Houdini's Water Torture Cell by Steve Baker

When I was a kid, I saw Steve Baker's performance of the Escape from The Water Torture Cell on TV. I don't recall if it was a rerun or if I was seeing it live.  I have had the good fortune to talk to Steve about his version of the Water Torture Cell many times. There were some features of Steve's routine that were different from the usual escape. For one, a chain held his hands to the bottom of the tank. Two, he was known to present the cell slightly differently each time he was on TV.

The first performance was on a show called Dick Clark's LIVE Wednesday Show. This was a weekly Variety Show on NBC. Steve's appearance was so impressive, that he was brought back numerous times to appear and do different escapes on the show. When the show ended and Dick Clark started another show, well he again brought over Steve Baker.

Steve told me his tank was built by John Gaughan but after he picked it up from him, he went about altering the escape methodology. Steve was very proud of his tank and his method. He would boast that no one, outside of his crew knew the method he used to escape, not even the original builder. Though, one young escape artist was up for the challenge and figured out the secret. Steve was quite taken back that his closely guarded method was figured out. The escape artist swore to never reveal it to anyone, and I haven't. :)

Steve presented the Water Torture Cell on TV several times. The first was for Dick Clark's LIVE Wednesday as mentioned above. The second was as the opening escape of an HBO Special featuring the Greatest Escape Artists in the World. Third time was below and then there was a very controversial time on Australian TV, the Don Lane Show, where Steve was trapped in the cell for real, an apparent attempt at sabatoge by a member of his own crew. Steve came out of the cell with bloody feet from trying to kick and break the top of the lid open. It took him over 6 minutes to free himself, all of his other WTC escapes were 2-3 minutes.

Sadly, today Steve's tank is gone. The whereabouts are unknown. IF anyone knows where this tank might be today, I'd surely love to know.

The video below is of one of the later presentations of the Water Torture Cell by Steve. I think this was in the early 1980s. The original WTC on Dick Clark LIVE Wednesday was around 1976.

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