KELLAR & HOUDINI

HOUDINI & KELLAR

 "I knew, as everyone knows, that the easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place some one is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death."

HOUDINI 

"You can never arrive at the perfection of art until your handling of the illusion produces a thrill of genuine surprise in all who behold it"

HARRY KELLAR

"The end of all magic is to feed with mystery the human mind, which dearly loves mystery. So leave every mystery forever unexplained!"

HARRY KELLAR

"I do tricks nobody can explain."

HOUDINI

"My professional life has been a constant record of disillusion, and many things that seem wonderful to most men are the every-day commonplaces of my business. "

HOUDINI

"As long as the human mind delights in mysteries, so long it will love magic and be entertained by magicians."

HARRY KELLAR

First Encounter
When Houdini started out with his brother Dash, there were two prominent magicians in America, Herrmann the Great and Harry Kellar. In August 1896, after struggling in the tough world of show business and getting no where, Houdini wrote to both of the great magicians looking for work as assistants in their shows. No reply came from Herrmann who would pass away by December of 1896. Kellar did reply but he told Houdini he had no room in his show at that time.

Kellar's Retirement

1908 Atlantic City

In May of 1908, Harry Kellar left the stage to retire. Just a few weeks later he would spend sometime with the Houdini's in Atlantic City, even Cecelia Weiss was present during this visit. According to the Ken Silverman Bio this is basically where their friendship starts. For a while Kellar lived in NY with his wife Eva, and Houdini and Kellar saw each other from time to time. But only a year later Kellar purchased a home in Los Angeles and he and his wife moved to the west coast.  Kellar still made trips to the east and whenever he was in NY he would usually attend the magic club meetings and see Houdini. Kellar and Houdini stayed in touch writing letters throughout the rest of their lives.

I found a very interesting note in the Kellar's Wonders book by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel. In 1916, Houdini and Kellar were at a meeting of the Society of American Magicians. It was at this meeting that the decision was made to start local chapters throughout the country, called 'assemblies'. Houdini and Kellar both stepped up and agreed to spread the word and it's no doubt through their efforts that today the S.A.M. has assemblies all over the U.S. and even other parts of the world.

Another interesting S.A.M. item took place when Houdini was President of the organization. He nominated Harry Kellar to be Dean of Magicians. He was unanimously voted in.


Kellar's Second Retirement
On Nov 11, 1917, Houdini coaxed Kellar into coming out of retirement for one evening. This was so that he could be part of an all star cast at the Hippodrome in NYC. The event was to raise money for the victims and family members of the S.S. Antilles, an American Transport ship that had been torpedoed by a German submarine.

On the evening of the 11th, Houdini acted as host and M.C. for the first half of the show. He even presented his Water Torture Cell. But the real thrill that night came from Harry Kellar who treated the audience to his amazing Floating Table routine and he followed this with his Spirit Cabinet. After his performance Houdini stepped on stage with roses for the Grand Master. Then he brought on a sedan chair and members of the show picked up Kellar sitting in the Sedan Chair and marched him across the stage as the entire audience got up and sang 'Auld Lang Syne'. It was a night to remember and Kellar was to taken with the gesture that it was difficult for him to express himself.

A few days later he wrote a heart felt letter to Houdini in which he said "you gave me the proudest and happiest evening in all my life and a farewell that can never be surpassed." Houdini followed this with a letter to Kellar in which he basically said it was an honor to be able to give back to such a beloved man and magician.

PSYCHO

When Harry Kellar sold his show to Howard Thurston, only two things made it into the Thurston show, the Levitation and Kellar's Spirit Cabinet. The other items were sold off and Charles Carter purchased several of them.

One in particular was Kellar's automaton Psycho, which was a knock off of J.N. Maskelyne's automaton of the same name. Psycho had been with Kellar since he purchased it in England in 1878. Kellar referred to him as 'my little companion and friend'. He was also an important part of Harry Kellar's show. He sold it to Howard Thurston in May 1908 and now he was about to come face to face with his old friend.

While Carter was performing in Los Angeles, Kellar convinced Charles Carter to sell Pyscho back to him. Then in May 1919, Harry Houdini received a letter and package from Kellar. It was Psycho and Kellar was giving his old friend to Houdini as a gift.

This was not the only gift Houdini received from his friend Kellar. According to Edward Saint, Houdini had a jeweled Question Mark pin that he received as a gift from Kellar. This pin has been lost to time. Kellar also gave Houdini his Spirit Cabinet that was used in the final Farewell performance of Harry Kellar. I'm curious if the Spirit Cabinet survives today.

FILM

On the set of The Grim Game

Houdini had started the Film Development Corporation and Kellar became one of the investors. Unfortunately, this was not the high point of their relationship. The FDC struggled to make money and Kellar often spoke to Houdini about getting rid of his shares of stock. Kellar's concern it turns out wasn't about loosing money, but instead about being responsible to creditors for future money. Kellar encouraged Houdini to get out as well. He felt it would be a terrible shame for Houdini to loose all the money he had worked so hard for during his career on a bad business venture.  Houdini's concern was less over money and more over loosing his friendship with Kellar over this deal.

One plus to the movie business was that it put Houdini in California and the studio where he was making movies was only a few miles from Harry Kellar's house. Kellar had suffered a stroke and wasn't as mobile as he had been before. Houdini visited him often and made arrangement for flowers to be sent to his home every week. During at least one visit, Houdini was able to capture Kellar on film thus preserving his image for posterity. Imagine how thrilling it would have been to sit in a room while these two spoke of things mysterious and magical.

DEAR FRIENDS
Kellar thought of Houdini as a son and it was obvious that Kellar was a father figure to Houdini. He was also probably the only living magician that Houdini looked up to. However, though their friendship was filled with mutual admiration they did not agree on everything. For example, Houdini let people know that all his effects were presented by purely natural means, his "My Mind is the Key That Sets Me Free" quote expresses this perfectly. But read what Kellar thought..."Make your work artistic by clothing each illusion with all the glamor and shadows of fairyland, and the suggestions of incantations and supernatural powers in order to prepare the observer's mind for a mystery though there be no mystery." Kellar filled his promotional materials with demons and other supernatural beings. Houdini on the other hand was totally against the suggestion of supernatural powers in his performance.

However it's safe to say that they agreed in most areas. Kellar believed that tricks performed by the masters who came before him would no longer fool even children and it was the modern magicians job to constantly update and improve the effects and the methods. Houdini took older tricks and made them new, like the Needle Trick or repackaged them to fit him, like the Sub Trunk, or created brand new effects, like the Water Torture Cell. They both debunked Spiritualist phenomenon in their shows. Interestingly, Kellar is probably best known for his rope tie. Houdini of course was a master of rope ties and rope escapes.

After Chung Ling Soo died on stage doing the Bullet Catch trick, Houdini made plans to add the dangerous Bullet Catching routine to his show. When this news reached Harry Kellar he sent a fast and firm reply to Houdini.  I believe his words were "Don't do the damned Bullet Catch, we cannot afford to loose Houdini!" or something to that affect. Houdini heeded the advice of his old friend and chose to not present the Bullet Catch, ever! Harry Kellar was probably the only person who could scold Houdini and get away with it. But the letter over the Bullet Catch was sent more out of concern and caring for his friend than as a rebuke.


1922
Harry Kellar passed away on March 10, 1922. He had been suffering from a bad bout of pneumonia and had been coughing up blood. The build up of blood in his lungs killed him. He was 73 years old. Houdini was not able to attend the funeral, so he made arrangements for it to be filmed. He actually did the same thing when his friend The Great Lafayette died, he had that funeral filmed as well. But to my knowledge neither of these films have survived.

Before Kellar died Houdini got his permission to write his biography. Houdini would use his 100s of letters (Houdini claimed thousands) and also his many meetings with Kellar as the foundation for the book. He only got as far as 100 pages. This became one of the projects that Houdini never finished because in 1926, only four years after Kellar, Houdini died. In the book Hiding the Elephant by Jim Steinmeyer he says the manuscript resides in the Mullholland Library, which today is part of the David Copperfield Magic Collection.

LAST WORDS

Houdini referred to Kellar as  'the greatest magician the world ever saw.'

In a letter to Houdini, Kellar referred to him as 'our greatest showman-Harry Houdini.'

I think that pretty well sums it up.

Previous Blogs about Harry Kellar include:
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/01/kellars-demon-globe-trick.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/01/fords-theatre-mantle-of-magic.html

Ford's Theatre & The Mantle of Magic

John T Ford

The name Ford's Theatre instantly conjures up images of April 14, 1865 the night President Lincoln was shot while watching a play. However, I want to direct your attention to the OTHER Ford's Theatre, the one in Baltimore. Both were built by John T. Ford, who in my humble appearance looks strikingly like Jerry Seinfeld.

The Baltimore Ford's Theatre was known as The Grand Opera House and was built in 1871. It was located on 320 West Fayette Street in Baltimore. It lasted until the mid 1960s when it was torn down to put a (wait for it...) parking garage in it's place. Readers of my blog will now the frustration I have over many of these historic theatres being demolished and turned into parking garages.

The reason Ford's Grand Opera House holds significance for magicians is that this is the location of the show where Harry Kellar passed the Mantle of Magic over to Howard Thurston. This established a long line of magic royalty that lasts until today (at least for publicity purposes).

Harry Kellar

Let's start with how it all came about. First it's the 1900's Herrmann the Great has passed away leaving it wide open for Harry Kellar to take over as the leading Illusionist in America. He's been following in Herrmann's shadow for quite a while and is ready to take over. Kellar is a unique character, older, less hair, but tremendously loved by audiences across the nation. He successfully fills the place left by Herrmann and becomes the leading magical performer in the U.S.. In 1906 he begins to announce his plans to retire. His successor will be Adolf Weber. WHAT? Yes, Adolf Weber was slated to be Kellar's Successor. OH wait, you might know him as Paul Valadon.

Paul Valadon was a magician who had been working at Maskelynes Theatre in England. He suddenly appears in America working with Harry Kellar and that also was the same year that Kellar mysteriously figured out how the Maskelyne Levitation worked and added it to his show. He might have gotten a little help from Paul Valadon. In 1906 Kellar proclaims that Valadon will be his successor when he retires. But that doesn't happen.

The first person to publicly say otherwise was Henry Ridgley Evans who saw Kellar's final D.C. appearance at the Columbia Theatre. Following this Evans writes a little note to Stanyon's Magic which says he predicts the successor will be Howard Thurston.  It's actually unclear when Kellar made this decision to go with Thurston over Valadon. Apparently, Paul Valadon had a drinking problem and Mrs. Kellar was not particularly fond of either Paul or his wife. So Paul is out as successor and is no longer working with Kellar. By 1913, Paul Valadon, one time possible successor to the Great Kellar is dead. The last few years of his life were not good, his wife either left him or she died. He had a son, but when Paul Valadon died, he had not one dime to leave his young namesake.

Howard Thurston

Thurston it seems may have been in the running all along. In 1907, Kellar and Thurston met for dinner to iron out the agreement. Thurston agreed to buy the entire Kellar show for $5000.00. Howard Thurston had made a name as a Card Manipulator. But he knew in order to gain a bigger piece of the showbiz pie he'd have to expand his repertoire. So he began to expand his act and he took it on an overseas tour. By the time he returned to the states in 1907 he was ready for bigger things. It's interesting to note that Houdini was not in the running for the prize of Mantle of Magic. No doubt Houdini couldn't be happy about this. But Houdini presented a specialty act of escapes only at this time. Later he would begin to add features like Vanishing an Elephant and Walking Through a Brick Wall. Perhaps if he had done this sooner or if Kellar had waited to retire then Houdini could have been considered. Houdini's friendship with Kellar doesn't really begin until after Kellar retires, so that his another reason why he was not in the running. No, this prize went to Thurston and he would make the most of it.

 
The two magicians had toured the country together in the 1907-08 season. The passing of the Mantle of Magic took place on May 16, 1908 at the Ford's Theatre in Baltimore Maryland.

To quote Howard Thurston the night of the final performance, "Before the final curtain had fallen Kellar led me to the foot- lights and in a most touching speech briefly mentioned his own career of forty-five years as a public entertainer, and finished with a generous and affectionate prediction of my future. Kellar had played Ford's Opera House for many years. He handed

his arm around my shoulders, while the orchestra played 'Auld Lang Syne'. As the ushers carried many floral offerings to the stage, the audience sang with the music. Finally, the musicians stood, then the entire audience was on its feet repeating the refrain. Leaning heavily on my shoulder as the curtain dropped for the last time, Kellar cried—so did I."

History shows however that Kellar was not completely happy with Thurston's use of his old show. Thurston basically dropped everything except for the Floating Lady and the Spirit Cabinet. Thurston's presentation of the Floating Lady enraged Kellar. Thurston would invite audience members to come up on stage to see the lady in mid-air. This would reveal the method of course and that drove Kellar crazy.

Kellar soon began work on another floating lady that I believe ended up with Blackstone, but not until after Kellar had passed away.

Thurston continued holding the crown until his untimely death in 1936. But before that he did make an announcement as to his successor would be. In 1929 on stage in McConnelsville, Ohio, Thurston announced that McDonald Birch would be his successor. But the Great Depression made theatre performances harder and harder and the proposed final tour with Birch never happened nor did the passing of the mantle.

Magic lore would also have you believe that the mantle was then passed over to Harry Jansen (DANTE). But Dante was overseas touring when Thurston died. The truth is, the mantle of magic set up by Kellar died with Howard Thurston. Magic groups in America wanted Dante to come home and claim the the mantle that Thurston left behind, but that is hardly the same as having the mantle bestowed upon you by the KING.

The romanticized version sounds so much better doesn't it? I like the idea that the Mantle of Magic went to Dante, then to Lee Grabel and finally to Lance Burton. But, it's not the Kellar/Thurston Mantle, it's a different one. 

One final note about Ford's Theatre. Some smart magician took wood from the stage floor of Ford's Theatre either before or as it was being torn down. The wood was turned into a magic wand with a profile of Kellar on one end and Thurston on the other. If you hold it up to a light source it casts the profile shadow of the two magicians. For the record two of these were made and one resides at Egyptian Hall West, the Mike Caveney Collection.

The parking garage that replaced the iconic Ford's Theatre in Baltimore Maryland.

More On Houdini and Kellar

More on Houdini & Kellar

Five years ago, I wrote an article about Harry Kellar and Harry Houdini, and then wrote a follow-up article on a different blog. I've decided to move that 'other' article over here for you to enjoy, but I'm also rewriting it a bit.  I am totally fascinated by these two performers. I can't get enough of Kellar and Houdini. The more I find out about each of them, the more interesting they become.

KELLAR of course was the first nationally famous magician born in America. Robert Heller and Herrmann the Great preceded him, but Heller was English and Herrmann was from France. If you want to go back further, you could make the case for Signor Blitz as he was quite famous as well, but again, he was from another country.  Kellar was born in Erie PA so he was a native born son. It's said that Harry Kellar was the inspiration for the character of the Wizard in the Wizard of OZ. Actually, I've only heard this said within the magic world. I have a biography of L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of OZ and there is no mention of Kellar in the book. Still, that doesn't mean he wasn't the inspiration.

Kellar was around before the modern media, before radio/TV/internet/movies, and certainly no Social Media. In fact, in Kellar's time, it was rare to see a photograph in the paper, as that technology was still in it's infancy. Instead, there were line drawings or fancy fonts in ads that were being used. So how did Kellar sell his show? POSTERS, newspaper ads and word of mouth! Kellar has some of the most beautiful and highly collectable posters in the history of the theatre.  If you examine Kellar's posters you'll receive a 19th Century lesson on Branding that is still valid today. His posters had a consistent look and theme. Whether they displayed young Kellar or older Kellar, they were still done in the same style. Some posters featured Kellar performing his signature effects, others showed only Kellar...and usually a few of his devilish imps appeared in the posters as well.

There are a number of effects in Kellar's show that have always intrigued me, probably because I saw posters for them when I was starting out in magic and the images stuck with me. Two in particular were Flyto and OH!. Flyto was an illusion invented by Charles Morritt and it consisted of two upright rectangular cabinets on the stage set several feet apart. A woman would go into one and a man into the other and instantly they would change places.

OH! was kind of a challenge vanish. There was a chair, with a curtain cabinet around it. A Steel plate went under the chair to prevent someone from dropping into a trap door. The assistant who sat in the chair put her hand through the curtain which was held by a spectator from the audience, and the other hand held a ring which was attached to a cord held by another spectator. And under these stringent conditions the person in the chair still vanished without a trace! 

HOUDINI was not born in the USA, but he always presented himself as if he was. In his mind he was a mid-westerner from a little town called Appleton. Now, where Heller and Herrmann were Kellar's rivals, they had a different connection to Houdini. Herrmann was a distant relative (maybe). Houdini enormous respect for Heller, even going so far to track down the old magi's grave. He said of Heller, "he was the most versatile magician to ever life."

Houdini was not the inspiration for any fictional characters that I'm aware of, however, he was such an iconic figure in history that he became the inspiration for many people inside and outside of magic. Even today, they still make movies and write books about this fellow, so still he has a hold on the public's imagination.

Houdini predated the internet/social media and TV. But he was right there when radio and movies were in their infancy, and he used them to the best of his ability. He did a number of radio interviews and as far as movies went, he starred in movies as well as opened his own movie studio to produce his own movies and his own film development company.  He also used newspapers in ways that others had not with his sometimes scandalous photos (think naked jail escapes).  Through his outdoor escapes he created his own sort of 'social media', back then it was called 'word of mouth' and it was extremely effective.

Like Kellar, Houdini used posters to their maximum effect. He even had one poster that had devils on it, but he eventually went his own way when it came to the images on the posters. He emphasised drama, fear and emotion in many of his posters. The Water Torture Cell posters and the Milk Can, 'Failure Means a Drowning Death' and the Water Torture cells often had the depiction of a green giant putting Houdini in the cell. Pure drama!
  

In regards to his performing material I've always been intrigued with the escapes but lately it's his magic that is pulling me in. I never in a million years considered doing the East Indian Needle Trick. The It's an effect that has danger (real danger) and suspense and it appears totally impossible. It's frankly brilliant and Houdini recognized the trick for how powerful it was. He would do it in newspaper offices, he even did it on the stage at the Hippodrome Theatre, one of the largest stages in the world! Watch for it in my act, because it's coming.

Houdini's Walking Through a Brick wall is another piece that is simply genius. Though I don't expect to Walk Through a Brick Wall anytime soon (it won't fit in my Van). And frankly, I have a new found respect for the Milk Can after having done a ton of research on it. The Milk Can restarted a stalled career for Houdini and then when he was ready to replace it with the Water Torture Cell, he found continual uses for the Milk Can.

It's ironic that Houdini and Kellar didn't really become friends until after Kellar retired. Houdini always looked up to Kellar. Houdini had a habit of looking up to 'father-figures'. Kellar fits this description, as does Harry Cooke & Oscar Teale.

The Houdini/Kellar relationship carries a valuable lesson.  No matter how famous you are, there are people out there that you can admire. These two performers, certainly both admired each other.

By the way, maybe the best photo of the two magicians together can be found online. I will post the link, because I don't know who owns this today and would not post it without the owners ok. https://new.liveauctioneers.com/item/33516298_portrait-photograph-of-houdini-and-kellar

The Life of Paul Valadon

 

In the summer months of 1867, Adolph Waber was born. At a young age he saw a magician, and eventually went to work for him as assistant and likely apprentice. 

Paul Valadon was born Adolph Waber in Cologne Germany on June 17th 1867. 

That magician was Ernest Basch who performed out of Hamburg Germany. Basch came from a family of magicians, three of his brothers were also magicians at some point in their lives. Eventually, Adolph, who would change his name to Paul Valadon,  learned enough that he went out on his own. He started in Germany but ventured out to all of Europe. From there he toured the major cities of South Africa. 

Valadon was known for his manipulative skill and high talent. He was a master of billiard ball manipulations. He was adept at card manipulations. Some of his moves can be found in The Modern Conjurers book by C. Lang Neil. He even created a Second Sight act with his wife Catherine.

Over at Egyptian Hall, David Devant had just departed and the Maskelynes were looking for a new magician to bring on board. They heard the accolades about Valadon and offered him a job at the famed Hall. Paul Valadon would accept the position and over a five year span present over 1600 performances.

Valadon would perform his own act, as well as assist in others. He was one of the cast members for the Will, The Witch and the Watchman routine for example. He also created original routines while at Egyptian Hall.

The Drum that Can’t Be Beat was a creation of Valadon’s. He would show a cylindrical drum, missing the drum heads. Then he would place the drumheads on and suspend the drum from two chains on the stage. He then poked a hole in one of the drum heads and slowly removed large scarves, one after another, filling the stage with silk. Another of his creations was an illusion called “Well I’m”. This he built with the help of the Maskelynes. It was a table, maybe 3 feet off the ground. He would have his wife stand on top of the table. He would walk around the table and then step up on the table with her. Then he would take a large cloth and cover her. It would flow over her showing only the outline of her body. After a few magical gestures, he would dramatically yank the cloth away and his wife would vanish into thin air. 

I can attest to the beauty of both of these affects. I believe The Drum that Can’t Be Beat went on to be sold by dealers and was featured in many performers shows over the year. Mike Caveney recreated both of these effects for one of the LA Magic History Conferences and then later presented them via video at the Essential Magic Conference in Portugal. I was able to see the video version and I can say both were wonderful effects.

Now, we must introduce Harry Kellar into the picture. During the summer months when artists routinely took a break, Kellar would go to England and specifically Egyptian Hall to see the latest creations of Maskelyne. Somehow these creations would later turn up the following year in Kellar’s show. Much has been made of Kellar’s stealing these effects. I’m starting to wonder. And here is why. Kellar fell in love with the Levitation. He offered to buy it from Maskelyne but he turned down the offer. Kellar would return show after show trying to solve the mystery. There is one anecdote that said, Kellar actually climbed on stage during a performance to look under the floating girl. And just as one of Maskelyne’s assistants was going to stop him, Mr. Maskelyne himself prevented the stage hand from interfering. THAT is odd on many levels. Would Kellar be so rude as to jump onstage during a show? Why would Maskelyne not want such audacity to be prevented. OH and then add to this there are stories of both the Maskelynes and the Kellar’s having dinner together. I find all of this quite strange. Im not sure I believe the story of him getting on stage. I do tend to believe the dinner story, but then why would John Neville Maskelyne have dinner with a man who was stealing his material? Unless…

well, I’ll leave that for you to figure out. Some Maskelyne letters would probably help solve this mystery, which I don't have access to. 

One thing is for sure in 1904 Kellar went to England and stayed a very short time. But when he returned he came back having hired Paul Valadon for his fall tour. Valadon clearly loved working at Egyptian Hall. In fact, Valadon would later say one of his prized possessions was a letter of recommendation from John Neville Maskelyne. So why could he be persuaded to leave? This piece I found in the pages of the book Kellar’s Wonders by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel. Apparently, it turns out that 1904 was going to be the final year for Egyptian Hall. This was due to the fact that the building was going to be demolished that year. So now Im wondering, who approached who? Did Valadon, knowing he’d soon be out of work approach Kellar, or did Kellar, as the popular story goes, hire Valadon to get the secret to the levitation?

This is where the popular story begins. Kellar, desperately wanting the secret to the Maskylne levitation, hires Paul Valadon, partly with the promise of including him in the show and potentially turning the show over to him when he, Kellar, retires. Did they speak of the secret to the levitation at this time? It sure would seem a breach of protocol, and ethics for Valadon to do such a thing. Especially given the fact he held Maskelyne in such high regard.

Then there was the note Houdini wrote about talking to Kellar and being “awfully hurt to think that people said he had hired Valadon for the purpose of stealing the levitation secrets” That doesn’t mean he didn’t do it, but it just makes the whole thing more confusing. 

The official record says that Kellar had the Maskelyne levitation in 1904. However, I have in my files a program from the Providence Opera House dated April 6th, 1903. On page 6, the program reads, “And the Great Hypnotic Scene, “The Levitation of Princess Karnac”. That’s a full year before he even meets with Valadon. Confused yet? Whether he stole it, acquired the secrets from Valadon, or had a third party help work it out, I just don’t know for sure. Certainly the third party, who shall remain nameless had much to do. Kellar’s version allowed for the illusion to move from theater to theater. Maskelyne’s levitation was built into the theater. Obviously some issues had been solved or remade in order for the illusion to be transportable.

Let’s look at what Paul Valadon did when he worked for Kellar. Thanks to what has turned out to be a rather controversial review by John Northern Hilliard, we have much information. All the secret and method info is withheld from this podcast.

The beginning of his act, Valadon remove’s his gloves, tosses them in the air where they transform into a dove. Next we have the popular Soup Plate illusion created by DeKolta. 

Next we have Aerial treasury, or Misers Dream as we know it. From here Valadon goes into Billiard Ball manipulation. Next up, some fun manipulation of raw eggs, eventually pulling eggs from a spectators mouth. 

The next feat received praise from multiple sources. IT’s a small effect but a stand out. A strip of blue paper, 30 inches long and one inch wide is torn into multiple pieces….and then restored. By all accounts it was a beautiful piece of magic. The Sphinx in a later issue mentioned Valadon removed this piece from his show and the commentator said, ’its was one of the most beautiful effects Valadon did, and he hoped it would return to the show at some point.    This effect is now followed by Card Manipulations. This is a fairly brief sequence because though Valadon was an expert, the card manipulations were a new genre.

Now we come to the Watch Trick.  A borrowed watch is made to vanish and reappear in an impossible location. And the final trick, at least in the beginning was the drum that can’t be beat which I described earlier. Eventually on the tour Valadon would present his illusion, “Well I”m” Kellar had posters made to the effect, with an image of Valadon performing the effect. The title ‘Well I’m’ is also on the poster. The top of the poster reads, “Kellar’s Mysteries” and then the lower right third says, Presented by PAUL VALADON.  Incidentally AFTER Valadon eventually leaves the Kellar show, Harry Kellar would continue to present Well Im in his show, but it would be rechristened “ His Latest and Created Wonder, “GONE”. The Maskelyen’s would also continue presenting Well I’m on their stages as well, but also claiming they were the creators.

The Kellar tours featuring Paul Valadon received great press reviews. The one exception was John Northern Hilliard who would go out of his way to bash Kellar whenever possible. In 1905, Paul Valadon suggested to Kellar they add the Maskelyne trick, The Will the Witch and the Watchman to the show. It would require adding some cast members and the first attempts were atrocious. One thing about Harry Kellar, he was a genial old man but when he lost his temper he went off like a cannon. He was furious at how the new routine was coming along. Kellar’s version would be titled. “The Witch, the Sailor and the Enchanted Monkey”. He fired the newly fired the newly hired members. Eventually the routine was worked out enough to make to playable. BTW, if you read Jim Steinmeyer’s blog, you can watch a video of the original Maskelyne version of Will the Witch and the Watchman featuring John Carney in one of the title roles.   Kellar must not have been too fond of the illusion because at some point he sold it to a magician in the midwest. 

Back to Kellar and Valadon. According to the earlier agreement, Valadon was to take over the show when Kellar retired. There was only one small problem, actually two. One of the issues was Eva Kellar, Harry’s wife. The other was alcohol, of which Eva and Paul Valadon were known to partake in to excess. Eva was a mean drunk and hated the Valadons. Mostly Paul tried to hold his tongue, but one afternoon, after hearing Mrs. Kellar badmouth them, Paul Valadon came out and ripped the wife of Harry Kellar to shreds verbally. And just like the vanish in his illusion ‘Well I’m’ Valadon was OUT as far as being a successor. He finished the tour, but after that, he was no longer part of the company.

Paul Valadon ran a small space ad in the back of The Sphinx in 1909, which read “Paul Valadon” Late of England’s Home of Mystery, the Egyptian Hall., London. Now touring in vaudeville with entire new act. All communications address care of Edward Beadle 1193 Broadway NY, NY. “  What’s interesting here, no mention of touring with Kellar. The fall out left an ever lasting rift between the two men.

After the Kellar show, Valadon went to perform in vaudeville across the United States. And by all accounts he was a big success in vaudeville. He would change his act often. But the reviews of his shows were great. In the magic press, they still expected Valadon to move up to the TOP of the showbiz ladder. 

There is an interesting anecdote that comes from the pages of The CREST Magician, March 1908. Apparently, Valadon was performing somewhere in America and needed to borrow someones tall high hat, top hat in other words. But none was forthcoming. So he instructed his assistant to fetch his brand new hat that was in his dressing room. This was in immaculate condition and a thing of pride for Valadon. He asked for a gentleman to examine the hat and gave it to someone who then handled his hat rather coarsely and then tossed it back onto the stage. Valadon was short of furious, but held his temper. He stepped over to retrieve his now mangled hat and said, “And now is there a gentleman (long pause) who could examine the hat”. And the audience of course understood the gentle rebuke of the ruffian and laughter. There’s a word we don’t hear any more ruffian, lol. 

In April 1909 tragedy struck the Valadon’s. While appearing in Chicago, Catherine Valadon, Paul’s wife got sick. She was admitted to the hospital. But she died on April 27th at Mercy Hospital. She was buried in Oak Woods Cemetery in Chicago. She was 40 or 41 when she died. Notice of her death appeared in all the magic periodicals of the day. One had this quote, “she was liked by all her met her.” Which wasn’t exactly true, Eve Kellar was no fan of her or her husband.

This left Paul a single father and he had a young son. Still the show must go on and the show did go on. At one point, Valadon dropped the illusions and did a smaller act along with his son, which was well received. It was a struggle at first doing the show without his wife/partner. And yet, the illusions wouldn’t stay out of the show.

In May 1910, The Sphinx says that Valadon is now featuring a beautiful levitation and disappearance of a woman. Quote, “His act is better than ever, and shows Valadon’s master hand at conjuring”

The next month in the ‘sphinx Valadon is mentioned again and it says, “showed his illusion of the vanishing lady, while suspended in the air”.    So I assume he is presenting LeRoy’s Asrah levitation. OK, Oct 1910 Sphinx spills more details. quote “Am somewhat late reporting the show of Paul Valadon, who appeared at the Majestic theater here last month. When he stepped on the stage the first night he received a big round of applause, which showed he was well and favorably remembered by Chicago theatergoers. His act was a treat from start to finish and the quick succession of surprises which he presented in his inimitable style brought forth many rounds of applause. He captured his audience with his climax which consisted  of his own conception of Servais LeRoy’s illusion, Asrah. Valadon brings the trick to a startling termination by causing the silk sheet to vanish, as well as the levitated body. His illusion is of his own ideas and is not one of the impractical copies that are being sold on the strength of the speeded reputation gained by Servais Le Roy’s invention. It might be useful to many magicians to know that the many so-called Asrah illusions now offered for sale everywhere are no anything like the original as invented and presented by Servais LeRoy.” A later article mentions Valadon called his creation “Venita”. I am wondering, if indeed this was not the LeRoy method, perhaps he used the clever method from his Well I’m illusion and added the levitation, the elements are there, the covering of the lady, the table, the vanishing of the figure. The only thing not there is the floating. 

Life on the road seemed to be ok for Paul Valadon and his son. That is until 1911 and 1912. Paul Sr’s heath begins to decline. And this is where my interest all started. In a January 15th, 1912 issue of The Sphinx Magazine, Howard Thurston asked the readers to donate money on behalf of Valadon who has been diagnosed with ‘consumption.’. His doctors say, a dryer climate is more fitting for the showman. Thurston even lists the contributions that have come in so far, he himself giving $50, Theo Bamberg $10, George White $1, other cast members, one or two dollars, for a total of $71. Then, a letter to Thurston and Dr. Wilson (editor of the sphinx) is reprinted and it says, “Dear Sirs, I I hereby give you my consent to superintend a money collection on behalf of myself and agree to allow Dr. Wilson to have absolute control of the expenditure of this money. Thank you for your kind endeavors, I remain Sincerely yours, Paul Valadon”

Enough money is raised for Paul and his son to relocate to Phoenix AZ. But a little over one year later, on April 23rd, 1913, 45 year old Paul Valadon was dead from tuberculosis. He left his son with little money. Valadon was buried in an unmarked grave in Greenwood Memory Park Cemetery. Young Paul was sent to an orphanage. In 1948, a dedication service was conducted by the magic group Mystic 13 and IBM Ring 55, for the grave marker they had placed over Valadon’s burial site……..

One final point of interest, Paul had a very elaborate scrap book from his many years on the road. I assume it stayed in the family, as Paul Jr. got married and had a child and stayed in Phoenix. Does anyone know of the whereabouts of the missing scrapbook?

(this is the feature transcript from Episode 108 of the Magic Detective Podcast)

Remembering Kellar

Harry Kellar passed away 93 years ago this week on March 10th 1922. I've written about Kellar a lot on this blog and recently over at my other blog. We are fortunate that in the past few years some new books have come out on Kellar. The enormous Kellar's Wonders by Mike Caveney and William Miesel was the first to come out and it gives a very complete history of the life of Harry Kellar. A short time after another book was published called, The Amazing Harry Kellar: Great American Magician by Gail Jarrow.

Kellar was the first Dean of the Society of American Magicians and really the first famous American born Illusionist. In his life he would have seen Robert-Heller, John Henry Anderson, Alexander Herrmann, John Nevil Maskelyne, David Devant, Harry Houdini and of course, Howard Thurston. That's an incredible span of time to be able to see the acts of some of the most iconic people in magic history, and yet Kellar was among these iconic performers.

Had it not been for Kellar, we might not have had the Vanishing Birdcage here in America. Had it not been for Kellar the Kellar Levitation might still be known as the Maskelyne Levitation, lol. Ok, not everything Kellar did was honest. He certainly lived a full life with many incredible adventures, including loosing his whole act in a shipwreck! Yet he came back from loosing everything and became the #1 Illusionist in America.

RIP still, Harry Kellar.

Here are some notable moments in Kellar's life that I've written about in the past.

The Fakir of Ava

Harry Kellar and The Wizard of OZ 

Kellar's Shipwreck and Sunken Treasure

The Vanishing Bird Cage History

Kellar's Astarte Levitation

Kellar & Houdini

Passing of the Mantle of Magic

Kellar's LAST Mystery

Oz, The Great & Powerful...Magician

A new movie debuts today called 'OZ, The Great and Powerful' and is a prequel to the popular movie The Wizard of Oz.  The story began as a book, The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (1900) by Lyman Frank Baum.

L.Frank Baum was born May 15, 1856 in Chittenango NY. He had been a life long lover of theatre and tried unsuccessfully to have a career in theatre. His writings did much better for him, though he did take his story The Wonderful Wizard of OZ and turn it into a theatrical play called The Wizard of OZ.

In the original story, the Wizard is a traveling magician who works for a circus. Through a freak accident on a balloon ride, the wizard finds himself in the land of Oz. His full name was Oscar Zoroaster  Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkel Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs which abbreviated spells out
"O.Z.P.I.N.H.E.A.D", he shortened it further to simply OZ.  He becomes the ruler of OZ probably because of his magical abilities and his name OZ written across his hot air balloon.

During the same period of time, the preeminent magician in the United States was a fellow named Harry Kellar. He had been a world traveling magician, but after the deaths of the English magician Robert Heller and the European magician Herrmann the Great, Kellar had the title all to his own.

Heinrich Keller (Harry Kellar) however was born here in America, in Erie PA on July 11, 1849. He was not a circus magician, but he certainly was a traveling magician. He apprenticed under the Fakir of Ava, then went out to manage the famous Davenport Brothers. He left the Davenports and took William Fay with him and they started their own act, traveling through Mexico, South America and beyond. However, on their way to Europe, the ship they were on hit rocks and sunk, taking all the money Kellar and Fay had made on their trip, as well as their costumes and props for their show and leaving them at the bottom of the sea.

Bad luck would not plague Kellar forever and he eventually came into his own. In 1900, the year the Wonderful Wizard of OZ was published, Kellar was the #1 magician in the country.

I've heard it said that Kellar was the inspiration for the character of the Wizard of OZ. Mike Caveney, the well known magician and magic historian has said this in interviews. But I checked his book called "KELLARS WONDERS" and I didn't see any reference to it (though it's possible I missed it).

The connection is mentioned in the Gail Jarrow book on Harry Kellar called "Harry Kellar Great American Magician", although she says that readers of the book 'The Wonderful Wizard of OZ' will recognize the wizard as being like Harry Kellar.

I recall watching the movie 'The Wizard of OZ' as a kid and remembering fondly the character played by Frank Morgan, the Professor Marvel character and later the Wizard. The movie character always stuck with me and when I later got interested in magic and came upon Harry Kellar, I wondered if Kellar was like the Professor Marvel/Wizard character that I had seen in the movie. But honestly, Frank Morgan while in the character of Professor Marvel in the movie looks more like the magician Dante (and Dante was a very popular magician at the time the movie was made).

I am not sure where this idea that Kellar inspired the WIZARD character came from. Though I vaguely recall the idea of the connection was attributed to Martin Gardner. I think it's highly likely that Kellar could have been in the inspiration based on the fact that Baum was a huge theatre buff, Kellar was the big name at the time and the illustrations by William Wallace Denslow are a dead ringer for Kellar. If nothing else, perhaps the illustrator Denslow was inspired by Kellar and that is why the pictures look so much like him. I even have a photo somewhere of Kellar wearing a white jacket like the one on the Wizard illustration, but I can't seem to find it right now. I do believe that Kellar figured in there somewhere during the creation of the original book.

There is one other thing to consider and that is the word WIZARD. Magicians of that time were calling themselves: magicians, conjurers, manipulators, illusionists, escape artists, professor, and similar names. The word 'Wizard' was more commonly used in the mid 1800 with folks like John Henry Anderson known as The Great Wizard of the North, and John Wyman Jr. known as Wyman the Wizard. In the 20th Century there was one wizard that I can think of, Germain the Wizard. Perhaps one of these men also played a part in the inspiration of the character!

Finally, look at the poster below, it kind of looks like something out of the Wizard of OZ with flying monkeys and munchkins!

UPDATE: WildaboutHoudini.com has an article on the Houdini connection to the OZ movie which is excellent as always.