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Today is Houdini 100-Day2. Countless seances were held yesterday (Oct 31st), as well as tribute shows, and hanging straitjacket escapes, all to commemorate the centennial of Houdini's passing. In NYC at 278 (Houdini's home) a very unusual thing happened at the first seance, apparently two things. Some lights suddenly started going off and on, that were set to timers but were not remote control and not on a switch. This happened during the Seance. THEN, a trumpet that was brought my Dorothy Dietrich*, suddenly collapsed during the seance. It was a telescoping spirit trumpet and it was in the fully extended position sitting upright on the table. Usually, for the record, the trumpet is laid flat on the table. By all accounts it suddenly collapsed into itself mid-seance.
Strange right?
Well, I've got a story. And I need to back up a little bit. I have a painting on my wall, one that I did a few years ago. Several years ago, I noticed that this particular painting was staring at me every morning because I could see it clear as day through my bedroom door. It was a bit unnerving. So I moved it to a different wall. Never gave it another thought. But over time, I also rearranged the furniture in my bedroom. One morning I wake up, and I'm staring at the reflection in the dresser mirror and there he is AGAIN! That same painting staring right at me!!!
Fast forward to yesterday, Day 1 of the Centennial. I am sitting in my office working on the computer and I hear kind of a 'large noise'. My neighbor next door must have closed her front door with more force than usual. I don't give it a lot of thought. Anyway, later I'm in the living room, putting on my shoes as I have to head out for another engagement. I go out through the garage and realize I have forgotten my car keys. I come back inside and that is when I see it. That painting, I mentioned earlier, it is now tilted, very crooked on the wall. Kind of alarms me at first. And then I remember the door slam from earlier in the day. I take a picture of it, because I think its kinda funny and I head out the door, because I am running late. I do not bother to fix it, I thought, I'll fix it when I get back. No big deal.
Several hours and a few card tricks later, I get home and there is the painting.....except it is upright. Yeah, it is straight again. But the window card directly below it, was still shifted. The painting however, straight as an arrow! Im racking my brain trying to recall if I actually did straighten it, or if I didn't. Im sure I didn't fix it. But if I didn't fix it............who did? or HOO-DEE NEE!!!! (Houdini!??)
No SEANCE in my house! But this was beyond strange. And I MUST have straightened it and just forgot. There is no one else in the house.
*I originally posted that it was the Dunninger Trumpet brought by Wayne Alan, but it was not. it was Dorothy Dietrich's trumpet she brought from her Houdini Museum.
We finally reached Day 1 of Houdini 100, the centennial anniversary of the death of Houdini. He may have been gone from this earthly plane for 100 years, but his presence is everywhere. With nearly 2 dozen new books, documentaries, podcasts, radio interviews, blogs, videos, you name it, his name is still being promoted.
Today, in California is the Houdini Auction by Potter and Potter taking place at The Magic Castle. This is part of the collection of Kevin Connolly. From what i understand, it begins with someone doing an upside down straitjacket escape outside the castle!
In NYC, John Cox, Jessica Jane, and Dorothy Dietrich, will be hosting three Seances AT Houdini's actual home on 278 W 113th St.. My friend Wayne Alan will be there and he is bringing, Dunninger's Spirit Trumpet and Spirit Slates that he would use back in the day when he attended Houdini Seances.
There are other seances across the county and likely across the globe. Then there are those of us about to have a busy day performing, because afterall, it is NATIONAL MAGIC DAY! I am leaving here the moment I finish this blog as my first show starts at 11.
Notice I said, Day 1 of Houdini 100. We still have a full year of GREAT activities to enjoy related to the grand master of escape! So however you celebrate, enjoy the day! OH, and don't forget to get your copy of The Houdini Coloring Book on Amazon.com!
Last evening, October 29th, I was interviewed by the host Ann of the Unexplained Realms podcast. A year ago, she had done an episode on Houdini and this time she got to interview a Houdini historian. To my surprise, I learned she also had previously listened to my podcast!
She asked many great questions and even helped to promote my new Houdini Coloring Book. When it comes to the paranormal, we know Houdini had mostly a love/hate relationship, or as I said on the podcast, a hate/hate relationship. But as I also mentioned, it was the magicians that were best suited to see through fraud, if any existed.
Ann was also very kind to promote my Houdini Coloring Book. I still chuckle to myself every time I say that outloud. It sounds so strange. Who promotes a coloring book, lol. But then when I look through it, I really love the way it came together and I truly do hope that it reaches a wider audience, not just magicians. And who knows, maybe will bring some new magicians into the fold.
To hear the episode, it is available on most podcasting platforms, Unexplained Realms, is the show name. Or you can watch it on Youtube, below.
On Monday, October 19th, I was featured on the Paranormal60 Radio Show, hosted by Dave Schrader. This is an excellent show that deals with the world of the bizzare, ghosts, bigfoot, ufos and similar topics. Dave has been doing this show for years and it's on Youtube, the recording is also on his podcast and its broadcast on WCCO Radio out of Minnesota. So it reaches a BIG audience. Right now, the Youtube version has close to 3000 downloads. So thats huge compared to my little podcast.
We talked all things Houdini. And it was quite refreshing because Dave Schrader was very knowledgable about his Houdini history. Great questions, wonderful insight, it was a fun hour! To hear this fun talk on Houdini you can listen to it below.
Houdini and Jack Dempsey horsing around for the camera
Today, October 22, 2026, marks the 100th Anniversary of the PUNCH that Houdini would receive in Montreal Canada. This punch would, according to some, lead to his death. What happened?
Well, contrary to a once popular opinion, Houdini did not die doing one of his famous stunts. This theory developed from the 1953 Houdini movie, where Tony Curtis, as Houdini, dies trying to do the Water Torture Cell. In real life, he escaped many many times.
In reality, on October 22nd, Houdini was backstage at the Princess Theater in Montreal. He is going through his mail and reclining on a couch. Several college students from McGill University had been invited over to see Houdini. One of the was doing a sketch of Houdini. Suddenly, another student came in, J. Gordon Whitehead. He came to return a book he had borrowed from Houdini earlier in the week. Then he proceeded to hog the conversation by asking Houdini a host of questions.
Eventually, Whitehead brought up the story of Houdini being able to withstand any strike to the body and he wouldn't feel it. No where in documented Houdini history can anyone find an instance of this. However, the story says that Whitehead quized him about it and asked if he could try and punch and see the results. Houdini agreed and began to sit up, when suddenly, Whitehead hit him with a barrage of punches. The other students rose up and pulled him off Houdini. Clearly, Houdini had felt these punches.
The story goes, he told Whitehead, he needed to prepare first. And some accounts say, he offered another punch, and Whitehead hit him, with no reaction from Houdini. One of the best recreations of this scene is in the Paul Michael Glaser movie about Houdini.
THAT was the start of Houdini's final days, or was it? There are new theories that have arisen in the recent past, one being that he was poisoned. One says he died of a ruptured appendix caused by the punch. Yet, another says he died because he was fed solid food when his colon was not functioning. Im sure there are more theories out there. In fact, some believe there was never a punch! More on that theory later.
Suffice to say, Houdini only had days to live after this. At only 52 years of age, the world would loose the Mastery Mystifier, but they would gain an Entertainment Legend.
The video below was from my first attempt at a Magic Detective Youtube show, way back in 2012, quite a while ago. In fact, I'd forgotten about it. But it's got good content, and really poor video quality, lol.
He made a what??? Yes, I made a Houdini Coloring Book. But it's more than that. Let me explain. First, there is a huge influx of Houdini books this year. Naturally, for the centennial, many people are taking full advantage of it and so they should. There are some very comprehensive biographies coming out, many already have come out. I didn't want to just do another biography, so I thought, what could I do that might reach a bigger audience? I had just heard about 'Adult Coloring Books', which I didnt even realize were a thing. These are coloring books for adults, NOT x-rated or anything like that. (get your mind out of the gutter!)
But it wasn't enough to make a coloring book. I wanted to add history to the mix, so I wrote short descriptions of the various images, most of which were Houdini photos or posters. But there are several that I created myself and one that is actually ME. Anyway, the short descriptions gave way to another thought which was to add QR links on the pages to articles or podcast episodes related to those images. NOW, I was onto something!!!
I did use ai to create the line drawings. I could have done that part myself and the book wouldn't have been done till next year. The other side of it, the book would have been enormously expensive had I hired someone to do it. So keeping costs low, I went this route. Trust me, I am an artist, I know the value of hiring living human beings and will continue to do so many times in the future. I used photoshop to fix some of the pictures so it wasn't just a process of telling ai to do something and 30 seconds later it was done. It was a lot of work to get things the way I wanted. I rejected a lot of images.
Sadly, there were a couple images that didn't make the mix. One in particular was in the book, then out, then in and then finally out. It just didnt work. Then when I hit 52 pages, I knew it was time to stop. 52 pages was going to be the perfect amount. The buyer would get a good mix of images, some easy to color, some more advanced, but all would have QR codes with links to this blog or my podcast. Only one, page went without a QR code and that was the one on Vintage Houdini Era Cuffs, which by the way, came from my own collection.
The end result blew me away. I wasn't quite sure how it would all turn out, but graphically, it really looked awesome. To prevent 'bleed throughs' if the buyer uses markers, every image is on it's own page. The final image in the book is a favorite that I created, Harry & Bess reunited.
I did learn after finishing the project, that there were two previous Houdini coloring books, however, the illustrations in one of them were pretty weak. The other appeared to be a 'magic coloring book', so not actually, a true coloring book but rather a magic prop. Neither is available anymore. Well, one is, but the price is $84, lol.
My hope is that I will find a good mix of non-Houdini people buying the book and in the process they get to learn about him, through coloring, my audio podcast and reading my blog articles. Naturally, magicians are welcome to buy it. It's way less expensive than all the other Houdini books this year. And, it's interactive! I will also offer it for sale in my Houdini lectures and back of the room sales at shows. Hey, for magicians who have kids and grandkids, it's perfect for them too!!!!
Houdini was no stranger to the packing case escape. In reality, it goes back to his earlier days, as the Metamorphosis, that started his career, could be considered a packing case. It was a steamer trunk in reality, but served a similar purpose. In fact, it served the exact same purpose, to escape from.
Before he gets to the most spectacular version of the escape. lets dive into some of the earlier versions. I mentioned the Metamorphosis. This was Houdini's first big magic/escape. It was traditionally called the Substitution Trunk. A person is tied, placed into a bag, which is tied, that is then placed into a trunk, which is locked and secured shut. A curtain goes around it. The assistant steps behind the curtain and in 3 seconds or less the performer originally locked inside is FREE. But that is not all, the assistant is now found inside the trunk, in the bag, wrists tied, just as the performer had been only moments before. It's a great mystery, and still popular today.
The Overboard Packing Case, and other packing case escapes all were things Houdini had to escape from but there was a difference. In the case of the simple packing case, that would often be built on stage by a local shipping department, and then Houdini would escape in the theater. But with the Overboard Packing Case, this was designed to be featured outside and using a body of water to hide the escape. Naturally, when you are adding a body of water, that means, the box is lowered into a lake or river or pool, and while underwater, Houdini would have to escape.
The danger element skyrockets with the Overboard Packing Case escape. The photo above sohws Houdini on a tugboat in NYC. He has one leg inside the box, one outside. He is about to climb into the box, and then the lid would be nailed shut. Ropes are then wrapped around the box and it is hoisted in the air and lowered into the water. Usually metal tubes filled with weights are attached to the lower ends of the box to help weight it down so that it sinks below the surface.
To be inside the box, the moment it hits the water is a stress filled moment. In one case, another boat in the water caused a wave and when the box, with Houdini inside, hit the water, it twisted, and Houdini got quite thrown around inside the box, just as the water rushed in. Everything goes black really fast and he had to hold his breath, or he could drown inside the box before he had a chance to free himself.
Other escape artists have suffered this fate. A well known Canadian escape artist nearly drowned on his very first packing case escape. Thankfully, he lived and continues to perform today.
STAGE VERSION
Houdini would first present this in 1902 in Essen, Germany. He would continue with this most of his career. It made a great challenge escape that involved cross promotion.
1902 – Essen, Germany. This was the first one.
1904 – Zoo-Hippodrome, Glasgow.
1907 – Los Angeles, a challenge from Hamburger’s dept. store.
December 1909 – Hansa Theater, Hamburg.
November 30, 1915 – Los Angeles Orpheum, Hamburger Dept store a second time.
May 1926 – Goodyear, Akron, during his “3 Shows in One” tour.
OVERBOARD VERSION
July 7, 1912 – New York, from a tugboat off Governors Island in the East River. This was the first one. The box was slid down a plank. There is some archival film footage of this.
July 15, 1914 – New York, Battery Park, with a crowd of about 15,000.
July 28, 1915 – Atlantic City, from the Garden Pier.
June 30, 1917 – Westport - Saugatuck, Connecticut, into Long Island Sound, at a Red Cross charity drive held at the home of Frederick E. Lewis II. Possibly his last overboard escape.
Interestingly, his brother Hardeen would do the Overboard Packing Case Escape when he was in his 60s in Atlantic City to promote his shows there. And he did it often!
Generally, when you hear about someone jumping off a bridge, it's bad news. They are probably attempting to commit suicide. Depending upon the height of the bridge and the angle of their descent, it's likely they will succeed. Houdini, chose to use this concept of jumping off a bridge as a publicity stunt, but he would take it up a notch.
You see, not only was Houdini prepared to jump, he would also do it handcuffed. This adds another element of impossibility for those watching. So he has two things he must handle, he must survive the jump and then he must get the cuffs off of himself before he drowns!
One can clearly see Houdini's athletic abilities on full display here. Just the ability to jump and land without hurting yourself is remarkable. You could easily bash yourself in the head or the face with the cuffs as you hit the water. And, though it looks like a very soft target, water is nearly like stone due to its surface tension. Once you break through you are ok, but if you hit the surface wrong, the result can be devastating. Think of someone doing a belly flop dive into a pool. I have vivid memories of doing this myself as a kid and how painful it was when I hit the water.
Then there are other elements to consider. How about the temperature of the water, or weather conditions in general? This type of stunt is ideal for warmer temps, in other words Summer time. But Houdini's first attempt would be on November 27th, 1906. This was on a Tuesday, and just before Thanksgiving that year. Houdini would be jumping from the Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit, Michigan. This is also the jump that would go down in history as having to cut a hole in the ice so that Houdini could jump and then getting stuck under the ice do to the current of the water. It was depicted quite graphically in the 1953 Houdini movie with Tony Curtis, and later in the Adrien Brody Houdini Miniseries. First biography to cover it was the Harold Kellock biography. The only problem was, that part of the jump never happened. The water was never frozen over. It would have been ice cold, but not frozen over. And yet it was Houdini himself, that started to whole 'story'. He would make the claim, on more than one occasion, that they had to cut a hole in the ice and he nearly died trying to escape. Totally, bulls**t, well let's be nice and call it 'fluttery' lol.
HOUDINI-Tony Curtis 1953
But he did jump from the Belle Isle Bridge, about 25 feet from the top of the bridge to the surface of the water. He wore two pair of handcuffs and he apparently wore a safety rope as well. Actually quite smart thinking for someone who had not done anything like this before. He also had a safety boat to pick him up once he made the jump. Considering the temperature of the water, another smart move. Once Houdini hits the water in the handcuffs, he initially is overcome with cold shock, sudden immersion triggers, hyperventilation, gasping and a spike in heart rate. This will continue for several minutes until the blood begins to cool and then the ability to swim rapidly decreases. So, both the safety line and the safety boat were smart precautions.
For me as a kid watching the 1953 movie, I often wonder if I would have gone into magic had this under the ice scene not been in the movie. It was the one scene I had caught over and over when they showed that movie on TV, and the only one I would see for a while. It wasn't until the day I asked my Dad what that movie was and what it was about that I took the time to sit down and watch it end to end. Well, that was the day my life changed. But back to Houdini.
BOSTON JUMP
Houdini would do a lot of exciting things in Boston during his career. But on April 30th 1908 he announces he is going to jump from the Harvard Bridge, into the Charles River, while handcuffed and manacled. That image is at the top of the page. He is wearing leg irons on his arms and a the chain between the leg irons is padlocked around his neck. He also has a pair of handcuffs on his wrists which are behind his back. As an escape artist, this tells me everything I need to know about the escape. But for you, the lay person, I don't give up secrets.
An estimated 20,000 people came out to watch Houdini jump off this bridge into the Charles River. Notice it was April, a much warmer time of year, though still not Summer time. It should also be pointed out that far more people could see a stunt like this than could see a Jail escape. Both were certainly strong publicity events, but the Bridge Jump was more spectacular and a bit more dangerous. Interestingly, both likely had to be coordinated with the police. Which I might add, was a pretty fast process as compared to today when you'd need permits and permission and insurance and who knows what else. Houdini gets to Boston, and a short time later, days, is jumping. And before then, he has time to notify the media, print flyers and make the arrangements for a safety crew, as there were boats in the water ready to pull him out once he jumped. Oh, and he has a film crew on hand to document the entire thing.
There is a commemorative plaque today on the Harvard Bridge, dedicated to Houdini's jump in 1908. They do get the date wrong, the plaque says May 1st and it was actually April 30th. One thing you might note, the photo at the top of the page and the photo of him dropping into the water, clearly not taken from the same spot. Brilliant marketing frankly. He gets some good publicity shots, which appear as if he is about to jump. Then the goes over to the actual location and has a film crew standing by to record the entire thing. They are filming from a different location, possibly even from a boat.
All in all the bridge jumps are an education in Houdini thinking. So many aspects are involved here. You have the technical side, how will he be manacled, with what, and how far down is the water? Then you have the logistical side, media, the authorities, the audience. No small feat for a stunt that actually lasted a mere moment. He was out of the manacles and on the surface of the water in 30 seconds. But look at how much publicity he received. Imagine how the ticket sales for his shows was have blown up that week. Wow.
Houdini's last bridge jump would be in England in 1913, he would have been 39 years old. His brother, Theodore on the other hand, though he also stopped doing bridge jumps around this time, was doing underwater escapes well into his 60s. So, the moral of the story is, don't let age stop you if you really want to do something (and NO, this does not apply to kids). It should go without saying, but Im saying it, these types of things are EXTREMELY dangerous and should only be done by professionals and by taking every precaution possible.
In 1918, Houdini made a Silent Movie Serial called The Master Mystery. Before the Terminator, before Skynet, before AI, Houdini faced the danger that we all are concerned about today, Q-The Automaton. This was the first evil movie robot in American movie history. They called it an Automaton, because the word 'robot' had not been coined yet, let alone, 'android', 'cyborg' or any other sci-fi word.
The movie is a 15 serial, or 15 episode production. IMDB says of the movie, "Quentin Locke, a Justice
Department agent, is sent to infiltrate a fraudulent patents company. In an attempt to gather evidence on the phony patents, he takes a job as the manager's secretary who takes up residence in the mansion of business partner Peter Brent. Brent wants our of the nefarious scheme and has been rendered mentally incapable of cooperating with Locke through exposure to "Madagascar Madness", a chemical substance that was added to the wax of candles in his room. Locke accepts the challenge of protecting his daughter Eva as the gang pushes forward with their unethical agenda. The vicious gang of thugs use an ambulatory mechanical man to assist them in intimidating the household into supporting their plans."
The original robot is lost to time. But a few years ago, master builder John Gaughan rebuilt Q and he even made an appearance at a Magic History Conference. Today, two of them exist, one in John Gaughan's collection, the other in Roger Dryer's Houdini museum. Im assuming Mr. Gaughan built both of them.
The Master Mystery marked a new chapter for Houdini, the movies. He had made smaller productions in 1905 and 1909, but The Mastery Mystery would be seen by many more people and would lead into several other movies.
Now, if you have nearly 4 hours, you can watch this epic silent movie!
I have had this talk with numerous people and yet have never put it in print. There are many reasons Houdini became famous but one, was paramount. The Challenges. Back in the Vaudeville Days, you would pay one price to see many acts. And even though they performed daily, you would likely only see them once. Why? Because they did the same act. Some artists did the same material for their entire careers.
But then along comes Houdini. And he flips everything on it's head. When he comes to town, Monday night he will be doing his Needle Swallowing and Metamorphosi act. But before he finishes, he tells the audience that on Tuesday, he won't be going these things. NO! Because you see, he has been challenged by the local brewery to escape from a beer keg filled with beer! But hold on. Wednesday, a group of local sailors claim they can tie up Houdini with rope in a way he cannot escape! Thursday, oh Surprise, he's hanging upside down from a Straitjacket at the local newspapers office and then he will announce the Thursday night challenge. You see, every night was something different. So audiences would have to come back, again and again and again. No two evenings were the same!
The more impossible the escape, the more people would show up. If there was danger involved, well, that could bring out recording setting numbers of people. His bridge jumps for example, brought a huge crowds. It was outdoor theater and as he said, everyone wants to come out and see someone die. Small playbill were handed out and distributed all over town announcing these various challenges. Who would do the challenging? Local businesses. The local brewery, the local newspaper, a nearby dairy farm. In the case of the image at the top of the page, this was from the Weed Tire Company. They made tire chains for tires that had to go through dangerous weather conditions like snow, ice and high water.
The challenge took place April 10th, 1908 at Keith's Theater in NYC. The success of the event did two things. It brought much press to Houdini. But it also promoted the Weed Tire Companies new brand line of Tire Chains. The cross promotion was so successful, that Houdini repeated the challenge escape in Philadelphia. It certainly created an iconic image.
I just finished watching all three episodes of Houdini Back From the Dead, a documentary/movie on Fox Nation. I know a fair amount of people will not watch it because it's Fox, their loss. And a fair amount won't watch it because it's AI, also, their loss. It is far from perfect. Many moments are breathtaking. For the average viewer there is much to enjoy. It does a good job of telling Houdini's story. In my opinion it does get a couple things wrong, but I don't know there is a movie or documentary that hasn't done that to some degree. Overall, it's pretty accurate.
Here is what you get to see. You see Houdini as a boy, you see some of his early life. Not in still images, but images brought to life, or apparent life. You see a teen aged Houdini, and you see Houdini starting out in his career. Many historical moments are covered, like his meeting Martin Beck at the Palm Garden in St. Paul MN. Houdini doing his handcuffed bridge jump escapes. Hanging upside down in a strait jacket and escaping.
They cover his touches with aviation in Australia and they look amazing. They actually give a decent rendition of the Vanishing Elephant. The problem is the theater is way too small to be the Hippodrome! You will get to see Houdini and his Milk Can Escape, which I thought they were going to reveal, but didnt and then hinted at later. You get a very graphic rendition of the accident in Albany in the Water Torture Cell. Trust me, it's quite graphic. But there is also an interesting moment. When the doctor comes on stage to examine Houdini and his ankle, take a good look at the Doctor. He is an older Houdini. Its like they ran out of ai faces, lol.
Houdini generally looks like Houdini throughout. Bess, Dash other people, do not like like themselves, they resemble the real people, but they are not spot on like Houdini is. Margery is another one, I do not think looks like Margery. But the famous photo of her on her front door step looks totally real.
Missing are Vickery, Kukol and Collins, Houdini's chief assistants. Yet we get Charmain London. And we also get a recreation of the time when Bess returns all the love letters to women who wrote Houdini over the years. But no Daisy White, too bad.
On the negative side: The voice of Harry is awful. Harry sounds like John DeLancie, Q from Star Trek the Next Generation. Apparently, the roles were played by real actors who then had their faces replaced by ai to look like the different characters, or maybe just had the actor who played Houdini, had his faced changed. Because the others didn't look as spot on. The narrator was my least favorite, I found him annoying.
As an escape artist, its kind of humorous to watch, as sometimes they have historically accurate handcuffs from the times, darbies, towers, bean cobbs, but then there are crappy ai cuffs, lol. The depiction of the Metamorphosis is wrong. A ton of work went into the detail of the cabinet to make it historically accurate, but then they blow it by placing a cloth over the head of Houdini, instead of putting him into a bag and tying it up. They also never show his 'ghost house' which he used for many handcuff escapes. They also seem to make light of the Water Torture cell and how fast Houdini really escaped.
Unless I dozed off, I don't recall the Mirror Cuff Challenge, where he cut his coat off with a pen knife. That would have been cool to see. And its possible I dozed off, for a couple minutes. Not because it was bad, but because it was 1am.
John Cox, David Haversat, Roger Dryer and Dr. Bruce Overbook are listed as consultants.
Despite my little nit-picky things, it's very watchable and enjoyable. And, no real magicians were harmed in the making of this documentary!
Now for those who shake and convulse when they hear the word FOX, just go on Amazon Prime. You can get a free 7 day trial. Plenty of time to watch the 3 episodes. And then you can quit before the seven days are up.
I think the big question for many will be the ai. The entire thing was made with ai. I have a love/hate relationship with ai. But even I am involved in two projects right now that involve ai., so I can't totally dismiss it. And, like it or not, ai is not going away. There was a moment in the documentary that made me sit up and take notice. This is when they mention the introduction of Motion Pictures put a real hit on live theater. And now we have ai which is putting a real hit on many many things. I will say, in regards to magic, I truly believe there will always be an outlet for live in person performances. I would venture video related magic, probably going to die or take a big hit. But its not just magic. Im seeing music, so called recording artists who play in what appear to be live venues, and it's all ai generated. They won't ever perform LIVE. But its hard to tell the difference online now.
I do not trust ai for research, it gets too much wrong. But, it completely rebuilt 4 websites for me in less than 90 minutes, 3 of which had be unaccessible for several years. There are clearly positive aspects to the technology. How we use it, is what is important. And then there is the other side, when it starts using us. But that is a topic for another day.
Dan Wolfe from Smoky Mountain Magic just announced he is going to have 3 new ornaments related to Houdini this year. One of them is seriously off the charts. It is a recreation of Houdini's Vanishing Elephant. Basically, it's a box, that has an elephant inside and you can see through the entire thing. Then suddenly, the elephant actually vanishes! Yes, it actually works!!!!
The next is a straitjacket ornament, in the traditional style of straitjacket that Houdini wore. The final ornament is a flat piece with a commemorative Houdini poster laser printed on it, which is for the Centennial of his passing.
I don't yet have pictures of these things, as I only now just saw the video on Facebook. He doesn't have it on youtube, otherwise I would have given you a link. The Houdini ornaments go onsale, 12:01 am October 31st 2026.
Dan will also be producing his traditional set of 5 new magic related ornaments as well. He has not revealed what those are.
In past years, Dan has recreated in ornament form, the Substitution Trunk, The Milk Can, and the Houdini Water Torture Cell. Now is your chance to round out the entire set. You can learn more here https://www.smmagic.com/blog1/?product=magic-christmas-ornaments
Wayne Alan is a close friend of mine. I've known him for years, and he was actually the first magician I ever saw perform at my local mall, ages ago. Wayne does not consider himself a collector, and Im not sure he considers himself a historian, however, he has been working on a book on Houdini since the late 1970s. His research is extensive. He might have been one of the earliest people to visit David Copperfields collection on Houdini. Over the years he has met with and interviewed many historians and collectors and people associated with Houdini. I will be sharing more on Wayne over the next few weeks.
But, the guy who doesn't consider himself a collector, has a pretty amazing collection. A few years ago, he purchased the Dunninger Collection from Maxine Dunninger. He also has an assortment of other Houdini related artifacts.
The one I want to share with you today is very cool. A simple table. One that can be seen in the photo at the top of the page. This particular table doesn't appear in the actual movie, that I could tell, but it clearly was used during the photoshoots to promote the movie. It is an Abbott's table. And the one Wayne recently purchased came from a Movie Memorabilia House. This is the 1953 HOUDINI Movie, side table used during the photo shoot.
The photo below shows the table more clearly. The drape is long gone. But it matches the table perfectly. It is housed in the National Museum of Magic, which is one of the few museums on magic open to the public. Wayne owns the museum as well. And where is it? Stay tuned, more on this to come!!!
The Houdini Podcast is a new project using the existing episodes from The Magic Detective Podcast that are on Houdini and creating its own playlist. Eventually, I may take these various episodes and pull the featured audio and add new commentary for an actual separate podcast. But for now, you can listen to 30 plus episodes on Houdini and folks that had connections to him.
The best way to get to the podcast is go to TheHoudiniPodcast.com and you will see the list. I have tried to put episodes in a timeline of when they happened, not when the episodes appeared. More than 15 hours of Houdini content!!!
Any future episode of the Magic Detective Podcast that features Houdini will also go directly into the Houdini Podcast. What can you expect going forward? Margery the Medium, Houdini in Various Locations, Houdini In the Movies, And interviews with authors, collectors, and historians!
According to legend, Houdini first sees an inmate at an insane asylum struggling in a straitjacket and it gives him an instant idea to add this into his act.
In 1900 Houdini is in Europe and he sends a telegram to his brother DASH, to come over, his exact words were, "come over, the apples are ripe". Which meant, get your butt over here, you can make a killing! And sure enough he did. Theodore -Dash- Hardeen stayed in Europe for 7 years. He was there even after Houdini had come back to America. But there is an interesting thing that happened to Hardeen. I mentioned this in a recent episode devoted to Hardeen, but it bares repeating.
Both Hardeen and Houdini were presenting the straitjacket escape. They would perform it live on stage, having a committee secure them in their jackets and then, Houdini and Dash both did this, they would step behind a curtain, likely the curtained cabinet used for the Metamorphosis, and proceed to escape. For Houdini it got very good results. For Dash, on one particular night, he got heckled. An audience member assumed there was a hidden accomplice in the cabinet who simply let him out. Honestly, not a bad suggestion really.
But that was not the case. And Hardeen chose to repeat the escape, this time in full view of the audience. And this time, this escape he'd been doing for quite a while, now brought the house down! Now it was time for Hardeen to wire his brother in America and tell him, DO The SJ in Full View!!! And from then on, Houdini did just that.
Of course, Houdini would use the jacket in different ways. Sometimes it was as a Challenge from the Local Insane Asylum. They could bring their own jacket or use one of his. Having very muscular medical attendees putting him in the jacket gave it even more legitimacy. It didnt stop him from escaping, but it sure looked good. Of course, if it wasn't a challenge, he could just call it a device to hold the criminally insane, and then proceed to be strapped in it. I know they used it many times in Challenges.
But then came the biggest twist of them all. Being Suspended upside down from his ankles wearing the straitjacket. This was usually from a newspaper office or near one whenever possible. This guaranteed covered. Thousands of people would come out to watch him escape. Seeing a man suspended high in the air, stopped traffic!
I had always thought this idea came from a young man name Randini. But Joe Notaro and John Cox both discovered there was a guy who used the stage name Mysterio and also went by the name the Great Avin, who was doing the suspended straitjacket escape at least a year before Houdini. There are a lot of correspondence between Houdini and Randini (Randolf Douglas), so I am sure Randini helped Houdini in some aspect, maybe with the rigging, maybe with how he was tied by his feet. Hard to say.
Although I can say one thing. I found something very interesting visiting Ken Klosterman's collection years ago. He had, among his Houdini items, two strange leather devices........used as a leg harness for the suspended straitjacket escape. My mind was blown the first time I saw them. I never knew Houdini used such a thing. This is sort of the secret behind the secret! But to be honest, it always seems frightening to me just to have rope wrapped around your ankles. Here we can see, it wasn't just wrapped around the ankles but the rope was also going through loops in the leather device to assure he was going to be safe. And he also had a safety rope on top of it!
His very first hanging straitjacket escape was in Kansas City, MO Sept 8, 1915. And recently, Lance Rich, magician and fellow historian, presented a hanging straitjacket escape in Kansas City to commemorate both Houdini's escape and as part of a ceremony where a new plaque was put up commemorating Houdini's first hanging straitjacket escape! Funny, I dont think anyone put up any plaques for Mysterio.
Dr Eric Colleary, curator of Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin Texas was my guest on episode 118 of the Magic Detective Podcast. Eric spoke about his upcoming book and the exhibit of the same name, Houdini's Library which is running until Jan 24, 2027.
It was a very informative talk. He gave us the history of Houdini's collections, where they went to, who ended up with them, how some items ended up in places that maybe they shouldn't have. There was more here than I expected. Eric even recalled some names I didn't immediately remember, one in particular Henry Evans who went by the stage name Evanion. You can read more about Evanion here, or on Episode 33 of my podcast. Which is not to be confused with Henry Ridgely Evans, who we also spoke about but who is an entirely different individual.
Houdini loved his library. It was massive. One thing I love about this talk was Eric said Houdini didnt just collect these books and things, but he also went through them, looked at the items, read the books. His library was extremely valuable to him and highly cherished. This is documented in various letters that Houdini wrote.
During this episode you will also hear about a mysterious Houdini Bookcase, which is different from the one that was in the Houdini home on 278 and is now in the Copperfield collection.
Now, on September 17th at 6pm central, Eric Colleary will be speaking at the Harry Ransom Center on his book and doing a reading from the book as well. This is being live streamed on youtube for anyone interested in viewing it. Click below for the link on September 17th.
Ok, I will admit it, I'm late to the party. In fact, I'm so late I owe John Cox an apology. I always intended to pick up his book, I just have been a bit overwhelmed with projects. But now I have it. The book that is a work by Mike Caveney, Dr. Bruce Averbook, and John Cox called Escaping Obscurity.
This is the travel diary of a young Harry Houdini. It dates from 1897-1899. And you wouldn't think there'd be that much to cover during that time, but young Harry was a busy guy. I'm personally irritated at myself, because parts of the Travel Diary have appeared in print before. The first time I believe was in the Doug Henning book, HOUDINI His Legend and his Magic, page 19. Yes, it's only a few pages, yes, it's hard to read. But unlike many people today who are not learning how to read cursive writing, I'm of the generation who can. This would have made an excellent blog article or podcast. But they beat me to the punch!
Let me state for the record, Escaping Obscurity is impressive! It's a large volume, far thicker than I expected. 374 printed pages, and many of these are full color. Actually, they are all probably full color, it's just that some images are black and white to begin with. Every recorded day in the Diary is addressed with what was going on and images of either Houdini or the location, or newspaper articles or something that helps support that part of the story.
There will be a few images that are new to the reader, at least they were new to me. Page 96 has a wonderful and very clear photo of Houdini and Samri Baldwin. I've seen several images of the two performers together, but this one is new to me. Samri Baldwin made the claim to be the first magician to publicly escape from a pair of handcuffs. He also is credited for introducing the Q&A Act into the world of magic, having taken it from the world of the mediums. I have a podcast episode on Baldwin if you are interested.
On page 89 there is an image, I have seen before, at least I think I have. I can't recall if it was in print, or if Ken Trembly showed it to me. At any rate, it's the first image of Houdini doing any sort of escape routine, captured in a photograph. The image also contains a ghostly figure apparently assisting him. Seeing the larger version is remarkable.
I had only one complaint about the book, which is no longer a valid complaint. The font size is very small. But when compared to the Henning book, it's the same size. So complaint withdrawn! The book is very artistically laid out. Whenever possible, it contains images of additional performers that might have something to do with that part of the story. For example, there is a photo of Dr. Walford Bodie on page 48. It's included in the book because Houdini gave Bodie his Electric Chair that he acquired from Huber's Dime Museum. This happened in 1920, so it's a bit out to date for the diary, but it helps to fill in the Huber story nicely.
This is not a novel, it's an annotated version of Houdini's Travel Diary. It's beautiful and full of history and adds to many stories you might have read in other biographies on Houdini. But it's not the type of book you sit down and read like a traditional biography. I say that just to let you know what exactly it is.
Also, it's something that you wouldn't have if it weren't for the kindness of both Dr. Bruce Averbook, the current owner of the diary, and Mike Caveney, the publisher. This is a truly rare glimpse into the early career of Houdini. John Cox does an excellent job of filling in the blanks and explaining what each of these 'stops' along the tour was all about. And finally Michael Albright was charged with putting all of it together graphically into the amazing book it is. It's a joy to view and examine. For the Houdini researcher, it's another very valuable tool to help tell the ever expanding story of The Master Mystifier himself!
Above is a line drawing of Houdini in front of the Kaiser's Court in 1902. The book, Exposing Houdini by Charles Green contains a number of line drawing/cartoons of Houdini. This one, however, is not among the bunch!
This coming week, The International Brotherhood of Magicians will hold their annual convention in St. Louis. This is their 97th Convention. This one, unlike the SAM Convention, is not dedicated to Houdini. The Society of American Magicians Convention was in Appleton Wisconsin, Houdini's home town.
But, even though, the IBM is skipping Houdini, there is a huge connection to Houdini and St Louis. In January of 1908 Houdini debuted his Galvanized Iron Can Filled With Water, what we commonly know as The Milk Can. This would go on to be one of Houdini's signature stunts. He often used as a challenge, filling with various liquids other than water. I will bet that in the new book Strenuous Career, by David Haversat and Bruce Averbook, there is a challenge with the Milk Can.
The performance took place at the Columbia Theater downtown. The theater is no longer there. However, the location is One City Center. An office building and retail shops now fill the location of the ole Columbia.
By the way, this photo below is a fairly well known image of Houdini in his Milk Can. This was part of a set of photos. Two are public, but there are several that have been unseen....that is until now. Charles Greene's new book, Exposing Houdini, has a chapter with this lost images and even tells where the photo session took place!
I received an unusual envelope in the mail with a shadow image of Houdini in the corner. I opened it and inside a very cool looking image of Houdini from what was clearly an old marketing piece once used by the master mystifier. See below...
And once I turned it over, it reveals an ad for John Cox's upcoming book, The Ultimate Houdini Chronology Volume 1, HANDCUFF KING The Conquests of Harry Houdini 1900-1909. With the words COMING IN 2026!!!
