Houdini Birthright released for Kindle

The 1995 Houdini-Holmes mash-up novel, Sherlock Holmes and the Houdini Birthright by Val Andrews, has been released for the Amazon Kindle. The book is set in 1922 and also features Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Andrews has written a great many Sherlock Holmes pastiche novels, including the magic-themed Sherlock Holmes and the Theatre of Death (featuring The Great Lafayette) and Sherlock Holmes and the Egyptian Hall Adventure (featuring Maskelyne and David Devant).

As far as I know, this is his only Holmes adventure that features Houdini. Time for a sequel perhaps?

Houdini takes the fight to Washington

A nice original photo of Houdini testifying before Congress on May 20, 1926 has sold on eBay for $224.72. One thing I really like about this print are the caption details provided on the back.

Houdini was in Washington to support an amendment to a bill that would curtain Fortune Telling in the District of Columbia. It didn't pass. No doubt because of Tea Party opposition. :p

Identity of Erdnase to be revealed?

There is a great deal of buzz in the magic world today as word is the September issue of Genii Magazine, which will be released tomorrow, will finally unmask the true identity of "S. W. Erdnase".

Erdanse (a pseudonym) wrote The Expert at the Card Table, a book detailing sleight of hand and cheating techniques using playing cards, which has been in continual publication since 1902. Erdnase's true identity is one of the enduring mysteries of the magic community.

Wouldn't it be wild if Erdnase turned out to be Houdini? He was the "King of Cards" after all. Also, according to Joe Pecore at the Genii Forum, "The Erdnase Change", a color change described in Expert at the Card Table, is the same handling originally credited to Houdini in Selbit's The Magician's Handbook (1901), and later in Elliott's Last Legacy (1923). Hmmm...

Signed Houdini calling card part of Tony Curtis estate sale, Sept 17

A signed Houdini calling card is one of several magic related items being auctioned as part of a massive estate sale of actor Tony Curtis' personal memorabilia. The auction will take place on September 17, 2011, at Julien's Auctions in Beverly Hills. Previews start Sept 6.

The signed Houdini calling card is lot #403. Estimate is $600 - $800.

This card is petty darn cool. Not only was it owned by Tony Curtis, but remarkable is the fact that Houdini mentions Harry Cohn. Cohn, who would later run Columbia Pictures and became one of Hollywood's major moguls, was just starting out in the movie business in 1919. According to Wikipedia, he and his brother Jack had just founded CBC Film Sales Corporation. The initials stood for Cohn, Brandt, and Cohn, but Hollywood wags noted the company's low-budget, low-class efforts and nicknamed CBC "Corned Beef and Cabbage." CBC would eventually become Columbia Pictures.

Ironically, as Columbia head, Cohn would reject doing a Houdini biopic at his studio, complaining that it was "lacking in romance and needed a better ending than a punch in the solar plexus." Paramount would be the studio to finally tackle Houdini's story in a 1953 film which starred, of course, Tony Curtis.

Visit the Julien's Auctions website for more information and the complete Tony Curtis Estate Sale catalog.

Thanks to Bill Mullins at the Genii Forum for the tip.

Houdini rides the Broadway Local

Reader Joe Hanosek alerted me to this photo, featured as part of a retrospective at gothamist.com. It shows a graffiti-filled New York subway car from the early 1970s with a very familiar name. A message from beyond perhaps?

Check out Subway Graffiti In The Early 1970s at gothamist.com. How wild that New York subways actually looked like this at one time!

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...
  

Link: Dorothy Dietrich discovers secrets of Houdini's grave

Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz have posted a special page to their Scranton Houdini Museum website documenting their recent discoveries about Houdini's gravesite in Queens.

First up is the identity of the mourning female statue on the exedra (always wondered about this). Just click the headline above to have a read, and watch for more updates to the page coming soon.

John Calvert turns 100

Magician and actor John Calvert has turned 100 years old. Calvert knew Bess Houdini and Edward Saint when they lived in Hollywood in the 1930s. When Bess saw Calvert's show, she is reported to have said, "Calvert plays the part of a magician better than any actor I have ever seen, except for Harry, of course."

At the time, Bess and Ed Saint were actively trying to set up a Houdini biopic at one of the major studios. Bess sent a letter to Calvert, who had a seven year contract with Columbia, saying, "In my opinion, you are the only actor capable of portraying the life of my late husband, Harry Houdini. Are you interested?"

Calvert was interested. Unfortunately, the head of Columbia, Harry Cohn, was not, complaining that Houdini's story was "lacking in romance and needed a better ending than a punch in the solar plexus."

Calvert would later go on to produce and star in a special "Tribute to Houdini" stage show, which was released on what is now a very collectible VHS. But did Calvert ever meet or see Houdini himself? If so, this would make him possibly the last living link to Houdini (as we lost Dorothy Young in March). Unfortunately, recent interviews with Calvert ask him about Thurston and Blackstone, but not our Harry.

You can hear an interview with John Calvert and watch a video of his 100th birthday celebration at The Magic Newswire.

Link: Dave Stevens and Me by Patrick Culliton

Patrick Culliton has just posted on his website, Houdini's Ghost, memories of his good friend Dave Stevens. Stevens was a talented artist and the creator of The Rocketeer (I actually have a Stevens/Rocketeer print hanging over my desk). Patrick invited Dave on set as he performed in the ABC film, The Great Houdinis. Dave returned the favor by drawing Patrick as the escape artist in one of The Rocketeer graphic novels (right). Click on the headline above to read about Pat and Dave at Houdini's Ghost. (And check back here tomorrow for some cool Pat Culliton/WILD ABOUT HARRY news.)

Extreme Houdini

When Houdini came to Hollywood in 1919 to make his two films with Famous Players-Lasky, he and studio publicity men apear to have traveled around Los Angeles taking a series of dramatic photos of Harry in quintessential "Houdini-like" escape action. He was lashed to telephone poles and buzz saws, canon wheels and steam trains. I love these because it's the Houdini of the imagination, and I've come to call them the "Extreme Houdini" series. Many of these have come down through time as actual Houdini escapes and not the Hollywood fabrications that they really were. Hey, I won't tell if you don't.

Here are a selection of "Extreme Houdini" shots. Enjoy.

Photoplay, June 1920

Hollywood could never resist putting Houdini in front of a buzz saw, even 27 years after his death. In this instance it's Tony Curtis in the 1953 movie, HOUDINI.

The problem with Bessie - a footnote

The Secret Life of Houdini author Bill Kalush points me toward corroboration for my (somewhat controversial) post about the medical condition suffered by Bess Houdini that prevented her from having children. On page 130 of Secret Life, Bill makes mention of an unidentified "medical issue" that "prevented them from conceiving." In his follow-up book of notes, The Secret Life of Houdini Laid Bare, we find this footnote sourcing that information:

Undeveloped or problematic ovaries is cited as one of the causes of Primary Amenorrhea, which is what I diagnosed -- per Marie Blood's own conversation with me -- as the problem with Bessie.

Thank you Bill Kalush (and Ken Silverman).

The Houdini Exposure will tour UK in Spring 2012

Following two sell-out preview performances in October 2009 at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton, Little Earthquake, a UK based theatre company, is preparing for a national tour of The Houdini Exposure in Spring 2012.

The Houdini Exposure addresses the question of whether or not it is possible to make contact with the spirits of the dead. The production explores subjective interpretations of mediumship and psychic phenomena through two parallel storylines, featuring Little Earthquake’s trademark combination of factual research with elements of pure fiction.

Check out the trailer above. For more information on the play and tour visit the Little Earthquake/Houdini Exposure website. (And, yes, that's an image of Thurston they are using on their poster.)

UPDATE: Oops. Looking closely at the Little Earthquake website, I see there's an update dated July 27 that says: "We have just received news that our recent funding application to the Wellcome Trust has been unsuccessful. This funding was required to prepare and present The Houdini Exposure on a national tour throughout Spring and Autumn 2012. Whilst disappointed by this news, we’ll now take stock and look for alternative ways in which to successfully present the production next year."

American Experience Houdini DVD available for pre-order

The DVD of the PBS American Experience Houdini documentary is now available for pre-order at on Amazon.com. Price is $24.99, but it is currently discounted 30% to $17.49.

Release date is October 4, 2011. Cover art (right) has been revealed on the Shop PBS website. Not bad!

Hosted by David McCullough, the hour long documentary made by WGBH includes interviews with David Copperfield, James Randi, Ken Silverman, and others. It was first broadcast on January 24, 2000, and until now has only been available on VHS.