LINK: The man who taught Houdini to make an elephant disappear

The Daily Mail has a very interesting profile of Charles Morritt, who made several illusions for Houdini, including his famous Vanishing Elephant:

While Houdini performed his illusions, Morritt spent World War I touring the provinces. One evening he appeared in Houdini's dressing room. "Of course," he said, as Houdini peered in the mirror, applying greasepaint for the stage lights, "if you really want to make headlines with your magic, you shouldn't bother with little tricks like rabbits and pigeons. Make an elephant disappear."

Houdini remonstrated that even if the necessary equipment could be devised, having an elephant on stage would hardly be practical.

"I've got a very efficient way to do it," retorted Morritt.

Click on the headline to read the full story at The Daily Mail.

Houdini handcuffs at Comic Con

A pair of Mattatuck handcuffs used by Harry Houdini are currently on display at the Profiles in History booth at the San Diego Comic Con.

The Con -- the worlds largest gathering of all things pop culture -- started on Thursday and runs through Sunday at the San Diego Convention Center. Attendance is expected to top last year’s 200,000.

The cuffs are auction lot #664. Bids can be placed via eBay. Price estimate is $7,000 to $9,000.

The Mattatuck cuffs were first sold at Butterfields Houdini auction in Los Angeles in 1999 as part of the Sidney Radner Houdini Magical Hall of Fame collection.

Jail time, fine for Houdini collection arsonist

The man convicted of burning a priceless collection of Harry Houdini memorabilia might have to conjure up $100,000 as part of his sentence.

Jarrod Frederick pleaded guilty to the arson charge Wednesday and said he would attempt to pay the money as part of his proposed three-year prison sentence.

Frederick is accused of destroying Dr. Randall Wolf’s collection of the magician’s memorabilia when he broke into an Indian Hill home on Dec. 30 and set a fire that caused more than $1 million damage.

Prosecutors said Frederick, who once did lawn work in Indian Hill and knew the area, was looking for an out-of-the-way place to smoke crack cocaine.

He went into the Park Road house, prosecutors said, and set the fire while attempting to light his crack pipe.

The proposed sentence would give Frederick a choice of serving three years and attempting to pay $100,000, or serving five years and paying none.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Dennis Helmick became irritated with Frederick when he asked a question about paying the money.

“I have absolutely no sympathy for you,” Helmick said. “I’m asking you to pay 10 cents on the dollar. If you don’t want to, OK, you’ll go to the penitentiary. You were the one who caused the loss.”

The judge will decide whether to accept the proposed sentence Aug. 21. If he does, Frederick would be expected to begin making payments for the first five years after his release from prison.

His attorney, Hal Arenstein, said the hope is Frederick will be able to pay something, although it’s unlikely he will be able to repay anything close to $100,000.

If he makes an effort, Arenstein said, he should be able to avoid going back to prison.

Helmick said insurance companies already have paid $500,000 to cover property lost in the fire and would likely pay much more.

“Do you want to tell me … why you have a right to screw somebody else’s life up?” the judge asked.

“I have no right,” Frederick answered.

“You seem to be doing it,” Helmick said. “Every time you decide to use crack, it was a conscious decision. Nobody held a gun to your head.”

by Dan Horn
Cincinnati.com The Enquirer

AICN reviews Death Defying Acts

The first review of Death Defying Acts starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones has appeared over at Ain’t It Cool News. While the review isn’t exactly glowing, the reviewer did note that some in the focus group he attended liked the film...so that’s something.

Click to read: Bobo Vision Wants To Escape From DEATH-DEFYING ACTS

Death Defying Acts is a “supernatural romantic thriller” that tells the fictional story of Houdini’s relationship with a Scottish psychic played by Zeta Jones. It will be released by The Weinstein Co.

Houdini Lives! on Amazon

First published in October 2006, Houdini Lives! by Al Blanchard and Adam Steinfeld is a fun fictional novel that finds Houdini alive and well and living in Miami Beach in 1966. Originally available only as an eBook or print on demand, Houdini Lives! is now available on Amazon.com.

It's 1966, and world famous magician, escape artist, Harry Houdini, did not die 40 years ago as people thought. He's has been in hiding from his political enemies and is planning a dramatic comeback. Who are these enemies from the 1920's, and why are they still trying to kill him? Can Stanford, the young, hip, up-and-coming magician, and his sultry assistant, Solea, save his life? A magician creates a world of wonder and asks people to believe in that world. It is the highest form of entertainment. What is Houdini's secret identity? Will this be his final illusion? Ladies and Gentlemen, prepare for a tall tale of murder, mystery, romance, and political drama. Houdini lives or dies is only a matter of time.

Purchase Houdini Lives! from Amazon.com

Pamela Anderson gets signed Houdini book for her 40th

Pamela Anderson received a twice-signed copy of Houdini’s A Magician Among The Spirits for her 40th birthday. The book was a gift from magician Hans Klok.

The former Playboy playmate and Baywatch star celebrated her birthday last Saturday at the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas where she is currently assisting Klok in his show The Beauty of Magic.

Pamela is reported to have let former husband Tommy Lee and photographer David LaChapelle touch the signature for good luck.

Dita Von Teese is “Houdini of Burlesque”

Burlesque star Dita Von Teese has likened herself to Houdini because of the speed at which she can remove her clothes.

The former wife of rocker Marilyn Manson believes she can disrobe in just 15 seconds. "No one's ever timed me with a stopwatch but it would be interesting to find out. I do consider myself to be a Houdini of burlesque. I can remove my clothing very quickly if I choose to but, of course, part of the art of burlesque is taking your time."

On that last count, Dita may very well share a key performance philosophy with the great magician. While Houdini could escape his constraints very quickly, he would sometimes delay making a reappearance until the tension in the audience reached its zenith. Indeed, legend has it that Houdini would even read the newspaper while the audience fretted about whether he’d escape from an air-tight safe.

And now, another pic of Dita.

Houdini mobile phone game coming

PRESS RELEASE: Tag Games today signed an agreement with Oasys Mobile which brings Tag's critically acclaimed debut title Dead Water to North America, where it will be released as Houdini: Escape from Dead Water.

Paul Farley, the managing director of Tag Games, said, “The Houdini license is not only a great fit in terms of the titles theme and game-play but also comes at an opportune time with Houdini's controversial demise is back in the news.”

Houdini: Escape From Dead Water is scheduled for release in Q3 2007. The title will be available from all major North American carriers.

Dead Water was released in Europe in early 2007, to widespread critical acclaim. The game was awarded 81% from MobileGameFaqs.com, 8/10 from MidletReview.com and prompted MobGames.tv to proclaim, “With brand new original innovative game-play, designed specifically for your mobile phone, could this be a glimpse of what's to come from Tag Games and for the industry as a whole?”

Tag Games has a number of games in development to follow Houdini: Escape from Dead Water. These include Rock’n’Roll - an innovative casual action/puzzle title that features unique one button game-play and Granny In Paradise, which brings Sandlot Games' popular casual PC franchise to mobile for the very first time.

“We're delighted to be working with Oasys to release Houdini: Escape From Dead Water to the American market,” says Farley.“We've had a great response to the game throughout Europe and we believe its combination of simple, fun gameplay and the unique setting of a sinking ship– with the constantly rising water, will prove just as popular with an American audience.”

Oasys Mobile CEO, Doug Dyer commented, “We are excited about our partnership with Tag Games to release Houdini: Escape From Dead Water. We believe, together, we will release a successful and compelling game with large appeal in the American market.”

‘Mein Training’ nabs $1,400 on eBay

A copy of Houdini’s first German pitchbook Mein Training and Meine Tricks shot past its auction estimate of $300 to $400 and sold for $1,400 on eBay.

At 80 pages, Mein Training is substantially longer than most of Houdini’s pitchbooks. In fact, it could be considered a proper Houdini book in the vein of Handcuff Secrets.

This eBay copy came from the library of the famous Mentalist Joseph Dunninger, a close personal friend of Houdini who later served as technical advisor on the 1953 Paramount movie HOUDINI.

'Biography for Kids' captures Houdini

The Biography Channel series "Biography for Kids" recently added Houdini to its lineup of hour long profiles.

Unfortunately, this is not a new documentary, but is the 1994 A&E produced, Houdini The Great Escape, re-recorded with a young person reading the narration.

Still, this is one of the better Houdini biographies and one that Houdini fans young and old will enjoy.

Check your cable listings for air dates.

Last photo...no! True location revealed

Thanks to reader Mike Castle, we can now firmly establish that the above picture is not the last photo ever taken of Houdini at McGill University in 1926, as was claimed in a recent eBay auction. This is actually a photo of Houdini posing outside the White House in Washington D.C.

Check out the postcard below. There can be no doubt that Houdini is standing in the pathway of the West Wing at approximately the area of the red dot (determined by counting off 12 windows along the wing).

Red dot marks where Houdini is standing

This suggests the photo was taken in either February or May of 1926 when Houdini traveled to the capitol to testify before Congress on a bill to outlaw fortune telling in the District of Columbia.

But this hardly takes the shine off this image. Sure, it isn’t Houdini’s “last photo.” But it is the only image I know of showing the master magician at the White House.

Thank you Mike!

UPDATE: It's likey this was taken on Wednesday, May 19, 1926, when Houdini visited the White House to deliver an affidavit related to his congressional testimony to Everett Sanders, secretary to President Coolidge.

Last photo of Houdini?

A recent eBay auction offered up what it claims is the last photo taken of Harry Houdini. The auction describes the photo as taken in a “University area in Canada” shortly before Houdini gave a lecture there. The description goes on to explain that Houdini was then “beaten by a group of students in his dressing room” and died shortly after.

Considering Houdini was not “beaten by a group of students” (the perpetrator was a single student from McGill University and generally considered a freak accident), I’m not sure I’m willing to buy all the auction’s claims about this pic.

Also, having been to McGill, I don’t recall any buildings in that style. To my eye, that looks a lot like the White House in the background, suggesting this was possibly taken during Houdini’s trip to D.C. to testify on a bill outlawing fortune telling (but now I’m the one who’s just guessing).

Still, it’s a nice pic, and one I can’t recalling seeing elsewhere.

The starting price was $1,250.00 and ended with no bids.

UPDATE: Last photo...no! True location revealed.

The Arcanum resurrected

Harry Houdini, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft and Marie Laveau team up to fight demons, including a serial killer of angels, in 1919 New York.

That's the setup for Thomas Wheeler's fantasy-adventure novel The Arcanum which has just been picked up for big-screen adaptation by Gold Circle Films. Wheeler also penned the the script.

The movie rights to the 2004 novel were preemptively purchased by Miramax in 1999. The studio had Warren Zide and Craig Perry set to produce the project, but nothing ever became of it.

Gold Circle head Paul Brooks told Daily Variety that the search is on for a director. "We see this as a potential franchise property," he added.

Source: IGN.com