Houdini in Boston Part1

Houdini was huge in Boston. According to the Ken Silverman bio there were groups of fans who were called  'Houdinites' by the Boston Post. In 1908, Houdini did one of his handcuffed bridge jumps off the Harvard Bridge, now referred to as the Mass Avenue Bridge. There is a plaque on the bridge that was put there commemorating the event.
As can be seen from the photo, thousands of people came out to watch Houdini jump into the Charles River. The little lady behind Harry is Bess.

Houdini was in town performing at the B.F. Keith's Theatre. I decided to do some research on this particular theatre. Keith's was one of the most opulent theatre's of the day. Houdini referred to the place as a million dollar theatre. Take a look at this postcard from 1907 to see an actual picture of the theatre. The green building on the postcard  is Keiths.

The location was 547 Washington St. Boston, MA. I had to go back and recheck some information because it gets a little confusing. However, I think I have it correct now.



The original Keith's opened on March 24, 1894 (hmm, Houdini's birthday just by coincidence) It was next to the Bijou Theatre and the Boston Theatre, all Keith properties. Keith's New Theatre as it was called was sold in 1926 and this property  became the Apollo Theatre and then the Lycric Theatre and then the Normandie and then the Laffmovie Theatre. It was torn down in the 1950s.

The Boston Theatre, which was owned by Keith's was torn down and a new Keith's was built in 1926-27 called The Keith's Memorial Theatre. This is now the Boston Opera House. David Copperfield plays the Boston Opera House when he is in town, but Houdini never performed at that location.

Here is the location today. The far left is where Keith's New Theatre was (currently the location of the Paramount Theatre which appears to be closed). The red sign for the Boston Opera House can be seen on the right which WAS the Keith's Memorial Theatre.

Houdini Film Corp in NJ

I take a few days off and now I'm behind on Houdini stuff! The photo above is directly part of a piece covered by both John Cox and Kevin Connolly. The funny thing is I was going to hunt down stuff related to Houdini's film career and studio when I returned from Thanksgiving vacation. As soon as I get back I find  both John and Kevin found something cool related to the topic. Please check out their links, the only thing I have to add is what that location looks like today via Google Earth. The current address is 216 19th St. Union City, NJ. The original address was listed as 216-222 Weehawken St West Hoboken NJ., it changed when Hoboken and Union City split up their areas.

UPDATE: Just got a better picture of the Warehouse. It is STILL standing! Compare it to the photo here
http://houdinihimself.com/?p=2234 It's the same building and it is still there after all those many years.

NEW UPDATE: Check out this development found at John Cox's site http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2016/09/its-now-houdini-studio-in-new-jersey.html

The Man Who Changed Houdini's Life

Martin Beck was his name. He was a theatre impresario who ran the Orpheum Vaudeville Circuit back in Houdini's time. Harry was playing some pretty awful places and needed a break. Beck saw Houdini do his act at a beer garden in St. Paul Minnesota. Beck thought the magic was crap but felt like there might be something to Houdini's ability to get out of handcuffs. Beck insisted Houdini go after that angle and drop the magic. After that point, Beck began to book Houdini and it changed his life and career forever.

Martin Beck recognized that the escape act had something that the magic act lacked. It had a sense of drama, danger, and grit. It was also unique whereas many performers were doing magic acts and doing the same tricks. Here was a guy who offered something that apparently no one else could do. History would show that others came before Houdini and of course many many more came after him. But Martin Beck recognized something special and took a risk with it. Houdini never let him down and put the escape act on the map.

Beck also built the very popular Palace Theatre in NYC. The Palace Theatre still exists today and still shows live performances. Houdini played the Palace Theatre many times.

Apparently Beck lost control of the theatre before it actually opened but he still did the booking for the theatre, for a while at least. Among the entertainers who appeared at the Palace there was;
Bob Hope, Houdini, The Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Sophie Tucker, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and many more.

Palace Theatre NYC Today

Martin Beck eventually built another theater in NYC which was called, The Martin Beck Theatre. At the time it was the only NYC theatre that was owned outright. In 2003, the theatre was renamed The Al Hirschfeld Theatre after the famous artist. Interestingly enough, Hirschfeld was also a friend of Houdini's.