned and purchased some of the illusion acts he proceeded to perform -- usually using his daughters, Helen and Martha, as his assistants. Buddie kept these elaborate magic boxes stored in the ballroom on the third floor of Briarcliff. He could cut a person in two or make them disappear and then return whole, plus many other tricks.

Houdini and Coca-Cola. The real thing indeed.

Below are links to more connections between Houdini and famous American brands.

Thanks Bruce.

Related:

• Jack Rabbit was a Houdini bunny
• Houdini's secrets brought to you by Camel cigarettes
• Hot Houdini