Houdini's Water Torture Cell by Doug Henning

In the 1970s Doug Henning was making a name for himself, first in a show called Spellbound and then on Broadway in The Magic Show. Soon, NBC came calling and the First Annual Doug Henning's World of Magic was about to debut. The 'hook' for the show was to be the recreation of the Houdini Water Torture Cell. A very un-Doug Henning like effect really. However, according to the book Spellbound by John Harrison, the idea of the Water Torture Cell was Doug's.

The first thing to notice is the slight alteration in the look of the cell. In the Houdini Cell, only the front had glass, the other sides were wood and metal. The Henning Cell looks more like a phone booth.......(a phone booth was a tall rectangular box with glass and all sides and a door. Inside was a phone that you could use that accepted coins as payment...I figured I'd explain that to the younger readers) There was a specific reason the tank was built with glass on all sides. Doug and his crew feared the audience wouldn't have as good a view and it wouldn't look as strong on television if it only had glass on the front. But on all sides gave a great view from every angle.

The cell was built by Owen Magic in California and they actually developed the intricate mechanics to make the thing work. The reason for this, no one had a clear idea of how Houdini's Water Torture Cell worked.

Henning also chose not to present an actual escape, but rather present it as an illusion because he wanted to piece to appear more magical, according to John Harrison in Spellbound. In the escape version, the performer would be put into the cell, the entire thing covered with a cloth and eventually the performer would be free, the curtain dropped to reveal indeed no one was in the cell any longer.

The illusion version was different. It started the same way as the escape version and the tension built up in the same manner. But just as the tension reached it's peak, and it seemed like the performer was unable to get free from the tank, a masked assistant came over with an ax and pulled down the curtain revealing the performer was gone. Then the masked assistant removed his robe/mask to reveal that he was the performer, Doug Henning!

No 'reward' was issued for anyone able to obtain air while hanging upside down in a tank of water. But they did make sure to promote the aspect of the escape being performed "LIVE". There is a sentence at the bottom of the poster which reads "Remember: This will be a "live" broadcast of a breathtaking feat never attempted before under these circumstances."  Interesting, except the Water Torture Cell is ALWAYS performed LIVE. It's just it was never presented on LIVE tv.

Doug Henning only performed this escape once to my knowledge. If memory serves, the Tank was later sold to illusionist Brett Daniels and then from Brett it went to escape artist Dean Gunnerson.

Below is a video of Doug Henning's performance of Houdini's Water Torture Escape.

The UnMasking of Harry Houdini Part 5

Even though Houdini is recognized as the most famous magician in history, he often gets a bad rap in the magic world. The Houdini-haters, and there are lots of them, like to say he was not a very good magician and many still hold a grudge over his book The UnMasking of Robert-Houdin. Still others dislike Houdini because they feel other magicians deserved to be remembered over Houdini, like Thurston for example. I honestly wish that other magicians were remembered by the public, along with Houdini. I was surprised at how many people had forgotten Joe Dunninger, given the fact that Dunninger was a very popular performer for years and years. Dunninger even performed on Television, which is something Houdini never got to do. But, very few remember Joe, and that is sad.

Origins of Houdini's Act

I suppose the pinnacle of acheivement for Houdini was the creation of his Water-Filled Torture Cell.

I've read that the Water Torture Cell was a combination of the Milk Can, Glass Lined box, The hanging Strait Jacket Escape, and even the Double Fold Death Defying Mystery. It all makes sense to me. Whether or not this was how Houdini developed it, I'm not really certain. But it sure looks like a logical progression.

I've written about the WTC before (by the way, Houdini referred to his escape as the USD, short for Upside Down). I'm fascinated by the WTC on many levels. It was supposed to be a death-defying feat, something for audiences to really freak out over. You want the truth? Hang upside down in a tank of water, you'll find out who is really freaking out! It takes a lot of rehearsal to get over the fear of hanging upside down in confined tank of water. And HOUDINI was the FIRST! This was his baby, his creation. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE who has done it since Houdini was copying the master.

When the WTC was first rolled out to audiences it came with some amazing posters! Look at the graphics on these posters, they really send chills up your spine. I was just thinking, I always heard it called 'The Chinese Water Torture Cell' but looking at the posters, it doesn't ever appear to be listed that way. Rather, Water-Filled Torture Cell or simply Water Torture Cell appears most of the time. Does anyone know the origin of adding the 'Chinese' part to the title? (see comments below for answer)

Hollywood loves the Water Torture Cell because they imply Houdini died presenting the escape in countless movies, starting with the Tony Curtis version.  In reality, Houdini presented the Water Torture Cell Escape many many times. I guess that is all part of the attraction and mystery of the escape is that it does carry the 'possible death' theme right to the edge.

Here is an interesting thing I just noticed. On several of the posters there is a $1000 Reward Notice at the bottom of the poster "To Anyone Who Can Prove It's Possible To Obtain Air In The Upside-Down Position While Under Water". However, look at the poster to the left. The reward was $200. The answer is simple enough. The poster to the left came out in 1912 and was one of the first to advertise the sensational invention. The poster above is from 1913. So obviously, Houdini and Company realized there money was safe with this 'Reward' so they upped it to $1000.

I'm working on another Water Torture Cell article for the 30 Days of Houdini which will cover Cells presented by other performers.

Finally, please check out this piece written by John Cox on the Double Fold Death Defying Mystery, as he does make a connection to that effect and the Water Torture Cell. http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2014/07/houdinis-double-fold-death-defying.html

Tony Pastor's Theatre - 30 Days of Houdini

Tony Pastor was a theatre owner who helped to usher in the age of Vaudeville in America. In fact, he is known as the Father of Vaudeville. His theatre, just down the street from Hubers Dime Museum was located on 14th Street. It was actually in the very building that once housed Tammany Hall. 

Houdini worked at Tony Pastors very briefly in January of 1895. They were excited about the opportunity as it was a step up from the Dime Museums. The Houdinis, Harry and Bess, worked at Tony Pastor's for a week. According to the Kenneth Silverman biography on Houdini, they received the following 'glowing' endorsement from Mr. Pastor, "The Houdinis act as performed here I found satisfactory and interesting." I guess they should be happy they didn't stink up the place, lol.

Below is a photo showing the Tammany Hall building. If you look closely you'll see a theatre sign for the Olympic Theatre. This is the spot that Tony Pastor would lease for his 14th Street Theatre. This image is actually from AFTER Pastors was in that spot, but I wanted you to see the whole building. I believe the first theatre in that spot was the Germania theatre, and then Pastors and then the Olympic. Also, take a look at the building on the left hand side. This is an important building in the history of magic as well. This was the old Academy of Music building, the third Opera House in NYC. Many an old time magician performed there prior to Vaudeville. 

Now below, you can see the same spot occupied by Tony Pastors Theatre. The Houdini's actually performed at Tony Pastors more than once. Also of note, Tony Pastors is shown in the Tony Curtis HOUDINI Movie. 

Sadly, the Father of Vaudeville fell prey to the circuits that would open, Keiths and others. It was very difficult for him to compete. I was not aware at first, but Tony Pastor sang in his theatre at every show for years. He died August 26th, 1908 and the theatre was closed at that point. 

The building was torn down in 1927. Today that space is the location of the Consolidated Edison Building.