Is Death Defying Acts on hold?

The lovely and talented Rachel Weisz (who may or may not be related to Houdini) was on Charlie Rose last night where she announced she was pregnant. She also mentioned her next movie project, and it wasn’t the Houdini film DEATH DEFYING ACTS.

This film -- which tells a fictional story of Houdini's passionate relationship with a woman he encounters in Scotland in 1926 -- was announced last year in Variety and said to start production in early ’06. Yet the official IMDb page still shows only one cast member, Guy Pearce, and seven producers! Not an encouraging sign.

Is Death Defying Acts going the way of so many promising Houdini movie projects? If anyone has an update, email me by clicking below.

Original King of Cards poster sells on eBay

An original Houdini King of Cards poster has sold on eBay for $14,000. The online auction closed on Feb 18 and received 10 bids.

King of Cards is one of Houdini’s very first posters (but not THE first). It’s also one of the most widely reproduced.

One notable difference between an original King of Cards and the many reproductions is the large empty white space at the top of the poster. This is the area Houdini would print when and where he was appearing. Most reproductions crop the poster to the image, although Houdini’s Magic Shop (the seller of the eBay original) offers reproductions with the header intact.

This article first appeared on Houdini Lives.

Houdini's ass-kicking cameo

Houdini and The Wright Brothers team up to defeat Dr. Fu Manchu? That's the premise of Chinese Take-Out, a pretty funny second installment of the web series The Wright Stuff.

Ford Austin, who plays Wilbur Wright, also plays the boxed Houdini. The short is directed by Ford Austin and Scott Ingalls.

Check out this clever take on our favorite escapist at www.channel101.com.

"That's one brave box!"

UPDATE: It appears the short is no longer available online.

The hands of Houdini?

Are these the hands of Harry Houdini? According to a current eBay auction, they are -- sort of.

These wax replicas are said to be from the Harry Houdini Magic Display which was the centerpiece display of The Classic Wax Museum which operated in Edmonton Alberta Canada during the 1950s and 1960s.

The auction claims the wax hands were made to exacting specification from photographs of Houdini’s “manicured” hands by the famed wax masters of Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum in the '50s and brought to the museum by the late Larry Lawson, who was the owner, curator and operator of the Classic Wax Museum.

Opening bid is $99.

Houdini's first sub trunk sells on eBay

Houdini expert (and friend and neighbor) Patrick Culliton has sold Houdini's very first Metamorphosis trunk on eBay.

This important magic artifact was hand built by Houdini in the 1890s. Harry and Bessie used this truck during their struggling days. The trunk was later used by Houdini's brother, Hardeen. Partick has owned the truck for 45 years.

Opening bid was $14,500, but a buyer snapped it up for the "buy it now" price of $44,500.

Let's hope it's going to a good home.

Water Torture Cell replica is mine!

After many years of searching, your humble webmaster has finally added to his collection the remarkable scale replica of Houdini's famous Chinese Water Torture Cell.

These beautiful replicas where produced in a very limited number by Douglas~Wayne Illusioneering in the mid 1990s. These were authorized by then cell owner Sidney Radner.

The replica measures 9 1/2" tall x 5 x 4 1/2 and is accurate in almost all details. Unfortunately, I don't have the original paperwork that came with it, but a plaque shows it to be #017.

This is something I will treasure.

Laurel Canyon "Houdini Estate" for sale

The fabled "Houdini Estate" in Laurel Canyon CA is up for sale. While Houdini never actually lived on the property (he rented a house across the street), he did spend time at the mansion, and when Bess moved to Hollywood in the '30s, she held her parties and annual séances there.

The 3.5 acre property includes a 2bed 2bath house, restored stone walkways, staircases, fountains, caves, and a natural spring.

Asking price: $2,950,000.
Contact: Victoria Silver (310) 273-3113

New Houdini play: The Escapologist

Inspired by Adam Phillips’ motivational book The Houdini’s Box, The Escapologist follows a psychotherapist as he delves into the conscious and unconscious desires of his patients. All are looking to escape. As he starts to feel more and more trapped he takes flight into fantasies of the greatest escape artist of them all, Harry Houdini.

Featuring exciting re-enactments of Houdini’s stunts, the show premieres in Glasgow on January 13.

UPDATE: Variety has reviewed the play HERE.

Is Rachel a Weisz?

The Independent reports that actress Rachel Weisz will be back in the UK next spring to film Death Defying Acts, a new film about Houdini. Weisz will play Houdini's mistress in the film.

The paper claims that Houdini "is a long-standing interest of Weisz's, partly motivated by the thought that he was a distant relative - he was born in Hungary as Ehrich Weisz."

Rachel Weisz related to Houdini? There is a bit of a resemblance.

Weisz is best known for her two blockbuster Mummy films, The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001), and can currently been seen in The Constant Gardener.

This post first appeared on Houdini Lives.

Buried Alive 8-sheet Sells for $14,950

A "Buried Alive" 8-sheet by Otis Litho fetched $14,950 in Heritage's 2005 Rare Movie Poster Auction auction on November 11.

This poster promotes an escape that Houdini was just beginning to perform during the last season of his full evening show, which ended abruptly with his death in October 1926. The casket used in the escape was used to carry his body back to New York from Detroit.

Presto! A new Houdini photo appears

How is it after 30 years of collecting Harry Houdini memorabilia I'm still constantly surprised to see photos of the magician I've never seen before? I mean, how many photos of one man can there be?

Nevertheless, one such photo is above showing Houdini emerging from a safe. A very nice picture.

This photo and some other rare items recently sold on eBay. The above photo sold for $800.

This post originally appeared on Houdini Lives.

Post Halloween report: Houdini still dead

According to the best séance intelligence, Houdini once again failed to escape the grave on Halloween, the 79th anniversary of his death.



Sidney Radner held his Official Houdini Séance in Boston this year. The celebrated annual seance was attended by none other than Ken Silverman, author of Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss. (View pics here.) 

Meanwhile, escape artists around the world performed the Worldwide Escape Artist Relay (WEAR) in tribute to Harry.

The S.A.M. will hold its annual Wand Breaking ceremony at Houdni's grave on Nov. 25, which marks the date of Houdini's death on the Jewish calendar.

This post first appeared on Houdini-Lives.com

History Channel airs new Houdini documentary

Last night the History Channel aired an all-new Houdini documentary, Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery (not to be confused with 1995's Houdini: Unlocking the Secrets). Produced by New Wave Entertainment and hosted by Lance Burton, Variety gave the doc a very positive review:

An auction of Houdini collectibles provides the excuse for yet another documentary about the legendary magician that nevertheless proves extremely interesting — an unsentimental portrait capturing both his enduring influence and cultural importance in turn-of-the-century entertainment. Beyond a better understanding of the man, the various aficionados who weigh in include the usually mum half of Penn & Teller, who is shot in silhouette so as not to see him speak. It’s just one of the nifty wrinkles in this unusually engaging spec.

A highlight was footage from last years auction in Las Vegas where David Copperfield bought the Water Torture Cell for $350,000.

UPDATE: Houdini Unlocking the Mystery released on DVD.

Houdini the action figure!

A Houdini Action Figure has been released by Accoutrements -- "Outfitters in Popular Culture" -- who specialize in off-beat action figures of historical figures like Jesus, Einstein, etc.

The figure comes with hand and leg shakles, a chair with rope, and even a straight-jacket in which you can thrust old Harry up. The package notes our hero's "weapon of choice" -- MAGIC!

The Houdini Action Figure can be found in novelty stores and on Amazon.

Where was this when I was ten?