Unpublished Houdini: In Los Angeles

Welcome to Unpublished Houdini. In this series I share a new never-before-published photo of Houdini every Monday from our generous Hinson Endowment.

I'm changing up my choice of photo today for those arriving in L.A. this week for the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History. This is a magnificent unpublished shot of Houdini doing a suspended straitjacket escape from the historic Examiner building in downtown Los Angeles. (If you can't see Harry, click here.)

"I shall never forget that crowd as I hung suspended. It looked to me as if I was struggling over a bubbling sea."

-HOUDINI, 1917

As you can see, the beautiful Examiner building is as much the subject of this photo as Houdini. Publisher William Randolph Hearst commissioned Julia Morgan and Los Angeles architects Henke and Dodd to design the building in the popular Mission Revival style. Hearst was so pleased with the results that he later commissioned Morgan to design his massive San Simeon Castle. The Examiner building (later the Herald-Examiner) opened for business on January 1, 1915 and remained the newspaper's headquarters until the paper folded in 1989.

Happily, the Examiner building has survived at 1111 S. Broadway and still looks much as it did the day Houdini made his escape. The building is still owned by the Hearst Corporation and is now rented out for film shoots (including The Prestige). Below are photos I took of the building yesterday.

Harry hung here  | Map.

So when you've had your fill of Erdnase at the Conference, sneak on out and see some still living magic history downtown. Later this week I'll share more Houdini-Los Angeles history as well as some additional "then and now" shots from my Houdini photo safari in downtown yesterday.

UPDATE: The date of this escape was Wednesday, April 4, 1923. Also, the straitjacket Houdini used on this day was the same one that appeared on a 2011 episode of Pawn Stars.

UPDATE: Historic site of Houdini escape will be preserved.

Click here to view all the installments of Unpublished Houdini.

LINK: News from the First Annual Houdini Festival in Danville VA

Our friend Dean Carnegie has posted a report on the First Annual Houdini Festival which was held November 1-2 at the Historic North Theater in Danville, Virginia. Sounds like it was a terrific event and plans are already underway for next year's festival. Dean also lets it slip that he's working on a book about Houdini.

Click the headline and read Dean's report at his blog The Magic Detective.

Houdini Kitchen Laboratory opens in Queens

Good news for hungry Houdini grave hunters. Grub Street New York reports that a new pizza restaurant, Houdini Kitchen Laboratory, has opened not far from Houdini's gravesite in Ridgewood, Queens.

The brick-walled restaurant features an open kitchen with a brick oven, and a menu of six pizzas, salads, and desserts. Pizza toppings include pancetta, sausage, anchovies, and fresh mozzarella.

Houdini Kitchen Laboratory is located at 1563 Decatur Street and is open from 6pm to 11pm every night. The restaurant has launched a Facebook page where you can see pics of some mighty tasty looking pies!

Now I have two reasons to revisit Ridgewood.

UPDATE: Houdini Kitchen Laboratory in Queens is no more.

Penn wants to play Conan Doyle to Kevin Pollak's Houdini

I listen to Penn Jillette's podcast Penn's Sunday School religiously (ha!) and in a recent episode (#88. The Movies That Destroyed America) Penn expressed a desire to play Sir Arthur Conan Doyle against the actor he thought would make the perfect Houdini; Kevin Pollak. The conversations started around 1:01 and here's part of what Penn said:

"This of course is the heartbreak of my life. If I ever get to play in a Houdini movie, I will play Arthur Conan Doyle; big fat ugly guy, right? And the strongman would be Houdini. The perfect Houdini-Arthur Conan Doyle pair, the two man show you'd want to do of Conan Doyle and Houdini, is me and Kevin Pollak. Kevin Pollak looks exactly like Houdini. Precisely like Houdini. Same height, same build, everything. And then I look just like Arthur Conan Doyle. The two of us... That's a really good idea. A really good idea."

Later (around 1:19) Penn spoke at length about Houdini's fame as compared to modern magicians such as David Copperfield and Criss Angel. Now, I've heard Penn talk about his admiration for Houdini before (did a post here), but I don't think I've ever heard him express himself as eloquently or intensely as he does here. So if you're a Houdini buff and a Penn & Teller fan and haven't yet listened to one of Penn's podcasts, this might be the one to sample. My guess is you'll become a "member of the congregation" like me.

You know, I've yet to hear who is playing Conan Doyle in History's Houdini miniseries with Adrien Brody. If the part is still open... Just saying.

You can download Penn's Sunday School on iTunes or listen to it at the official Penn's Sunday School website.

Kickstart the HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck

The talented crew at design studio Ars Felix in San Francisco have launched a Kickstarter campaign for their HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck. This is a hand illustrated, poker-sized deck of Houdini themed playing cards with faces featuring important figures from Houdini's life, including: Bess, Hardeen, Margery, Robert-Houdin and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Click on over to Kickstarter and fund a HOUDINI Magic Séance Card Deck and choose from an assortment of add-ons. The campaign ends on December 7, 2013.

First glimpse of Adrien Brody as Houdini

Recently the Houdini crew in Budapest shot scenes in the open city streets doubling for San Francisco. Now a photo from that shoot has appeared online (via a tumbler user) which provides our first glimpse of Adrien Brody as Houdini! It's distant, it's blurry, but you can still see Brody's (tall) Harry in front of the San Francisco Chronicle building. Preparing for a suspended straitjacket escape maybe?

Houdini stars Adrien Brody as Houdini and Kristen Connolly as Bess. The 4-hour miniseries is being directed by Uli Edel from a script by Nicholas Meyer. Houdini is an A&E Studios Lionsgate co-production. It will air over the course of two nights on HISTORY in 2014.

Meanwhile in New York...

While all our attention was focused on The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax, there was another Houdini seance happening in New York City on Halloween. The great William Kalush, co-author of The Secret Life of Houdini and founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center, hosted a private gathering which included such notables as: Anna Thurlow, the great granddaughter of Margery; director Darren Aronofsky; Roger Dreyer of the Houdini Museum of New York; Secret Life co-author Larry "Ratso" Sloman; Axis Company Artistic Director, Randy Sharp; and Academy Award winning actress Susan Sarandon.

Did Houdini snub Halifax to attended this chic gathering instead? Bill didn't say, but he did post this photo on Instagram. Believe.

UPDATE: The Wall Street Journal has a report on this seance.

History launches first Houdini promo

HISTORY used Halloween to kick off the official promotional campaign for their upcoming Houdini miniseries starring Adrien Brody as Houdini and Kristen Connolly as Bess. The official HISTORY Facebook page updated their cover photo to this nice colorized image of Houdini and posted the following:

On this day in 1926, Harry Houdini died of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital after the burst appendix poisoned his system. Find out how by going HERE. SHARE with your friends if you’re looking forward to HOUDINI starring Adrien Brody, coming in 2014.

This is a promising start for what I think will be an all-out effort by HISTORY to hype this two-night, 4-hour event. Don't be surprised if Houdini artifacts start to show up on other HISTORY shows such as Pawn Stars and American Pickers in 2014.

Houdini is currently shooting in Budapest under the direction of by Uli Edel from a script by Nicholas Meyer. The film is a co-production between A&E Studios and Lionsgate.

Photos from The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax

Here is a collection of photos from The Official Houdini Seance held last night in Halifax, Nova Scotia. These come courtesy of Bill Radner and Robert Somerdin. As I reported last night, Harry himself didn't make it, but it looks like it was a terrific event and it's clear everyone had a great time celebrating Houdini.

Welcome to The Official Houdini Seance 2013

Houdini memorabilia on display.

Media aplenty.

The seance table.

EVP then and now.

Pre-seance magic show.

Performers Mister J, Margaret Steele, Lucas Wilson and Kelly Defilla.

Ghostbusters!

Robert Somerdin holds his own seance in the Citadel.

The message from Halifax: Houdini stayed silent

The word from the folks at The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax, Nova Scotia is that despite the best efforts of medium Alan Hatfield -- who employed the use of EVP (Electronic voice phenomenon) -- Houdini failed to return from the dead for the 86th year in a row. The seance was held this year at the historic Citadel Hill in Halifax and was co-hosted by Bill Radner and Bruce MacNab, author of The Metamorphosis: The Apprenticeship of Harry Houdini.

But while Houdini was a no show, the event seemed to be a hit with the attendees. There was magic performances by Margaret Steele, Mister J, and escape artist Lucas Wilson who freed himself from a straitjacket in 47 seconds. Award-winning singer Laura Smith performed The Houdinis favorite song, Rosie, Sweet Rosabel.

Our friend Robert Somerdin, a member of the inner circle, provided us with photos and live updates from the proceedings (which you can view on my Twitter page) and The Chronicle Herald Live Blogged the event. The inner circle consisted of Fred Pittella, Bruce MacNab, Midge Markey, Robert Somerdin, Noella Brennan Fisher, and Dr. Karen Mann (the daughter of Jack Price). They tried for an amazing hour and a half to "pierce the veil" and bring back Harry. The lights at one point did mysteriously flicker, but Houdini himself stayed silent. Still, I'm impressed with this seriousness of this year's attempt.

Maybe next year.

Program for The Official Houdini Seance 2013.

A very big THANK YOU to Robert Somerdin for providing photos and keeping us all informed throughout the seance. This proved to be an exciting event, even just on the computer.

UPDATE: Photos from The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax

UPDATE 2: Official seance medium claims to have captured Houdini's voice.

LIVE BLOG: Official Houdini Seance

I am tweeting LIVE images and updates from The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax, Nova Scotia supplied by our friend Robert Somerdin who is part of the inner circle. Follow below or @HoudiniWild.

Tweets by @HoudiniWild

The Chronicle Herald is also Live Blogging The Official Houdini Seance in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Click here to follow Tweets from the proceedings happening NOW.

87 years ago today Houdini didn't die

It's now 1:26 PM in Detroit, Michigan, and it was exactly was 87 years ago that Houdini didn't die. Yes, he passed away in a physical form on October 31, 1926, but he certainly didn't leave our world. Because Houdini is as famous and as active today as he was 87 years ago. Maybe even more so.

Houdini's very name has become part of our culture. A week doesn't go by in which there isn't a mention of a sports star, convict, politician or house pet "pulling a Houdini." A 4-hour miniseries about his life is currently shooting in Budapest (today is a shooting day, in fact). There are at least a dozen movie and TV shows about the magician in development. A big-budget Broadway musical is in the works. Several plays are being produced. There are Houdini rides and mazes at amusement parks from California to France. At least 2 new major books are being written about life and career. A new series of teen fantasy novels starring a young Houdini has just been launched. Appleton Wisconsin recently dedicated a new "Houdini Plaza." Official Houdini seances are being held today in Halifax, New York, Scranton, and Las Vegas. A 2-day "Houdini Festival" in Danville starts tomorrow.

And, finally, there is enough happening in the world of Houdini that this blog is able to update everyday. All proof that after 87 years…HOUDINI LIVES!

Halloween Houdini tributes from around the web:
iTricks: There Is Something About Harry

Houdini Museum: In Memoriam: How did Houdini die?
Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence: October 31 1919
Ellusionist: Halloween a day for magic, but magicians use powers all year
Michelle Cushing: Houdini, Halloween, National Magic Day, and Me!
Dangerous Minds: Happy Halloween (and death day), Harry Houdini
Constance Phillips: Happy Halloween! Are You There, Harry?
Huffington Post: 6 Surprising Things You Didn't Know Happened On Halloween
Beautifully Bohemian: Celebrating Houdini (Elementary Lapbook)
Atlas Obscura: Waiting for Harry Houdini to escape from death
The Guardian: Harry Houdini - a picture from the past
Wretched Richard's Almanac: The Great Escape
History/Herstory: Harry Houdini Dies, 1926
The Sweetest Chill: Answer - Tell - Pray
Monsterminions: RIP Houdini
History.com: Houdini is dead

Houdini illustration by Harlan Tarbell appeared in the November 1926 issue of The Sphinx magazine (from my collection).