Myths & Legends investigates Houdini

TV Land’s Myths & Legends investigates whether or not Houdini really died from a punch in the stomach in an episode titled “Super Stares and Super Deaths” which airs this month.

Experts interviewed include Penn & Teller, Harry Anderson, and Wil Wheaton (remember, Wil played Houdini in the Disney TV movie Young Harry Houdini). The segment includes some nice photos and a generous use of clips from The Man From Beyond.

The same episode also includes investigations into the deaths of Mama Cass (by Ham Sandwich?), and George Reeves (did he really try and fly like Superman?).

Check the TV Land website for show schedule.

Houdini Plaza redesign approved

Plans to redesign Houdini Plaza in Appleton Wisconsin have been approved, reports the Appleton-Crescent.

The open space in the center of downtown Appleton, which celebrates local boy Harry Houdini, is used for events such as Octoberfest, a weekly summer concert series, and as an overflow area for the farmer's market. However, on a daily basis, it doesn't get used much.

The Appleton Parks and Recreation Department plan hopes to change that.

The Metamorphosis tribute statue, largely hidden from view, will be moved closer to College Avenue, next to the Appleton Art Center and will become a much more visible centerpiece of the plaza. It will include Houdini history information.

A stage with a canopy will be built near the front of the Appleton Center, with plenty of room for a concert audience in front of it.

Most of the grass will be replaced by a hard surface, which would better suit the current uses of the plaza. A trash disposal area for the adjacent business will move to the east end of the plaza, on Oneida Street, to better hide it from view and to allow for easier pickup.

The redesign is expected to take two or three years and is estimated to cost $1.3 million if outside contractors do all the work. But city officials are confident that city staffers can do some of the work — and they say they'll work with ADI and other involved parties to try to raise money through grants and donations to defray the costs.

Houdini book and letter fetch $45,426 in auction

In what certainly must be the highest price ever paid for a Houdini book and letter, a signed copy of Magical Rope Ties and Escapes together with an unsigned letter from Houdini to the publisher suggesting ideas for the book’s layout, cover design, etc., has fetched an amazing $45,426.00 at the Random Treasures Auctions.

This is all the more amazing as Magical Rope Ties and Escapes is not a particularly rare book. Copies on eBay tend to sell for between $300 and $800 depending on condition. The auction description played up the attachment of the Harry Keller dedication sticker below Houdini’s signature, perhaps leading some to think that this book was given to Keller by Houdini. But this Keller dedication sticker is inside almost all copies of Magical Rope Ties and Escapes (including the one in my own collection).

The auction lot also included a carbon copy of publisher Will Goldston’s response to Houdini’s letter, assuring the magician he will receive final approval on the book design. While these letters are nice, I fail to see what brought on such an astronomical sale price, especially as an equally significant (signed) letter fetched $3,072.00 (a more typical price for a Houdini letter).

The Magical Rope Ties and Escapes lot was the second highest price realized on a Houdini item in the entire auction. The highest price paid was $58,526.00 for a beautiful original lithograph for the Water Torture Cell (right). The highest realized price for the entire auction was $106,123.00 for a rare Robert-Houdin clock.

The auction, which opened on January 1 and closed January 31, included four different Robert-Houdin clocks; original costumes and props of Chung Ling Soo; signed photograph by the Great Herrmann; Thurston ephemera and much more.

Significant Houdini items in online auction

Random Treasures Auctions is currently running an online auction of magic memorabilia containing over 70 significant Houdini items, including original adverts, photos, books, and letters. Included in the auction is an original lithograph for the Water Torture Cell (currently at $55,739.00) and these two spectacular full-color lobby displays for The Man From Beyond.

The auction opened on January 1 and closes January 31. It also includes four different Robert Houdin clocks; original costumes and props of Chung Ling Soo; signed photograph by the Great Herrmann; Thurston ephemera and much more.

Guy Pearce on playing Houdini

Actor Guy Pearce has spoken with Movies Online about what it was like to play Houdini in the new film, Death Defying Acts, co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Q: You’re also playing Harry Houdini in a movie, how did you approach that? Obviously there’s not video on him.

GP: No, I treated that completely differently. It’s almost a fictional fairytale anyway. There’s footage of Houdini and there’s audio stuff of him, but I decided to go in a completely different direction and really just work off what my own imaginative response was to the script anyway, I think, rather than really just trying to channel somebody, which is what I felt like I tried to do with Andy in a way.

Q: Is Death Defying Acts the name of the film?

GP: Yeah

Q: When is that coming out?

GP: I don’t know actually, because I think they’re still putting it together. We only finished it in October.

Q: What was the movie that you got bulked up for?

GP: It was for Harry Houdini, it was Death Defying Acts.

Q: Was that because it was a physically demanding role?

GP: It wasn’t that I had to build up because it was more physical, I had to build up because Houdini is built like a Sherman tank. I was 63 kilos when I made Factory Girl, and I was 75 kilos when I did Death Defying Acts. It’s interesting really to play the two characters back-to-back because Andy is so light, white, fey, everything about him is floaty and kind of light and not wanting to be noticed in a way, whereas Houdini was very grounded, very gruff, very deep voice, he’s very masculine, completely opposite ends of the spectrum, as far as physicality and a number of other things, both highly self-promoting, poor immigrants of the 20th century, but aside from that they were pretty different.

Houdini's 'Haldane' screened in LA!

Haldane of the Secret Service was screened last night for a packed house at The Silent Movie Theater in West Hollywood. The film was proceeded by a Houdini trivia challenge, and three silent shorts. One of the shorts was a tour of Universal Studios circa 1925. Wild stuff!

Haldane of the Secret Service is generally considered Houdini’s weakest silent film. It was certainly his least successful, and led to Houdini giving up on the movie business and his Houdini Picture Corporation. “The profits are too meager,” complained Harry.

However, I thought Haldane was rousing good fun, and judging by last night’s reaction, so did the audience. While the plot is a bit convoluted, it’s still a fast-paced globe trotting adventure, not unlike a modern James Bond film. Houdini, as Secret Service agent Heath Haldane, dashes from New York to Scotland to London to Paris on the trail of counterfeiters and a lady love. Many of the street scenes were filmed during Houdini’s last European tour, and afford us wonderful shots of Glasgow, London, and Paris in the 1920s.

It’s also fun to see Houdini’s many changes of costume throughout the film. At one point he’s even in a top hat, cape and tux, looking every bit the image of a “classic” magician (although here it’s for a night out in the London clubs).

Like Houdini’s previous film, The Man From Beyond, Haldane of the Secret Service is low on escapes and lite on action. However, one sequence where Houdini is dragged along the side of an ocean liner is clearly done for real and thrilling. So too is the climatic water wheel escape, which is much more hair-raising than most biographers claim (one wonders if they have seen a complete version?).

Until now, Haldane of the Secret Service was considered unavailable. I've heard that the only way to see it was to rent a VHS dupe belonging to a private collector for an large fee. Therefore, I was surprised and thrilled to see it was going to play at The Silent Movie Theater. I spoke to the theater manager after the screening and learned that the print screened came from the extensive private collection of the theater co-owner and projectionist. It was not tinted as Haldane of the Secret Service was originally, but it was complete and looked very good.

One hopes this print could be used to strike a DVD release in the future.

Houdini inspires Stefani

Pop star Gwen Stefani's new album title The Sweet Escape was inspired by Harry Houdini, reports PR-Inside.com.

Stefani appears in her music video for the single "Wind it Up" in a predicament similar to one of Houdini's stunts -- she is shackled to a chain fence as if underwater and struggling to break free.

She explains, "In the video you can see the key coming out of my mouth. When Houdini used to do his tricks, his wife used to pass the key from her mouth to his mouth."

"It's the sweet escape. And I was thinking, the key is the music. It all kind of ties up together."

Details of next Houdini & Nate novel

Details of the next book in the Houdini & Nate Mystery series have emerged thanks to author Tom Lalicki and the new Houdini & Nate official website.

Shots At Sea finds young Nate Fuller and Harry Houdini engaged in action alongside Teddy Roosevelt aboard the ocean liner Lusitania. A look at the prototype cover art can be seen on the right.

Author Tom Lalicki also provides us with some tantalizing exclusive details about the third book in the series. Book 3 -- which is being written now -- looks at the gang warfare between the declining Jewish and Irish gangs on the Lower East Side in 1912. Nate's Rivington Street buddy from Danger in the Dark becomes a cat's paw in the conflict...

But sure to check out the Houdini & Nate website for updates and more information on this entertaining series of books.

Haldane of the Secret Service to screen in LA, Jan. 11

Attention all LA-based Houdini buffs! The Silent Movie Theater in West Hollywood will be screening Haldane of the Secret Service this Thursday, January 11 at 8:00pm.

While screenings of The Man From Beyond are common, this is the FIRST time I’ve even heard of a screening of Haldane of the Secret Service. In fact, I’ve never seen this film!

Released in 1923, Haldane of the Secret Service was the second film made by The Houdini Picture Corporation. It was distributed by FBO and proved to be Houdini’s last feature film.

The Silent Movie Theatre is the only silent theatre in the USA. It is a vintage art deco theatre built in 1942 that has been fully restored to its original '40s deco design.

Ticket can be purchased in advance from The Silent Movie Theater website.

See you there!

UPDATE: Houdini's 'Haldane' screened in LA!

Walden Media preps Houdini project

By Nicole Sperling
The Hollywood Reporter

Mark Waters

Walden Media and director Mark Waters are getting into the magic game. The Phil Anschutz-owned production company has attached Waters to develop an adventure film about a 14-year-old who discovers that he is a descendant of the great illusionist Harry Houdini.

Jessica Tuchinsky, Waters' producing partner at Watermark Pictures, will produce along with her husband, Jason Hoffs (The Terminal).

An original idea developed at Walden Media, the project centers on a young boy, who upon hearing the news of his lineage, embarks on a journey to unravel the secrets of Houdini's past, uncovering a legacy the famed magician was trying to protect.

"Houdini has exerted a fascination on people for the last hundred years," said Hoffs, who will be producing with his wife for the first time. "The movie takes place in the present, but our lead character and the audience will learn some of the secrets of what Houdini was really up to."

The production is looking for a screenwriter.

Waters (Freaky Friday, Mean Girls) is shooting The Spiderwick Chronicles for Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Pictures in Montreal. He is attached to direct two projects for Walt Disney Pictures, Bob the Musical and the recently announced Me2 from screenwriter Larry Doyle (HR 10/19).

Tuchinsky and Waters' Watermark Pictures is based at Paramount. Hoffs has a first-look producing deal at DreamWorks.

Waters is represented by CAA.

Executive vp production Alex Schwartz and creative executive Bonnie Solomon will oversee the project for Walden Media. Senior vp business and legal affairs Frank Smith negotiated the deal for Walden. The company's next film, Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' Charlotte's Web, will bow Dec. 20.

William Kalush interviewed on NPR

NPR (National Public Radio) has a terrific audio interview with William Kalush, co-author of the new book, The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero.

Kalush talks about Harry’s possible spying career, how he believed Houdini escaped from the Siberian Transport Cell, and his discovery of unknown information about Margery the Medium and her possible involvement in Houdini’s death.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW

Italy, Germany get HOUDINI on DVD

For whatever reason, Paramount Home Entertainment has yet to release a DVD of the 1953 Tony Curtis classic HOUDINI in any country that speaks English. For years fans have had to track down an asian import edition on eBay.

Now we have a “Paramount Collection” edition coming out...in Germany and Italy.

Come on Paramount, where’s the U.S. version?

Oh well, gaze above at the German cover art and dream of what could be.

Thanks to John Dziadecki.

New book: Houdini’s Tour of Australia

I love specialized Houdini studies, and this new book, Houdini’s Tour of Australia by Leann Richards, certainly fits that bill.

This well-researched 60 page paperback chronicles Houdini’s highly eventful tour of Australia in 1910. It was during this tour that Houdini became the first man ever to fly a plane in Australia; a feat which he believed he would be remembered long after his magic career had been forgotten.

Houdini’s Tour of Australia can be purchased now at Ginninderra Press