Tracking the Body of Houdini

Grace Hospital Detroit (Library of Congress photo)

With the recent controversy and chatter over the History Channels DECODED Episode regarding HOW Houdini Died, I thought I'd go in a slightly different direction and follow his body after his passing. We know Houdini died on October 31, 1926 in Detroit Michigan. What follows is a description of the events following his death right up until his burial. There are photos of the various places his body stopped along the way and the article concludes with the short 20 second recording of the Houdini Funeral.

DETROIT Oct 31, 1926

Wm. R. Hamilton Funeral Home

He died at 1:26 p.m. in Room 401 at Grace Hospital in Detroit. From there his body would have gone to the hospital morgue and then to Wm. R. Hamilton's Funeral Home on 3957 Cass St. The photo here shows the white house which was the original building for the funeral home and is where Houdini's body would have been. There is a larger brick building connected to it on the left but this was not completed until the 1930s. This is where Houdini was embalmed by John Fraser, one of the employees at the funeral home.

While this was happening the Houdini Show and all it's props and equipment were being crated and shipped back to NY. However, oddly, one piece did not make the trip. It was a bronze coffin with a glass lid which Houdini had intended to use for a buried alive stunt during the 1926-27 Tour. After the embalming at Wm.R. Hamilton's Funeral Home his body was put into this coffin and then into the crate for the coffin. Houdini's body now fully crated was taken by truck to the Michigan Central Station. An extra Pullman Car had to be added to the train for Houdini's casket and for his family to travel back home.

ARRIVAL IN NY
Newspaper accounts of the time report the body leaving Detroit on the 1st to arrive on the 2nd in the morning at Grand Central Station in NYC. In the photo (left), you can see the crate containing the casket with Houdini's body. One thing I never noticed before was the fellow standing on the far left hand side with his hat in his hand. That is Servais LeRoy, the illusionist and friend of Houdini. In fact, hundreds of people were at the station to see the casket arrive. Houdini had been the President of the Society of American Magicians as well as one of the most famous and beloved entertainers in the world, his death came as a shock to everyone.

Location of West End Funeral Home W 91st

Upon arrival at Grand Central Station, the casket was taken by Samuel Rothschild to his West End Funeral Chapel, 200 West 91st Street. The casket was to remain in state at the funeral parlor until November 4th. There had been talk of having the casket lie in state at the Hippodrome Theatre but this did not happen.
A letter Houdini had written several years before was discovered outlining the details of his funeral and they followed his instructions. Per Houdini's wishes the funeral would take place at the Elks Clubhouse Lodge No.1 in NYC. According to news reports, thousands of people came by to pay their respects at the funeral parlor.  By the way, the photo to the above/right shows the location of the West End Funeral Chapel, but today it is the Plaza Jewish Community Chapel.

NOVEMBER 4TH

On the morning of November 4th, 1926, the casket made it's second to last stop, this time the Elks Clubhouse on West 43rd near Broadway. It took three cars to move all the flowers from the funeral parlor to the Elks Clubhouse. Houdini would have been proud as the room was packed  for  his funeral. Close to two thousand people showed up for the service.

The service began at 10:30 a.m. and was officiated by Rabbi Bernard Drachman and Rabbi B.A. Tintner. Eulogies and remembrances were given by numerous fraternal groups, magicians and others in the theatrical community. The very first Broken Wand Ceremony was conducted by a member of the Society of American Magicians. This is where a magician breaks a wand to signify that the magic of the deceased individual has ended. It's a great ceremony, but I'm actually not sure how fitting it was for Houdini as his magic kinda continued on, even till today.

Kenneth Silverman's book HOUDINI!!! says that Bess held up well until the casket was sealed at which point she broke down in tears. Incidentally, the casket that Houdini's body traveled in from Detroit to NYC was actually a bronze casket liner. It was placed inside a larger casket and the entire thing hermetically sealed before it was carried out to the hearse. Houdini's male assistants acted as the pallbearers, with some very notable individuals being listed as honorary pallbearers; Martin Beck, his former manager and theatrical impresario, Bernard Gimbel, one of the originators of the Gimbels Dept. Store, William Morris, of the famed entertainment agency,  and Adolph Zucker, a film mogul who started Famous Players Film Company which eventually became Paramount Pictures. These were just a few of the high profile names listed as honorary pallbearers.

As the casket was carried to the hearse, the mourners could see for the first time that the streets were jammed with 2,000 spectators who had all come out to say their last goodbye to the master of mystery.

Houdini Funeral Procession

According to The Secret Life of Houdini, the funeral procession to Macapelah Cemetery contained twenty five vehicles.  How long it took to travel from the Elks Clubhouse to the cemetery, I do not know. Silverman's book HOUDINI!!! says that the funeral procession was scheduled to drive through the theatrical district before heading to the cemetery.

Finally at the cemetery, the two rabbis were present at the grave site as well as Houdini's family and widow Bess and one hundred+ mourners. Houdini made it clear in his final burial instructions that he was to be placed next to his mother. After the final words and prayers were given by the rabbis, the casket was lowered into the ground. According to the Silverman biography, Theo Weiss, Harry's brother tossed a flower onto the lowering casket and as if my magic a shower of flowers were tossed by the grieving graveside friends. This can be seen on the longer 1 minute plus footage of the Houdini Funeral, but I've only seen the shorter video (below).

Below is a short 20 second video of footage from the Houdini Funeral. It's obviously second or third generation because of the poor quality.

RIP Houdini

HOUDINI ARRESTED!!!!

I'm amazed at the number of newspaper articles which have used Houdini's name in the headline referring to some criminal. Usually, it refers to someone who got away from the police. In February of 1907, in the Pawtucket Times Newspaper, an article appeared that at first glance I assumed was this same sort of thing. But I went back and read it and to my surprise, it was about Houdini being arrested.

HOTEL CLERK CAUSES ARREST OF HOUDINI

Claims Handcuff King Assaulted Him After Challenge

Providence. Feb 11-Houdini, the handcuff king was arrested Saturday afternoon on a charge of assault brought by a local hotel clerk. The clerk alleges that he challenged Houdini to a test of skill and that he was assaulted by the great attraction at Keith's. Bonds were placed at $3000, which were furnished by Manager Lovenberg of the theatre.

This is a frustrating piece of news. Not because Houdini was arrested, but because I could find no newspaper report which gave a follow-up. It also looks like it happened at the end of his run in Rhode Island and on the day when Houdini was about to travel to Boston for a weeks worth of shows. There is no mention of it anywhere that I can locate. Perhaps, the charges were dropped, who knows? The arrest didn't stop Houdini from performing in Providence as he was back in 1911 at Keith's.

Anyone with details of what happened following the arrest, please let me know so I can add it to the story.

A Mysterious Houdini Girlfriend

Minnie and Hattie Mooser

Over the years, there has been speculation that Houdini might not have been so faithful to Bess as the legend tried to portray him. First revelation was Daisy White back in the 1970s. Then Kenneth Silverman revealed Charmian London, the widow of writer Jack London. John Cox wrote the definitive blog on Houdini and his 'girlfriends'. He revealed quite a few that I had not heard of. I knew of one that had not been mentioned and held onto it thinking I had a big revelation. But I have since discovered that this one was revealed in The Secret Life of Houdini by Bill Kalush. The reason I'm writing about it though is because both Mr. Kalush and I got the information from the same sources, a newspaper article and a first hand account from escape artist Steve Baker, and I have something to share at the end that wasn't covered in the Secret Life of Houdini.

Hattie Mooser was the 'mysterious girlfriend' I wish to share with you. She was born in 1878 in Nevada but grew up in Sacramento CA. For a number of years, Hattie and her sister Minnie ran a restaurant called the Aladdin Studio Tiffin Room in the Chinatown section of San Fransisco.  This was a popular hang out for folks in the theatrical business. According to Hattie, when the Houdini's were in town they made the place their headquarters.

Hattie was kind of vague about her relationship to Houdini when she spoke to the press, referring to Houdini as an adopted brother. But she revealed to Steve Baker that he was far more than a brother! More like, kissing cousins! There is an article that appeared in the Feb 17th, 1967 edition of the Oakland Tribune Newspaper. It's an interesting interview with Hattie and her sister Minnie. In the article Hattie claims to have met Houdini through her brother Leon. But I'm skeptical of the story she relates. She said that it was her brother that booked Houdini to work at the Palace Theatre in NYC. She also went on to say that Houdini didn't even own a tuxedo and her brother loaned him one of his. Further, she goes on to state that Houdini almost didn't go on stage to perform and her brother had to shove him onto the stage.

There exist photos of a very young Houdini wearing a tuxedo, so that part of the story doesn't ring true to me. And the notion that Houdini was too frightened to go out on the stage of the Palace Theatre really strikes me as untrue. No date is given when this took place, but if it happened earlier in Houdini's career, then who knows, maybe it did. One thing is for certain, Houdini knew the Moosers.

Tower of Jewels

In the article, Hattie mentions that Houdini took her to see his movie, 'The Man From Beyond'. She actually told him afterwards that she thought it was awful and was shocked someone could convince him to invest in such a thing! She also mentions in the article going with Houdini to the 1915 San Fransisco Worlds Fair. She was able to get them into the Tower of Jewels, which was a large Italianate main tower adorned with 102,000 glass gems that sparkled when swayed by the wind. Hattie said "We went to dinner afterwards and he asked when my sister and I would observe our birthdays. I asked him why and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of jewels. You know, nobody took their eyes off of him when he was in the tower and I have no idea how he got them." But don't take that to assume Houdini was a thief, as I have discovered that the Fair sold jeweled souvineers and I'll bet thats what he gave to Hattie and her sister.

Hattie also claims to have substituted for Bess in the show. She very well may have acted as one of the female assistants.  Then there is the revelation that Houdini shared with her one of the secrets to his jail escapes. This did not appear in the newspaper. She shared this information with Steve Baker during a private visit he had with the sisters. She swore Steve to secrecy and to my knowledge he has only shared that information with one individual.

Hattie and Minnie both lived a long life. Hattie lived to be 92 and her sister Minnie lived to be 98. While doing additional research on the Moosers I discovered that The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life at the Bancroft Library University of California Berkley has a collection of scrapbooks and other documents belonging to the Moosers. There is memorabilia from the 1915 Worlds Fair, which are probably the jewels given to them by Houdini. This is the information on that collection: Collection #: WJHC 1968.012 AR1

There just might be a whole new chapter in the Houdini saga sitting in the pages of those scrapbooks. The photo of Houdini that can be seen in the background of the picture at the top of the blog is not among the collection. That 20x36 photo was auctioned off in 2004 and went for over $10,000. Houdini had signed it to Hattie, "To my good friend Hattie Mooser, 'My brain is the key that sets me free' Houdini, 3/23/23."

Houdini Hired To Entertain in Backyard

Belmont House, Newport R.I.

Imagine just for a moment, if you could hire the biggest name in show business to entertain at your private event for a handful of guests. That would be like hiring Elvis, Sinatra, Madonna, or Beyonce today. Now it would be a long shot, but if they said yes, you wouldn't expect them to do their full show. Maybe a couple songs and that would be it. IF they would even agree. Get this...

The date was August 21, 1912 and Houdini had been hired to entertain the guests of a garden party in Newport Rhode Island. He was hired by Mrs. August Belmont, any idea who that was? August Belmont was the man who built the Belmont Racepark in NY where they still hold the Belmont Stakes. He was the first president of The Jockey Club and chairman of the New York State Racing Commission. He was also a wealthy banker and the chairman of the board for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Suffice to say, he was probably one of the richest men in America at the time.

Houdini was hired to perform at a garden party for Mrs. August Belmont and her guests! Mrs. Belmont wanted to be sure that Houdini used no confederates in his act, so she asked Hermann Oelrichs and Preston Gibson to serve as a 'committee' to see that his performance was above board. Houdini proceeded to do a few tricks in the backyard of the mansion to the delight of the guests. Then, Mr. Gibson and Mr. Oelrichs were instructed to tie up Houdini with ropes and then lock him into a large wooden box. Yes, you are reading this correctly. They tied him up, locked him in a box....

Then the box was carried over to a yacht which was just offshore. All of the guests lined up along the cliff to watch what was about to come. Houdini, still inside the box, was pushed off into the water! He was hired to entertain at a private event and do the Overboard Packing Crate Escape!!!! The crowd of extremely wealthy people acted like any other group of people, they stood spellbound, transfixed as bubbles came up to the surface of the water while the box sunk below the sea. The tension was beyond belief when suddenly Houdini burst out of the water, free from his watery confinement. I wonder if they cheered or if he received polite golf-like claps. Actually, to quote the paper "there were ejaculations of astonishment when Houdini rose to the surface."

That has got to be one of the coolest Houdini stories I've ever heard. And one of the strangest newspaper quotes regarding Houdini.

Houdini doing the Overboard Crate Escape in 1912 (this photo not from Belmont party)

The Game Changing Illusion

The one magician who changed the face of illusion magic more than anyone in the 20th Century was P.T. Selbit. Born Percy Thomas Tibbles on November 17th, 1881 in London. He found the name Tibbles had a less than magical sound to it, so he reversed the spelling of his name and became Selbit. He was a performer and a creator of incredible mysteries.

Illusion magic during Selbit's time contained vanishes, appearances, floatings in the air and similar effects. But no one had ever presented the illusion of mutilating a human being in the way Selbit came up with*. His creation would start a whole new brand of illusion magic.

The illusion that changed everything was Selbit's Sawing Thru A Woman. It was first presented to the public on January 17th 1921 at the Finsbury Park Empire Theatre. It had been presented several times previous to that date to magicians and agents. Notice, it was not Sawing in Half. His version was Sawing Thru a Woman, a penetration illusion. But it gave birth to all later sawing effects. The Selbit Sawing was unlike anything that had been presented in the world of stage magic. A long rectangular box made of rough cut wood sat upon two small wooden platforms. Ropes were tied on the woman's wrists and ankles. The ropes would be fed through holes in the box and then these would be tied with knots preventing her movement within the box. Next, three sheets of glass were shoved down into the box from the top, and then two sheets of metal were shoved into the box from the sides. The woman was unmistakably divided into numerous sections. But the best was yet to come. A large cross cut saw was used to saw the box in two. This was not the super clean way we think about it today. No, the long saw was real and truly cut the wooden crate in half. It took a while to cut through the thick wood of the box. Unlike, the more popular versions, the now divided boxes were not separated. Instead, the blade was left below the two cut boxes, the lid was opened, the ropes cut and the girl emerged perfectly safe and healthy!

P.T. Selbit presenting his masterpiece

The illusion of Sawing Through a Woman was an instant sensation. Word spread across the globe and magicians in America got wind of the new effect. The Great Leon and Horace Goldin set about creating their very own versions of the effect, but with a subtle change. They would be sawing a woman in halves and separating the halved boxes. Their effect would not be a penetration like Selbit's but instead a destruction and restoration effect. Goldin began work first on his method when Leon inquired about it. He told Leon he owned the rights to the trick, but that was a lie and Leon later discovered the truth and created his own.

The Goldin Sawing had an advantage over the Selbit version in that you could see the girls head, hands and feet the entire time. But Goldin's first version which he debuted in May 1921 used a boy not a woman. Thurston saw this and recognized the potential in the effect but also knew it was not a finished piece. He worked out a deal to have his chief mechanic and builder Harry Jansen rework the prop. Harry Jansen, who would later be known as Dante, at one time had his own magic manufacturing shop in Chicago. His company had the building rights to Servais LeRoy's illusions. Jansen took the Goldin Sawing and added the LeRoy Asrah table base. In Mike Caveney's book The Great Leon, he says that Leon also used the LeRoy Asrah table but the method was slightly different. Goldin took his new and improved illusion and had it patented under his name alone!

Goldin knew an opportunity when he saw it and by Summer of 1921 sent out other authorized performers to present his Sawing a Lady in Halves. Among the early group were; Thurston, Dante, and Servais LeRoy. He had a total of nine performers traveling the country with his sensation. Selbit came to America in September of 1921 hoping to reap the rewards of his creation and was shocked to find he had been ripped off. Selbit sued Goldin and lost. It didn't stop Selbit from sending out magicians with his version of the effect as well though. David Price's book, A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theatre mentions that Houdini stepped into the fray to show a playbill from a London theatre dated back to the 1880s which had the headline "Sawing a Lady in Two".

Eventually, Horace Goldin came up with a method for the illusion that removed the box completely and the need for the long wood saw. Instead, a girl would be placed upon a table in full view and a large circular saw would rip through her body. This became known as The Buzz Saw Illusion. Three of the most famous practitioners of this illusion were Harry Blackstone Sr and Jr, and Richiardi. This illusion was created in 1931.

The improved Goldin version using the box stayed around however. Milbourne Christopher in his Illustrated History of Magic credits a Turkish magician, Zati Sungar with shrinking down the size of the box and thus creating what we call today the 'thin model' sawing. Numerous variations have been developed since that time. Robert Harbin's contributions were probably the most unique. He created a simple to travel with Bow Saw version and then elaborated greatly on the theme and created The Zig Zag Lady!

Who can be credited with originally coming up with the sawing concept can be debated forever. One thing we know for sure, no illusion in the history of magic has ever created the sensation that the Sawing in Half Craze of 1921 did.

*There were other mutilation effects prior to Selbit's Sawing. The Sword Basket is one example as is the much older John the Baptist effect, where a head is severed from the body and set next to body on a table. But even those did not have the impact  that the Sawing Illusions first created.

Houdini vs The Mighty Mississippi

Houdini in New Orleans (Library of Congress)

I remember a few years ago, driving through Minneapolis and wondering if Houdini ever did a bridge jump into the Mississippi River. I don't know if he did one in Mpls. but I found a very interesting Challenge that took place in Mississippi River in New Orleans.

It began in the pages of The New Orleans Item Newspaper on November 13th, 1907. A daily column called SPORTING CHAT written by a fellow named simply as Ham, publicly challenged Houdini.

"Sporting Chat, dares Houdini to permit himself to be bound-say, by a member, in good standing, of the police department-with some reliable expert of chains and handcuffs as the judge; AND THEN JUMP INTO THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. The challenge is in keeping with Houdini's boasts. Wonder if he'll accept?"

The November 15th, 1907 edition of the same newspaper has a small article with a photo of Houdini. The headline reads "WILL HANG BY TOES, THEN DROP IN RIVER". Houdini accepted the challenge and threw in a counter proposal. He agreed to the challenge and then added, "I have arranged a dive from the steamer J.S. and if Chat wants me to, I will hang by my toes, and plunge perpendicularly into the water". The time and date of the escape are mentioned in the article and the exact location is given, The Foot of Canal Street.

There is another interesting and revealing item. The article says "Houdini said today, he would offer $10 for the best picture taken, $5 for the next best and $2.50 for the third best". But I'm unaware of any photos taken of the escape. They may yet be out there!

On November 17th, 1907, the rain was pouring down in New Orleans. Still, almost 10,000 showed up to watch Houdini attempt his escape.  Houdini was wrapped in chains, shackles and padlocks by First Recorder’s Court Judge Jon Fogarty, using manacles provided by the Orleans Parish Prison. Houdini jumped into the muddy waters of the mighty Mississippi River and vanished below the surface of the water. Thirty seconds later a hand slowly emerged from the water holding the shackles and chains, Houdini had freed himself to the delight of the New Orleans crowd.

Special Note: The photo at the top is Canal St. looking out into the Mississippi River, the photo below is IN the Mississippi River looking towards Canal St.

The spot where Houdini escaped in the Mississippi River in New Orleans

A Female Houdini In the Movies

"Girl Defies Death, Houdini Marvels"
(newspaper article)

Houdini wants to know how it was done. And by the way, Mr. Houdini, the handcuff king, was at the Hippodrome in Cleveland a week ago and mystified all the folks who saw his performance. 

Helen Holmes, a movie picture actress with the Kalem Company, who is appearing in the film, "Hazards of Helen", has duplicated Houdini's stunts.
Recently, she was thrown into the rough and choppy waters of San Pedro harbor, California, with her hands and feed tied. She escaped and met her sweetheart on the bank of the big stream just as the scenario said she must.
Miss Holmes has worked for more than a year on the trickery of escaping bonds. She has shown most of these in her moving pictures, which are the most daring of the kind ever exhibited.

So who was Helen Holmes? Well she was a silent movie actress from the Illinois born in 1893. She began making movies around 1912. As the Perils of Pauline serial began to take off, the Kalem film company decided to do a similar serial of their own starring Helen Holmes. Her films were somewhat different than the cliffhangers of the Perils of Pauline. Many of her films had Helen herself escaping her bonds or freeing herself rather than being rescued by someone else.

Given the time period in history, I kind of wonder if she did in fact do the escapes. She was known to perform her own stunts, so it's possible.

Helen did not perform the escapes outside of the movies, and any work she may have had in legitimate live theatre was as an actress and not as an escape artist. Her movie career ended in the mid 1920s but she remained in show business both working in theater and training animals for movies. She died in 1950

Below is a video of a typical Damsel in Distress shot from a movie. This is Helen Holmes in action. It appears she was doing these harrowing escapes in the movies before Houdini made his first film.

Houdini's Advice on Success

This is fascinating to me, it's an article that was written by Houdini, yet didn't appear in the papers until November 7th, 1926, a week after he died. The article is titled "Houdini Gave Advice to Modern Youth Battling for Success". The words he wrote are as applicable today as they were then.

"It's true, most unfortunately, that experience is a hard school, but we must learn it, and no other. The light of another's experience will not illuminate the path of youth very much. It is only after he has had his own hard knocks that he can profit by them."

"Starting out thirty years ago as a magician, I have passed hundreds who did not know that success was just another name for hard work. Those in the arrogance of their youth rarely listen to their elders; nevertheless I say that inspiration plays little part in success, and chance plays less. What little success I may have had has come from making up my mind in early youth to be the best in my line no matter what it cost in hard work, and never deviate from that course."

He then goes on to explain how success isn't achieved overnight. He shares the story of how he fearlessly jumps from high bridges and that he had to work up to that by overcoming the height challenges in stages. First learning to jump from one level and then going higher and gradually higher. It's a good analogy of how success is achieved through smaller steps but often to the outside observer who isn't aware of all that work, they think you just made those triumphs appear from thin air.

The final paragraph is interesting because on one hand it appears that he is pushing his anti-spiritualist agenda, but I think he is really expressing a thought with a double meaning. Sure, Houdini is pushing his fight against the Spiritualists, but by ending with this piece he is also expressing his view that success doesn't come about through 'magic or supernatural means' but by good ole hard work.

"No one possesses supernatural power... Do not therefore, be superstitious. Don't be afraid of spirits or spooks. There are none... Don't fear the dark. I have slept in haunted houses and cemeteries and the only thing I ever caught, was a cold."

I wish Houdini had lived longer so he could continue his columns of advice, but instead these were truly his final words.

Houdini Girl

The headline reads "Baby Houdini, Holder of the South American Underwater Swimming Title" on the cover of the June 22, 1921 edition of the Riverside Enterprise Newspaper. This young girl is Alma Mann and she is 11 years old in the photo above. She made a name for herself as a championship swimmer and diver. But she also included underwater escape stunts ala Houdini.

Alma Mann was from the Canal Zone in Panama. She was apparently quite the sensation down there and eventually came to NYC with her Canal Zone Swim Team to compete in swimming events and do exhibitions at the new Madison Square Garden Pool. At home, Alma was the first person to swim the Culebra Cut near the Panama Canal and she broke the ladies speed record of walking across the Isthmus (from Ocean to Ocean) a distance of 50 miles,  in only 16 hours. She did this at the age of 12.

Where she discovered her skills as an escape artist is unclear. She was obviously a tremendous swimmer and athlete at a very young age. The addition of underwater escapes did help her to get media coverage that other girls her age were not getting, so perhaps that was the sole reason she did them.

One of her stunts was to dive from a height of forty feet while bound in 70 feet of rope. She would remain underwater until she was completely free.

She continued to get press from her swimming and escapes stunts for a couple years and then my guess is she went back to an ordinary life as I could not find any other newspaper articles on her. She was never really a Houdini competitor, as far as I can tell she never worked vaudeville. She only added the escape stunts to help promote her swimming and diving exhibitions. I can't imagine an eleven year old even being allowed to attempt such a thing today, but this was back in the 1920s, definitely a different time.

Blog comments are welcome and encouraged. Also, if I happen to get some fact wrong historically I do appreciate having someone set me straight on that. I try to get the best information possible, but even I can miss something. If you want to discuss a blog in detail, please email me carnegiemagic@aol.com

History of Magic Special

I think this is a BBC special on the History of Magic. They actually covered a number of different topics including: Mentalism, Levitation, Close-Up, and Escapology. Below are the videos for the escape part of the special and below that are 3 parts to the Stage Magic portion. The person who put these up on Youtube seems to have missed part 4-6. Regardless, these are great!

Special Highlights: In the Third Part of the Stage Magic Series there is a video of Harry Blackstone Sr, presenting the Buzz Saw. What makes it unique is how young Blackstone was in the clip.
In the Appearance/Vanish section Part 1 near the end you'll see the Fantastic Blooming Orange Bush.













STAGE MAGIC







APPEARANCES AND VANISHES

Houdini Grim Game Ad

Here we have a newspaper ad for Houdini appearing in The Grim Game. The Moore's Rialto at 713 9th St. NW Washington D.C. was showing the movie. This was a 2000 seat movie house built in 1918 and this ad is from 1919, so Houdini's movie was among the first shown at the Rialto. Below is a photo of what the theatre looked like in Houdini's day.

Apparently the theatre didn't do too well and was converted over to a live theatre venue. Imagine that, when most live venues were going to movies, this one house was switching back to live shows. The Rialto was torn down in 1940 sadly.

Many people claim that The Grim Game was Houdini's best movie, though not many folks today have seen it.  Perhaps through the efforts of Houdini Historians like Patrick Culliton and John Cox, we can one day see the movie for ourselves.

Blog comments are welcome and encouraged. Also, if I happen to get some fact wrong historically I do appreciate having someone set me straight on that. I try to get the best information possible, but even I can miss something. If you want to discuss a blog in detail, please email me at  carnegiemagic@aol.com

Rare Raymond Poster For SALE

I received an email the other day from a fellow poster collector. He has several vintage magic posters for sale. But the crown jewel among the list is this beautiful RAYMOND Poster (above). According to the owner,

"Raymond, the 8 sheet "Spookville" (backed on canvas). This is EXTREMELY RARE and one could really have an astonishing piece no one else has, especially if one can actually display it. Purchased directly from Mario Carrandi within days from when he got it directly from Wendel & Lizita. I believe Dave Baldwin and I possess the only two known ones........$4,000.00.

This is available through Gale Molovinsky. He has this and several other posters for sale.  You can reach him at      Gamolo@aol.com

The Devil Made Them Do It

The Devilish Connection

Magic has a long history of being associated with the devil and the dark arts. The book, Discoverie of Witchcraft written by Reginald Scott in 1584 came about specifically to show that what witches often did was bunk and what conjurers did was certainly not in a league with the devil. The book was written during the reign of King James 1. This is the very same King James that commissioned an edition of the Bible that still carries his name. He was aware and concerned about witchcraft and demons at one point in his life. He wrote a book on that very topic in 1597, but eventually came around to see that the claims of witches were often grounded more in folklore than in fact.

Let me be clear, though there is a history of association, there is no actual association with the devil. Magicians are not devil worshipers, nor do they conjure up demons in order to present their effects. A number of conjurers over the years have implied this link in order to make their effects more mysterious, but it just simply is not so.

Magicians and conjurers of the 1500-1700s were mostly street & outdoor faire performers. Their use of advertising would have been limited, due to the lack of technology mainly. Whatever early pamplets or fliers there might have been would have had only words and no graphics or very primitive graphics. But that changed in the 1800s and the use of playbills and posters would eventually be the primary source of advertising a magicians performance right up into the early 20th Century.

I'm not sure who the first magician was to use the devil/imp idea in their marketing & advertising, but it may have come out of the old Phantasmagoria Shows of the early 1800s. These were magic lantern shows, where images of angels, demons, devils, or simply recently departed people were projected onto a wall, or screen or thru smoke giving the illusion of movement. They were a popular form of entertainment in the their time. Magicians were often on the cutting edge of science & technology and so many of the people demonstrating the magic lanterns were from the magic trade.

By the 1840s, European magicians began using devil creatures in their advertising in limited amounts. The 1848 poster advertising Robert Houdin's performances at the St. James Theater in London even has a few imp creatures on the poster. Though I couldn't find anything like that on his French advertising material.

In America, Robert Heller made more blatant use of the demonic imagery. His early posters were primitive and usually in a single color, but towards the end of his career he began to use two color playbills and posters with the devils appearance becoming more prominent. At one point in his career he adopted the slogan "Go To HELLers!" and would have print up flyers with this headline and information about the show. Some of these flyers were specifically sent to local churches. The clergymen would attend the programs to see what was going on and often return to tell their congregations about the wonderful entertainment they had seen. I can't help but imagine this scheme had to backfire a time or two, but it was a bold ploy and it worked for Robert Heller.

At the same time Robert Heller was performing in the United States, John Henry Anderson too arrived with a show that was very similar, both men had copied Robert Houdin's act. John Henry Anderson, who went by the moniker The Great Wizard of the North, may have used demonic imagery at some point. But interestingly, I saw a poster of Anderson's that used the opposite approach, rather than have devils and demons, he had a poster with the border covered in angelic beings. In his Second Site poster an angelic being can be seen hovering behind the performers.

Magicians & Lithographs

The explosion of devilish advertisments took place when magicians moved from using simple printed playbills to elaborate full color lithographs. The lithographic process dates back to 1796 but the use of color in lithographs wouldn't begin until 1819 and even then wasn't quite perfected until the 1840s.

The two most prominent performers to use full color lithographs and devilish imagery were Alexander Herrmann and Harry Kellar. Which one of them used the devil images first is open to debate. My guess would be Herrmann, afterall he looked just like the Victorian eras depiction of Mephistopheles himself. The suave devil with small horns, mustache and goatee and a pitchfork is an invention from this time period. No such description of the devil exists in any biblical texts, so where the origin of this image actually comes from I've not been able to uncover.

Regardless of who first created this devilish depiction, both of these performers used the imagery heavily in their promotions. Alexander Herrmann died in 1896 and his nephew Leon Herrmann, who bore a striking resemblance to Alexander,  joined with Adelaide, Alexanders widow, to take over the show and the hellish pictures continued. After Adelaide and Leon split up their act, Adelaide used a devil at least once before moving to a more contemporary look.

Harry Kellar's first use of a devil on his posters was in 1884. Two devilish figures appear on a poster for his Spirit Cabinet, this can be seen on page 242 of Kellars Wonders by Mike Caveney and Bill Miesel. It wasn't until 1894 that Kellar really begins to commit to this design idea. His iconic poster (right) with the whispering imps is probably the most copied posters in the annals of magic.

When Howard Thurston purchased the Kellar show and became Kellar's successor he continued using the imps and the devils in his posters throughout his career. And not to be left out, Carter, Raymond, Dante and Blackstone all used devils in their posters. Even Houdini was not immune to the effects, though it looks as if he only used the devils once and that was in his poster promoting his Prison Cell & Barrel Mystery.

After the Golden Age of Magic the use of the devilish figures diminished though they have not vanished entirely. A few years ago, Ricky Jay used a version of the whispering imps poster to promote his Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants show. More recently, David Blaine has included the use of devils or what is really now iconic magic imagery in some of his posters.

If you're interested in ordering one of David Blaine's very cool posters, they are available at http://shop.davidblaine.com/collections/posters
Also, if you'd like to see a cool site with over 100 pictures of magic posters with imps and devils on them please check out this link to Rhett Bryson's site.


Blog comments are welcome and encouraged. Also, if I happen to get some fact wrong historically I do appreciate having someone set me straight on that. I try to get the best information possible, but even I can miss something. If you want to discuss a blog in detail, please email me at  carnegiemagic@aol.com

Upgrades for 2012

The look of the old blog

If you've been visiting my blog over the last few days you might have noticed subtle and sometimes not so subtle changes to the way the site looks. I've been messing around with it, trying to get a cleaner look and one that still looks great. I moved all the links to a separate page. I have set up a spot for advertisers to the right. Of course the coolest change is the new banner across the top. Also, the top box on the right is a 'Coming Soon' box to show what is in the works or will be appearing soon on the blog.

Coming Up on Jan 1, 2012, the first new blog out of the gate "The Devil Made Me Do It" which is about the use of devilish imagery in the marketing of magicians. There will be more Houdini stuff straight from the newspapers as well. I've got a new ad to show you for The Grim Game, that I don't recall seeing before, and another look at Houdini's challenges.

Then watch for two big announcements related to magic history in the next week or so. 2012 is going to be big! Until then Happy New Year!

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part4

The final part of the article Houdini wrote for the LA Herald in 1907. Enjoy!

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part3

 Part 3 of the article written by Houdini himself which appeared in the Sept 29, 1907 edition of the Los Angeles Herald. Tomorrow the final part of the article.

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part2

More from the article that Houdini wrote in the Sept 29th, 1907 edition of the Los Angeles Herald. Part 3, tomorrow.

Houdini in L.A. In His Own Words Part1

Here is something very interesting. The first thing to catch my eye of course was the half page graphic with photos. But then I looked over and noticed that the article about Houdini was written by him! Not sure if this has appeared in print anywhere before. Rather than transcribe it, I'm going to give you the actual newspaper to read, but in parts, as it's a lengthy article. The date is Sept 29th, 1907 and this was from the Los Angeles Herald, which is no longer in business.

Christmas Wishes

"I heard him exclaim as he drove out of site, 

Happy Christmas to All, 

and to All a Good Night!"

I hope you all have had an enjoyable time reading my blog in 2011. It's been a lot of fun writing and researching the various articles. I have had the good fortune of meeting lots of fellow magic history fans along the way. I'm always glad to hear from folks, so anytime you want to drop me an email please do.

The Carnegie: Magic Detective Blog will be taking a short break from now until the first of the year. However, there is a 4 Part Article that was written by HOUDINI in 1907, which will appear here next week starting on Monday. Not sure if it appeared in print anywhere else, though it's possible.

Thanks for reading my blog and special thank you for making December 2011 the BEST month for my blog since it started! I'll see you all Next Year! (with some very special surprises)

Houdinis Challenging Time in Trenton

On February 11, 1912, the Trenton Evening Times Newspaper  announced the coming arrival of Harry Houdini to the NJ Capital. Houdini had toured the world and become the most famous Vaudeville act in history, but he had never performed in Trenton so the excitement was pretty high. In fact, there were a number of articles in the paper before his arrival that went on and on about his fame and popularity. Trenton was excited to have Houdini and the theatre owner was expecting box office gold. Notice what is written on the advertisement above, "Better Buy Seats Well In Advance For Houdini Is A Wonderful Drawing Card."

He would be presenting an interesting version of his Milk Can Escape, along with accepting daily challenges. At the Trent Theatre, Houdini's Double Fold Death Defying Mystery was the feature routine. Houdini would be handcuffed, placed into a large galvanized metal can filled with water, which then would be sealed with a lid and six padlocks. Next, the Milk Can with Houdini inside was placed into a wooden crate and locked up as well. This is the earliest newspaper account I've seen that mentions the Double Fold Death Defying Mystery. He opened at the Trent Theatre on February 19th, 1912 and the headline in the next days paper read "HOUDINI STARTLES TRENT AUDIENCES".

On February 20th, Houdini accepted his first challenge from the Castanea Dairy Company 234 North Broad Street Trenton NJ. The challenge was to escape from his Milk Can while it was filled with 80 gallons of real milk! Oh, and they stipulated that they wanted to use their own locks on the Milk Can. Houdini accepted the challenge and was successful in his escape.

February 22nd, Houdini accepted his next challenge which was to have Sergeant George T. Smith, the commander of the U.S. Army recruiting station, handcuff him spread eagle to the floor of the Trent Theatre Stage and then the cuffs would be nailed into the wooden stage floor. Winner of the challenge, Houdini.

The next challenge was announced on February 20th, but was to be carried out on the 23rd. This challenge is one to pay attention to. It was made by the employees of the Goldberg's Department Store.

Their challenge: to construct a large packing box which will encase Houdini. Then they will nail the lid shut and tie it securely with ropes. There is an interesting stipulation to the challenge which reads "We will send the box on for examination, but demand the right to re-nail each and every board before you enter, to prevent any preparation on your part."

This escape was to be presented on Houdini's final night in Trenton. There is no mention of Houdini in the February 24th newspaper. So did he escape?  Read on, as this is where things get interesting. The February 25th edition of the Trenton Evening Times carried this headline "HOUDINI COMING BACK TO ACCEPT CHALLENGES-Has Been Re-engaged to Appear at Trent During Week of March 11th". Reading the article further reveals that Houdini had been accused of being a fake and that the trunk built by the Goldberg's Department Store was made to Houdini's specifications so that he could escape and the entire thing was nothing more than an advertising scheme. The article says Houdini was livid over the accusation and made arrangements with theatre management to return.

Trent Theatre

To follow the timeline of the events this is how it played out. The morning of Feb. 23rd, a local paper informed Houdini that they had been notified by 'someone' that the Goldberg stunt was a fake. Even though the Goldberg challenge had not even taken place yet, it was planned for that evening. Houdini makes arrangements with the theatre management right then for a return engagement.  That night, Houdini in front of the audience read this letter to the audience before attempting the Goldberg Challenge. The complaint letter went on to challenge Houdini to escape from a crate built in front of the audience. Houdini agreed to submit to the test on Sunday morning on certain conditions. It turns out this new challenge was from the Armstrong Packing Case Factory, and they declined the additional conditions put on by Houdini. However, Houdini said their challenge would be the first he would accept upon his return on March 11th. I must assume the complaint letter then was also from the Armstrong Packing Case Company, though the newspaper does not name them specifically.

Following that drama Houdini did go through with the challenge from the Goldberg Department Store crate, but not before they re-nailed every single board. Houdini, again escaped. The final line in the Feb 25th article is interesting, "Mr. Houdini's engagement at the Trent during the past week stirred up more local interest than any theatrical attraction the Trent has had in years and there is no doubt that when he returns to the Trent two weeks hence, he will play to record-breaking business." Ya-think?!

Several days later on March 3rd, the employees at Goldbergs who were involved in the packing case challenge sent a letter to the Trenton Evening News asserting that they were not in on some grand advertising scheme and that Houdini only provided the dimensions of the box and nothing more. So his escape was legitimate.

This ad appeared in the paper on March 10th, the day before his return to Trenton.

On March 11th, Houdini did return to Trenton and he did accept the challenge from the Armstrong Packing Case Company. Their wooden crate was built on-stage in front of the audience. Houdini escaped. The newspaper reported "When he finally emerged from the box, there were thunderous cheers, and a more mystified audience has never departed a theatre."

First Precinct Jail

The morning of March 12th, Houdini opted to try his hand at escaping from the First Precinct Jail.

Houdini was stripped of his clothing and was secured with two pair of handcuffs behind his back provided by the Chief of Police John J. Cleary. He was then placed into cell #4. It took Houdini seven minutes to free himself from the cuffs and the cell but he added a special twist. He exited discreetly through the rear jail door and came back through the front door to surprise the crowd of 500 officers and by standers that were waiting to see if Houdini could escape!

That evening, Houdini accepted a challenge from three sailors to allow them to tie him to a post. The sailors did in fact tie him securely to the post and a committee of audience members that was on hand agreed that the escape artist was bound tightly and faced an impossible task. Eighteen minutes later he was free!


Houdini was scheduled to do a bridge jump while handcuffed from the bridge over the canal lock on East State Street on the morning of March 13th. However, the stunt was cancelled due to 'unfavorable conditions' and was to be rescheduled if they could find a better location. It doesn't appear on this trip that he found such a place. But that small setback did not stop Houdini. That evening he accepted a challenge from the A.V. Mannings Sons employees to escape from a sack that they provided. The sack was tied at both ends and yet the master mystifier freed himself.

Library of Congress photo

He added his Needle Swallowing routine to his regular act during the week. The Needle routine involved swallowing twenty four sewing needles, followed by several yards of thread. After verifying that he had swallowed both the thread and needles, he would cough them back up but this time the needles would be threaded! A small effect, but Houdini would create a huge sensation with it.

The challenge on the evening of the 14th involved being secured in a full body padded cell suit. The Trenton Times newspaper says "This restraint encloses the prisoner from the neck down to including the feet, and is held in position with broad belting straps and fitted with steel buckles". He was placed into the restraint by three of asylum attendants. Results, Houdini 1, asylum attendants 0, though not without a great deal of struggle. He earned his freedom on this evening.

The final night was March 15th, and the last challenge of the week. This time it involved being strapped to an iron hospital bed provided by the W.C. Emmans Company. He made the escape attempt  in full view of the audience. There is no record of what transpired on this night, though we can assume he defeated this challenge like he had all the others. On March 17th, there was an interesting notice in the ad for the Trent Theatre. They make mention that there is 'No Houdini This Week'. The ad goes on to say that Houdini came close to breaking the box office records and they were thrilled to have hosted his second appearance in the New Jersey capital.

In May 1912, Houdini's brother Hardeen was scheduled to play the State Theatre in Trenton but had to cancel due to an injury he received in Reading PA. Later in June 1912, Hardeen did go to Trenton to play a week at the Taylor Opera House. He received great reviews.

Houdini only performed live in Trenton NJ in 1912. His next appearance in Trenton wasn't until 1918 in the form of one of his movies, The Mastery Mystery.

All of this information was gathered through articles and ads that appeared in the Trenton Evening Times Newspaper. There were other papers in the town during this time period, but I was unable to access them to add additional information. No photos of Houdini appeared in the newspaper, except for the one in the advertisement on March 10th. Still it's wonderful to have the historical record of what played out day by day. One hundred years later, we know that Houdini orchestrated many of these challenges during his career. It's fascinating to see how he used them to cause controversy and pick up another week with almost guaranteed crowds. Where other Vaudeville performers were doing the same act show after show, Houdini gave them a new thrill each time they came to the theatre. It's no wonder he was a hit wherever he went.

Houdini Movie Terror Island

Houdini's movie Terror Island was his second feature for Paramount-Artcraft and was released in 1920. Below is an advertisement for the movie which appeared in May of 1920. I've seen a number of images promoting the film, I'm not 100% sure I've seen this one however.

Tomorrow: Houdini's Visit To Trenton NJ

Houdini: A Sharks Tale

Turns out the story of Houdini catching the coins in his mouth with sharks around was not the only shark story for Harry. During his trip to Australia in 1910, Houdini was an invited guest of the Navy on-board one of their ships. While there, he accepted a challenge from the sailors to be shackled and tossed overboard. Certainly, not the kind of thing you and I would want to do, but this is Houdini and it's just average afternoon for him.

The sailors shackled up the escape artist securely and Houdini jumped into the awaiting ocean. I could just imagine countless sailors leaning over the side of their ship watching as Houdini hit the water and sank below. They all probably were trying to get a view of what he was doing. As soon as he hit the ocean floor, some thirty feet down, he began to free himself from his confinement. This is where the story takes a turn. The moment Houdini raised his head away from his shackles and got a glimpse of the area around him, he discovered that he dropped right into the midst of a large school of sharks.  I'd venture to say there is a good chance a Great White Shark could have been among the creatures as they are known to swim & breed in the waters off the Australian coast.

He was underwater for three minutes working feverishly to extricate himself from the shackles. According to Houdini, "I never worked so fast in all my life!" Then he did something that is very out of character, he left the shackles behind on the ocean floor. His only thought was being able to push himself up off the ocean floor with enough force as to bypass all the sharks and not get attacked. That is just what he did, with all his strength he pushed off from the sandy bottom and shot past the sharks. As be burst forth out of the water, sailors standing by in a lifeboat grabbed him, apparently just as a shark was coming up out of the water after Houdini. The newspaper article says "he was pulled aboard just in time to miss the snapping jaws of the predatory sea bandits."


This story came from the January 7th,1912 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.