This is part of the Barbican's "Silent Film & Live Music Series." Reserved seating tickets can be purchased online.
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"It's a masterpiece." -David Copperfield
Thursday, September 3, 2015
The Grim Game at the Barbican in London, Oct. 11
TCM's restoration of Houdini's The Grim Game will screen at the Barbican Centre in London on Sunday, October 11 at 4:00 PM. The film will have live piano accompaniment by Neil Brand. The screening will take place in the Barbican's Cinema 1.
This is part of the Barbican's "Silent Film & Live Music Series." Reserved seating tickets can be purchased online.
Related:
This is part of the Barbican's "Silent Film & Live Music Series." Reserved seating tickets can be purchased online.
Related:
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Houdini Day on HISTORY, Sept. 5
This Saturday, September 5th, HISTORY will offer a block of Houdini programing. Here's the line-up:
- 8:00 am - Pawn Stars: Houdini Handcuffs
- 8:30 am - Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery
- 10:30 am - Houdini miniseries, Part I
- 12:30 pm - Houdini miniseries, Part II
The two-part Houdini miniseries first aired on HISTORY in September of last year. Saturday's airing will be the network's edited version. (The full unedited version is available on DVD and Blu-ray.) The "Houdini Handcuffs" episode of Pawn Stars first aired in 2011. Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery is an excellent documentary from 2005.
The last time HISTORY did a line up of Houdini programing like this they include the reviled Brad Meltzer's Decoded. Happily, it didn't make the cut this time.
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Houdini returns in The Shadow #2
Last year Dynamite Comics revived Walter B. Gibson's The Shadow with a graphic novel featuring Houdini and the famous crime fighter in 1925 New York. Today Dynamite release The Shadow #2, and once again the plot involves Houdini. Here's a description:As the Shadow continues his crusade against a cabal of magicians, he comes closer to uncovering the truth behind Houdini's message from beyond the grave. But the magicians are bringing in a specialist to eliminate the Shadow--an assassin who uses prestidigitation to lethal effect!
The Shadow #2 is written by Cullen Bunn with artwork by Butch Guice. The cover art is by Giovanni Timpano and features Houdini's gravestone. The graphic novel opens at Houdini's plot at Machpelah Cemetery. You can check out sample panels at the Dynamite website.
Of course, the real Houdini had a strong connection to The Shadow. Creator Walter B. Gibson was Houdini's friend and ghostwriter. Houdini's nickname for Gibson was "Shadow."
You can purchase The Shadow #2 direct from Dynamite Comics or via Amazon.
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Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Houdini – For Your Consideration
The Emmys are this month and History/A+E Studios are reminding voters that their Houdini miniseries is in the race with 7 nominations. This ad from a Hollywood trade magazine promotes the nominations of star Adrien Brody and director Uli Edel.
The network has also taken out billboard space in Los Angeles and New York.
The Houdini miniseries aired a year ago today on HISTORY. But I've been struck by just how many people seem to have only discovered it on Netflix. I've even heard some call it "the Netflix Houdini series." Times are changing.
The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air September 20, 2015 on FOX.
UPDATE: Houdini at the 67th Emmy Awards.
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The network has also taken out billboard space in Los Angeles and New York.
The Houdini miniseries aired a year ago today on HISTORY. But I've been struck by just how many people seem to have only discovered it on Netflix. I've even heard some call it "the Netflix Houdini series." Times are changing.
The 67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air September 20, 2015 on FOX.
UPDATE: Houdini at the 67th Emmy Awards.
Related:
The Magician's Fire U.S. paperback
The second book in the series, The Demon Curse, was released in hardcover in June. Now word yet on when it will be released in paperback. Young Houdini 3, The Silent Assassin, will be released in the UK in early 2016. It's unclear if this third book will also be released in the U.S.
Young Houdini: The Magician's Fire can be purchased at Amazon.com.
Related posts:
Monday, August 31, 2015
Conjuring Arts offering a magic steal!
Our friends at the Conjuring Arts Research Center are offering for a limited time a complete file of Mahatma, the very first American magic magazine, as a FREE PDF. This is part of their annual Summer Reading Program in which they offer free and discounted digital downloads for a limited time.
For Houdini buffs, this is pure gold. Mahatma ran from 1895 to 1906, so in these page one can trace the rise of Houdini issue by issue, from his very first mention in issue #1 -- "The Houdinis, Harry and Bessie, go with Welsh Bros, show this season" -- to full page ads and articles that herald him as the biggest name in magic. There's also an astounding wealth of information on other magicians of the Golden Age.
So CLICK ON OVER to the Conjuring Arts Research Center and grab your free archive of Mahatma.
Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini collected edition
Dynamite's Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini has been released in a trade paperback that collects all five issues of the graphic novel series by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery with artwork by Carlos Furuzono. Cover art by John Cassaday was used on the first issue. All the variant covers from all five issues are included within.
Purchase the collected Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini on Amazon.
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When the world's most famous detective meets the world's most famous magician… death is the case!
Escape artist Harry Houdini’s London tour comes under attack from a mysterious figure that controls the powers of spirits. The goal? To destroy Houdini’s career and kill anyone who gets in the way. Houdini reluctantly teams with sleuth Sherlock Holmes, who is locked in a fight of his own. Can the two rise above their own battles to overcome a seemingly impossible force?
Written by Anthony Del Col and Conor McCreery, the Harvey Award-nominated creators of Kill Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes vs Harry Houdini is a witty adventure full of magic, spirits, technology and deduction. It’s a mystery you won’t be able to escape.
Purchase the collected Sherlock Holmes vs. Harry Houdini on Amazon.
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'Mrs. Houdini' arrives in 2016
While this won't be released until March 2016, I'm excited to share news today of a new novel by Victoria Kelly that tells the Houdini story from the point of view of Bess. Here's the just released cover art and plot description for Mrs. Houdini.
Pre-order Mrs. Houdini on Amazon.com (U.S.) and Amazon.co.uk (UK). For more about Victoria Kelly visit www.victoriakellybooks.com.
A captivating debut novel, meticulously researched and beautifully imagined, about the passionate marriage of Harry and Bess Houdini—a love story that defied death itself.
Before escape artist Harry Houdini died, he vowed he would find a way to speak to his beloved wife Bess from beyond the grave using a coded message known only to the two of them. When a widowed Bess begins seeing this code in seemingly impossible places, it becomes clear that Harry has an urgent message to convey. Unlocking the puzzle will set Bess on a course back through the pair’s extraordinary romance, which swept the illusionist and his bride from the beaches of Coney Island, to the palaces of Budapest, to the back lots of Hollywood. When the mystery finally leads Bess to the doorstep of a mysterious young photographer, she realizes that her husband’s magic may have been more than just illusion.
In surprising turns that weave through the uncertain days of the dawn of the twentieth century and continue into the dazzling 1920s, Mrs. Houdini is a thrilling tale that will take you deep into the heart of one of history’s greatest love stories—asking what drives people to believe in something bigger than themselves—even as it reveals the famous magician’s most remarkable feat of all.
Pre-order Mrs. Houdini on Amazon.com (U.S.) and Amazon.co.uk (UK). For more about Victoria Kelly visit www.victoriakellybooks.com.
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Sunday, August 30, 2015
The Remarkable Life and Magic of Houdini, Sept. 19
Canadian illusionists Lawrence Larouche and Cynthia Martin (a.k.a. Majinx) will present their show The Remarkable Life and Magic of Houdini at the Midland Cultural Centre in Midland, Ontario on September 19, 2015. Here's a description:
From Houdini’s death defying escapes to his spectacular illusions, magicians Lawrence Larouche and Cynthia Martin take the audience on a magical journey through realms of whimsy and the supernatural. Prepare to be amazed by this riveting tale of an extraordinary man who’s daring escapades separated him from every other entertainer of his time and transformed him into a global superstar.
The Remarkable Life & Magic of HOUDINI is storytelling for adults punctuated with live escapes and magical illusions. From Houdini’s first encounter with a straightjacket in Saint John, New Brunswick to the unveiling of his infamous Underwater Torture Cell, audiences will be spellbound by the extraordinary adventure of America’s first real-life super hero.
Keeping in mind the evolution of the contemporary audience, Lawrence has designed updated versions of all the illusions included in Houdini’s story. The result is a collection of some of the most beautiful and jaw dropping illusions ever assembled; a cascade of magical wonders sprinkled throughout an exhilarating evening of story telling.
The Remarkable Life & Magic of HOUDINI delivers what audiences would expect from Houdini himself: a thrilling escape.
Click here to buy tickets. You can learn more about Lawrence and Cynthia via their official website: www.majinx.com.
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Saturday, August 29, 2015
Pat Houdini's great escape
I've heard this story of Bess Houdini's pet parrot "Pat Houdini" getting loose in the Hollywood Hills, but here's an article that provides more detail. Pretty amusing. I suspect a fair amount of spin was put on it by Edward Saint. This is from the Klamath Falls Evening Herald, July 8, 1938.
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Friday, August 28, 2015
The Great Houdini Escape Room in San Fransisco
The Great Houdini Escape Room is the world’s first “escape room” — built 100 years ago by the escape master himself, Harry Houdini, as a challenge to 8 brilliant innovators, to see if they could escape his contraption filled room within 80 minutes.* These innovators — Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Charlie Chaplin, John Philip Sousa, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody, Helen Keller, and Luther Burbank — all participated in the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915 in San Francisco. The room is now open to the general public, available by reservation only.
* This first line may not be exactly true — but let’s pretend it is! The rest IS true.
A visit to to "The Great Houdini Escape Room" is included in one of the Kickstarter premiums for The Official Houdini Seance 2015, which is being held in San Fransicico this year.
Death Defying Acts on KTLA, Sunday
UPDATE: This 2AM showing of Death Defying Acts appears to have vanished from the KTLA schedule. Oh well. Pop in the DVD!
Death Defying Acts will air on local Southern California television station KTLA this Sunday, August 30 at 2:00 AM. It's not often this movie shows up on T.V., so set those DVRs.
Death Defying Acts is a romantic fiction starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. It had a limited theatrical release back in 2008. It's available on DVD.
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Death Defying Acts will air on local Southern California television station KTLA this Sunday, August 30 at 2:00 AM. It's not often this movie shows up on T.V., so set those DVRs.
Death Defying Acts is a romantic fiction starring Guy Pearce as Houdini and Catherine Zeta-Jones as a Scottish psychic. It had a limited theatrical release back in 2008. It's available on DVD.
Related:
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Appleton's new Houdini bust unveiled
The new Houdini Bust was unveiled today in Houdini Plaza in Appleton, Wisconsin. You can view the magic moment for yourself via the City of Appleton's Twitter:
The Houdini Bust was created by Sculpture Valley and artist Craig Campbell. Campbell incorporated several keys and lock-picks from Houdini's famous trunk No. 8 (housed in Appleton's Museum at the Castle) into the sculpture. There is also a hidden key that pulls out from behind Houdini's ear.
In other happenings, The Houdini Club of Wisconsin is holding their 77th annual convention in Appleton this week. The club will present two public magic shows on Friday and Saturday at UWFox's Perry Hall. A special tribute to Houdini is scheduled for Saturday's show.
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— City of Appleton (@cityofappleton) August 27, 2015The Houdini Bust was created by Sculpture Valley and artist Craig Campbell. Campbell incorporated several keys and lock-picks from Houdini's famous trunk No. 8 (housed in Appleton's Museum at the Castle) into the sculpture. There is also a hidden key that pulls out from behind Houdini's ear.
In other happenings, The Houdini Club of Wisconsin is holding their 77th annual convention in Appleton this week. The club will present two public magic shows on Friday and Saturday at UWFox's Perry Hall. A special tribute to Houdini is scheduled for Saturday's show.
Related:
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