No Escaping Houdini...TONIGHT

Just bumping this up as a reminder that the new documentary, No Escaping Houdini, will premiere tonight at 8 p.m. on New York's WNET Public Broadcasting station Thirteen. The documentary also will be shown at 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. Dec. 12 on Channel 13 and at 7 p.m. Dec. 10, 10 p.m. Dec. 16, 5:30 p.m. Dec. 19 and 4 a.m. Dec. 24 on WLIW21.

The Snitch, Houdini and Me

Here's another book name-checking Houdini in its title; The Snitch, Houdini and Me: Humorous Tales of Death-defying Childhood Misadventure by Johnny Virgil. We like these.

Growing up in the 70's wasn't easy. No internet or smartphones, video games or HDTV -- nothing but time to kill and the endless potential of a summer day. Only parental threats and a newly-developed sense of right and wrong could steer Johnny Virgil and his two younger brothers away from trouble...or directly into it.

Join Johnny on this hilarious and irreverent romp through his childhood as he recounts the stories that made him what he is today - an unimportant cog in a vast, corporate financial services machine. But he wasn't always this way, and this book is proof.

UPDATE: You can read more about the book on author Johnny Virgil's blog, 15 Minute Lunch.  You can also buy it direct via his CreateSpace store.

Fragments from The Grim Game

We all know Houdini's first (and reportedly best) Hollywood feature, The Grim Game, is unavailable aside from 5 minutes of the climatic plane crash included on the Houdini The Movie Star DVD collection.

Oh? Then how do we explain THIS?

These clips come from History's Lost and Found (episode #22) which showcased Houdini's Water Torture Cell and first aired in 2000. In the introductory montage we see a collection of Houdini footage. Much of it is familiar -- but then pops up three distinct fragments from, yes, The Grim Game!

These are not clips from the available plane footage. These are never-before-seen fragments from his jail escape, the suspended straitjacket, and what appears to be a sack escape (not 100% sure this last one is from The Grim Game -- it could be The Master Mystery).

Click below to see what is supposed to be unseeable. They go by quickly, so don't blink.

So where did these fragments come from, and how much footage was trimmed away? Is it possible these full sequences exist somewhere outside the infamous Larry Weeks print?

The show credits still and stock footage from all the segments together, but within the list we see a handful of suspects who could have supplied the clips: Houdini Historical Society, Sidney H. Radner Collection, Houdini Tribute.com, John Gaughan, Morris Young Collection, Archive Film and Photos, Budget Films/eFootage, Hot Shots Cool Cuts, Steamline Stock Footage, and WPA Film Library.

Okay, fess up! Who (else) is squatting on footage from The Grim Game?

The alleged loves of Harry Houdini

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Related:

• Announcing WILD ABOUT HARRY on Patreon

Searching for Terror Island

While I was working on my Return to Terror Island post, I re-watched the film to see if there were any distinct landmarks that could help identify exactly where on Catalina Island the film was shot. Unfortunately, it all just looked like rocky coastline, and the native village could have been built anywhere (maybe even on the backlot in Hollywood).

But then came this shot. Talk about a distinctive rock formation! On my next trip to Catalina, I'll search for this, but I thought I'd post it here just in case anyone intimately familiar with the island could identify what I'm officially dubbing, "Terror Point."

Have you seen this rock?

UPDATE: FOUND! Eagle-eyed reader Joseph P. offers up the below photo from panoramio which is unquestionably "Terror Point." He also directs us to Google Maps where we see it is located in an area called Toyon Bay. This is much further away from Avalon and the Hotel St. Catherine than I would have imagined.

Thank you, Joseph!

Link: More than Magic

Teller, the "quieter, shorter half" of the magic team Penn & Teller, has written a piece on Houdini for Vanity Fair. This appears in the UK edition. Click the headline to read it online and vanityfair.com.

Return to Terror Island

On November 16, 1919, Houdini and a Famous Players Lasky film crew, which included director James Cruze and co-star Lila Lee, traveled 30 miles off the coast of Southern California to Catalina Island for location shooting on his second Hollywood feature, Terror Island.

Exactly where on the island the film was shot is difficult to determine, but we do know exactly where Houdini stayed during the two week shoot: the Hotel St. Catherine.

Located at the far north end of Avalon's harbor, the St. Catherine was a new hotel when Houdini arrived. It was the island's most glamorous resort. It was from here that Houdini would enthusiastically write to Don Turley at the Southern California Music Co: "Well we have been here 10 days and some place. This picture is going to be some picture."

It was also in front of the St. Catherine that Houdini would attempt to play the role of real-life action hero when he set out to rescue a boat that had stalled in the surf and was headed into the rocks. According to newspaper reports, Houdini swam into the tide "in full view of scores of guests of the Hotel St. Catherine." Unfortunately, Houdini also became trapped in the tide and had to be rescued himself. (According to Patrick Culliton, this entire incident was photographed by cameraman William Marshall.)

The Hotel St. Catherine would remain the resort of choice for celebrities visiting the island until World War II when the island was closed to tourism and the U.S. military moved into the hotel. After the war, the St. Catherine once again became a tourist resort, but never quite recovered from its military occupation. In 1966 it was torn down with plans to build a new hotel. Unfortunately, a new hotel never rose on the spot.

Not long ago, I traveled to Catalina for the day. The island is very proud of its movie heritage -- there was even a "Catalina in the Movies" special exhibit inside their famous Art Deco Casino (which contains the first sound cinema ever built in the U.S.). Unfortunately, they don't appear to be aware of their Houdini connection. There was no mention of Terror Island in the exhibit, nor in any of the books on Catalina movie history. However, Terror Island director James Cruze is recognized and celebrated for a film he shot on the island in 1926, Old Ironsides.

I also went in search of the remains of the Hotel St. Catherine. There isn't much left of the hotel, but the foundation of the swimming pool can still be found behind the current beachfront resort area. No doubt, Houdini swam here!

Photo by Anders Frejdh (From Sweden With Love)

UPDATE: Searching for Terror Island.

LINK: CBS reports on Houdini Art and Magic

LINK: Who inspired Houdini?

This is another must read over at Magic Detective. This time the tireless Dean Carnegie investigates the original (and largely unsung) influence on young Ehrich Weiss, Dr. Lynn. Some great information here.

Just click here or on the headline to go.

Did Houdini do a jail escape in 1923? (UPDATE)

The following article appeared in the Sun Chronicle in 2007. I thought it was worth revisiting. If Houdini did indeed escape from this Massachusetts jail in 1923, it is his latest jail escape on record. By all accounts, Houdini had given up jail escapes, along with his handcuff act, some fourteen years earlier.

However, after I first posted this on Houdini Lives back in 2007, Bruce Rosenbaum provided an update in my comments section, which I've included below. But first, the original story:

Bruce Rosenbaum with jail cell door from which
Houdini was said to have escaped in 1923.  

Something about Harry

By Amy DeMelia

October 13, 2007

NORTH ATTLEBORO - The legend of Harry Houdini's escape from a North Attleboro jail cell may not rank up there with his greatest escapes, but it may be among his most intriguing.

The story has often been repeated.

In a stunt meant to attract residents to a show held nearby - possibly at the old Elm Theater or at a venue in Providence - Houdini showcased his miraculous talent for escape by slipping out of jail cell No. 3 at the former police station on Mason Avenue.

A plaque commemorating the event hung outside the cell attributing the date of the great escape as November 1923. Other than the plaque, evidence of the visit to North Attleboro is fairly scanty - there is no mention of a visit by Houdini in the Evening Chronicle or Providence Journal newspapers in November 1923.

 To Bruce Rosenbaum, an amateur magician with an interest in Houdini, part of the fun of the story is looking for evidence to back it up.

Rosenbaum's interest in the story led him to purchase the cell door, bench and key for the cell from the new owner of the Mason Avenue building.

Rosenbaum's knowledge of the local Houdini story came this summer while he was researching information on the Benjamin Freeman home on Mount Hope Street, which he is restoring.

Rosenbaum ran across a picture of a plaque indicating that Houdini had escaped from a jail cell in November 1923 in the North Attleboro Historical Society's records.

"I have a Web site for the house I'm restoring, and I put it up as a fun fact about North Attleboro," Rosenbaum said. "Two weeks later, I was on e-Bay checking out different Houdini stuff, and up pops jail cell No. 3. I couldn't believe it - I felt like it was karma."

Rosenbaum didn't reveal how much he paid for the cell door, but said he was able to strike a deal with the owner to keep the piece local.

Finding documentation of the jail break has proved more challenging.

Rosenbaum is hoping that the story is true and that the newspapers just made no mention of the stunt or that the date on the plaque is wrong.

"I've been trying to find out more information about this, but so far I haven't had much luck," Rosenbaum said. "No one seems to have any documentation or articles."

While Houdini did visit towns with the intention of showcasing his escape stunt, that was early in his career, Rosenbaum said.

"Houdini would appear at major theaters and opera houses and would go out and challenge nearby towns to break out of prisons. It would drum up publicity for his show," he said. "But most of what I read indicates that Houdini made his escapes from prison around 1910 and 1912. He had moved on from that in the 1920s, when the police station was built."

However, North Attleboro's police station was fairly new in the 1920s, so it's possible that Houdini tried the stunt again because the technology was new.

"A that time it was very state-of-the-art and had brand new lock technology," Rosenbaum said of the Mason Avenue police station.

Rosenbaum intends to put the cell door on display at the Mount Hope Street home he is rehabilitating - complete with a banner of a manacled Houdini behind it - when he begins having open houses there.

However, residents can get an early look on Monday at the Historical Society's presentation on the life of Harry Houdini.

Ed Hill a historian and collector of magic memorabilia will give a talk about Houdini's life.

The meeting, hosted by the North Attleboro Historical Society, will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Little Red Schoolhouse at 362 North Washington St.

Here's the UPDATE from Bruce Rosenbaum himself:

"I just found out that Houdini was promoting his movie - Haldane of the Secret Service at the same time of the jail escape. The movie was of limited release and was showing at a brand new theater in Attleboro -- The Star Theatre. I also found out that he actually had a live performance when he was promoting the movie in Dec 1923 at the Poli Theatre in PA -- just a month after the N Attleboro jail escape.

I'm assuming that he did the jail escape in North Attleboro to promote the movie that was showing in Attleboro. There might not be any newspaper articles about the escape because there was a major gas explosion in North Attleboro a few days before the movie premiered that could have taken any stories about Houdini out of the press. Your thoughts?"

UPDATE 2: Having worked this year on a New Houdini Chronology, I can tell you Houdini was in Texas during the entire month of November 1923, and I cannot place him in North Attleboro during the month of December. In fact, I've not been able to place him in North Attleboro ever.

MCA gives Wild About Harry a nod

This was a pleasant surprise. The MCA (Magic Collectors Association), gave Wild About Harry a nice shout-out (can I call it an endorsement?) on their terrific Mystery & History blog. This was unsolicited, honest!

Click here to see what they had to say. And if you're not a member of the MCA, what are you waiting for? I devour each and every issue of their official publication, Magicol, which is a MUST for anyone interest in the history of magic and collecting.

At The Magic Castle today...

Lucky bum. Shame about the decrepit old age.

Locating Houdini's London home

Early in his career, Houdini spent years touring England and Europe with London as his home base. But where exactly did he live during this time?

According to Ken Silverman, “Houdini leased or bought a London flat at 84 Bedford Court Mansions” in fashionable Bloomsbury (Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss, page 168). This address can be found on Houdini’s stationary of the time.

Happily, Bedford Court Mansions are still there, and while the flats have been renovated over the years, the exterior of the building looks much the same as it did in Harry’s day.

Click to enlarge

According to Central London Apartments Ltd, Bedford Court Mansions are “centrally located in a fully modernised period Mansion block in a quiet, tree-lined Avenue close to Tottenham Court Rd station (Northern and Central Lines), Oxford St, British Museum, London University, Covent Garden and Soho and all the theatres, restaurants and shops of London's famous West End.”

The flats now sell for over £1 million. Currently several units are available as weekly rentals. But what of #84? Do the occupants realize they are living in the home of the Great Houdini?

The Witch of Lime Street will haunt bookstores in 2012

Back in December, 2007, The New York Observer reported that Crown had acquired a non-fiction book about Houdini by David Jaher for an advance in the “high six figures.” Titled The Witch of Lime Street, the book would tell the full story of Houdini’s campaign to expose medium Mina "Margery" Crandon, and would be released "in early 2010."

But as 2010 comes to a close, there is no sign of The Witch of Lime Street. My inquires sent to the publisher and Jaher's reps earlier this year went unanswered, leading me to wonder whether The Witch of Lime Street was as phony as...well...the witch of Lime Street.

So I decided to try again. This time, happily, I received a prompt response!

The friendly representative for the agency who handled the sale, Janklow & Nesbit, says, "David Jaher is still working on the book, after undertaking intense and thorough research. I’m afraid we have no pub date as of yet – my best guess is that it will be out in 2012. It is going to be phenomenal."

Publisher Crown responded with a direct, "This book will be published in 2012."

Very excited about this one. It's about time we had an entire book on Houdini and Margery. But will it be pro or con?

Stay tuned!

The battle resumes in 2012

UPDATE: 'The Witch of Lime Street' will finally manifest in October (pre-order).