Doug Henning Mania

I know I've been absent for the past few weeks. I missed out on the tour of the Houdini House in NYC. I guess it's the curse of being a performer, and a busy one at that. I don't quite have the amount of time I'd like to do some other things, like explore Houdini's home.

I have been hip deep in shows. But when I'm not out performing I seem to be engrossed in the world of Doug Henning. I'm not exactly sure what started this, maybe it was the new DougHenningProject blog. But I've been watching tons of clips of Henning that I have on old tapes. I've watched most of the old specials. I've purchased some posters and am rereading the excellent book by John Harrison.

 I was certainly inspired by Doug Henning. He and Houdini were two driving forces of my initial

interest in magic. As I look back over my own career I see Henning's influence in much of the material I perform. The Needle Through Mirror still figures prominently in my show, and was featured by Henning on one of his specials. Twilight, a trick by Paul Harris was featured on that same special and was something I did early one and recently relearned it. The Vanishing Nickel, which was the opening trick of Doug's first NBC special was also one of my first tricks. The seashell matrix was another routine that I was always fond of and recently recorded it for my WeeklyWizardry show on Facebook. In my big show we present his Ring in Bread routine which he featured in his last tour and was the creation of Jim Steinmeyer.  Another routine that Doug did was Joe Riding's 3 Card Trick with 4 Cards, which again, I have in my show, but with a very different presentation.  The Rubic's Cube trick from his Broadway Special is yet another one! Gosh, there were more than I realized. What can I say, Doug Henning had an eye for great magic. And of course he had a top notch team of advisors finding that magic for him!

Watching Henning on talk shows is a delight. He excelled in those circumstances. Seeing him LIVE was even better. I was fortunate enough to see his show live 4 times. He always seemed genuine on stage. You never got the impression he was putting on an act, but rather, the guy you saw on-stage was probably very much like his off-stage persona as well.

The one negative thing I will say is the writing on his specials was dreadful. I remember back in the day thinking it was dreadful and it's worse now, lol. But the magic was rock solid.

I have a feeling more Henning magic will be in my shows in the future. After receiving the gift of one of Henning's canes from his Cane Cabinet, I've been giving that illusion serious thought. There are also two illusions that Henning did that I've never seen anyone else do that I think would be wonderful. In fact, I've always thought it would be a great fit for my show. I'll reserve the right to keep the name of it secret for now.

But look at some of the illusions Henning did that others have done. Origami Box, yes Doug was the FIRST to present this beautiful illusion. Walking Through A Mirror, another first. The Water Levitation was pure Henning and the first to do it. The Elevator was a Doug Henning first, though his Elevator had a different method. And even though he wasn't the first to present The MisMade Lady and The Zig Zag Lady, they were certainly most associated with Doug Henning.

Where would we be today without Doug Henning? It's hard to say. He brought magic back to the masses and opened the door to future performers like David Copperfield and the countless others that followed him. Yes, it's true that Doug Henning was a product of his time and seems kind of goofy today. But I encourage you to look beyond the crazy costumes and corny jokes and experience the magic from a guy who truly believed there was real magic in the world! And please check out the DougHenningProject blog as it continues to have great content and interviews with folks who knew and worked with Doug Henning!

LINK: WILD ABOUT HARRY: Inside Houdini's 278

Last Sunday, June 18th, there was an open house at the location of Harry Houdini's home in New York. This would be the first time that many people have ever seen in the inside of the house. I unfortunately, was unable to attend. If I had found out a bit sooner, I would have been there, but as it was I had performances which I was unable to reschedule at the last minute. So I missed an opportunity of a lifetime. Though, something tells me I shall yet see the house one day.


My fellow Houdini-fanatic, John Cox, of WildAboutHoudini.com was there. He has written what I believe is his ultimate Houdini article. I don't believe anything he has written before or in the future will ever top this piece. Writing about history is one thing, experiencing history first hand is another. John got to experience history and not only that, because he has incredible knowledge of Houdini, he was able to figure out things about the house, areas where Houdini had taken iconic photos and more, that the average person just wouldn't know about. Seeing the many additional photos that he included in his article, I must say that even I would have been unable to deliver such a fine piece. His photos of the inside of the house from The American Museum of Magic, really took the article over the top. I will always regret not being able to make it, but like Houdini, I chose the path of performing, and history was a later passion. Still, if the opportunity to explore the house ever comes up again, I do hope I am able to take full advantage. And I'll be carrying John's article with me as I explore the place because it is so rich with details. Thank you John and now folks, please head over there and read all about it (if you have not already done so!)

WILD ABOUT HARRY: Inside Houdini's 278: Last Sunday I spent three remarkable hours inside Houdini's house at 278 West 113th Street in New York City. The occasion was an open...

1953 Houdini and A Pair of Houdini Handcuffs

My fascination with handcuffs began with the scene depicted above from the 1953 movie HOUDINI with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. In the scene, Harry brings home a pair of cuffs, according to him "they're good ones". And Bess puts them on Harry. She covers his hands with a towel and bing-bang- boom, he is FREE!!!! It's actually a rather stunning performance, because he is out almost instantly, no struggle, no contorting, he is just out. The cuffs in question are called Hamburg 8s and they are an unusual make of cuff.

As you can see by the image to the right, when closed they form a figure 8. They hold the hands quite

securely and don't allow for much movement, unlike ratchet cuffs that have a chain in the middle. By the way, these Hamburg 8s that I'm holding belonged to Harry Houdini. They are now in the possession of his great nephew, John Hinson. And John brought them to the 2016 Yankee Gathering just so I could see them! I was awestruck to say the least. They were very small, but the more I thought about it, I have a pair about that size that I got from Ian McColl a long while ago. My wrists are fairly large so a lot of cuffs seem small to me.

John let me examine them and even 'try' them on. I say 'try' them on, because he didn't bring the key and they were far too small to fit my wrists. I must admit, I had just the tiniest bit of temptation to force them shut on my wrists to see if I could get out. I think I could have gotten them closed, with a fair degree of pain in the process! Common sense quickly stepped in and kicked the temptation to the curb. For the record, I have gotten out of Hamburg 8s before. But I would never put a pair of Houdini cuffs on EVEN if they did fit. These mechanisms inside are 100 years old and the cuffs are worth a LOT of money. If something were to happen and the lock sudden failed or broke, well it would be a disaster for all parties. So I would never lock a pair of Houdini cuffs on me or anyone.

For a long time I was under the impression that Houdini never really encountered a pair of Hamburg 8s because they came out after he passed away. Though I don't have a definite date of manufacture (some say they were patented in the 1930s), I have seen photographic proof of that style cuff existing during Houdini's time, just not on Houdini.  Plus some folks over at the Forum at Handcuffs.org have had a lengthy discussion over it and again, it does seem to  point to  the cuff existing in Houdini's time.  I totally believe that the cuffs John Hinson had did belong to Houdini. Interestingly, there are several versions of the cuff, one with a side key hole, some with flat keys, curved keys, even circular keys. But all lock the same way. I've included a very short video below of John and I putting on the cuffs. (IF the video shows up, I've been having issues getting it loaded)