Thursday, November 12, 2015

Hear The Magic Detective On The Air!


On Sunday, Nov15th at 8pm (cst)  yours truly, Carnegie The Magic Detective, will be interviewed on the Jeff Richards: Paranormal Radio Show out of Edmonton Canada. I'll be talking about HOUDINI. I'm looking forward to it. It will be on 650 CKOM, or 980 CJME and I've been told there will be a podcast replay, so I will be sure to post the podcast for all those not in Canada or not able to listen to the original broadcast. This is my second Canadian interview this year!

Sunday, November 8, 2015

The Return of the Magic Detective Show, Again.


I can hardly believe it myself, but I shot two episodes of my Magic Detective Youtube Show yesterday. I was able to get one edited and uploaded. This is kind of 'out of format' from what I had done in season 2, but it seemed like a fun thing to explore. I had shot a very short video of me escaping from a pair of handcuffs on Halloween and received a lot of emails and comments about it. So I thought, why not do something like that for the show. I actually included that footage at the end of the episode.

The handcuff I talk about is called the Darby. I had read that it was actually Houdini who gave the cuff that name, but I don't know how true that is. I do know it was a very popular cuff having been introduced in the 1800s. Several different companies manufactured a darby cuff. They are still made today, but not really used by law enforcement. And there are a lot of cheap versions of the cuffs that are some try to sell as vintage, but they are pretty crappy reproductions.

I'm editing episode 2 now, and that will go up shortly. By the time I get to episode three I hope to get back to the format I stumbled upon last year which was recreating magic from the Victorian Era. With any luck, I'll also share some visits to magic collections in coming episodes. Let's see if I can actually get past 5 episodes this time around!!!


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Blast from the Past- Tracking Houdini's Body

Back in 2012, I wrote an article about where Houdini's body went following his death. You can check it out with the link below. A lot of pictures included. Enjoy!
http://www.themagicdetective.com/2012/01/tracking-body-of-houdini.html

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Wyman the Wizard's Final Resting Place


When last I wrote about Wyman the Wizard, I mentioned that I had discovered the cemetery but had yet to visit it. Then fellow Magic Detective Gary Hunt contacted me to confirm that the cemetery I discovered was indeed correct. Well, Gary has beaten me to the cemetery and recently sent me some fantastic photos of Wyman's grave.

He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River Mass. His gravestone is quite weathered as can be seen in the photo. In a few years it will be totally unreadable.

I first became interested in Wyman when I found out he lived in Washington D.C. for a period of time. He also performed for several US Presidents including Abraham Lincoln. But one of the most fascinating things about Wyman is that many magic historians from the early 20th Century credit Wyman for being the most financially successful magician of his time.

I found an unusual mention of Wyman in the Feb 1995 issue of MUM. It's from a column called 'Significant Events in Philadelphia Magic History'. Here is what it says, "July 1881, John Wyman walks out of the shop of Philadephia magic dealer Thomas Yost and says, 'You will not see me again. This is the last of Wyman.' Several days later on July 28th, Wyman dies."  The original quote came from an article by Frederick Eugene Powell that appeared in the August 1927 issue of The Sphinx. According to Powell, Wyman was not ill at the time, but apparently had some sort of premonition that his end was near, and it was.

Incidentally, Gary Hunt pointed out to me that John Wyman is buried with his wife Jane Wyman who appeared early on as a magician along with her husband. In fact, she received top billing as The Enchantress or Lady Magician and he performed as a Ventriloquist. Magic history never ceases to amaze me and continues to deliver incredible treasures of information!

Big Thanks go out to Gary Hunt for providing the grave photos!



Sunday, October 25, 2015

National Magic Week Is Upon Us

Today begins National Magic Week. This is an annual thing started by The Society of American Magicians. It honors one of their past Illustrious Presidents Harry Houdini. Houdini served as President of the organization from 1917 to 1926. Houdini's grave actually has a plaque on it that reads M-I President 1917-1927. He was elected for the 1926-27 year, but died on Oct 31st of 1926.

And speaking of Oct 31st, we know it as Halloween. But it's also National Magic DAY! Though this is an annual tradition started by the S.A.M., magicians all over the globe perform magic shows on this day and during this week. It's a great time to see LIVE magic!

For me personally, I've not had much time to work on this blog due to my very busy performing schedule. This month alone I have almost 50 performances. On Saturday October 31st, I have two, which I'm very happy about. Though, I would rather be at the Annual Houdini Seance in San Francisco, but, oddly, I never got an invitation. But many friends will be there enjoying the event and who knows, maybe this year is the year Houdini will return!

For those wishing to find out more about Houdini's last days, here is a link to an article I wrote a couple years ago that describes the route of his final Tour. Enjoy!

Watch for MORE Magic News/History This week!