Houdini and Evatima Tardo

The Wellcome Collection website has a fascinating article by Bess Lovejoy about Evatima Tardo, a dime museum performer who allowed herself to be bitten by venomous snakes and appeared impervious to all pain. Houdini gets a nice mention as he once worked "within twelve feet from her" and wrote in Miracle Mongers and Their Methods that he believed Tardo's secret lay in a strategic consumption of milk!

I did some extra digging and discovered Houdini and Tardo worked together at Middleton's Clark Street dime museum in Chicago during the week of March 14, 1898. In addition to the snakes, her act at that time was to be nailed to a cross!

Her story is pretty interesting, so check out The extraordinary body of Evatima Tardo at the Wellcome Collection.

Thanks to Tim Cridland for the alert.

Related:

• Memories of "Dime Museum Harry"
• Miracle Mongers the Movie
• The Handcuff King's blog: Freaks of Octoberfest

Andrew Basso and 278 homeowner Vincent T. on Facebook Live tomorrow

Andrew Basso, World Champion Escape Artist and proud new owner of Houdini's tuxedo collar, continues his Facebook Live Houdini odyssey tomorrow, January 15, by chatting with 278 homeowner Vincent T. Their talk starts at 9:30 AM PST and questions are welcome.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

Related:

• Andrew Basso now owns Houdini's tuxedo collar
• New 278 owners committed to preserving Houdini history
• Own an authentic brick from Houdini's 278

Finding Houdini's Washington Square...in Brooklyn

Houdini's 1923 movie Haldane of the Secret Service begins with a sequence set in New York's Washington Square. This is identified by a title card that calls it "that mellowed stronghold of aristocracy." It's clearly a location shoot on a real city street, but was it really Washington Square?

Turns out the sequence was actually filmed at the corner of Henry and Remsen streets in Brooklyn Heights. The filmmakers chose the location to take advantage of the stately former home of New York subway magnate Alexander E. Orr (also known as the Thomas Hunt house), which stood on the southeast corner and had become a boarding house. In the film it would stand in as the exterior of the Ormsby home where much of the action at the start of the movie is set.

An excellent article about the shoot appeared in The Standard Union on July 22, 1921. Under the headline, HEIGHTS IS STIRRED BY PICTURE ACTORS, the article begins:

For more than two hours last night the crowd estimated at five thousand had thrills aplenty at Henry and Remsen streets. The crowd cheered itself hoarse. So did the occupants of houses in the neighborhood. A motion picture concern used the Heights section as a scene for some lively incidents in a play featuring Harry Houdini and Gladys Leslie.

The article goes on to explain how the Haldane crew arrived at 8pm and set up large arc lights that illuminated the entire street and attached a large crowd. In some shots you can see the crowd in the background as well as their shadows. Many in the crowd believed Gladys Leslie was Mary Pickford and shouted out to the actress by name. Diners at the nearby Hotel Bossert left their tables and watched the action from the roof.

The article describes the scenes shot, which pretty much matches what we see in the finished film:

Shortly after nine o'clock the arc lights were put to work and the street was alight as if by sunshine. Miss Leslie, attired as a bride and carrying a suitcase dashed out from the rear of the old Orr mansion and ran along Henry Street towards Remsen shrieking for help. Houdini, in a dinner coat, was in her path and she threw her arms around him. At this point an automobile dashed up to the curb and two men leaped out. They tore Houdini from the girl and beat him to the sidewalk.

It's possible another scene may have been shot this night that did not make it into the final film. The below ran in the Dunkirk Evening Observer on September 2, 1921.

I'm somewhat skeptical of the above account. This was two months after the actual shoot and the dramatics sound a little too much like a publicist's embellishments. But it should be noted that Haldane of the Secret Service lacks the traditional hero and heroine coda that we see at the end of Houdini's other movies, so maybe this wedding scene was the original intended ending? I do like the idea of the movie beginning and ending at this same location.

This was also the night a photograph was taken that Houdini would later send to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for examination. (For more on that read: The photo Houdini thought would fool Conan Doyle.) The photo gives us a nice look at the crowds and arc lights as described by the Standard Union.

So what about this location today?

Unfortunately, the Orr mansion is long gone and replaced by a modern condo building. However, the other buildings still stand and are still recognizable. The corner of Henry and Remsem, where Houdini's Heath Haldane discovers a bag full of counterfeit cash, looks very much the same. So one can stand in this same spot and examine your own bag of cash!

Below is an embedded Google maps so you can explore Houdini's "Washington Square" in Brooklyn.

Orr house photo from the Brooklyn Public Library Digital Collections.

Related:

• Houdini in the Cahuenga alley
• Finding Houdini in Hull
• Machpelah of the West

Houdini's tuxedo collar on display in 1998

I hope you had the chance to watch today's Facebook Live chat between Andrew Basso and myself about Houdini's tuxedo collar. During the chat I mentioned a photo that I had taken of the collar on display at the Houdini Historical Center in 1998. Below is that photo. As we discussed, it appears the folds in the collar may have been ironed out at some point.

Andrew and I never got around to talking about his plans to have the collar tested for Houdini's DNA, so I believe we are going to do another chat next week!

And if you don't know what the heck I'm talking about, check out the top link below.

Related:

• Andrew Basso now owns Houdini's tuxedo collar
• Talking Houdini's DNA with Andrew Basso
• The Mystifier file

Flint Institute of Arts Houdini lecture, January 13

The Flint Institute of Arts will host a free online Houdini lecture by Dr. Taylor Hagood this Wednesday, January 13 at 6:00 PM EST. Below are details.

Houdini 

January 13 • 6:00p • Online @ flintarts.org 

Guest Lecturer: Dr. Taylor Hagood
Free and open to the public.

The immigrant son of a Hungarian rabbi, Harry Houdini remains the most famous magician and greatest escape artist the world has known. From his fabulous escapes to his mysterious death, Houdini's life is itself a kind of grand magic illusion filled with a multitude of secrets and still-unsolved mysteries. In this live online lecture, Professor Taylor Hagood unravels the twists and turns of Houdini’s career, reflects on Houdini’s place in American entertainment history, and explores the role of magic as Houdini promoted it in everyday life. Hagood will also discuss magic in Michigan, the site of Houdini’s death but also home to one of the greatest magicians to follow in Houdini’s footsteps and one of the top magic manufacturers in the world.

Dr. Taylor Hagood is Professor of American Literature at Florida Atlantic University. He is one of the world’s leading scholars on the writing of William Faulkner. In addition to his scholarship on Faulkner, he has published books and articles on African American women playwrights, Walt Whitman, and various topics in southern United States literature and culture. The child of a magician, Hagood is both a practitioner and historian of magic. 

To view the lecture or participate in the live Q & A with Dr. Hagood via Zoom, click here to register. To watch live via YouTube, click here. 

Related:

• Houdini and the Spiritualists with Ken Trombly
• Bill Rauscher on Arthur Ford and the Houdini Code
• Houdini and his collection are reunited at the Harry Ransom Center

Talking Houdini's DNA with Andrew Basso

On Tuesday at 9:30 AM PST I will be joining World Champion Escape Artist Andrew Basso for a Facebook Live chat about his acquisition of Houdini's tuxedo collar.  I had a hand in this from the start, so we will spill exactly how this "holy relic" of Houdinidom found its way to Andrew. Please join us!

CLICK HERE FOR THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

Related:

• Andrew Basso now owns Houdini's tuxedo collar
• The sexist magician has the DNA of Houdini (Estrada)

The Man From Beyond pressbook reproduction

Joe Notaro at Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence has a post today about The Man From Beyond pressbook reproduction that was made available in the September-October 1977 issue of MEDIASCENE, a large format entertainment magazine published by escape artist Jim Steranko.

I purchased one of these at that time and still use it for research. I never thought about it having much value, but Joe points out these were limited to 100, so maybe they are now rare? It's worth noting that nowhere on the pressbook does it indicate it's a reproduction. So as the years pass and the paper ages, I can see it being mistaken for an original as we've seen happen with some other reproductions from this era.

Joe has posted images of the original MEDIASCENE article that are readable, so click here to check it out at HHCE.

Related:

• The Man From Beyond pressbook sells for $780
• That pesky Parson's Theater program
• Everyone's first Houdini poster

Andrew Basso now owns Houdini's tuxedo collar

World Champion Escape Artist Andrew Basso from The illusionists is now the owner of a true Houdini holy relic. It's a tuxedo shirt collar worn by Houdini himself (and maybe even the collar he wore during his final show). The collar has a sweat stain and is marked with Houdini's name. This is not a signature, but appears to have been written on the collar as an identifier, possibly for laundry. They collar is stamped: "Irish Linen Company Shirts, Collar Manufacturers" and shows a size of 16 1/2.

The shirt collar belonged to Sidney Radner who presumably aquired it from Hardeen. Recall that Hardeen preserved the pocket from the pajamas his brother wore during his final illness. That leads me to think this might have been the collar Houdini wore during his final show as it explains why Hardeen would have kept it among his mementos. But that's just speculation. Final show or no, it's still Houdini's collar, and that makes it magical!

For several years the collar was displayed at the Houdini Historical Center in Appleton, Wisconsin. Then in 2004, Sidney Radner put the collar up for auction along with the rest of his collection. The buyer was Geno Munari, owner of the Houdini's Magic Shop chain. Geno in turn sold it to magician Troy Milligan. At one point Troy had his close friend, Dorothy Young, Houdini's former assistant, sign the collar. Last year Troy felt it was time to pass the collar to a new owner, and Andrew answered the call! 

Andrew broke the news in an interview with Estrada ("The sexiest magician has the DNA of Houdini"). He says he currently has the collar hanging in his bedroom, but he has plans to send it to Washington D.C. to see if they can extract Houdini's DNA. (I've talked to Andrew and he's serious about this!) He will then have a special case made for it, and is also open to having it displayed in a public museum.

I first became aware of this collar when I saw it on display in Appleton. But once it sold at auction, it seemed to vanish. It's exciting to see it reemerge, and I'm very happy to see it land in the hands of Andrew Basso.

Related:

• New York Times: Sidney Radner collection to be auctioned in Las Vegas
• Dorothy Young remembers her days with Houdini
• Randy Pitchford now owns Bess Houdini's brooch

Unpublished photo captures Houdini the lecturer

You never know where a new image of Houdini will appear next. This unpublished photo comes from Pixels.com which sells an assortment of public domain images as wall art, coffee mugs, and even face masks. Not sure this would make a great face mask, but it is an exciting image as shots of Houdini captured during an actual (indoor) performance are rare.

This picture is credited as being 1926 and shows Houdini giving a lecture, likely related to spiritualism. He has what look like Spirit Slates in his hands and is addressing what appears to be an audience volunteer. The men in the photo look too old to be college students, so this is not Houdini's famous final lecture at McGill University. But this image gives us a taste of what that may have looked like.

UPDATE: It appears the original source for this image is the Library of Congress.

Related:

• Houdini describes his spiritualism lecture in full
• A new candidate for Houdini's last photo (update)
• More magnificent Houdini images materialize

Houdini's known radio broadcasts

"Radio is the greatest invention of all times. It would be impossible for me to reach as many persons by any other means." -Houdini, 1925

One of my favorite podcasts is The Marx Brothers Council. These guys are Wild about the Brothers! A recent episode (28) interviewed John Tefteller, who has spent a lifetime seeking out rare Marx Brothers radio broadcasts from the 1930s and on. John's stories of how he tracked down several recordings long thought lost are fascinating, and it got me thinking about, you guessed it, Houdini!

Many people don't even know Houdini did radio. But Houdini embraced media of all kinds, and when radio took off in the 1920s, he quickly found his way to a microphone. Most of his broadcasts concerned spiritualism. But he also occasionally gave magic lessons to children. Unfortunately, not one these broadcasts are known to survive. But maybe that's just because no one knew there was anything to look for?

So I decided to make a list of all the Houdini radio broadcasts that I am currently aware. I'm sure there are many more, and I will update this list as I discover them. Most of the radio stations still survive, if in name only. My hope is we have a John Tefteller among us who might know how to track these down. The discovery of any one of these would be a sensation!

Wednesday, March 8, 1922

"Entertainment by Harry Houdini"

7:15 PM

KDKA Pittsburgh, PA

Details.

Tuesday, November 14, 1922

Houdini debates spiritualism.

8:00 PM

WOR Newark, NJ

Details.

Thursday March 29, 1923 

"My Twenty-five Years' Experience With Spiritualism"

7:15 PM-7:30 PM

KLX Oakland, CA

Monday, August 6, 1923 

"Mystery Mongers and Fraud Mediums" 

8:30 PM

WOR Newark, NJ

Saturday, August 11, 1923

"Myself and Spiritualism"

8:15 PM

WJZ New York, NY.

Monday, October 29, 1923

6:45 PM

WFAA Dallas, TX.

Monday, November 5, 1923 

"The Sane Side of Spiritualism" 

8:00 PM

WEAY Houston, TX. 

Details.

Tuesday, November 13, 1923

Houdini on spiritualism

WAOI San Antonio, TX.

Thursday, November 22, 1923

Houdini on spiritualism. 

7:30PM-7:40PM

WBAP Fort Worth, TX. 

Tuesday, November 27, 1923

Houdini on spiritualism. 

7:45 PM

WEAH Wichita, KS. 

Wednesday, July 2, 1924

Houdini on spiritualism.

8:30 PM-8:45 PM

WOR Newark, NJ.

Wednesday, July 22, 1925

"Houdini interviewed by scholars"

10:05 PM

WOR Newark, NJ.

Details.

Tuesday, September 8, 1925 

Houdini gives lessons in Parlor Magic.

7:00 PM-7:30 PM 

KDKA Pittsburgh, PA. 

 

Tuesday, September 15, 1925 

Houdini gives magic lessons.

7:00 PM-7:30 PM 

KDKA Pittsburgh, PA. 

Sunday, September 20, 1925

Houdini talks on Spiritualism

6:00 PM

WLW Cincinnati, OH.

Monday, September 21, 1925

Houdini teaches magic

6:00 PM

WLW Cincinnati, OH.

&

"Houdini, appearing Schubert Theater."

7:30 PM

WSAI Cincinnati, OH.

Tuesday, September 22, 1925

Houdini teaches magic: Second Sight

6:00 PM

WLW Cincinnati, OH.

Wednesday, September 23, 1925

Houdini teaches magic tricks.

6:30 PM

WLW Cincinnati, OH.

Wednesday, October 7, 1925

Houdini on Spiritualism.

7:00 PM

WBAV Columbus, OH.

Friday, October 9, 1925

WBAV Columbus, OH.

NEW Tuesday, October 20, 1925

"Spiritualism"

11:00 PM

WJAR Providence, RI. 

Thursday, October 22, 1925

“How to do Magic Tricks.”  

11:00 PM

WGR–319 Buffalo, NY. 

Monday, November 23, 1925

“How to do Magic Tricks.”  

7-7:30 PM PM

WJAR–Providence, RI. 

Wednesday, November 25, 1925

“Frauds and Spiritualism.”  

7-7:30 PM PM

WJAR–Providence, RI. 

Tuesday, December 1, 1925

"Lessons in Magic for Children"

7:05 PM 

WTIC Hartford, CT.

(Ad below)

Thursday, December 3, 1925

"Frauds and Spirit Mediums"

7:05 PM 

WTIC Hartford, CT.

Transcript.

Wednesday, March 10, 1926

Houdini guest on Celebrity a Day.

6:30 PM

WGN Chicago, IL.

Thursday, October 14, 1926

Houdini gives talk.

2:20 PM

WGY Schenectady, NY.

Photos.

Tuesday, October 19, 1926 

Houdini interviewed. 

11:00 PM 

Unknown station in Montreal, Canada.

Click to enlarge.

Related:

• Houdini on radio
• Houdini's great radio debate
• "It affords me pleasure to address you for a few moments on the subject of Spiritualism"

Houdini's "3 Shows in One"...in 1922?

Check out this ad for The Man From Beyond at the Globe Theater in Boston on October 2, 1922. On this night Houdini appeared in person, followed by the movie, then mentalist Mystic Clayton who was the regular performer for this roadshow unit. The evening was billed as "3 Shows in One."

Of course, "3 Show in One" is what Houdini called his full evening show of 1925-26. Coincidence? Or is this where Houdini got the idea for the name? Or maybe this just lodged it in his subconscious? Whatever the case, it's kinda wild to see this phrase on a Houdini ad three years before it became the name of his actual show, amirite?

Below is what the Globe Theater looks like today.

For more on Houdini's The Man From Beyond roadshows (also known as The Houdini Wonder Show), click the first related link below for an excellent deep dive by Dean Carnegie at The Magic Detective.

Related:

• LINK: The Houdini Wonder Show
• Houdini giving his all in Detroit
• Houdini's grand finale: 3 Shows In One

Never too young for Young Houdini

Here's one I missed when it was released back in November 2019. When Harry Houdini Was Young is written by Victoria Holder and Minwoo Song with illustrations by Jeongtaek Oh. Aimed at ages 3 and up, it tells the famous "Shake me I'm magic" story. Arthur Moses alerted me to this and believes this may be the youngest targeted Houdini book ever.

Harry Houdini, one of the most famous magician entertainers of all time spent his early years in poverty. The episode of the book takes place when young Houdini overheard his parents worrying about their rental payment. To raise money for the family rent, Houdini decided to beg money and perform magic shows. This heartwarming story shows the kindness, love and warm connection between family members who care for one another irrespective of circumstances.

You can purchase When Harry Houdini Was Young at Amazon.com.

Related:

• Prince of the Air: A Story of Young Houdini
• The Chronicles of Young Houdini
• Young Harry Houdini (1987)

Houdini musical gets a reading and a name change

Last month a virtual reading was held for the new Houdini stage musical previously titled The Impossible Man. It's now called just Houdini and the reading starred Tony nominees Ramin Karimloo as Houdini and Laura Osnes as Bess. It's unclear if this means Karimloo and Osnes are officially attached to the show, but they look good to me!

According to Playbill, Houdini is set during the magician's final show in 1926 and tells the story of his life through flashbacks. Federico Bellone is attached to direct. The book writer and composer will be announced soon.

You can follow Houdini the musical on Facebook, Twitter and the Official Website. 

Related:

• "Your Special Son" from The Impossible Man
• New Houdini stage musical announced for 2021
• Houdini Plays

Houdini in 1921

Let's kick off 2021 with a look back at what Houdini was up to 100 years ago.

In 1921 the only way to see Houdini was at the cinema. Fortunately, this was not difficult. All three Houdini movies were still playing in theaters across the country with his latest offering, Terror Island, continuing to open in new markets. 

This post is now retired. 

You will be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1921 in my upcoming book(s).