"It's a masterpiece." -David Copperfield
Saturday, November 13, 2021
LINK: When Harry Houdini came to Williamsport
Here's a nice article by Don Everett Smith Jr. about Houdini's spiritualism lecture in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in October 1924. Click the headline to have a read at On The Pulse.
The Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd (and Houdini) Alley video
Exciting news for silent movie buffs and fan of Hollywood history. The famous alley off Cahuenga Blvd in Hollywood has now been officially named the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley. The below video, made for last month's Silent Movie Day gives a rundown of all the famous silent films shot in the alley, including Houdini's The Grim Game!
The recognition and naming of the Chaplin-Keaton-Lloyd Alley was thanks to the efforts of silent movie historian John Bengtson and Hollywood Heritage. (John is also the guy who identified the alley in The Grim Game.) You can watch a video of the September 29, 2021 dedication ceremony HERE.
Friday, November 12, 2021
"America's Sensation!" on display at the NYPL
The New York Public Library currently has on display a rare 1900 Houdini "America's Sensation!" poster as part of their Treasures exhibition. Also in the display is the certification of Houdini's handcuff escape at St. Louis police headquarters on August 28, 1899. Treasures indeed!
For more information and a nice image of the poster check out the NYPL website.
Thanks to Kevin Kittridge for the alert and pic.
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Tuesday, November 9, 2021
Houdini's hit list
One of Houdini's more aggressive tactics in his crusade against fraudulent spirt mediums was to publish their names and addresses in the local papers and publicly challenge them to attend his show and demonstrate their abilities. The below is one of those ads from February 22, 1926 when Houdini was making a two-day appearance at the Orpheum Theater in Reading, Pennsylvania.
Below are the mediums Houdini called out. I've added a Google Map links to their address, some of which look like they could be the same buildings from 1926. Do their spirits remain?
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| Click to enlarge. |
Rev. Sada Louise Hand.....231 Clymer Street
Miss Sarah Hendricks.......1743 Perkiomen Ave.
Mr. Richards.....540 S. 12th Street
Walter Gross.....526 S. 9th Street
Rev. S.M. Ellwanger.....117 N. 5th Street
The only person to appear at the theater was Rev. S.M. Ellwanger. But she came to explain she was not a medium as the ad claimed. Houdini admitted from the stage that his operative had made a mistake. (You can read a full account of that HERE.)
Interestingly, Houdini had warned that he would be sending his "secret service" into Reading to suss out mediums. This is from the Reading Times, Feb. 16, 1926.
Houdini's two-day appearance in Reading was untypical short engagement for his full evening 3 Shows in One. He would finish out the remainder of the week in York, PA, where, as far as I know, he did not issue a hit list.
Below is the Orpheum Theater in Reading as it appeared in Houdini's time.
Monday, November 8, 2021
Is Houdini about to join the MCU?
So what's this all about? Well, the character of Sprite is a centuries old "eternal" who like all the eternals has helped shape human history. Sprite possesses powers of magic and illusion, so presumably she assisted Houdini at some point. But the reference is so prominent that I'm wondering if this is a setup for a future Eternals movie or even a Sprite spin-off series? So is Houdini about to join the MCU?
Eternals isn't the only new release to feature a glimpse of a Houdini poster. In Paramount's Clifford The Big Red Dog we see a "Do Spirits Return?" poster hanging in the apartment of an amateur magician played by comedian Russell Peters.
UPDATE: Here is the poster as it appears in Eternals. This image comes from Screen Rant who also tackled the question of Houdini's cameo.
Sunday, November 7, 2021
LINK: Prohibition Detroit looks at "Hoo-doo Town"
Friday, November 5, 2021
2021 seances keep Houdini's spirit alive
The 2021 Houdini Seance season is complete. This year saw The Official Houdini Seance held in Chicago at Potter & Potter auctions. Once again Harry decided to skip the event, but all the other usual suspects were on hand. According to Bill Radner, who kindly provided the below images, it was another grand evening in celebration of Houdini.
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Meanwhile, The Original Houdini Seance by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz was held virtually from the Houdini Museum in Scranton. The stream attracted some 200 viewers at its peak. There were some strange goings on. A picture of a Water Torture Cell poster fell over and the museum was hit with a mysterious blackout mid-seance. Was that Harry trying to be heard? (You can read more about this seance at Interval Magic.)
Guess we'll all try again next year. But these seances and their popularity just prove Houdini is alive and well in 2021!
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Thursday, November 4, 2021
Houdini by Wolfinger
Check out this terrific original Houdini artwork by Terry Wolfinger. The artist has illustrated covers of Famous Monsters magazine with striking images of the classic Universal monsters, so what a treat to see Houdini get the Wolfinger treatment. This art was originally created as a commission, but it's now available as a limited edition print. For details contact Terry Wolfinger via his official website.
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If you live in the Los Angeles area, know that one of these framed prints (3/100) is currently for sale at Halloween Town in Burbank where Wolfinger exhibits his work.
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Monday, November 1, 2021
Did Houdini return?
Tomorrow, November 2, I will be joining magician and fellow Houdini nut Jessica Jane live on the IBM Facebook page at 6pm Pacific / 9pm Eastern for a recap of Halloween events and what I'm sure will be a lively discussion of all things HOUDINI. Hope you can join us!
Sunday, October 31, 2021
Hollywood kills Houdini
Today is the 95th Anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini in Detroit. How did Houdini die? Let's take a look at what Hollywood tells us.
When a Houdini biopic was being shopped around Hollywood in the 1930s, Columbia Picture's head Harry Cohen passed on the project, complaining Houdini's life lacked romance and "needed a better ending than a punch in the solar plexus." Hollywood never seemed to get past this, and over the course of five biopics has tried to add drama to Houdini's death. Here's how Hollywood killed Houdini.
Houdini (1953)
The classic biopic Houdini starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh decided to have Houdini die onstage inside his "Pagoda Torture Cell." It's plenty dramatic and for many decades people believed this is how Houdini really died (and some still do). The idea that Houdini is suffering the early stages of appendicitis is established in an earlier scene. And before he performs the fatal escape he runs into the handle of prop sword in his dressing room, presumably rupturing that problematic appendix.
The Great Houdinis (1976)
By 1976 the belief that Houdini died onstage in his Water Torture Cell was so wide spread that Hollywood couldn't resist doing it all over again. Give the people what they want! But this time the dressing room punch is also nicely dramatized for the first time. And Houdini doesn't actually die onstage. Over a freeze frame we hear Mini's voice explaining that he died a week later in Grace Hospital. So they were able to have it both ways. I do love Mini's final line: "We all knew he was waiting for Halloween. Made such a nice headline."
Houdini (1998)
Despite striving for more accuracy on several fronts, this 1998 movie from TNT decided to once again trap Houdini inside his Water Torture Cell. But he doesn't actually drown this time. Instead he dies in the hospital on what appears to be the operating table. The punch is also part of the chain of events, but it's a blink and you'll miss it moment.
Death Defying Acts (2008)
By the 2000s most people knew Houdini didn't die in the Water Torture Cell and that his death had something to do with a punch to the stomach. That was good enough for this indie feature which depicts Houdini being punched in the stomach in the lobby of a Montreal hotel and dropping dead on the spot.
Houdini Miniseries (2014)
For once Houdini's final days and death are portrayed largely accurately. But despite fine performances by stars Adrian Brody and Kristin Connolly, Harry Cohen might have been right. It's a little anti-climatic. As for Harry being kissed by Mama's in a sexy nurse outfit...what a weird movie this was.
I'm sure Hollywood isn't done killing Houdini in their own creative ways. What does the future hold? We'll find out!
Remembering
HARRY HOUDINI
on the
95th ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS (REAL) DEATH
October 31, 1926
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Houdini's belt buckle sells for $90,000
The engraved belt buckle Houdini was wearing when he went into Grace Hospital 95 years ago sold today for a whopping $90,000 (including premium) in Potter & Potter's auction of the Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part I. The auction estimate of $5,000 - $10,000. The buckle comes framed with a letter of provenance from Douglas Geoffrey aka Hardeen Jr.
Other notable Houdini items were Houdini's Card Star ($40,800), his Flight of Time ($21,600), and a 1912 Dangerfield Water Torture Cell poster ($112,500). This was the second Dangerfield USD poster to sell in just a few days. Wild times!
Tom Interval's 2021 Houdini jack-o’-lantern
I always know Halloween is here when our friend Tom Interval shares his latest Houdini jack-o’-lantern. This year it's another spooky beauty!
This year’s Houdini jack-o’-lantern, carved last night. From an image of Houdini in an 1899 Mahatma ad. See previous link for step-by-step instructions. #houdini #harryhoudini #jackolantern #pumpkin #halloween pic.twitter.com/SMa9vWT9KK
— Tom Interval (@intervalmagic) October 29, 2021
CLICK HERE to see how Tom created this step-by-step at Interval Magic. You can see some of Tom's past creations below.
The Magic Word Podcast - All Houdini Episode
Once again I had the pleasure of being a guest on Scott Wells' popular The Magic Word Podcast. You can watch our chat below. I also encourage you to click over to the official page where Scott has some cool extras. Enjoy!
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