Houdini FONT

This is minor, but thought you folks might enjoy this. I found a HOUDINI font, which is basically the same font that appears on the 'Handcuffs' poster.

Here is the font and the link.

The Heart of Houdini's Magic

It's right there in that poster, the secret. Whether you call it magic or escapes, it's impossible to deny the impact the Handcuff Escapes had in Houdini's career. In fact, they made his career. When Martin Beck saw Houdini at the PalmGarden in St. Paul MN, he thought the act was awful with the exception of the Handcuff bits. I'm not totally sure what handcuff routines he was even doing but whatever it was that alone impressed Martin Beck. From that point Houdini changed his act to all escapes and history was made.

We know he had been using handcuffs early in his career. The famous photograph of a very young Houdini surrounded by standard magic props of the day also shows a pair of handcuffs to the very far left of the photo. In the photo is a pair of Bean Giant Handcuffs, impossible to get out of by yourself even with the key. But Houdini devised a method to escape from the Bean Giants, as well as hundreds of other pairs of cuffs.

The handcuff act has been copied many times since Houdini's time. Truth be told, Houdini did not originate the Handcuff Act either, but he did popularize it. I don't think anyone since Houdini's time has gotten the real notoriety from the Handcuff Act that Houdini did. I know a lot of escape artists. Everyone of them can get out of cuffs. Is it that the Handcuff act doesn't impress people? Perhaps. I don't mean to say that escape artists cannot entertain, as I know they can. My point is that Houdini used it to launch himself into stardom, while all others may have had success, even very profitable success, but none has achieved the lasting acclaim in the eye of the public.

Houdini also added the element of the CHALLENGE to the handcuff act. Anyone could bring a pair of regulation handcuffs that were in working order and challenge him. He of course had the choice to decline the challenges at anytime. One of the challenges he accepted was with the infamous Mirror Cuffs. History has opened the door on this mystery and it appears that Houdini probably set this up from the beginning. But still, the story of the Mirror Cuff Challenge and Houdini's attempt to escape was simply incredible. Even within the midst of the story there was something that happened that almost trumps his actual escape. Houdini had asked to have the cuffs removed so that he could take off his jacket. The officials said that could not do it unless Houdini admitted defeat. So Houdini somehow reaches into his jacket, removes a pocket knife and proceeds to CUT the jacket to shreds right there in front of the crowd. That's worth the price of admission right there! But I've always wondered, how did they let him get a pocket knife into his jacket, didn't anyone examine him for tools?

The Challenge Handcuff Act morphed into the Challenge Escape Act. This too was a Houdini innovation and again, though people have used the concept since Houdini, I don't think anyone has ever gained the fame that Houdini achieved. I tend to think that the idea works best when you are already famous, but it doesn't work so well as a method to become famous. That's just my opinion.

 

Did you figure out yet that the secret in that poster is not the handcuffs? The secret to the Heart of Houdini's Magic was "Nothing On Earth Can Hold Houdini A Prisoner". The perception that nothing could hold Houdini was the allure and the appeal to his act. He was someone who could do the impossible. Which I think has something to do with why his straight magic wasn't always the strongest because audiences knew those things were tricks. They wanted to see him do the impossible, which is what he was known for.  Frankly, if you go back and read the 'Borrowing From Houdin' blog, you'll see that Robert-Houdin's version of the Crystal Cashbox was MORE Houdini than Houdini's version. Robert Houdin borrowed normal objects, had them marked, did the impossible with them and then returned them. Houdini missed the mark with that straight magic trick by not being true to his challenge like nature.

Houdini took ordinary objects, chains, ropes, wooden boxes, locks handcuffs and did the impossible. But when he brought out something that was clearly not ordinary, in other words a magic prop, then it diminished the power. When he stuck with ordinary objects he excelled, like the Needle Trick, like Walking Through A Brick Wall, and to some degree even the Vanishing Elephant because the emphasis was more on the Elephant than anything. He used the ordinary to become extra-ordinary, so it appeared he could do his style of magic with anything.

There were other factors that made Houdini famous not the least of which was the time in history. Time seems to play a major role in a number of artists who excel, Elvis Presley for example or The Beatles are surely examples of artists who were talented but the time in history that they appeared also made a huge difference.

One other thing about Houdini. If he was such a bad magician, why has every major magical name in the last 30 years borrowed from him? Perhaps if you think Houdini was a bad magician, well then he fooled you yet again! Man that Houdini is tricky!

I hope you've enjoyed my little blogs on Houdini. I'm going to take a break for the rest of the year (at least that's the plan, I might change my mind). I'll be back in January with more Houdini stuff and more magic history blogs! Until then Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Houdini's Magic, The Best for Last

I saved the best for last. But when I finish this, I'm going to ADD to the list on another blog. First, as Houdini presented these two effects, they were escapes. But both can be done as a straight escape or as magic.

The Straight Jacket Escape: This is pure Houdini. He came up with the method, the idea and the delivery. It was his brother Hardeen however who took it up a notch.
Houdini claims he got the idea after seeing an inmate in an insane asylum struggling inside a straight jacket.

Houdini went about devising a method of escaping from one and sure enough he discovered it. In his original routine he would be strapped into the jacket by members of the audience and then step behind a curtained cabinet. The reaction was not quite as strong as he expected.

His brother Theo Hardeen, stumbled upon the idea of presenting it without the curtain. Hardeen would present the escape in full view for all to see. It was a hit. Houdini adopted the same idea and it became a hit for him as well.
His most amazing adaptation was hanging upside down from a building in the straightjacket. This idea of hanging upside down was not Houdini's however, he got the idea from a young fan from Sheffield England. The story is told in full in the Patrick Culliton book, Houdini The Key. (click the link and order the book if any are left)

His ultimate trick has become legend. The Chinese Water Torture Cell. Many people still think that Houdini died in the WTC because that was the Hollywood ending in the Tony Curtis HOUDINI movie. But Houdini presented the trick probably hundreds of times if not more. He ALWAYS escaped!
It's kind of a combination of his previous effects. You've got the water element from the Milk Can and the upside down element from the StraightJacket escape but the enclosed element from another of his previous effects the Glass Box Escape. All together it made a frightening effect. There were several different posters for this Houdini effect. The most famous one is on the right.

There is a fantastic article on John Cox's Blog about 'The Two Water Torture Cells'. This is a must read. Now, as to the effectiveness of the WTC today, let's put it like this, it's still being used by magicians. Doug Henning solidified his star on TV by using it on his first special in the 70s. David Copperfield presented an unusual version of it in the 80s. Criss Angel also used the WTC early in his TV career to make a name for himself. But to my mind the most effective presentation I've seen of the Water Torture Cell was presented by Steve Baker, also known as Mr. Escape. The video above is of one of Steve.

Sadly, both the Straightjacket escape and the Water Torture Cell have been overdone by magicians, so much so that they no longer seem to hold the impact that they once had. Now there are exceptions to the rule. One exception I can think of is from the couple Ridgeway and Johnson also known as Living Illusions. In their version of the WTC, the cell is cylindrical and completely see through. Also, their version features a female, Kristen Johnson as the escape artist rather than the male. And finally, they do it in full view. These alterations to the escape have made their routine unique to them.

The straightjacket has been done right into the ground. It is rarely presented as an escape anymore, most of the acts use it as a comedy piece, thus diminishing the allure of the effect even more. The Upside Down Straight Jacket Escape surely seems to thrill, but it doesn't draw the crowds anymore that Houdini did in his day.

The material from Houdini's act was powerful in his time and as you can see, is just as powerful today which is why entertainers still use his material almost 85 years after his death. He obviously presented it as the true showman he was. Even Dai Vernon who disliked Houdini admitted his Needle Trick was well done. Houdini may not have been a general practitioner but with the effects in his regular act he became a legend.

Tomorrow, a slightly different take on the MAGIC of Houdini...