LINK: The Magic of Houdini

National Public Radio WFUV has a nice show today about Houdini with a visit to the Houdini Museum of New York and interviews with Roger Dreyer and George Hardeen (nice to hear him shoot down the silly poisoning theory).

Click the headline to have a listen at WFUV.

Related:

• The Houdini Museum of New York, Part I
• NPR unlocks the secret of Houdini's bloodline
• Time to bury the Houdini exhumation

'Our Magic' and the music of Houdini (update)

Recently I watched the 2014 documentary Our Magic. It's a pretty good doc that I'd recommend, and the credits offer up a Houdini surprise. As you can see below, the documentary used several "original songs from the musical The Great Houdini: Don't Break The Spell."

I've never heard of this musical and a Google search turns up nothing. Does anyone out there have any info on The Great Houdini: Don't Break The Spell?

Our Magic can be streamed at Amazon Video.

UPDATE: The following comes from Howard Berman:

The original music used in the documentary was written by Jonathan Astor and myself.

Jonathan adapted/re-scored instrumental parts of songs, composed for a musical, for which we also wrote the lyrics.

The musical is still being developed. As you know, there have been so many aborted or failed Houdini musical projects over the years...we're trying everything in our power to get this right!

Thank you, Howard.

Related:

• The first Houdini stage musical, MAN OF MAGIC
• Houdini A Circus Opera (1977)
• New York Times: What went wrong with Broadway's Houdini musical

Potter & Potter photo reveals Mama (still) in Europe

The catalog for Potter & Potter's Spring Magic Auction is now available as a free PDF or printed copy for purchase from their website.

As promised, the auction contains a fair amount of Houdini material, including this original unpublished photo of Houdini, Mama and Bess taken in "Berlin Germany June 1901." This image challenges the long accepted belief that Cecelia Weiss's first trip to Europe was from April to May 1901. Either Houdini has this wrong or we do!

One of the reasons this matters is that biographers struggle to pinpoint the date of the famous "queen for a day" reception at the Royal Hotel in Budapest, which reportedly took place during Mama's first visit. Most have relied on the not very reliable Kellock biography and wedge it between Houdini's closing in Hamburg (end of April) and his opening in Essen Ruhr (beginning of May). But if this photo is accurate and Mama was still around after Houdini's Essen Ruhr engagement, it opens up new possibilties for the Budapest trip. Unfortunelty, the Royal Hotel, which still exists today, has no record of Houdini's visit.

Potter's & Potter's Spring Magic Auction takes place at 10:00 am on Saturday, April 8th at their Chicago gallery and online via LiveAuctioneers. As previously reported, the auction will also include Bess Houdini's famous "Royal Crown Brooch" (link below).

Related:

• Houdini in 1901
• Cecilia Steiner Weiss
• Bess Houdini's Royal Crown Brooch headed to auction

The Secret Life of Houdini screenplay reviewed

Here's one that's a spoiler if Lionsgate's The Secret Life of Houdini movie ever gets made. If not, then we have a record of what might have been. Either way, if you're curious to know what the Hollywood brain trust has cooked this time (at least as far as a draft dated May 13, 2011), here's a taste from the website Scriptshadow:

Houdini starts out like you think any biopic would start out. We get one of those oft-used cross-cuts between the present (Houdini trying to salvage a buried-alive trick gone wrong) and the past (Houdini as a child stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family). I figured I was in for one long biopic retread. 

But then things get weird. President Woodrow Wilson calls Houdini and tells him that his 28 year-old daughter, Margaret, has been kidnapped by someone in France. Wilson believes Houdini’s unique talents make him the perfect agent to go and retrieve his daughter. 

Looking for a new challenge, Houdini teams up with Wilson’s stuffy lackey, Andrew Day, and the two seahorse their way to La Francoise. Once there, Houdini calls upon old friend (and rival) Chung Ling Soo, a famous magician who’s been known to publicly roast Houdini. But no worries, it’s all for show, as is Chung himself, who’s actually, under all the make-up, a white American!

If you want to read on, then check out the full review at Scriptshadow HERE. The site also has a review of a 2003 script called The Book of Magic that teams Houdini and H.P. Lovecraft.

Related:

• 'Secret Life of Houdini' movie shows new signs of life
• Summit set to turn Houdini into an action hero (2009)
• What's next, Hollywood?

Peepolykus blend Houdini and Dracula on the BBC

The UK comedy troupe Peepolykus have created a radio play that mixes Houdini and the story of Dracula. This is part of their ongoing "A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics" and can be heard at BBC Radio 4 for the next 28 days.

In 19th-century Whitby, a magician prepares to compete with Harry Houdini at a major international Magic Convention. When a ship carrying a cargo of fifty coffins runs aground on the town's beach, he suspects Houdini of pulling a huge publicity stunt. 

In this second series, the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.

A Trespasser's Guide to the Classics, Series 2, The Neck is written by John Nicholson and Richard Katz and directed by Sasha Yevtushenko.

Related:

• Harry Houdini Vampire Hunter
• BBC Radio: The Witch of Beacon Hill
• New radio adaptation of 'Imprisoned with the Pharaohs'

American Pinball will premiere 'Houdini' in Texas

American Pinball will premiere their new "Houdini Master of Mystery" pinball machine at the Texas Pinball Festival, March 24-26. This is a completely new design from what was shown in Las Vegas and Chicago last year.

You can learn more about American Pinball at their Facebook and official website. "Houdini Master of Mystery" is their first game.

Related:

• Houdini pinball appears in Las Vegas
• Houdini pinball playfield shown in Chicago
• American Pinball redesigning their Houdini game

"The lean make me feel like Houdini"

Along with politicians, rappers seem irresistibly drawn to Houdini's name and imagery. The latest is this "collab" by rappers Lil Purpp and Madeintyo.

Produced by Gnealz & Bighead, “Houdini” is a heavy drug-referenced record that finds the two rapping about their love for the lean, “the lean make me feel like Houdini,” the chorus repeats.

I had to look up with "Lean" was here. Sounds idiotic. But the song is decent. You can listen to it at hnhh.

Related:

• Houdini gets a bad rap
• David Copperfield vs. Harry Houdini

Cynthia von Buhler bonds with Houdini

Artist Cynthia von Buhler is working on a Houdini-themed graphic novel with a slightly risqué take for Hard Case Crime. Cynthia shared sample pages on her Twitter @CynthVonBuhler (click the images to see full size).

I'm writing/illustrating a comic series culminating in a graphic novel for @HardCaseCrime @ComicsTitan #houdini #fb pic.twitter.com/lZBKr0go49

— Cynthia von Buhler (@CynthVonBuhler) March 4, 2017

You can see more of Cynthia's work at her official website.

Related:

• Holly Houdini
• Mary-Louise Houdini
• Be "Hot Houdini" for Halloween

The Illusionist's Apprentice

The Illusionist's Apprentice by Kristy Cambron is a new novel with a clever Houdini twist. The book is released today by Thomas Nelson.

Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own. 

Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions. 

In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender. 

Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.

Purchase The Illusionist's Apprentice from Amazon.com. It will be released in the UK on April 6 (nice choice) and can be pre-ordered on Amazon.co.uk.

Henry Muller dies at 86

Tom Interval at Houdini Museum reports that Henry Muller, who co-founded the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Canada, died on February 28 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 86 years old. The Funeral was held on March 2 at the Adas Israel Synagogue in Hamilton.

Henry was a regular at the Official Houdini Seances and appeared in several Houdini documentaries. He was good friends with the late Sidney Radner whose Houdini collection, including the original Water Torture Cell, was housed at the museum.

Henry ran the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame from 1968 to 1995 when the museum was destroyed in a fire. Despite initial reports of a total loss, many of the items survived and were sold to private collectors. According to the family, Henry held onto "a number of items of Houdiniana" that were recently discovered in a closet.

You can read Henry's obituary at Tom Interval's Houdini Museum.

Related:

• Adventures in investing in Houdini
• Return to the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame
• Houdini Magical Hall of Fame was in decay by 1978

Houdini arrives in Providence

Here's a nice ad from the Providence Journal dated March 4, 1917, announcing Houdini's appearance 100 years ago this week. This was shared on Twitter by @ThisDayInWWI.

While in Providence, Houdini did a suspended straitjacket escape from the Brownell Building at Exchange Place, a stunt that appears to be referenced here in the illustration.

Related:

• Houdini in 1917
• Houdini comes to Providence
• LINK: Providence man says he knows where Houdini's treasure trove is
  

Houdini in 1901

When England's Queen Victoria died on January 22, 1901, the 26-year-old Houdini was performing his second record breaking engagement at the Alhambra Theater in London. The Queen's death brought an end to the 64 year "Victorian Era" that had transformed England into a great empire. If Houdini had any reaction to this historic moment, it has gone unrecorded by biographers. But he did buy a dress said to have been designed for the Queen before her death. He thought it would look good on his mother.

This post is now retired. But you will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1901 in my upcoming book. 

Houdini found at the Winchester Mystery House

Reader Gary Frank sends in this photo he recently took at the famous Winchester Mystery House in San Jose, California. As you can see, they have hanging on the wall what appears to be an original Houdini lithograph, sometimes called the "Houdini for President" poster.

According to Gary, this poster was originally on display in their wax museum back in the 1950's - 1960's. It was recently discovered in storage and now hangs in the gift shop area that leads to the cafeteria. Last year one of these posters sold in auction for $12,000.

Gary Frank finds Harry in San Jose.

The Winchester Mystery House is one of the best examples of Spiritualism run amok. The owner, Sarah Winchester, heiress of the Winchester rifle fortune, was told by her spirit guides that if she kept adding to her house she wouldn't die. The result is a sprawling 160 room maze-like mansion with stairways that lead into ceilings and doorways that go nowhere.

Houdini visited the house after Sarah's 1922 death (looks like the spirits gave her bad advice). An original 1924 newspaper article in which Houdini mentions his visit is on display in the museum.

I've always thought the Winchester Mystery House would be an ideal spot for an Official Houdini Seance. And with Harry now there to watch over the proceedings, even more so!

Thank you Gary. Check out his work at Propelled Pasteboards.

UPDATE: Gary Frank has done a bit more digging with the help of a staff member at the house and has uncovered the following:

The Houdini three sheet poster was originally purchased in 1973 at an auction in San Francisco by one of the owners of the Winchester House. It was purchased to be a part of a Houdini display (complete with a wax figure of Houdini and the newspaper article) that never came to fruition. The poster on its own was on display for a short time and then it was placed in storage until recently.

Related:

• Houdini visits the Winchester Mystery House
• Winchester Mystery House movie in the works
• Houdini relics resurface in Santa Monica

Houdini hangs in Vancouver

While our friends at the blog Canada's Magic continue their week long look back at Houdini in Vancouver (today's Part 5 is a must read), the Twitter for the Vancouver Archives has also gotten into the act. I don't believe I've ever seen this image, so I thought it worth the share. You can click the link for the full version.

Today in 1923: Houdini escapes while hanging upside down outside the Vancouver Sun building https://t.co/ExwEahv5T2 pic.twitter.com/l7PgyVY375

— Vancouver Archives (@VanArchives) March 1, 2017

UPDATE: Today's post at Canada's Magic contains more coverage and photos from this escape, including a pic of what the location looks like today. Have a read HERE.

Related:

• Canada's Magic follows Houdini in Vancouver
• Houdini's Suspended Straitjacket escapes