Robert Heller RETURNS

I just heard from the folks at the Mt. Moriah Cemetery in Philadelphia and they sent me the above photo! The grave of Robert Heller/William Henry Palmer has been found and is now standing. This is from The Haunt at Mt. Moriah, their FB page is https://www.facebook.com/mountmoriahhaunt

The grave was first discovered by Harry Houdini, who is seen in the photo on the left. And various others have uncovered the grave since that time. But neglect and abandonment of the cemetery caused the entire grounds to become overgrown and some areas impossible to reach. The Heller grave area was one of those.

Imagine my surprise to get the photo at the top of the page sent to me. I thanked them and sent a message asking for permission to use the photo here, but I didn't hear back and then it occurred to me that many they don't answer messages due to sheer volume. So I'm using the photo and given them full credit and my hats off to all the folks who have worked so hard at this cemetery and than you for uncovering Robert Heller's Grave!

Remembering Cesareo

It was two years ago today (March 24) that Cesareo Pelaez passed away. He was 79 and had been suffering from congestive heart failure as well as the after effects of a stroke. Two years ago, I wrote the obit for Cesareo in Genii Magazine. I'm reprinting that piece below.

Cesareo Pelaez

 

Cesareo Pelaez passed away at 3 a.m. on March 24^th, 2012. He was a real wizard for his magic transcended tricks. He dared to dream things that few others even had the courage to imagine, and his dreams became reality.

He was born October 16^th, 1932 in Santa Clara, Cuba. As a boy his father took him to see many of the traveling theatrical shows that would visit the island. Among the magicians young Cesareo saw were David Bamberg/Fu Manchu, Richardi Sr. and Jr., and others. These grand productions had a profound effect on Cesareo and they would later become the inspiration for his ultimate theatrical dream, a resident magic company.

In the 1960s, after having studied education and psychology in Cuba, he fled his homeland as Castro’s grip took hold. He escaped disguised as a Priest and would up in Columbia first before coming to the United States. He would eventually become a professor of psychology at Salem State College after having studied with Abraham Maslow.

But for the magic world things really began in the 1970s as Cesareo started to gather the people who would eventually become the founding members of a resident theatrical magic company. Together, they purchased the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre in Beverly Mass, and worked night and day to get it ready for their new production.

On February 20^th, 1977, the first performance of Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company hit the stage. A 2 hour show of stage magic presented in a manner that hadn’t been seen since the early part of the 20^th Century. Lavish costumes, intricately decorated props, beautiful scenery and a cast of thirty people would become the hallmark of their unique brand of magic. The costumes, scenery and most of the props were built, sewn and created by the members of the company under Cesareo’s direction.

Cesareo’s role in the adventure was as leader and director. He chose the character name Marco the Magi, but allowed his young apprentice, David Bull, to get the larger billing.

The show grew in size and scope. At one time they had as many as 60 members in their company.

The magic world took notice of what was going on in this small town and began writing articles about Cesareo and the company. Even TIME Magazine wrote a two-page article about them. By 1984, the Cabot St. Theatre was in full bloom showing movies Monday through Saturday and presenting the Le Grand David Show on Sundays. Now it was time for Cesareo to approach the members of his company with another idea, purchasing a second theatre. The Larcom Theatre was a few blocks away and was originally built by the same people who build the Cabot.

This time professionals largely did the restoration of this theatre, though the decorative work was done in-house. On June 4, 1985 “Le Grand David In Concert” opened at the Larcom. This show had a charm and elegance all it’s own and an achievement that made this group seem unstoppable.

Cesareo kept his full time position as Psychology Professor at Salem State College during this entire time. He had guided the restoration of two theatres, directed two different theatrical magic shows, helped design countless posters and artwork to promote the shows, and was involved in an untold amount of details that many of us will never know. If that wasn’t enough, in 1985, Cesareo was elected President of The Society of American Magicians. Any one of these achievements would be enough for a single individual, but Cesareo’s motivation was different. To him, it was about realizing one’s full potential and about helping others discover abilities they never knew they had. In this way, his efforts were more a labor of love for life and his fellow man, than they were for show business.

In 2005, Cesareo suffered a stroke. He had also been diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He did return to the stage briefly, but the illnesses eventually forced him to be a spectator to the shows he helped create. Though he was unable to perform, he never stopped guiding, directing and inspiring his friends and fellow cast members.

Cesareo Pelaez approached all aspects of life with passion, enthusiasm and dedication. He was the consummate teacher demonstrating by the way he lived what heights we could reach if we tried. His life was a testament to the idea that nothing is impossible.

Happy 140th Birthday Harry Houdini

Today, March 24th, 2014, marks the 140th Anniversary of the birth of Ehrich Weiss, better known to the world as Harry Houdini. I'm sure, as his mother was giving birth to young Ehrich in Budapest, she had no idea that her son would become world famous, and his fame would grow even larger after his death.

You'd think that everything that could be written about Houdini has already been covered. But that has proven to be false. New insights and revelations of the Master Mystifier come to light almost every week. Just look at all the Houdini sites listed to the right of this article, along with all the articles I've written on Houdini and you'll see that he is a never ending fountain of information and entertainment.

I think his most amazing feat is his longevity. Sure, the Milk Can was incredible, the Water Torture Cell was awe inspiring, the hanging Strait jacket escape was a thing of genius but all of those have been done by lesser performers (no offense intended). Houdini had something that very few acts ever get, historical timing. The other act that probably can also claim historical timing is a little band called The Beatles. Houdini came along as we moved out of the Victorian era into a Brave New World of industry and technology. The Beatles came along while the world was a fairly innocent place and as the Vietnam War dragged on and the culture changed, the Beatles were there at that same moment in time. Trust me, no one will know who Justin Bieber is in 100 years, but they'll still know Houdini and they'll still be listening to the Beatles.

Houdini has passed the point of being a celebrity and now has moved into the status of legend. His feats seem so wild and crazy that some people are not sure if he was a real person or just a creation of fiction or of Hollywood. Houdini helped to add fuel to that fire while he was alive by embellishing some of his achievements. But in retrospect, he didn't have to. He was extremely fascinating even without the pomp and circumstance.

The Magic Detective & Mandala Magazine and More

I just found out yesterday that back in 2012, Mandala Magic Magazine had an article about HOUDINI and in the article they spent a little time talking about THIS blog. They also discussed John Cox's Blog and Kevin Connolly's blog as well. It was a pleasant surprise and the article itself was posted to another website by the original author of the piece, so you can read it here.

Also, coincidentally, yesterday was my first introduction to the Mandala Magazine itself, even before I found out about the earlier article. I found out they had done an rather extensive interview with David Bull of Le Grand David and also interviewed Rick Heath and Ellen Sheehan from the show as well. It is a FANTASTIC article which shares some insights on the last few years of the show, the death of Cesareo and how it affected the cast and the reasons why the show closed and what is going on currently and what the future holds.

The issue can be found in the 'past issues Volume 4'.  If you are interested in checking it out click the link, the issue costs $5.95 and is digital, so they will send you a link to download it.

The Mandala Magazine is a product of and owned by Shawn McMaster.

Houdini And Samri Baldwin

The photo above is Samri Baldwin and Harry Houdini. Baldwin was born Samuel Baldwin in Cincinnati OH in 1848. He performed professional as The White Mahatma. Samri is credited with taking the question and answer techniques used by mediums and applying them to magic and mentalism. His techniques are still used today.

I'm not sure, but I might have stumbled upon a discovery*.  I believe it was in Jim Steinmeyer's book about Howard Thurston where I read that Samri Baldwin in 1921 had a small spot in the Thurston Show. Baldwin had brought along with him a trunk full of treasures he had collected over the course of his career and life. They were to be a gift to Howard Thurston. But there was a problem, the two did not get along. So much for that gift! I kind of assumed at that point that Baldwin probably gave or bequeathed the trunk to his daughter Blanche Baldwin, though I had no real proof either way.

Well, yesterday I'm looking through some of the scrapbooks in the Harry Ransom Houdini Collection and what should pop up? A scrapbook belonging to S.S. and Kittie Baldwin! Now this is not the trunk full of treasures that was mentioned in the Thurston book, but I bet it was part of that trunk!

As it turns out, my discovery, or what I thought was a discovery falls flat near the end. Samri Baldwin did not give the scrapbook to Houdini. His daughter gave the book to Houdini, as can be seen by the inscription in the front. Samri died March 10th, 1924 and on April 21st, the book was sent to Houdini. So the trunk of treasures remained with the family with the exception of this scrapbook. Or maybe she gave them to someone else? Where the trunk of treasures ended up is anyone's guess.

*Turns out this 'discovery' has been made before. And as is mentioned in the comments below, was also revealed in the book 'Metamorphosis' by Bruce MacNab. The only unique thing that I did was make the connection of the book to the trunk of memorabilia mentioned in the Thurston book by Jim Steinmeyer, but his is only a guess on my part.

For MORE on Samri Baldwin Listen to my podcast http://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/samuel-spenser-baldwin-pioneer-clairvoyant/