The Houdini Wonder Show

With the recent rediscovery and release of The Grim Game, I became intrigued with Houdini's movie career. While reading the Silverman bio on Houdini I came across a curious passage about something called The Houdini Wonder Show. I searched through other biographies and online sources and came up pretty much empty, with one exception, Joe Notaro's great blog called Harryhoudinicircumstantialevidence.com had a short piece on an escape artist who appeared in one of the shows.  At that point I decided to take on the task of tracking down more information on this rarely covered Wonder Show.

By 1922, Houdini had already made movies for Octagon and Paramount but he decided to go out on his own and create his own movies. The Man From Beyond was apparently written by Houdini in ten days. Houdini also produced, cut and edited the movie. And because he didn't have the backing of a big studio, he had to create his own publicity for the movie.

Houdini put together a rather unique publicity campaign. Any theater showing the movie, also got Houdini's Wonder Show. The movie debuted April 1922 at the Time Square Theatre and was a huge success.

When Houdini first started the Wonder Show he presented a straight jacket escape and the Vanishing Elephant. Then 'The Man From Beyond' was shown to the audience. The entire program of show and movie made a great night of entertainment. This concept proved to be so popular Houdini created 4 different units of his Wonder Show.

Heading up Unit #1 of the Houdini Wonder Show was Frederick Eugene Powell and mentalist Virginia Carr. Powell presented very classic magic. His effects included: The DeKolta Giant Flower Production, A multitude of handkerchief tricks with borrowed kerchiefs, The production of numerous silk cloths which transformed into a giant American Flag, and he finished with the Crystal Coin Ladder.  Virginia Carr presented a mind reading act which by all accounts was a big hit.

Unit #2 of the Houdini Wonder Show featured Genesta the Escape Artist presenting his death defying Barrel Mystery. Also in the show was manipulator Ericson and Mlle. Amelia. Ericson presented a classic card manipulation act similar to Cardini.

Heading up Unit # 3 of the Houdini Wonder Show was Prof. Demont who presented magic, the Indian Box Mystery and crystal gazing. He also added an escape from a large mahogany box.

Finally, the #4 Unit of the Houdini Wonder Show was presented by Mystic Clayton who did a mind reading act.

At some point in time Frederick Melville was also added to the tour, though I find conflicting accounts of which show he was on. He may have been with Unit #2 and he presented his 'radio operated automaton/mechanical man' that he called 'Radiac'. And I have found mention of yet another performer by the name of Benton who appeared in one of the shows.

Houdini continued to make appearances at some of the showings of The Man From Beyond but he scaled back his portion of the show. No longer was he doing the mammoth Elephant Vanish and straight jacket escape. Instead he replaced the magic altogether with a talk and exposure of fake spirit phenomenon.

All of the units presented an hour of magic and mystery along with the showing of Houdini's movie The Man From Beyond.


Who was Frederick Eugene Powell? Frederick Eugene Powell was born March 1st 1856 in Philadelphia PA. His interest in magic began when he saw the great magicians of his day, Robert Heller, Signor Blitz and Wyman the Wizard. Powell was one of the true 'old timers' in magic, having lived through the late Victorian era right into the early 20th Century. He became the 2nd Dean of the Society of American Magicians, a title bestowed upon him by the then Illustrious President Houdini.
He had a very interesting career as a full time performer that was interupted at one point when he took a position as chair of mathematics at Pennsylvania Military Academy. This regular job only last a few years before he was back on the road doing magic.

In 1899, Powell joined forces with Servais LeRoy and Imro Fox to build a show called 'The Triple Alliance'. This was the precursor to Servais LeRoy's Monarchs of Magic. Fox only remained with The Triple Alliance Show for a year.

Powell was one of the first to resurrect the Second Sight Act made popular by Robert Heller. He also presented illusions including a cremation illusion and the Noah's Ark illusion. In 1915, a fire in the Powell's home in Chester PA destroyed his entire show. He rebuilt the show and in 1921 that new larger show was destroyed by a flood in San Antonio Texas. His next stint in show business would be the Houdini Wonder Show.

Frederick Eugene Powell died in a Nursing Home just a few days short of his 82nd birthday. He was born 20 years before Houdini and lived beyond Houdini's years.

Who was Virginia Carr? Virginia Carr was a crystal gazer/mentalist. She was apparently quite the sensational performer as many of the reviews made mention of her beauty and her incredible act. She was blonde and she was married to James Colerton in 1912 and had been married once prior to that and had a son by her first marriage.

In Vaudeville, she performed as Princess Zuleka the Mystic Mindreader. It would appear that her stint with the Houdini Wonder Show helped to propel her career as she went out on the road with the Virginia Carr Extravaganza Show in 1923 produced by George MacDonald. The tour was to begin June 25 at the Strand Theatre in Newark, but the show closed the following day. The initial reason for closing down the show was bad business due to very hot weather but soon the truth came out that marital infidelity was the true reason.

Earlier in the year, Carr had been performing with the W.I. Swain Show in New Orleans. There she met a young 23 year old music director by the name of Andrew Paoli. They soon became romantically involved and before long she became engaged to Paoli. Carr claimed that her husband, Mr. Colerton, had died and the two lovers married on June 6th in NY at the Little Church Around The Corner. Mr. Colerton, who was very much alive,  had lost touch with his wife and had been searching for her. At some point he heard that she remarried and was able to track down the church records that listed her as being 23 years old and widowed. Though I don't know her actual age, I'm gathering she was much older than 23 given that her son from her first marriage was 18 at the time.

Mr. Colerton tracked down his wife and confronted her. She begged forgiveness and left Paoli to return to life with James Colerton. All of this happened prior to the June 25th Strand Theatre event. Following the closing of the show, Miss Carr vanished into the night and apparently so did Mr. Paoli leaving Mr. Colerton, the jilted husband and Mr. MacDonald, the jilted producer in the dust. This time she stayed with Paoli as I was able to find an article she penned for Billboard in 1926 under the name 'Virginia Carr Paoli'. She continued to perform as a mindreader as late as 1948, but at some point she went back to using the name Princess Zuleka.

Who was Genesta? His real name was Royden Joseph Gilbert Raison de la Genesta. He was born March 29th 1878 in Ashland Kentucky. Genesta billed himself as The Wizard of Wonders and he began his career as a hypnotist performing under the name De la Genesta, but eventually settled up being an escape artist. In 1922, he was hand picked by Houdini to head up the #2 Unit of the Houdini Wonder Show. For his appearances, he presented his death-defying escape from a barrel of water. Basically, this was an effect like Houdini's Milk Can escape, a locked container filled with water in which he would escape. One benefit of having Genesta was his car. Yes, his car. Genesta traveled around in a Ford Motor Home which helped to defer hotel costs. He also carried his own scenery which was a backdrop curtain painted with diamond eyes.

According to Billboard Magazine, April 1926, Genesta had purchased a ranch and retired to in Georgia. However, Genesta continued to grace the vaudeville stages as he appears in a news report just two years later doing his act. Genesta actually took a page from the Houdini book and used his Water Barrel Escape for challenges. In 1928 Genesta was 'challenged' by the Charlotte Coca Cola Company to escape from a 60 gallon syrup barrel. No doubt, Genesta's barrel was used for the effect, though it was still filled with water, not Coca Cola. Two years later, Genesta would actually go down in magic history for a tragedy with the Milk Can.

According to Houdini's Fabulous Magic by Walter Gibson, Genesta was to present the Milk Can escape in Frankfort KY on Nov 8th, 1930. The stage crew apparently dropped the can while loading it into the theatre. That drop caused the can to be damaged and later during the show made it impossible for Genesta to escape. He had to be cut out of the can and was rushed to the hospital. He died the next day. One note however, the Linking Ring from Nov 1930 has his obit and it says that he was doing his Water Barrel Escape rather than the Milk Can. Genesta was known for his Barrel Escape so I have a feeling that indeed it was the Barrel that he got trapped in but it got reported as the Milk Can because the can was a better known escape overall. Both the Water Barrel Escape and Milk Can are basically the same sort of escape just with different devices. The outcome is the same regardless, Genesta died tragically.

Who was Ericson? That's a good question. I believe Ericson was from England and he was a manipulator in the style of Cardini. He was known for a very classy card manipulation act and he also became famous in his time for a cups and balls routine which ended with three small glasses of wine underneath. I'm afraid I don't know much else about Ericson and his wife Mlle. Amelia.

Who was Demont? He was an Italian named Charles Demont who lived in Brooklyn. A very versatile performer who was equally good at Punch and Judy Shows, straight magic, crystal gazing and even escapes. He was known to present Shooting Thru a Woman as well as Chinese Rings and exceptional billiard ball manipulations. He headed the #3 unit of the Houdini Wonder show. In later years, he changed his stage name to Dagmar.

Who was Mystic Clayton? He was born Henri Clayton Wilbur and by all accounts was a charismatic crystal gazer/mind reader. He wore elaborate costumes which included a silk cape and jewel encrusted turban ala Alexander. He performed from 1917 to the mid 1930s. In 1919, he collaborated on a show with The Great Leon called 'The Famous Oriental Miracle Show.' In 1922 he became Unit #4 of the Houdini Wonder Show. Following the successful run of shows and movies he hired Frederick Eugene Powell to open for him. That would end up being Powell's last full time gig as a magician.  In 1923 Mystic Clayton wrote a book 30 pg book How To Converse With The Spirit World. Henri Wilbur died in 1945.

How to Converse with the Spirit World

How to Converse with the Spirit World

Who was Frederick Melville? He was known for an illusion called 'Moto-girl'.  In 1915, he presented a lecture/talk called 'The Diplodicus' which I believe was a talk about the dinosaur of the same name. In the Houdini Wonder Show he presented some sort of radio controlled automaton. The Motogirl illusion actually was played by a female, so I'm guessing the radio controlled automaton was also what is termed a false-automaton (it looks like a mechanical device but it controlled by a hidden accomplice).

Who was Benton? There is only one brief mention of Benton in all the articles I found on the Houdini Wonder Show. I have a feeling he was a quick fill in for someone who might have been ill. But I did track down Benton who was Professor Thomas Benton. In 1922 he was already past the age of 60 with a full head of gray hair and he had been in the magic business for 40 years. He presented magic as a master magician and could also present a marionette act as well as being and accomplished ventriloquist.

Over at WildaboutHoudini.com there is a picture of an item that Houdini gave away during one of the Wonder Shows. Check it out here.

To wrap things up, in all the research to uncover the details of The Houdini Wonder Show, I came across one little article that was about the movie The Man From Beyond that I found very interesting. The article basically said that Houdini filmed a second ending to the movie in the event that one of his stunts went bad and he died during production. Now this could just be hype, or it could be real. As Houdini survived the filming of the movie, he no doubt left the extra footage on the cutting room floor (if it existed at all). It's a fun fact about the movie, well fun trivia. Whether or not it's true we will probably never know.

#Houdini

The Spirit Handkerchief and It's History

There is a wonderful effect in magic that has found it's way into the acts of many performers called The Dancing Handkerchief. Probably the most iconic performer to present the effect was Harry Blackstone Sr., and then later his son Blackstone Jr.. Even David Copperfield made a hit out of this little wonder.  But you might be surprised just how many well known performers and hundreds of lesser knowns performed this effect.

I tried to track down the origins of the mystery, originally known as The Spirit Handkerchief. Magicpedia lists Nevil Maskelyene as the creator. I can find no reference in magic literature to Nevil Maskelyne having been the creator of the trick.

Anna Eva Fay

thought I had the answer but then a second source listed a different name. Originally, I thought that Anna Eva Fay created this mystery. She began her career as a fake spirit medium and this type of effect would have been ideal for her 'Light Seance' segment.

However, here is what I do know. In the 1870s, Anna Eva Fay was in England presenting her seances. She had encountered John Nevil Maskelyne, who was busy exposing all spirit mediums. There is a brief account of their altercation in White Magic by Jasper Maskelyne. Shortly after this Anna Eva Fay returned to America and for a time was thought to be English, though she was actually from Ohio.

So who created the Spirit Dancing Hank? Looks like the winner is Anna Eva Fay*. But I think I know why Maskelyne's name is connected to it. The Dancing Hank was often presented in conjunction with another effect which was sort of a mini-Spirit Cabinet. Two chairs were placed on stage. A sheet of glass was balanced upon the two chairs and then a small cabinet was placed upon the glass. Inside was a bell and a slate. This effect was the creation of Maskelyne.  And it may have been Frederick Eugene Powell who first presented these two together in the United States. This information comes from Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers In The Theatre by David Price.

I do know that Harry Kellar began presenting these two effects together in 1894. He called it The

Cassadaga Propaganda. And from several different accounts, his Dancing Hank routine was a big hit. It's hard to say where he got it from, though he may have seen Maskelyne present it as he was known for stealing material from the Maskelyne show.

I found an interesting article in The Linking Ring Vol 40 #8, on a lesser known magician, John Grdina. In the article it says that Grdina taught none other than Harry Blackstone Sr. the Dancing Hank and whenever Blackstone was in Cleveland, he would mention it to his audiences. Grdina, as a youth apparently saw Harry Kellar first present the effect. He later would create some kind of version of his own.

Blackstone Sr. presented the Dancing Hank so well, that he is associated with the effect. His son, Harry Jr. also made a showpiece out of the routine. Others have presented the original version including Harry Willard, John Calvert and Howard Thurston. But no one made as big a mark with it as did Harry Blackstone Sr.. Below is the video of Harry Jr. presenting the hank, exactly as his father before him had presented it. (The person who uploaded the video fast-forwards through a bit of the early section, so just ignore that.)

In the 1950s, along came Ralph Adams. He created a more elaborate version of the Dancing Hank that was different from the Blackstone version. Doug Henning later used the Ralph Adam's version in his shows for many years. Though it was still a piece of cloth becoming animated, it was a different routine from the earlier versions. Below is a shorter version of the Henning routine. Usually, Doug presented it onstage with one of his dancers.

Then in the late 1970s David Copperfield debuted a new take on this classic effect. His version was the creation of Don Wayne and it combined aspects of the original with a sort of animated 'zombie' like effect. The Don Wayne version became all the rage for a number of years. Incidentally, the Don Wayne version may have been an updated version of the Joe Karson version known as Voodoo. One reason I think the Copperfield routine became so iconic was that he created a story based routine or a vignette. The magic was an important aspect of telling the overall story.

And speaking of updating versions, the latest and most advanced version of the effect started with the Don Wayne method and flew out to the stratosphere thanks to magic creator Sean Bogunia. Sean has taken the basic effect, added multiple methods and truly brought the animated handkerchief to life in ways that no one ever thought possible. Because of his innovations, many performers present the Dancing Hank in their shows today.

I'm not certain that anyone has really gotten the notoriety with the effect that the Blackstone's did. Though Sean is sure known as Mr. Hanky these days. This is by far a complete history of the effect but it does give you a good overview of the dancing hank through the years. Others have had innovations along the way as well, like Karrel Fox and Steve Dusheck. And a multitude of performers have presented this great effect. One thing is for certain,  over 100 years later the effect of causing a bit of cloth or handkerchief to come to life and animate and dance is still an amazing and popular illusion.

*Barry Wiley, author of The Indescribable Phenomenon, a biography of Anna Eva Fay, believes that in fact it was Maskelyne who created the Dancing Hank effect. His book is extremely well researched so now I'm leaning towards Maskelyne over Anna Eva Fay.

Unknown Houdini Illusion For the 1927 Tour

While doing research earlier in the year for my Maro Project, I came upon the photo above. At the time, I didn't make the historical connection. The photo is of magician John Grdina standing with a Production Cabinet built and used by Edward Maro. He purchased the cabinet from Mrs. Maro after the death of her husband.

The photo appeared in the Linking Ring and actually has caption underneath that is incorrect. But one thing it did say was that the cabinet was sold to Houdini. Houdini was a collector, so at first I didn't think much of this other than to say it was the only connection I could find of Houdini to Maro.

But then today I discovered a very small mention of the cabinet in the May 1962 issue of MUM. In the article on John Grdina, it says "He loaned Houdini his 3-sided Maro Spirit Cabinet, which you might have seen presented had Houdini lived for another season."

I think the cabinet that Leslie Guest in the MUM article is speaking of is Maro's The Mystery of Aryan Illusion, which is the cabinet in the photo above. The cabinet above is a production box. Here is how John Grdina used it according to the Oct 1960 issue of The Linking Ring. "He opened his act by producing his wife from the cabinet after first showing it empty." In that same paragraph it says "He later sold the cabinet to Houdini."

Because of how deceptive this illusion is, it can be presented as a spirit cabinet. In fact, Maro may have presented it that way, which would explain the square fabric window in the middle of the door. Maro was known for presenting a lot of spirit effects in his shows.

I have not been able to find a photo of Houdini with the cabinet, but two different references to Houdini and the cabinet are enough for me to believe he got this for his 1927 '3 In One Show' Tour. Whether or not he purchased it or it was on loan, I don't know because there are conflicting accounts. But I do know Grdina was trying to sell it as he had placed numerous ads in magic periodicals trying to unload it. He was apparently trying to downsize his act and go to a more portable and practical type of act. Below is an ad that appeared in the Feb 1913 issue of The Sphinx.

Cool Graphic On The History of Famous Stage Illusions

Here is a very cool graphic created by Sébastien Ocana from Paris France. I had a little trouble getting the image up on my site, so I had to break it into several shorter images. I hope you like it. IF you'd like to contact Sebastien, you can reach him at sebocana75@gmail.com Here is the original link to his graphic. http://www.socana.fr/portfolio/infographie-grandes-illusions-en-magie/   This image was used with his permission.

Maro's Ghost!

 

I’ve only shared this story with one other person. Looking back, it might have been an ideal Halloween story to share. At any rate, I’ll share with you the story of my experience with Maro’s Ghost.

Back on September 19^th, I was in Leland Michigan performing at the Old Art Building, also known as the W.T. Best Theatre. I was there to present two magic shows during the day and one lecture on the Great Maro in the evening. When I had arrived one of the folks there told me the story of the ghost in the building. They jokingly wondered if it was Maro. I was even told that an outdoor video camera once captured images of mysterious orbs in the yard area one weekend. I chuckled, as I usually do at such things.

Fast forward to the afternoon performances and the first show went quite smoothly. The second show was coming up and I was busy resetting props and making sure everything was where it needed to be. Once everything was set, I looked out to see how many people were there. We held the curtain an extra minute or two to allow for more folks to come in.

At showtime I opened with one of my signature routines. A magic routine that I have been doing for well over 20 years. All was going well until near the end of the routine when something happened that never happened before. By the way, the trick was a giant version of the Linking Rings using Hula Hoops. The calamity that happened at the end of the routine was that all 4 hoops seemed to knot themselves together. I don’t know how else to describe it. They were interlocked in such a way that I couldn’t get them apart at all. I pulled and tugged and finally held them up in the clump as if that was the end. I doubt the audience knew what had happened. But in my mind I was befuddled.

After the show, I went back to the clump of hoops to figure out what had caused them to join together in such an odd fashion. But, as I picked them up, they were once again four separate hoops, not stuck together, not joined in anyway.

I have since attempted to get the hoops tied/knotted up in the same way and cannot duplicate it no matter how I try. I have a specific series of movements that are identical every time and it simply does not allow for this odd occurrence. Yet, that afternoon, something unusual did happen.

As I’ve mentioned in previous blog articles, the evening’s lecture on Maro went off without incident. Everything went perfectly. But then again, Maro was the star of that program. Do I really think it was a ghost? No. But it has left me scratching my head ever since.

I wonder if anyone read my article about Maro in the November Linking Ring? I've not seen it and would love to know how it turned out. The next episode of The Magic Detective Youtube Show will have video from Leland Michigan. And I think I've finally figured out the proper format for doing that show. The show will go up on Youtube as it has in the past and the blog will contain further information not covered on the show. And I'll include a link to the video, but I won't be embedding the video in the articles anymore. Hopefully that works out better than I've done it in the past!

Radio Interview: Houdini and the Spirits w/ The Houdini Brothers!

Ok, I say 'Houdini Brothers' jokingly, but it was great fun. John Cox and I appeared on the same show tonight, Jeff Richards: Paranormal. We were interviewed about Houdini and his Crusade Against The Spiritualists. It was a really enjoyable interview. The host did a fantastic job splitting up the questions and he came to the show knowledgeable about the subject matter. John Cox as you know runs the WildAboutHoudini.com blog site. And Dean Carnegie, well, he has a lil blog about magic history somewhere, lol.

If you missed it or weren't in Canada listening in. HERE is a link to the interview!
You'll want to pick the Nov 15th, 2015 link http://cjme.com/on-demand/jeff-richards%3A-paranormal

#HOUDINI

Hear The Magic Detective On The Air!

On Sunday, Nov15th at 8pm (cst)  yours truly, Carnegie The Magic Detective, will be interviewed on the Jeff Richards: Paranormal Radio Show out of Edmonton Canada. I'll be talking about HOUDINI. I'm looking forward to it. It will be on 650 CKOM, or 980 CJME and I've been told there will be a podcast replay, so I will be sure to post the podcast for all those not in Canada or not able to listen to the original broadcast. This is my second Canadian interview this year!

The Return of the Magic Detective Show, Again.

I can hardly believe it myself, but I shot two episodes of my Magic Detective Youtube Show yesterday. I was able to get one edited and uploaded. This is kind of 'out of format' from what I had done in season 2, but it seemed like a fun thing to explore. I had shot a very short video of me escaping from a pair of handcuffs on Halloween and received a lot of emails and comments about it. So I thought, why not do something like that for the show. I actually included that footage at the end of the episode.

The handcuff I talk about is called the Darby. I had read that it was actually Houdini who gave the cuff that name, but I don't know how true that is. I do know it was a very popular cuff having been introduced in the 1800s. Several different companies manufactured a darby cuff. They are still made today, but not really used by law enforcement. And there are a lot of cheap versions of the cuffs that are some try to sell as vintage, but they are pretty crappy reproductions.

I'm editing episode 2 now, and that will go up shortly. By the time I get to episode three I hope to get back to the format I stumbled upon last year which was recreating magic from the Victorian Era. With any luck, I'll also share some visits to magic collections in coming episodes. Let's see if I can actually get past 5 episodes this time around!!!

Blast from the Past- Tracking Houdini's Body

Back in 2012, I wrote an article about where Houdini's body went following his death. You can check it out with the link below. A lot of pictures included. Enjoy!
http://www.themagicdetective.com/2012/01/tracking-body-of-houdini.html

Wyman the Wizard's Final Resting Place

When last I wrote about Wyman the Wizard, I mentioned that I had discovered the cemetery but had yet to visit it. Then fellow Magic Detective Gary Hunt contacted me to confirm that the cemetery I discovered was indeed correct. Well, Gary has beaten me to the cemetery and recently sent me some fantastic photos of Wyman's grave.

He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River Mass. His gravestone is quite weathered as can be seen in the photo. In a few years it will be totally unreadable.

I first became interested in Wyman when I found out he lived in Washington D.C. for a period of time. He also performed for several US Presidents including Abraham Lincoln. But one of the most fascinating things about Wyman is that many magic historians from the early 20th Century credit Wyman for being the most financially successful magician of his time.

I found an unusual mention of Wyman in the Feb 1995 issue of MUM. It's from a column called 'Significant Events in Philadelphia Magic History'. Here is what it says, "July 1881, John Wyman walks out of the shop of Philadephia magic dealer Thomas Yost and says, 'You will not see me again. This is the last of Wyman.' Several days later on July 28th, Wyman dies."  The original quote came from an article by Frederick Eugene Powell that appeared in the August 1927 issue of The Sphinx. According to Powell, Wyman was not ill at the time, but apparently had some sort of premonition that his end was near, and it was.

Incidentally, Gary Hunt pointed out to me that John Wyman is buried with his wife Jane Wyman who appeared early on as a magician along with her husband. In fact, she received top billing as The Enchantress or Lady Magician and he performed as a Ventriloquist. Magic history never ceases to amaze me and continues to deliver incredible treasures of information!

Big Thanks go out to Gary Hunt for providing the grave photos!

 

National Magic Week Is Upon Us

Today begins National Magic Week. This is an annual thing started by The Society of American Magicians. It honors one of their past Illustrious Presidents Harry Houdini. Houdini served as President of the organization from 1917 to 1926. Houdini's grave actually has a plaque on it that reads M-I President 1917-1927. He was elected for the 1926-27 year, but died on Oct 31st of 1926.

And speaking of Oct 31st, we know it as Halloween. But it's also National Magic DAY! Though this is an annual tradition started by the S.A.M., magicians all over the globe perform magic shows on this day and during this week. It's a great time to see LIVE magic!

For me personally, I've not had much time to work on this blog due to my very busy performing schedule. This month alone I have almost 50 performances. On Saturday October 31st, I have two, which I'm very happy about. Though, I would rather be at the Annual Houdini Seance in San Francisco, but, oddly, I never got an invitation. But many friends will be there enjoying the event and who knows, maybe this year is the year Houdini will return!

For those wishing to find out more about Houdini's last days, here is a link to an article I wrote a couple years ago that describes the route of his final Tour. Enjoy!

Watch for MORE Magic News/History This week!

The Grim Game - Review

I've now officially seen The Grim Game. Actually now I've watched it three times. What an interesting movie. It's always exciting seeing Houdini in action. And it's even better seeing so many of the iconic photos of him come to life. For example, I never realized that the image of him in a straitjacket on the ledge of a building was actually from this movie. It's always been an incredible photo but now I've watched the whole scene.

As a silent film, I really enjoyed The Grim Game. Some of the story descriptions however seem a bit off to me. The IMDb website says "Jailed unjustly for a murder he did not commit, a young man uses his amazing powers of escape to free himself and pursue the actual killers, who hold his fiancée captive." While this is somewhat true, the facts of how he was jailed are quite different.

Houdini plays a character called Harvey Hanford who is the star reporter for The Daily Call Newspaper. The newspaper is struggling financially, and Hanford concocts a fake story idea to drum up some interest in the paper. But along the way, his plot goes horribly wrong and the three fellows who are in co-hoots with him, basically double cross him. Part of Hanford's plan was to end up in jail and later be exhonerated. But his three accomplices realize it's a great opportunity for each of them to take advantage of the situation and pin the blame on Hanford.

There is a lot of action in this movie. Houdini does a lot of escapes in the movie too. Early in the film, some of his fellow reporters handcuff him while he is napping in the newsroom. He wakes suddenly to find himself confined, but he frees himself to their astonishment. Later in the movie he does another multi-handcuff escape and in addition frees himself from a jail cell by scaling down the wall. No safety line for ole Houdini, he's doing all his own stunts and they're quite amazing.

The one stunt he does not do is the mid-air exchange between the two airplanes. But having watched the scene and realizing that these are propeller driven planes, whoever that stuntman was, sure was brave (or crazy). The mid-air collision of the two planes was an accident that was captured on film and later incorporated into the story.

There were a few moments in the movie I especially liked. There is a scene where the  security guard for the Cameron Estate shows up with a shotgun and corner's Houdini. Then Houdini with his hands up, has a pistol pop out of his sleeve and he overtakes the guard. Pretty cool bit of sleight of gun there.

Another scene that I got a kick out of is later in the film where Houdini takes a sword away from a fellow while they're fighting and Houdini throws the sword across the room which impales itself into a wall, right next to the face of a woman. Pretty startling little effect there.

Seeing Houdini though do his escapes is the best part of the film, and these include: handcuffs, jails, straitjackets and ropes. I also enjoyed the playful quality Houdini shows on film which is quite different from the often super serious images of him in photographs. It helps to make Houdini more human. I frankly thought Houdini was a fine actor, in fact, better than the other males in the film who were prone to a lot of over-acting. Houdini came across quite natural and believable.

If you've not seen The Grim Game, you should watch for a reply by TCM. I enjoyed the second showing of the movie with the alternative soundtrack. The music fit the action much better whereas in the other score the soundtrack became repetitive and at some points worked against the movie.

The Grim Game, two thumbs up from me!

By the way, it was very cool seeing John Cox-Wild About Houdini mentioned in the Special Thanks column. Also, was glad to Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich were mentioned during both showings on TCM and they also make it into the Special Thanks credits as The Houdini Museum!

Houdini the Movie Star Debuts on TCM Tonight!

How ironic is it that almost 100 years later, Houdini would be making a movie debut on television. His recently rescued and restored movie The Grim Game airs tonight on Turner Classic Movies(TCM). The story of how it was recovered and restored has been covered many times and on many websites. And, it has been shown to probably thousands of people now. It first made it's debut at the TCM Movie Festival earlier in the year. Then it was shown in various locations across the country.

A lot of magicians have seen the movie at this point, because it was shown at a major magic

convention. I however, being the recluse that I am, have not seen it. Actually, I haven't seen it mainly because my performing schedule this year has not allowed me the free time to venture out and see it. I came really close a few months ago when Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich had a showing in Pennsylvania, but even that I was unable to swing. So, for me, the Magic Detective, I'll be seeing The Grim Game for the first time ever! It's pretty wild too considering one of my all time favorite Houdini posters, was actually a poster for this movie. Years ago there was a book called The World's Greatest Magicians by Hyla Clark, and within the chapter on Houdini, was this incredible full color poster of Houdini in a straitjacket, hanging upside down from a building. The colors and imagery were captivating and still are. (see image below)

Now, tonight, everyone who has access to TCM has the opportunity to see Houdini at his best. Many reviews that I've read point out that this was by far Houdini's best movie. And others make a point of saying that Houdini was actually a very good actor, contrary to what some have said about his other movies. To me, it doesn't really matter. All that matters is this chance to see Houdini in action. The mind conjures up so many images of what a person could be like when you read books about them, but to see them captured on film it adds another dimension. Yes, I have seen the other Houdini movies, and I enjoyed them all. But THIS movie, The Grim Game was the one I always wanted to see and precious little remained of it, until now.

Who do we have to thank for all this? Larry Weeks for holding on to the only surviving copy of the movie all these many years. Dick and Dorothy of the Houdini Museum for their tireless work in getting this movie back out to the public. Without their efforts, it's possible we would never see the movie. Rick Schmidlin, the restoration producer, and TCM for all their efforts behind the scenes and for bringing the movie to national prominence. There are others to thank as well, like ALL the Houdini blog writers who wrote stories of this movie and have continued to promote Houdini so many years after he passed on. And all the Houdini fans that continue to keep his spirit alive!
Thank you all!

Oct 18th, 8pm and 11:45 pm on TCM, Turner Classic Movies. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/496393/The-Grim-Game/#

UPDATE: I can now officially say I've seen The Grim Game. Wow! What an enjoyable flicker. And the music score that some have said is repetitive, is SO REPETITIVE! Whoa! Now the next showing at 11:45pm will have a different score, so I'm going to set the DVR to record that one and watch it tomorrow. I'll put up my review of the movie once I watch the other version.

 

#HoudiniEffect #Houdini #TheGrimGame

Some Grim News, But It's All Good

Sunday Night, TCM will be airing for the first time EVER, Houdini's greatest movie The Grim Game. You will be witnessing history in more ways than one. Of course, the first showing on TV is history making in itself. From what I understand the first showing at 8pm will have the same score used in the previous viewings of the movie this year. That score was done by Brane Zivkovic under the supervision of Rick Schmidlin, the restoration producer. However, the second viewing at 11:45pm, will contain a new score done by Steve Sterner. Mr. Sterner is known as The Piano Man of the Silent Screen. Why? Read on.

Apparently, the one complaint with the early viewings, was that the score of the movie was a bit repetitive. This was first brought up by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks during an early version of the restoration. They made suggestions but apparently were ignored.

During the original showing in Hollywood, the praise for the movie was universal, and the one negative point was the repetitive score, which most agreed was very good at times, but needed more to it. So now, on October 18th, you get a chance to hear the first score at 8pm and then the newer score at 11:45pm. Set your DVRs it's going to be one great night for HOUDINI!

There was a lot more drama that went on behind the scenes while trying to get this movie restored. To read more about what went on, check out what Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich had to say. They were instrumental in getting this movie out to the public and frankly, we would likely not be watching it at all if it were not for their efforts. They have done an incredible amount of fantastic work keeping HOUDINI's name alive and thriving into the 21st Century!

Different Le Grand David Poster

I just stumbled upon this new poster from the Le Grand David Magic Show online. Actually, it's not NEW as in it just came out. It's new as in, I've not seen it before. I'm pretty familiar with all the artwork done by the company. Most, including this one, were painted by Rick Heath.

The one thing that comes to mind when I see this painting, what a loss the magic world has felt since Le Grand David has closed it's doors. One of the grandest shows to ever grace the stage.

The Maro Adventure Completed

I finally returned from my trip to Michigan to perform and lecture. The performances were at the W.T. Best Theatre, also known as The Old Art Building in Leland Michigan. The lecture I presented was on the Life and Magic of Walter Truman Best, better known as MARO Prince of Magic.

Why, you might ask did I present a lecture on some obscure magician? Well, it turns out, Maro lived in the town of Leland in the early 1900s. His home still stands there to this day. In fact, his home is for sale for a whopping $4.5. million dollars! The Historical Society and the Leelanau Community Cultural Center were aware of Maro's connection to the area and I was contacted to come and lecture and share some magic.

The shows were great fun. The stage is not very large, nor is the theatre, but given that the building is close to 100 years old, it had a very unique feeling to it. Like stepping back in time to be truthful. I presented mostly modern routines during my two afternoon shows. Interestingly, even though I was 800 miles from home, I met two people from my area who were in attendance at the earlier shows. Small world!
I also have an odd feeling that the place may just be haunted. Why do I say that? Well, my second show had two mishaps. One during a routine that NEVER EVER EVER has given me trouble. Somehow a string from who knows where got twisted into a prop and made it impossible to function. Later in the show something else went south on me. Again, stuff that never ever happens and it happened twice in the same show.  It made me somewhat apprehensive about the evening lecture.

The evening lecture is something I had been working on for months. It began with tons of research into this fellow Maro, who I had only known of because of his posters. I dug up a lot of information from quite a few sources. After compiling all the historical facts, I had to put it together so that a lay audience could understand and appreciate it. Let's face it, magicians who are into magic history would eat this stuff up. But lay people, that's another story.

I decided to include a number of Maro's routines in the lecture. First up was Maro's Slate Trick which I found in an old issue of The Sphinx. I combined it with the Spirit Dial, an effect popular among Victorian Era Magicians. I actually combined the Maro Slates with the Spirit Dial into an effect that was quite entertaining and mysterious.

The big effect I had planned for the lecture did not come to be. I had wanted to present The Flags of All Nations, a staple of Maro's show. However, the Flags I obtained began to disintegrate as I worked with them. Perhaps sometime down the road I can get them remade/restored but it didn't happen this time around. Instead the big feature was my Hand Shadow Act. It lasted just over a minute long, probably much shorter than Maro's actual routine. I think my version gave the 21st Century audience who was watching enough entertainment and got the point across as to the various things that can be done with hand shadows without going too long with it. Maro's ghost did not show up during the lecture at all.  I had the distinct feeling that he was sitting in the back watching and smiling. The audience of non-magicians thouroughly enjoyed the lecture, magic and power point presentation. Many came up to me after and shared their connection to Maro, Maro's home, or some of the magicians who performed in Leland after Maro died in 1908.


I will be doing a more complete write-up of my trip and of Maro for a magic magazine. Once that article is finished, I'll let you know where to check it out. Oh, and I took some video footage that I will edit soon for an upcoming episode of The Magic Detective Youtube Show. Yes, it's coming back!

Historical Display created by Kim Kelderhouse of the Leelanau Historical Society

A True Magical House for Sale

In the past I shared pictures of a number of famous magicians homes. But there is one that I was not aware of until recently. The house was built for Edward Maro, The GREAT MARO and is located in Leland Michigan. It's sits on the shores of North Lake Leelanau and it's breathtaking to say the least.

With any luck, I'll get to see the house in a few weeks as I'm traveling to Michigan to perform in a theatre named after Maro. In fact, I'll be presenting a lecture on Maro while I'm in town as well as doing two shows.

Once the lecture is done, I'll do a nice bio piece on Maro for the blog and hopefully will have a new episode of The Magic Detective Youtube Show to debut.

By the way, the house, dubbed Maronook, after the Great Maro, is for sale. The listing is here,
https://www.coldwellbanker.com/property/320-E-Hywood-Lane-Leland-MI-49654-MLS-1804279

Norman Bigelow has passed.

It's tough when we loose people in magic and it's tougher when they're friends. Yesterday, the magic and escape worlds lost Norman Bigelow. Norm was born August 12th 1944. His real name was Henry Hebert and he later changed it after being adopted. Norm was an apprentice to Frank Renaud who performed professionally as The Great Reno.

Norm was a big fan of Houdini and studied his career inside and out. He had many theories about Houdini's life, some of which were thought to be controversial, but Norm always stood by his opinions. I believe he broke new ground in a number of areas on Houdini and we all owe him a debt of gratitude.

Besides being a student of Houdini and Reno, Norm was an accomplished escape artist. He was also very creative in his field. He gave rise to the 'full view picking' technique which today seems to be the standard used by many escapists.

Norman Bigelow passed away at home on Sunday August 16th 2015 after a long battle with illness. As his wife Janet said, "he was home where he wanted to be."

Norman and I shared many emails and ideas and stories together. He was always an exceptionally creative individual. I was honored when he would email me about history questions, though I'm sure Norm has forgotten more than I will ever know. He was one of a kind, a superb individual and an escape artist of the highest order.

Here is the link to the obituary from the funeral home. http://www.rickerfh.com/sitemaker/sites/Ricker1/obit.cgi?user=37805811_NBigelowSr

The Great Lee Grabel Has Passed

Lee Grabel, one of the magicians in the Royal Dynasty of Magic has died. He passed away July 27th, 2015 at his home. Lee Grabel was to receive the Mantle of Magic from Dante, but Dante died suddenly before an officially ceremony could take place. Because, he was the only one Dante was considering, the Mantle still went to Grabel. Lee passed the Mantle of Magic on to Lance Burton in 1994.

His life story was covered in the wonderful book, The Magic and Illusions of Lee Grabel by Ormond McGill. One thing I would like to mention, Lee Grabel retired from magic in 1959. Having seen him in his later years and still a commanding presence, I personally wish he had continued on all those many years as his magic was wonderful.

I'll have a longer biographer at a later time. For now if you'd like to read more about Lee, please visit his website http://www.leegrabelmagic.com/index.html

A Cool Houdini Connection and The Official Houdini Seance 2015

Imagine going through life and hearing from relatives that you're related to Houdini or someone close to Houdini. That was the situation Robert Strong was in. He had heard from relatives that there was some family connection to Houdini, but no one was quite sure what the connection was. Robert thought he might be related to Jacob Hyman and Joe Hayman. So the search was on earlier this year to discover that branch of his family tree.

He was surprised to find out that it was not the Haymans but rather Sidney Radner who he was related

to! The man who owned the bulk of Houdini props for so many years having purchased and/or acquired them from Houdini's brother Hardeen. Too bad Robert didn't know this before Sid auctioned everything off.

I should mention that Robert Strong is a very busy full time professional magician from Maryland. He currently lives in San Francisco, but travels all over the country presenting his unique brand of comedy magic.

Once Robert found out he was related to the Radners he contacted Sidney's son and a new door opened. Robert is helping out with the Official Houdini Seance this year. Plans are in place for the event to take place in San Francisco at the Brava Theater. There are new websites set up for this event, one of them being a Kickstarter Campaign, though that page is not yet live.

You'll want to be sure to LIKE the Facebook page by going here https://www.facebook.com/houdiniseance

Check out the official webpage for the event here http://www.houdini-seance.com/   (The site is still under construction, so you'll want to check it out from time to time to see the progress)

Finally, the Kickstarter page is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/radicalphysics/236293987?token=744b6390

AND to learn more about Robert Strong, http://strongentertainment.com/

BREAKING: TCM WILL AIR 'THE GRIM GAME' ON OCTOBER ...

This comes from John Cox over at WildAboutHoudini.com Exciting News!!!WILD ABOUT HARRY: BREAKING: TCM WILL AIR 'THE GRIM GAME' ON OCTOBER ...: "I'm on my way!" Here's the news we've all been waiting for! TCM will air their restoration of Houdini's The...

Another Book Update and More

The Conjuring Arts Research Library every summer for the last 3 years has had a special FREE book download. They offer a different book each week to download in pdf format. Many of these are hard to get and all are out of print. This week they have Prof. Hoffmann's MORE MAGIC. You can still find this volume from time to time on ebay, but here is a chance to get it for free! Just visit the following link this week http://shop.conjuringarts.org/store/pc/FREE-More-Magic-PDF-by-Professor-Hoffmann-127p1218.htm#.VaMSR0WpNWY
In addition they have a number of 50% off deals as well so be sure to stop by their site and check out what they have to offer.

Next is a surprise catalog by Potter and Potter Auctions. It's for the Magic LIVE Auction which takes place in Las Vegas on August 12th. Unfortunately for me, I won't be attending this year and this auction, unlike their others, won't be open to online bidding. Still, the catalog has great images and who knows, it might inspire you to head to Vegas!

To download the catalog or order a printed version, go here: http://www.potterauctions.com/auctions/upcoming

It Must Be Book Month, Another GREAT DEAL

I just saw over on Chuck Romano's website that he found 'a stash' of his great book on Paul Rosini called HOUSE OF CARDS-The Life and Magic of Paul Rosini. This book is a real gem. The first 101 pages is the biography of Paul Rosini. The next 100+ pages is the magic of Rosini. What's great about this is you really get to understand him as a performer through his choice of material. And then as an added bonus there is a reprint of Paul Rosini's Magical Gems by Rufus Steele, which runs about 67 pages. A total of 320 pages on the incredible Paul Rosini.

I paid $35 for the book when it first came out. Chuck is selling these for $17. Get them while you can! Click the link above to head over the Chuck's site!

Incredible Hofzinser Deal-Act Now!

I just found out about this and sadly, you've only got a few hours to act before the sale is over. Hocus Pocus, the online magic dealer is having a 24 hour sale, which ends tomorrow at noon on the two incredible Hofzinser Books by Magic Christian.

These normally retail for $299.95, but during their 24 hour sale, which ends noon July 10th, you can grab these two books for $149.95. That is 50% off and these books are fantastic.

Volume 1 is Non Plus Ultra -Magic of the 19th Century
Volume 2 is Non Plus Ultra- Hofzinser's Card Artistry

If you're interested, go here to read the review I wrote of these books back in Feb of 2014. http://www.themagicdetective.com/2014/02/the-ultimate-hofzinser-books-review.html

If you don't  have these books, you should jump on the chance to get these 2 volumes at half price!

Harry Cooke's Grave

I've been doing some research on Horatio Cooke recently. He has quite the life story which I covered briefly in an earlier blog article. I was rereading the magazine article that Mark Cannon wrote for the MUM back in April 2006. The article was incredible and it ended with Mark discussing the difficulty he had trying to locate the grave of Harry Cooke. He eventually discovered it with the help of magic historian, Diego Domingo. There is a great photo in the magazine of Mark kneeling in front of the grave.

I realized that I never included Harry Cooke in my The DeadConjurers blog. So I went online and found another photo in Find-A-Grave.com. The photo owner Don Lynch kindly gave me permission to use the photo that he took of the grave. Thanks Don!

But I also found something else of interest. I found the photo of a grave belonging to 'The Infants of HG Cooke and LM Cooke' in Illinois. I'm 99% sure this grave belongs to two children of Harry and Louisa. They lived in Illinois before moving out west to California. It's likely these two children died in childbirth.

Harry Cooke and his wife are buried in Rosedale Cemetery in Los Angeles, the same cemetery where Harry Kellar is buried. Incidentally, they were good friends.

Photo used with permission of Don Lynch

In Search of Maro, Prince of Magic

I'm currently working on a special project about The Great Maro. His real name was Walter Truman Best and he was a popular Chataqua and Lyceum performer. He died in 1908 at the young age of 39. But before he died he made connections with a number of interesting characters from the world of magic. These include A.M. Wilson, Silent Mora, Eugene Laurant, J. Elder Blackledge, Karl Germain and Harry Kellar.

His life story is fascinating. Digging up information on him has been exciting, thrilling, difficult at times, and yet really enjoyable. I'm attempting to put together a recreation of part of his act. A previous article I wrote about The Flags of All Nations was actually part of the act I'm working on. And just today I got the inside work to his Meteoric Ribbon Routine.

I'm wondering if anyone out there has information on Maro, or even props and such you'd be willing to share for my project. I'd like to have a powerpoint presentation and if I could have photos of his actual props, that would be so incredible. Anyone with any Maro knowledge, please contact me!
carnegiemagic@me.com

Once the project is complete, I'll post an article about the life of Maro here, and I'll probably begin another season of The Magic Detective Youtube Show with a longer episode about Maro.

Magic Poster Exhibition in Germany

I just received an email from Wittus Witt in Germany notifying me of an exhibition he has of Barkow and Friedlander Posters. The exhibition is at Gallerie-W in Hamburg and runs from June 21 to August 31st, 2015. The hours they are open are Wed-Friday 2pm-6pm and Sunday 12-6pm.

The exhibition is dedicated to two printers, Barkow and Friedlander and the majority of posters appear to be those of Kassner. There are also some pieces of Dante's memorabilia on display as well. Dante performed for quite a long time in Europe before being forced to return to the United States due to the outbreak of war.

The poster on the left is Kassner 'Out of a Trunk' and is actually from my own collection. Please forgive the poor quality of the image as I took it from an older photograph I had of my old studio. Currently, the Kassner poster, along with most of my posters, is in storage.

However, this is not about my collection but rather, Wittus Witt's collection, which you can see if you are in Hamburg this summer. OR, if you're not, you can view the video below and get a good glimpse of the treasures in his collection. By the way, the website for this is http://www.galerie-we.de/