Forget the Movie for a Moment, The History Channel Stumbled On Something Bigger!

I still am shocked this slipped by me. But now that it's over and I've had a chance to look at the 'home
marketing' efforts used by the History Channel, I realize that they stumbled upon a stroke of genius.
Let me explain. The History Channel had some sort of contest which culminated in a Viewing Party for the new HOUDINI Miniseries. Those who participated received a packet of pretty cool stuff,  in the words of John Cox, "The party pack included a DVD of Night One, a poster, coasters, a Houdini cocktail shaker, a red carpet, and other nifty Houdini tie-in swag."

So basically, they had a HOUDINI PARTY and the highlight was the movie. Great Idea. My question is, WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT????? Here magicians have been doing a few scattered Seances once a year for the past 50+ years. Why don't we have a HOUDINI PARTY and really do it up?!!!

I propose that we (the magic community) start having Houdini Parties either the week of Halloween or the week after. The reason I say the week after is due to the fact that a lot of magicians may be doing gigs during the week of Halloween. I'm going to blatantly steal ideas from this Houdini House Party event, because they are so good. Party Favors should include big handlebar mustaches, handcuffs, or similar restraint devices, bowlers and top hats. If you really wanted to do it up right, everyone should come in period costume. Cosplay, which is an abbreviation for Costume Play, is HUGE right now and the Victorian Era, thanks to Steampunk, is equally huge. There are places you can go to find the perfect costumes. And hey, why not come as your favorite period magicians, like Kellar, Herrmann, Blackstone, Malini, Hardeen, Houdini and others. How cool would that be? If nothing else, the guys should have some sort of period hat, and the ladies can wear period hats or bowlers and top hats too! It would be up to those organizing it.

The highlight of the night doesn't have to be a movie, though it could be. Or it could be a show put on by some of the magicians. And I wouldn't make this a magicians only event. Wives, Girlfriends, Family, Neighbors should all participate. Spread the 'Magic Good Will' or the 'Houdini Good Will'!

I'll tell you something I did years ago with the local SAM Assembly. We had a Handcuff Escape Contest. I supplied the cuffs, many different varieties and I put out a bowl of assorted keys. The first one to find the right key and escape won a prize. It was a big hit. Something else you could do is take a page out of the Tony Curtis Movie and have a Straitjacket Escape Contest with a prize going to the first one to get free!!!! (be careful with this one that no one falls over and gets hurt....watch the movie again to get an idea of what can potentially happen)

I really think this is a better way to keep the spirit of Houdini alive, better than a Seance. Let's face reality, Houdini ain't coming back. He had his chance and he's obviously either doesn't want too or he's all tied up. :)  So why not have fun, celebrate, share some magic and then watch a Houdini movie or put on a show.

What do you think? I would really like some comments on this one!

I think I'm going to put together a downloadable brochure on this with ideas and tips and sites you can go visit to find costumes, hats, and other fun stuff. Please send me your ideas, but I'm also going to proceed with this right now and add suggestions along the way.


By the way,  to see all the various articles on the 30 Days of Houdini, go here, http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/30%20days

The Movie Isn't Out Yet, But Look At This!!!!

I will say that the folks doing the Houdini-Miniseries sure have their marketing caps on straight. They are tackling this thing with a targeted precision that Houdini would be proud of. I do think they've dropped the ball in a few areas, but I could be wrong about that because there are still a few days before the movie airs.

The DVD is already available for pre-orders on the History website. I have a sneaking feeling this movie is going to do wonders for boosting the numbers of young folks interested in magic. I hope the magic clubs are ready for the influx of young people. In fact, every magic club in the country should be actively promoting their club in the hope of pulling in new members. This is the ideal recruiting tool.

The Latest Movie Houdini

The latest actor to play the part of Houdini is Adrien Brody. Mr. Brody was born April 14, 1973 in Queens, NY. His mother was Hungarian and Jewish, so here is a connection that Adrien has to Houdini. Also, both the real Houdini and the movie Houdini are both Aries.

Adrien's interest in magic began as a kid. I'm not sure what the inspiration was to get into magic, but he actually presented magic shows at children's birthday parties as The Amazing Adrien. That's a tough one because I don't think Houdini ever did birthday parties.....but they both were into magic!!!

At about the age of 11 Adrien attended the prestigious Tannen's Magic Camp. Other past notables who attended the camp include Television Sensation David Blaine, The Prolific and Talented Joshua Jay and the Millionaire's Magician, Steve Cohen. The Camp has been running every summer since 1974 and brings in 130 students every summer to learn about magic. Someone on Facebook mentioned that Adrien was a big fan of Johnny Ace Palmer from back in his Magic Camp days and ran into him at a gig. Imagine having an Oscar Winning Actor as your biggest fan!

There are other connections to Houdini. In 2008, Adrien Brody starred in a movie called The Brothers Bloom with Mark Ruffalo. Mark played Theo Hardeen in the TNT Movie HOUDINI back in 1998. By he way, the co-star in The Brothers Bloom was Rachel Weisz who is reported to be an ancestor of the real Houdini.


The first time I recall hearing about Adrien Brody being into magic was during the promotional tour for his movie The Pianist. Apparently, he claimed that the dexterity he developed during his magic show days came in handy when having to learn to play the piano for that movie.

Monday on The Today Show, Brody even demonstrated a piece of magic. An impromptu stunt of taking a dollar bill and breaking a pencil with it....proving that a simple trick well executed goes over well on TV. Watch this interview and at the end Brody does his magic! By the way, take a look at the background animations on the set, the name HOUDINI appears in the background numerous times with chains and locks under the name that are swaying back and forth. Very cool! 

Houdini Bronze on EBAY NOW!

On ebay right now, is this bronze statue of Houdini created by Jack Taves. It is 7.5 inches tall and weighs 2.5 lbs. I remember when these first hit the market back in the late 1990s. I failed to get one back then. But I just got one and I am very happy. Another one is available on ebay right now. There is still a little over 4 days left on the auction, so get it while you can!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/one-of-a-kind-bronze-statue-of-HOUDINI-/321502858724?pt=Art_Sculpture&hash=item4adb104de4

Another Look At Houdini's Needles

I recently wrote a short piece in which I mentioned Houdini and his Needle Trick. However, today, I came across a curious reference that sort of throws a wrench into the origins of the trick. And yet, it could very well be, that the person who came forward with the information is full of it. Which is it? Read on...

In the book, Of Legierdermaine and Diverse Juggling Knacks by John Braun & Ken Klosterman, there is an interesting story related about Houdini and who taught the Needle Trick to him. The story came from Dai Vernon and he related the story of meeting a gentleman by the name of Howard Hall. Mr. Hall was a play director and script writer and actor. He told Vernon that he taught the Needle Swallowing trick to Houdini and he claims Houdini had a heck of a time learning it. That's very interesting because I never heard that version of the origin story before. I know that Vernon certainly was no fan of Houdini, but he did apparently like Houdini's presentation of the Needle Trick.

As I mentioned in a previous article, according to Patrick Culliton in his book HOUDINI-The Key, Houdini said the trick dated back to a magician in London, Ramo Sami,  who debuted the trick in the early 1800s. Then the trick was reintroduced to audiences in the later 19th Century by Maxey The Needle King.

John Mulholland in his book Quicker Than The Eye, again mentions Ramo Samee (spelled differently) who he said was a Hindu magician who visited America in 1820 and that's how the trick arrived here. In the book, The Secrets of Houdini by J.C. Cannell, he claims that Houdini said the trick was first brought to Europe by K. Kraus and then does mention Maxey The Human Sewing Machine. Houdini claims Maxey was the first person he actually saw perform the trick.

Then there is Long Tack Sams recollection of the Needles. He learned the trick in China and performed it in his Vaudeville act for years until Houdini took out a U.S. Copyright on the trick and that prevented everyone in Vaudeville from doing the trick. This information comes from the documentary The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam.

So which story is correct? The trick is commonly known as The East Indian Needle Trick, and perhaps it was Ramo Sami or Samee who gave it that title. I think Jean Hugard, writing in his magazine Hugard's Magic Monthly, said it best, "...the name of the actual inventor will probably remain unknown forever..." And though I'm a little skeptical, it could be Howard Hall who taught the trick to Houdini because Houdini never says who taught him, only where he first saw it performed. But, according to HOUDINI-The Key, the earliest record of Houdini presenting the Needle Trick is 1899 and I get the impression that this was long before he ever encountered Howard Hall. So that part of the mystery continues. One thing is for sure, there is no denying that Houdini gave new life to the trick and it's due to his amazing presentations that the trick survives and thrives into the 21st Century.

UPDATE: Here is an interesting image, provided by my friends at the Houdini Museum. It comes from the December 1891 Scribners Magazine featuring Jugglers performing the Needle Trick on the verandah of the Shepeard's Hotel in Cairo Egypt. It doesn't really help figure out who created the trick, but it does show the trick was around and well known during that time period.

To see all the various articles on the 30 Days of Houdini, click here http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/30%20days