White House Easter Egg Magic-Revisited

Today is Easter Monday and it's also the day for the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This has been an annual tradition here in D.C. since President Rutherford B. Hayes began it back in 1878. The Easter Egg Roll used to take place on the lawn of the Capital building, but the lawn was getting damaged with so many people attending the event that Congress passed a law forbidding such activities.

Mac King

In 1878, President Hayes opened the White House lawn to the event and it has grown and grown ever since. Many famous and not so famous magicians have appeared at the event. Back in the 1930s Howard Thurston appeared at the White House Easter Egg Roll and performed his famous routine with Eggs from a Hat with Two Children. Washington D.C.'s own Al Cohen from Al's Magic Shop has performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll. So have David Williamson, Silly Billy, the entire case of the Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company from Beverly Mass, Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone Jr., Steve Wyrick, Wayne Alan, Trixie Bond, Ralph The Great, Dean Carnegie, Dave Risley, Mac King, Ken Scott, Mark Daniel, Ray Goulet, Mike Bent (who is there right now by the way), Emanuel Shabum, The Pro Kids Show performers, Adam Ace, James Wand, and many many others from all over the WORLD! I have to admit, I'm not sure if Houdini ever appeared at the event. He certainly had been invited to the White House on numerous occasions but whether or not he ever appeared at the White House Easter Egg Roll is a mystery.

Dean Carnegie

Of course they don't just have magicians, they typically have famous celebrities and actors and singers in attendance. The singers, like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers perform on the main stage. In 2011 Colbie Caillat and Willow Smith were among the featured acts.

The actors and other performers often read stories to the kids at various 'reading stations' throughout the grounds. Among the actors and celebrities appearing at the event in 2011 are Kelly Rippa, John Lithgow and Geena Davis.

Ken Scott

The only downer to the entire event is weather, which you can never predict. One year I sat in a Van with two friends waiting for the rain to stop and hoping we'd be able to perform. They canceled the event after an hour of constant rain and we drove home without ever having gotten wet. Other years we performed on both the White House lawn and on the Ellipse which is the area in front of the gated lawn between the White House and Constitution Avenue. I think that was the year we did 8 performances going back and forth between the two stages. That was also the year I presented Thurston's Eggs From Hat with a Boy and Girl, I'm sure I'm not the first magician since Thurston to have that idea.

Ralph the Great

For several years in a row they actually put up a 'Magic Stage' for all the magic acts to perform on. This was due to the effort of Ralph Meztler, known professionally as Ralph the Great. The Magic Stage had the benefit of being the stage closest to the White House which was nice and also closest to the actual Egg contests. The main stage was further down the lawn and though not as close, the area in front of the stage could hold thousands of people watching the shows. 

All in all it's usually a very fun day as long as the weather holds. My best wishes to the magical performers who are out there today!

*I originally posted this in April of 2011. But wanted to repost it because the Easter Egg Roll is this Monday.

LGD- Creating the Proper Atmosphere Before the Show Begins

The moment you walk into the theatre on show day, the show has actually begun. Not the stage show, but the overall LGD experience. The ticket taker is in costume in a painted booth which raises him off the ground. Immediately to the right of the ticket taker is a giant dragons mouth which is wide open and you've got to walk through it to get into the lobby. Once you pass through the dragons mouth you'll encounter clowns, costumed characters, jugglers and maybe even Leslie Bartlett and his playful hand puppet dog. What you might not realize while your eyes are taking in the sights, is that there is beautiful music playing and it's not a recording and it's not a player piano.

Lil Av

The music is being played by Avrom Surath, who is also one of the clowns. Avrom and his wife Ann have been with the company since the beginning. One of Avrom's many talents is as a classical pianist and the music that comes out of his fingers is heavenly.  If memory serves there is a piano in the lobby and also another, which might be an organ, in the theatre itself. At the beginning Avrom is playing in the lobby, during intermission Avrom is playing in the theatre. And during the show, you can find Avrom performing on the stage along side Cesareo and David and the rest of the cast. His clown name is Lil Av. You'll know Lil Av in the show because he does some hat juggling bits and is also featured in the Multiplying Bottle routine with David. In addition to this Lil Av plays the accordion (see photo left) while David presents a sleight of hand routine using sparkling balls.

Leslie Bartlett, who I mentioned earlier, has also been with the show since the beginning. He is the father of SETH, who at one time was one of the three main characters in the show, when Seth was just a child. Leslie serves a very important purpose. Along with helping to create the fun, playful atmosphere before the show, he also begins to draw peoples attention towards the front of the stage with his incredible juggling feats. He is the last performer of what I would call the 'preshow' performers that you'll see. Once he is done, the entire audience is looking forward and the stage show is starting.

All the members of the company who are visible, are in some sort of costume. From the folks selling popcorn and refreshments to the cast members selling programs or helping people find seats, everyone is wearing some sort of costume that was hand made by other members of the company. I'm not sure how many cast members are strictly behind the scenes, my guess is not many. They all contribute to the overall production and though you might see them serving popcorn at the start of the show, later they've got an important role to play IN the show.

To me one of the most impressive things happens the day before, when they conduct rehearsals of the various parts of the show. There is a juggling session, barbershop song rehearsal, dance rehearsal and much more. Then on the day OF the show, all the cast members arrive early to prepare the theatre. They all contribute to making sure the theatre is clean and ready by showtime. It's at this time when you realize that this  is much more than just a show it is a labor of love.

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http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-original-visit.html

Happy Second Birthday Houdini!

I have to take a brief break from the Tribute to Cesareo Pelaez, to recognize the second birthday of Erich Weiss. Yep, good ole Houdini had two birthdays, March 24th and April 6th. His real birthday was March 24th, but he always celebrated April 6th as his birthday.

So HAPPY BIRTHDAY AGAIN 

HOUDINI

LGD-Marketing From The Golden Age of Magic

Back in the Golden Age of Magic, the most popular form of advertising a show was to use colorful lithographs. Magicians used thousands of these full color posters and would have the town 'papered' or covered with their posters so that everyone knew they were coming or that their show was in town. This was before the advent of radio or TV so it was best way to promote a show.

Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company have borrowed a page from the book of the old time magicians and adapted a number of their marketing and advertising techniques. This group has produced more unique posters than probably any other magician or magic act in history. They don't paper the town, but they do prominently display their posters in the lobby and in the windows of the theatre. The posters are also pictured in vivid color in their programs.

Another interesting technique that Cesareo and company borrowed from past shows is to create their own newspaper. This paper is produced by them, they sell the advertising, have them printed up and then deliver the papers free of charge to businesses throughout the Boston area. There is a new paper every week. It serves a two fold purpose. It alerts the locals as to what movies are playing at their theatre and it also lets them know about this one of a kind magic show presented on various Sundays throughout the year.

Getting back to the posters for a moment, Kellar, Thurston, Houdini and others used full color lithograph posters to promote their appearances. The images on those posters needed to be striking and breathtaking in order to encourage people to attend their performances. Look at the two posters I have put on this blog. I chose them specifically because not only do they feature a prominent member of the company, in this case Cesareo as Marco the Magi, they also include painted images of moments from the show. Notice, not a detail is left out. If the backdrop is elaborate and colorful, they've included that very image in the painting. I think my favorite backdrop of theirs is the beautiful peacock feather backdrop. You can see a portion of it on the poster at the top of the page, it's in the small square with Cesareo presenting his 'Floating Table' illusion.

Some of the early posters for the company were line drawings. Over time they became more and more elaborate. In my personal collection, I own a poster from the early days which is black and gold. I think this was a silk screened image and it's gorgeous. I purchased it during my very first visit to the show as a kid.

In the 1983, the company published a small book called "The Making of a Magic Poster". I own a copy of it, but I don't have it handy to reference. I do know that many of the poster designs were the idea of Cesareo and then he would have members do the artwork. I'm fairly certain that the majority of full color posters were the creation of Cesareo and Rick Heath. Rick has been with the company since the early days and he is a fantastic artist in my opinion. He also plays the part of Albert Ping-Pong, one of the august clowns in the show. If you've seen the show you might recall the clown with the squeeker voice, well that is Albert Ping Pong. He is also the clown who makes the very tall newspaper tree just prior to David performing the Dancing Handkerchief.

If I had to guess, I'd say that there are over 100 posters created by the company. How many of them were turned into printed posters I don't know. But you can see many of the originals on display in the lobby of the Cabot Theatre and in the Gallery of the Larcom Theatre.

Next Article
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-creating-proper-atmosphere-before.html

LGD-The Magic of Spectacle Pt2

I wanted to share with you a couple of photos that show the kind of thought and detail that went into the decorating of the props used in the show. Please keep in mind, that some of the smaller props they used in the show were purchased, other props were built from scratch. But no matter which way they got the props, they all went through the Cesareo decorating process.

The illusion pictured above is HUGE. I think it stands 5ft tall to give you an idea of scale. I was never fortunate enough to see it used in the show, so I am not even certain what it is. I have a feeling it's some sort of tip over trunk illusion. But regardless of what the prop does, it's the way the prop is decorated that I want to point out. You might think they all of their props are red and black with painted dragons, WRONG you are. This piece above is simply a work of art. The design on the front is incredible. The same design is repeated on the sides and the back. IF you look at the base of the prop, you can clearly see a similar design repeated. Let's face it, they could have easily just painted the base a solid color, but they did not go that route. The design is also repeated on the curved lid, which I honestly didn't even notice myself until just now. And then there is the flowered decoration on part of the lid. It's just another detail that takes this prop from ordinary to extraordinary!

The next prop is a smaller piece, a Die Box. 90% of the detailed paint work on this prop is going to be lost on the audience, but did that matter? No. Look closely at this prop and you can see the care and patience that had to go into painting it. BTW, these are not decals you're looking at. The detailed work on this prop was all hand painted. It's breathtaking if you think about it.

This final piece is a very large illusion known as 'Noah's Ark' or sometimes just as 'The Ark'. It's an illusion that has fallen out of favor. It was popular in the Vaudeville days and I know that Harry Blackstone Sr. presented a version of it as did many other performers. The effect was that the front and back doors of the prop were opened to show it empty, and then they were closed. At this point the magician would reach through the openings in the front of the box and pull out livestock, chickens, ducks and other such animals. Eventually, after numerous livestock had been produced, the doors were again opened and a female was seen reclining inside the box! Most of these things were decorated to look like Noah's Ark, so they had a wood grain finish or natural finish if you will.  Wood grain would not fit within the scheme of all the other props in the LeGrand David Show, so this prop got the special 1-2-3 Cesareo signature style applied to it. Keep in mind, the kind of design that is on this illusion isn't going to be listed among a set of workshop plans. Cesareo and the members of the company would have had to come up with the design first, draw it on there and then hand paint it! And this prop has DRAGONS! Look at the top and you'll see two ornate dragons that stretch from one side to the other meeting in the middle of the box. As I said before, not so much a paint job as it is a work of art! But it was this kind of work that was the signature of the members of this show. It was this kind of care that went into everything they did. When you step back and really examine the amount of effort that went into each and every prop,  you begin to understand that this was not just a magic show but it was a labor of love for everyone involved.

Next Article
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-marketing-from-golden-age-of-magic.html

LGD-The Magic of Spectacle Pt1

 There is one thing that Cesareo knew well and that was how to put on a spectacle. Actually, there were countless things that Cesareo knew how to do well, but he knew how to create eye candy that would draw people in and peak their interests. He had numerous ways to do it and I want to touch on one thing today, detail.

What does that mean? Well, Cesareo was a stickler for details. When you walked into the lobby of the theatre, you'd immediately be drawn into the artwork on the walls, the painted ticket booth, the giant paper mache dragons head, and you were spent any amount of time in the lobby, you'd begin to see deeper and deeper into all that was there. The ceiling tiles were all hand painted. The posters that hung in the lobby were actually paintings done by members of the company. Even the bathroom were decorated with unique designs painted onto the walls. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see.

If you ventured up the stairs, you'd be taken in by the hundreds of framed images of newspaper and magazine articles that were done on the company over the years. Once you finally made it up the stairs, you'd see more paintings on the walls and even a huge bronze sculpture which was done by Webster and David Bull's father.

Before the show even started you were overwhelmed with beautiful images. And whether you knew it or not, the show actually began the moment you walked in the door. Clowns and other characters in costume walked around, entertained and mingled with audience members. There was something happening everywhere you looked. It was breath taking.

The stage show started with a cast members entering from the back of the audience and working their way up slowly to the stage. Now you were seeing elaborate costumes and giant costumed characters. When the curtains finally opened, it was if an enormous flower was blooming as the colors from the backdrops burst forth from the stage. There was so much to see and in lesser hands the audience would not know where to focus their attention. But not at this show. Cesareo as Marco, and David as LeGrand David and all the cast members knew exactly what to do to draw focus at the right time and direct focus towards to proper action when called for. The choreography of so many people on stage was amazing.

Contrast this to an average magic show that rarely uses painted scenery or any scenery for that matter, and often works against a black background. You rarely see more than one or two assistants on stage with the magician at a time and their costuming is almost never anything to write home about. In fact todays modern magic shows, the performers are wearing street clothes. Male assistants often wear all black, and some female assistants wear costumes that border on being appropriate for family audiences. Very little costuming, no theatricality, no spectacle.

I remember after 9-11 Cesareo added something new to the opening number of the show. He opened the show in silence. No music, no talking. It was an unusual way to open a show and it made a dramatic statement. I'm not sure any other show could have pulled it off, but they did.

Cesearo and his company were masters at detail, the detail of spectacle. Whether it was the ornate costumes, the incredibly beautiful backdrops and scenery, even the props which were all painted as works of art, no detail went unnoticed. It's a lesson we all should pay close attention to. It's certainly one of the first lessons I was confronted with and I took notice and have never forgotten it.

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http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-magic-of-spectacle-pt2.html

Tribute to Marco the Magi Begins

If you look above at the masthead for my blog (above), you'll see I've changed it. This is my first 'tribute masthead' and it will remain there for a while. My friend and mentor Cesareo Pelaez passed away on Houdini's birthday this year. It was just a week ago really and I still can't come to grips with his being gone. For whatever reason, for me he has not gone. I hear him in my head even now.  So over the next few days, and maybe longer, I'll be sharing random thoughts with you about my friend, about the LGD family and about things I learned from him.

His lessons, his guidance, and his kindness are with me everyday. And yes, I DO hear him, still. It's as if he has left me something to do, but I've not yet done it. There were many suggestions Cesareo gave me over the years. I listened to them all and went after many. Some I did not accomplish and others I still plan to do. One right now that sticks in my mind is a book that he suggested I write. But I know Cesareo would not want me to write a book in his words, but to use my creativity to explore the subject. Unfortunately, he did not know, I wrote it. Actually, I wrote the first one, of many. The first version is a children's book which features a young Marco the Magi as a boy. Marco the Magi was the character Cesareo played on stage. The story is part fiction and part truth. I pulled elements from his life story and put them together to write this story.

The one delay was that I had not illustrated the story yet. I did not want to illustrate it all, only a couple pages and then bring it to him to review. Now, however, he will watch over me as I work on the illustrations.

But that is not the task he has left me. I'm not totally sure what it is, but I have a good idea.

Next article: The Magic of Spectacle
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-magic-of-spectacle-pt1.html

The Magicians Gravesite Fund

Gravestone of Carter the Great, Illusionist Charles Carter*

As many of my readers known, I'm very interested in locating the graves of our compeers in the art of magic and documenting the location of the graves and trying to keep the graves in decent order. Unfortunately for me, the one grave I put a lot of effort into organizing the clean-up (Robert Heller's grave) which fell through when I got terribly sick on the day of the clean-up. There are additional issues with these clean-ups, the main one being where they are located. In my case, I don't live close to the Heller grave so it's not like I can stop by anytime I want.

Well, I was thrilled to discover that I was not alone in this quest. Richie Magic and his wife Barbara from NYC have been searching out these old grave sites as well. In fact, they've been working with the SAM Parent Assembly #1 to set up a fund for the upkeep and in some cases restoration of various grave sites. In the NY area there are a lot of magic graves. Houdini of course is the most famous and the work on that grave was actually done by the Houdini Museum folks. But there are other graves in NY, like Alexander and Adelaide Herrmann, Bess Houdini, Signor Blitz, Washington Irving Bishop and many others.

Grave of Herrmann The Great*

*The two grave photos above were taken by Richie and Barbara Magic!

Cesareo Pelaez, teacher; created Le Grand David magic show

This is the obituary for Cesareo from the Boston Globe. I'm still in shock over this, yet I know he would prefer we celebrate his life rather than mourn his passing. Personally, I think it's time he receive the Houdini treatment and continue to promote him and build his status to legend. He certainly earned it.

Cesareo Pelaez, teacher; created Le Grand David magic show

Cesareo Pelaez RIP

I don't even know how to write this, but my dear friend Cesareo Pelaez has passed away. He was the founder and creator of the Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly MA, he was also a former college professor. Actually Cesareo was many things to many people. To me, he was a mentor and dear friend.
I can't find the words to describe the sadness I feel today.

I was reflecting on this today and how much Cesareo changed my life. He was the one who encouraged me to write, which led me to write a couple books and then a magazine column and of course this blog and others. He also was instrumental in encouraging my artwork and it's continuation. And as far as my magical performances his contributions and suggestions were countless. He was such a wonderful person and I know he had a similar affect on every person he encountered. I will write more later.

Cesareo Pelaez (October 16, 1932 - March 24, 2012)

From my other blog

http://artistofmystery.blogspot.com/2012/03/cesareo-tribute-painting.html

 Previous articles I wrote about Cesareo and Le Grand David.

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-1.html 

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-cesareo.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magic-cast.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-eyes.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/le-grand-david-family.html

Happy Birthday Houdini

Today is the birthday of Erich Weiss/Harry Houdini. He was born March 24, 1874 in Budapest Hungary. Though he always celebrated his birthday as April 6th and his birthplace as Appleton Wisconsin. The photo above shows Houdini and his wife Bess which was taken on his American birthday, April 6th in the year 1923. He is a young 138 years old today! Happy Birthday Harry!!!

New Twists on Houdini's Russian Tour

The historical record shows Houdini performed in Russia in 1903. In fact, he was appearing at the Yar Restaurant in Moscow, which was a very upscale establishment and some say the best restaurant in all of Europe and Russia at the time. His appearances here ran from May 4th-July 4th, 1903. For a panoramic view of the restored Yar Restaurant, click here.

Stage at Yar Restaurant

In addition to his Yar appearance, Houdini escaped from the Prison Transport Car during this visit, as well as numerous police restraints. None of this is new information.

But I came across something that was news, at least to me. It was a newspaper column called "The Inside Straight" by Michael MacDougall that appeared on April 18, 1954. Mr. MacDougall had a connection to magic, as he wrote several books on gambling and card technique. An earlier column, MacDougall describes some events in the lives of magicians that ended tragically. So I looked forward to the column he wrote on Houdini. He describes Houdini's visit to Russia in 1903 with detail that I'd never read before. First he says that Houdini was staying in the Grand Hotel while performing at the Imperial Theatre, both of these are in St. Petersburg. Houdini received a request to perform before the Czar and this performance could make or break his visit. If the Czar was not impressed, Houdini's contracts would quickly vanish.

This fear of loosing the contracts was also mentioned in a 1931 Omaha World Herald (2-7-31)  article about Ike Rose, who claims to have been the person who booked this tour for Houdini. Though his fear was more about Houdini getting stuck in one of the jails, more than having the Czar kick him out of the country for being no good. For the record, The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush says that Harry Day booked all of the Russian dates. Interesting contradiction here, though I suppose it's possible that Day worked for Ike Rose or vice versa.

So back to the appearance before the Czar. This story is one also confirmed by Orson Welles, who claimed that Houdini was one of his early magic teachers. It's the story of Houdini's incredible feat of causing a bell to ring in an old cathedral in Moscow. The 500 lbs clapper to the bell had mysteriously fallen from the bell twenty years before and killed 100 worshipers and injured even more. The Czar himself barely escaped with his life. The bell had never rung since that time due to a decree by the Czar that no repairs be done and that the bell was to never again make a sound.

On this day, Houdini had planned on causing the bell to ring via magic. He just needed the Czar to agree to the stunt. The mysterious bell ringing is described in good detail in the Kalush biography, but suffice to say, that Houdini did apparently cause the bell to ring 5 times at the stroke of 5 p.m.. The royal members were impressed. But there are some differences between the Kalush account and the MacDougall account. In the Kalush biography, Houdini presented this for Grand Duke Sergius at the Kleinmichel Palace in Moscow and Houdini was to shoot the bells of the Kremlin. Except, Kleinmichel Palace is actually in St. Petersburg and the Kremlin is very far away in Moscow. So there is no chance he shot the bells of the Kremlin. In the MacDougall version, Houdini is presenting the effect for Czar Nicholas and is indeed in Moscow. To further confound the issue, there were two Grand Dukes named Sergius. One was Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich of Moscow and the other was Grand Duke Sergius Mikhailovich of St. Petersburg.

Grand Duke Mikhailovich, Grand Duke Alexandrovich, Czar Nicholas II

The MacDougall version of the story also has an ending I had not heard before. Moments after the bell rang, the Czar expressed his astonishment to Houdini, but another member of the party accused Houdini of performing 'a trick'. A short time later another booming sound was heard, much louder than the ringing of the bell. All attention went to the bell tower, where they could hear and see unusual movement of the building and then, the bell broke loose and crashed to the ground. According to the story, Houdini took credit for that as well. The article goes on to say that the newspapers of the time covered the events of that evening. But I don't have access to Russian newspapers, so I don't know how much is accurate and how much is Houdini embellishment. If I had to guess though on the person Houdini presented this for, I'm going to go with Grand Duke Sergius Mikhailovich of St. Petersburg.

I found all of this quite interesting. But there was something else. Perhaps even more interesting than the whole Bell Ringing affair. Houdini did not begin his performance with the Bell Ringing, that was his conclusion. What he apparently opened with was the 'Infamous Bullet Catch' routine. What? The Bullet catch? Wasn't it the Dean of Magicians himself, Harry Kellar who once warned Houdini NOT to present the bullet catch because of how dangerous it was? Indeed.

Houdini had apparently presented the bullet catch, not once but numerous times during his career. John Cox at WildAboutHoudini has a great piece on the history of Houdini's Bullet Catch, though it does not mention the Russian incident.

According to the article, Houdini gave the Czar a repeater rifle and had him mark a bullet and load it into the weapon. The gun was handed to a marksman, who took aim at Houdini's head and pulled the trigger. Houdini swiftly reached out with his hand and apparently grasped the speeding bullet out of mid-air. The still hot bullet was checked and confirmed that it was the marked bullet.  But it didn't stop there, as the Czar wanted Houdini to repeat the effect. This time, the conditions were tougher and the Czar himself fired the rifle at Houdini. But just as before, Houdini caught the marked bullet!

Have you heard this story before? I'm unfamiliar with it and certainly do not recall hearing of the Bullet Catch being performed in Russia. The bullet catch comes from a single source, so it's hard to say where he got it. He may have heard it directly from Houdini while he was alive. Still, it does give yet another example of Houdini possibly presenting the dangerous effect. Houdini was all about danger, or pseudo danger, so it always seemed odd to me that he didn't do the bullet catch, and now, well it appears that apparently he did.

Check out this related blog article:  Rasputin and Houdini!

Thanks to John Cox at WildaboutHoudini.com for the photo of the Houdini Russian flyer.

Less Famous Houdini Photos

I've been receiving some lesser seen photos of Houdini from various sources and also found a couple myself. I thought I'd post two of them. The first is one that I don't recall seeing before. It's an image of Harry Houdini and Samri Baldwin, The White Mahatma. Baldwin was instrumental in creating the Q&A mental routine that is used by mentalists even today. He died in 1924, so by the looks of it, this photo is probably 1923 or 1924.

The next image is of a young Harry and Bess. I've seen a similar photo, but I don't recall this particular one. At first, I thought this was from a photo session in which there is also an image of Houdini, Bess and Cecilia Weiss. However, though Bess seems to be dressed the same, Harry is wearing a different coat and collar, and his hair is slightly different.

Both images are from the archives of the State Library of Victoria.

The Other Houdini Grave

photo from LIFE magazine

For many of my fellow magic & Houdini fans, our initial exposure to the are was through a movie by actor Tony Curtis called simply, HOUDINI. Though, the actual Harry Houdini died back in 1926, the loss of Mr. Curtis in 2010 was truly like loosing Houdini all over again.

Tony's real name was Bernard Schwartz and he was born on June 3, 1925. His parents were from Hungary and I can't help but wonder how interesting it would have been if the real Houdini had bumped into or even known the Schwartz family at some point.

Tony got into acting after a stint in the Navy during WWII. He made many classic movies, among them: Some Like It Hot with Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe, Spartacus with Kirk Douglas, and of course my favorite HOUDINI which he made in 1953 with his wife Janet Leigh.

Tony retained an interest in magic after making the fictional movie on Houdini's life. He appeared on a number of TV Magic Specials, among them NBC's Stars of Magic in which he performed a Costume Trunk Illusion, HBO World's Greatest Escape Artist in which he was the host,  and I believe he also did some hosting work with Dean Gunnarson during an underwater escape performed by Gunnarson. About a year or so before he passed away, Tony did an interview with Dodd Vickers of The Magic Newswire which can be heard here. 

This Houdini movie was one of the inspirations for my career as a magician, and Tony also was instrumental in another area of my life. Besides acting, he was an artist, a painter. Seeing some of his work, along with the works of Red Skelton and Anthony Quinn in an art gallery years ago, rekindled my interest in art and specifically painting. I figured if the famous could have a career in entertainment and also paint, then so could I! Some of his artwork can be found on his website, but a search on the internet will reveal quite a broad look at his many paintings. http://www.tonycurtis.com/Online_Art_Gallery.html

Tony died on September 29th, 2010 and is buried in the Palm Eastern Memorial Park in 7600 S. Eastern Ave. Las Vegas, NV. Plot: Legacy, Space PG10, Row 3

Place a Stone:

If you cannot be there in person and wish to show your respect, you are welcome to mail a small stone. Your stone will be personally placed on Tony's marker by his wife, Jill. In the Jewish Faith, stones are placed to show that someone visited and that their love is as enduring as a rock.

Stones can be mailed to:

Jill Curtis
2598 Forest City Drive
Henderson, NV 89052

http://www.tonycurtis.com/Tony_s_Memorial.html

photo used with permission of Jill Curtis & Curtis Enterprises

WILD ABOUT HARRY: NEW photo of Houdini and his Water Torture Cell un...

Having once stumbled upon a rare Houdini photo, I can say that John Cox at WildaboutHoudini.com is probably have quite the run of visitors today. If you've not seen it, please click the link below and enjoy a truly incredible photo of Harry Houdini along with his assistants and his Water Torture Cell.


WILD ABOUT HARRY: NEW photo of Houdini and his Water Torture Cell un...: Here is an incredible never-before-published photograph of Houdini performing his Water Torture Cell in Scotland that will be on display sta...

More Trouble For Houdini

It seems my boy just can't stay out of trouble. Another faithful reader alerted me to this one, which appears in the Silverman book on Houdini. Try as I might to locate a newspaper article, I've come up empty handed (so far).

Houdini was performing in Norfolk VA at the Colonial Theatre and got into a dispute with the management. One thing led to another and Houdini got arrested, again! My first article about Houdini getting arrested actually had the Theatre Manager bailing him out. But this time, it's the manager who had him locked up. Why?

It seems that while on stage, Houdini had some derogatory remarks about the theatre management. (no, I don't know what he said) According to Silverman, the New York Office told the manager to withhold  $400 of Houdini's money as a fine. Houdini had finished his last show and was wrapping things up when he found out about the deduction of funds. Never one to be shy about things, he marched out on stage, while another act was performing and addressed the audience and told them what the management had done, then proceeded to demand his money.

The Colonial Theatre Manager had no choice but to call the police as Houdini was causing quite a scene and apparently wouldn't leave. When the police arrived they took Houdini to the jail for disorderly conduct. A fellow performer paid Houdini's bail, though it doesn't say 'WHO' that fellow performer was.
I can't help but wonder how many other performers had gotten fined over the years but didn't have the nerve that Houdini had to cause a scene. And I don't know if he ever got his $400. My guess is no.

Magic History News/February 2012

There are a number of things to mention that are history related. First is the March 2012 issue Genii Magazine with Howard Thurston on the cover. Ok, it's not exactly Howard Thurston, it's Jonathan Levit portraying Thurston at the L.A. Conference of Magic History. The article "Thurston LIVES" is by Jim Steinmeyer and David Regal and is an interview with Mr. Levit about his role as Thurston. It's excellent.

While on the topic of Genii Magazine, there is a fantastic monthly column by John Gaughan called "The Chamber of Secrets." My one complaint about this column is it always leaves me wanting MORE! And that's a good thing actually. The articles are brief glimpses into magical apparatus from yesteryear and the articles are concise enough to draw in even those who are not usually interested in history. Believe me, they are worth checking out. In the past, he has covered The Hofzinser Rose Mirror, Antonio Diavolo the acrobat automaton created by Robert-Houdin, Joseffy's Rapping Hand and many other amazing curiosities.  Please go to www.geniimagazine.com to check out more and if you aren't a subscriber, now is as good a time as any!

If we move over to the monthly periodical of the Society of American Magicians M-U-M, we find a monthly column called "The Nielsen Gallery" by Tom Ewing which covers a different magic poster from the enormous collection of Norm & Lupe Nielsen. Also, there is a new column coming called "Treasures from the Salon De Magie" by Ken Klosterman. I can't say enough great things about Ken. His collection is beyond compare and he couldn't be a nicer gentleman. I've seen his collection first hand and it was one of the highlights of my magic life! You can find out more about them by going to www.magicsam.com

Next is MAGICOL, the periodical for the Magic Collectors Association. It is pure magic history from cover to cover. Besides a fantastic magazine they also have an excellent website as well at www.magicana.com

Another fabulous periodical on magic history is the Gibeciere by the Conjuring Arts Research Center. These are the same folks behind AskAlexander.com. Thanks Joe for the heads up on this. I can't believe I forgot to include them initially.

Then there is the official magazine of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, The LINKING RING. Editor Sammy Smith does a fantastic job covering the history of magic in his articles. Plus the official website for the IBM has a page devoted to magic history with some additional great articles there. http://www.magician.org/portal/en/news/magic_history

FINALLY, there is Stan Allen's MAGIC Magazine. Every issue has at least one and often more than one article devoted to the history of the art. Mike Caveney's column "Classic Correspondence" contains so much valuable information, I don't know how he crams it all in there! Word is he just wrapped up his second run on the column and hopefully a third series will be coming soon. Just a quick example of previous history articles in MAGIC: Nov2011 An article on Billboard Magazines one time coverage of magic news. Dec 2011 there was a cover article on Johnny Thompson who is really living history! And Feb 2012 has a great article about the life and magic of Kirk Kirkham. To subscribe to MAGIC go to www.magicmagazine.com

OTHER NEWS

If you are wondering where 'The Magic Detective YouTube Show' is, well, it's coming. The debut is getting pushed back to March. I'll be doing what a friend of mine calls 'a soft rollout'. Meaning, the show will grow in content as we move forward but in the beginning I'll be keeping it fairly short.

The first episode is going to feature a video of my friend Steve Baker almost getting killed, FOR REAL, in Venezuela. I'll also share with you some behind the scenes things that Steve told me regarding the escape both before, during and after. It's a shocking piece of video, and yet I hope you enjoy it!

INSIDE BLOG NEWS
I received a very kind email from Jonathan Pendragon regarding the article I wrote about him. Well, Jonathan was nice enough to put a link on his Facebook page and that one article shot up past all the others to take the #1 spot! I was thrilled. Well, as of this week, we have a new #1, the article on HUGO and the Real George Melies has now gone past the Pendragon article. I can say, those two will probably fight it out for some time jockeying back and forth between 1&2. They are both good reads and if you missed them, click on their links.

Houdini Going Postal

The examples of Houdini being less than friendly, keep showing up. I'm not implying that he made a regular thing of it, but it did happen. A couple weeks ago I posted When Houdini Got Arrested. Now a regular reader of my blog has alerted me to another example. This time the year is 1925 and Houdini is summoned into court in NYC. But why?

It turns out that there was a business in the city called 'Francis P. Houdina Company' at 1476 Broadway. The owner Francis Houdina was an electrical engineer and inventor. His mail, and Houdini's mail often got mixed up which is how Harry Houdini found out about them. Houdini assumed that the electrician was trying to capitalize upon the magicians name and fame by using a name which sounded similar.

One hot July evening in 1925, Houdini burst into the offices of the Francis P. Houdina Company and accused them of unlawfully using his name. The newspaper article says 'he tore from a packing case a tag addressed 'HOUDINI', the complaint says'. They demanded he return the tag and he refused and that is when a scuffle broke out and property was damaged, by Harry.

A few days later, George Young, the secretary of the company, presented Harry Houdini with a summons just before he was about to go on the air at WOR Radio in New York. He was being charged with disorderly conduct and destruction of property. Mr. Young had two policemen with him when he served the summons, probably a smart move on his part. Houdini began a heated argument with Mr. Young and Young accused Houdini of disgraceful behavior. Houdini followed with "I would have been killed if I had not used force to get out of the office." 


Following this altercation at WOR Radio, Houdini did go on the air and spoke for fifteen minutes about his on-going fight against spiritualist fakery. 


Houdini did appear in court and the charges were apparently dropped because no one from Francis P. Houdina Company showed up. All of this began because the post office initially mis-delivered mail belonging to Houdina and Houdini, which alerted Harry to the similarity in names. 


*Thanks to Ron for the heads-up on this article!

UPDATE: Just learned that this story is actually false. Please read 'Clearing the name of Houdina' to find out the actual story.

Happy 200th Birthday Charles Dickens

Today is the 200th Birthday of famed writer Charles Dickens. The author of such stories as A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, and A Christmas Carol, some might not be aware that Mr. Dickens was also an amateur conjurer. Born Feb 7th, 1812 in Portsmouth England, he went on to become the most famous novelist of his era and his fame continues to this very day. A more thorough biography of Dickens and his magic is certainly warranted but it will have to wait for a later date.

Just imagine, had there been no Charles Dickens, today there would be no David Copperfield. David Kotkin borrowed the name of the famous Dicken's character and used it as his stage name.

By the way, I found the picture below online, and swiped it! I fully admit that in this case. The photo is from a flier or poster for a talk by magician Ian Keable of England. Mr. Keable just presented this at the Churchill Room, Goodenough College, Mecklenburgh Square, in London. I'm very intrigued by the poster and I hope that it's a very successful program and maybe one day Ian Keable will present it here in America...because I want to see it!

Doug Henning, Remembered

It was 12 years ago today that Doug Henning passed away from liver cancer. Feb 7, 2000. What a shock it was to the whole magic world and especially those of us who were so inspired in our youth by Doug Henning's magic. I still remember the very first issue of Genii Magazine I ever purchased, it had that photo above on the cover and a huge ad for the LeGrand David Magic Show. Both Doug and the Le Grand David folks would be instrumental in my magical education.

Below is a video of Doug doing his 'Things That Go Bump In the Night' Illusion. This was a Servais LeRoy idea originally known as The Three Graces. I'm not sure but Doug might have been the first magician of the modern age to bring that illusion back to the masses.

McDonald Birch Magic History Photo

The photo above is a very famous publicity photo of George McDonald Birch and his wife Mabel Sperry.
I'd seen the photo many times over the years. Mabel is sitting upon a stack of 'Next of Boxes' that were used in his act to find a borrowed object.

One day a few years ago I was visiting with Bill King, the magic collector from Hagerstown MD. Imagine my surprise as I walked through the various rooms of his collection and came face to face with the iconic boxes!!! Below is a photograph of those boxes. I imagine they have found a new home since I visited because Mr. King passed away not long ago.

The Inexhaustible Bottle

The Inexhaustible Bottle-A magic effect wherein a bottle is filled with water to wash it out and then emptied. Once cleaned out, dry ribbons of different colors would come out of the apparently empty bottle. But upon command of the magi, several different drinks pour forth from the bottle in a seemingly never ending succession. Some versions of the trick have the performer breaking the bottle open at the end and producing a ring, scarf and/or even a guinea pig.

I suppose it was inevitable that I would come face to face with the trick known as the Inexhaustible Bottle. In my youth, I worked with my younger brother on a version of this using a tea kettle. But back then, I hardly knew anything about the trick and really did not do the famous routine justice.

Robert Heller 1870

Over the years there have been many variations of the Inexhaustible Bottle. Of course, there is the version with bottle, and then there was also a punch bowl, a tea kettle, a milk carton and I’m sure there are variations I have yet to discover.

Robert-Houdin presented this trick for the first time on December 1, 1847 and claimed it as his own creation. It was said that Robert-Houdin produced 100 glasses of wine/port and other drinks from his bottle. Robert Heller and John Henry Anderson first brought the trick to America and made it popular. Harry Kellar, Compars Herrmann and Alexander Herrmann also presented the trick using a bottle.

In the book, The Secrets of My Magic, David Devant explains that it was his wife who came up with  the idea of using a common Tea Kettle rather than a bottle. Devant's routine was called 'The Obliging Tea Kettle'.  Charles Hoffmann or Think A Drink Hoffmann as he was known, used a cocktail shaker and built a career out of this one trick. Today, Steve Cohen presents his version using a Tea Kettle in his show Chamber Magic.  I’ve not seen Steve perform his full routine, though I have seen clips on video. I have no doubt his work is brilliant.

Although, Robert-Houdin claimed to have invented it, Houdini in his controversial book The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin actually proves that this was not the case. Ludwig Dobler, Phillippe, Henri Robin, and others all presented the Inexhaustible Bottle years before Houdin. It had been presented under a number of different names including: The Infernal Bottle, The Traveling Bottle, the Interminable Bottle, and the Bottle of Sobriety and Inebriety. But the trick is even older than the 1800s.

Houdini reveals that the trick can be traced back to the book Hocus Pocus Jr. in 1635. During this time period the trick used a barrel or wooden cask rather than a bottle but worked on a very similar principle. 

The inspiration for the trick possibly comes from two biblical stories. These two stories are when Jesus was at a wedding and turned Water to Wine, the other is the story of the loaves and the fishes certainly an ‘inexhaustible’ miracle.

I added a version of the Magic Tea Kettle to my summer show in 2011. My version was based on an idea by Jim Steinmeyer but I came up with a decidedly different climax to the trick. In all the Tea Kettle versions there is no real climax other than pouring more and more unique drinks. The ending I came up with gave the trick a definite 'ta-da' ending, but it proved to be more shocking than I expected. I actually had to rewrite the set-up for the ending in order to not freak people out.

What was my ending to the Inexhaustible Tea Kettle you ask? After pouring numerous drinks like milk, cool aid, tea and so forth I announced I would attempt Orange Juice, but I apologized in advance in case it didn't work because, as I explained, Orange Juice was the hardest drink of all. Then I told the audience for some odd reason the oranges would separate from the liquid in the strangest way. At this moment, I would pour the remaining liquid and the oranges slices could be seen separated in the water  for a brief moment....then suddenly the audience realized the orange slices were actually GOLDFISH!

Tremendous ending, I thought. First time I tried it, two of the people who took drinks of the other liquids almost puked thinking they just drank 'fish water'. It was terribly funny and somewhat embarrassing and thus required a rewrite in order to have the ending make sense and for the audience members not to get ill thinking they drank dirty fish water. The 'corrected' script solved the problem and it made for a tremendous effect in my show. As enjoyable as my twist on the trick was, I still long to one day present an actual Inexhaustible Bottle effect...if I can ever locate one.

Now if you'd like to see a novel presentation of the 'Think-A-Drink' act presented by Charles Hoffman, please watch the video below.

*portions of this blog were reprinted from my old magic blog dated Feb 9,2010.

Houdini and The US Presidents

Houdini at the White House*

I find it interesting at times to put famous people into a broader historical perspective. Given this is an election year, I can't help but think about the Presidency and that got me wondering what Presidents were alive during Houdini's life. Houdini had a connection to all the Presidents of his time right down to George Washington, which I'll share with you at the end of this story.

Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes

But for now, let's look at the timeline. Houdini was born in 1874. At the time of his birth Ulysses S. Grant was the current President. He would serve until 1877. However, Houdini, then Erich Weiss, would not arrive in the U.S. until July of 1878, so the first President he would have encountered from when he was in this country would have been Rutherford B. Hayes. President Hayes is the person credited with starting the tradition of the annual Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn, an event that has featured many magicians since it began, though Houdini doesn't appear to have ever participated. President Hayes served until 1881 when James Garfield took over to become the 20th President of the U.S.. Houdini had a unique connection to Garfield.

President Garfield only served for five months. On July 2, 1881, Charles Guiteau shot the President at the 6th Street Railroad Station in Washington. Guiteau the deranged assassin was disgruntled because he wasn't given a job within the government. The President lived until September 19th, 1881.  In November, Guiteau finally went on trial, for murder.

Houdini, in January 1906, was challenged to escape from the cell that once held the assassin of President Garfield at the D.C. Jail. Houdini, not only freed himself, but also unlocked several other cells and had prisoners change cells with one another. The Houdini movie with Jonathan Schaech opens with a scene that I think is a recreation of this escape.

Chester A. Arthur would take over for Garfield, and would serve as President during the time that young Erich Weiss became known as 'Erich, Prince of the Air'. Grover Cleveland was the next President, followed by Benjamin Harrison. When Houdini and Theo and Jacob Hyman went to work the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, Grover Cleveland became President, again.

When Houdini got his big break from Martin Beck in March of 1899, William McKinley was serving his third year as President. McKinley would be assassinated in office by an avowed anarchist. His Vice President Theodore Roosevelt would follow him and serve two terms as President till 1909. A few years later, Houdini while sailing aboard the Imperator from England to America, had the good fortune to meet the former President Roosevelt and perform for him as well. Houdini totally baffled the former President and before landing in the U.S., he made sure to have his photo taken with Roosevelt. The photo today is interesting as two versions exist. One with Houdini, President Roosevelt and a number of other gentlemen, and the other version is of Houdini and the President with all the other people airbrushed out!

William Howard Taft was President from 1909-1913. During that time Houdini became the first person to fly an airplane in Australia thus making him a pioneer aviator. He also introduced the USD or the Upside Down Water Torture Cell during Taft's tenure as President. On March 4th, 1913, Woodrow Wilson would be sworn in as the 28th President of the United States and a few months later, Cecelia Weiss, Houdini's mother would pass away, changing his life forever. President Wilson would often sneak over to the Keith's Vaudeville Theatre in Washington D.C. to see Houdini perform. The theatre was easy walking distance from the White House. Houdini also received an invitation from President Wilson to come to the White House.

When World War I broke out, Houdini enlisted but was too old to be considered. Instead, he got behind President Wilson and the war effort by selling Liberty Bonds and performed at military bases across the country to support the troops. He also made an Elephant Vanish and began his movie career during the Presidency of Woodrow Wilson.

Warren G. Harding was the next President serving from 1921-1923. He died during his third year in office. Houdini met Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during this time and had the famous seance in Atlantic City with Doyle's wife. Calvin Coolidge was the Vice President for Harding, so when Harding died in 1923, Coolidge became President. He served until 1929, so that made Coolidge the final President during Houdini's life.

Though he was friendly with Roosevelt and Wilson, I can't help but think that the Coolidge and Harding Administrations didn't take too kindly to Harry. He had testified before Congress about the Anti-Fortune Telling Legislation and it was revealed during this time that seances had taken place at the Coolidge White House, which later was changed to the Harding White House. But it was bad press for the executive branch either way.

Other events not of a Presidential nature that took place during Houdini's life: 

• 1903 The Wright Brother Fly for the first time
• 1906 San Francisco Earthquake
• 1908 The first Model T Ford rolls out of the factory
• 1912 The sinking of the RMS Titanic. Houdini's friend Charles Carter (Carter the Great) tried unsuccessfully to board passage on the Titanic.
• 1913 Grand Central Station Opens in NYC
• 1917 US enters WW1
• 1919 Prohibition becomes the law of the land
• 1923 TIME Magazine published for the first time
• 1924 J. Edgar Hoover appointed to lead the FBI
• 1926 Robert Goddard sends up the first liquid fueled rocket
• 1926 -Oct 31 Houdini dies.

Houdini missed Charles Lindbergh's historic first transatlantic flight by only a few months. And he missed the Stock Market Crash of 1929 by three years.

If you are wondering what Houdini's connection was to all the President's from Washington to Coolidge was, well he was an avid collector of many things and one of his collections consisted of signatures of all the Presidents. I wonder where that collection is today? According to the Silverman Biography on Houdini he even had signatures of John Wilkes Booth and his brothers. Houdini's boyhood idol happened to be Abraham Lincoln, who had only died 9 years before Houdini was born. Another way of looking at that, Houdini was born 9 years after the end of the Civil War. He's such a modern figure, I never really considered that he was born so close to the War Between the States.

Houdini loved America and American history. One thing I really admire about Houdini in this regard is how though he knew politicians, Congressmen, and Presidents, he stayed out of the political arena. He visited both the White House and Congress and he was welcomed by people from all parties, but he never publicly took sides. He surely had political opinions but he kept those private and used his celebrity status to promote one thing, HOUDINI.

*Thanks to WildAboutHoudini.com for the use of the top picture.

The Magic Detective is Evolving

Coming Soon: The Carnegie Magic Detective Show. This will be a web-based show featuring Magic, Magic History and more that will air on my Youtube.com channel. Eventually, I hope to have regular weekly episodes, but it will take a while to transition into that.  Shooting video and then editing video is a slightly longer process than just writing this blog.

Taking this site from a blog to a video show has been in the planning stages for about a year, but implementing it is another thing entirely. All of the episodes will be fairly short, keeping with the Youtube content strategy. As time goes on and I'm able to build an audience I'll offer longer episodes. I've got a number of interviews lined up for the coming months and I'll probably post edited versions of those on the channel and then maybe offer longer ones at another time.

This BLOG will not be going away.  As much as I wish I could interview folks like Daisy White (she is a recent favorite, can you tell?), or HOUDINI himself, they just aren't available. So the blog works well to get their stories out there.

The first episode will contain a video of a near death accident with a famous escape artist. I'm not sure this footage has been seen in the U.S. and if it has, it's not been wide spread. I'll post Air Dates in the 'Coming Soon' box at the upper right hand side of the blog, and of course you'll be able to watch it right from this very blog or via the Youtube Channel. Stay Tuned!

A Bit of David Copperfield History

I found this on Youtube and really enjoyed watching it. Though David Copperfield does own perhaps the largest collection of historical magic, he is also living history.  He accomplished an astonishing amount in his life and I hope this continues for many many years to come. I don't really know what this is from, but it looks like it came from the Copperfield Team. I hope they allow it to remain on Youtube so that more people can appreciate his contributions to the art.