10 Legendary Magicians LINK

This is a link to a very interesting article on 10 Legendary Magicians You've Probably Never Heard About. It's a strikingly good list to be honest. I can't help but wonder if the writer has some knowledge of magic history. No sources are listed where he got the information. And sadly, there some bad choices for photos. The Robert Heller photo is NOT Robert Heller the magician. The DeKolta photo is also a stock image, not the real magician. But other than that, it's an interesting choice of people. I'm personally glad that Robert Heller made the list. I'm also kind of saddened that Doug Henning, Howard Thurston and Harry Kellar made the list. They deserve to be on the list, don't get me wrong, but the fact that they are not remembered by the public today is unfortunate.

I'm curious what your list might have been? I probably would have swapped Pinetti for Hofzinser, and combined Adelaide with Alexander Herrmann so that I could include Signor Blitz. I really don't think I would have put Doug Henning on the list though because he is too modern and I do think despite the fact he is not a major celebrity, a lot of people today still know of him. So that would have left one spot......hmmmm Blackstone? No, that name still is remembered thanks to his son. Probably, Dante.

Mystery Photo of Houdini

I don't recall seeing this photo before, though maybe some of you have. I know where it's from and I do have an additional photo to go with it. Just wondering if anyone else can identify it? I did so poorly on my first attempt trying to stump you all. If you have an idea, put it in the comments below.
NO USING GOOGLE to FIND IT!!!!!!!

The above photo comes from Oakland California. The site is the Tribune Tower which was still under construction at the time. The year was 1923 and Houdini hung from the unfinished 9th story of the building. 40 years later another escape artist would duplicate the same escape from this same location effectively beginning his career in escapes.

What Houdini Landmark Is This?

Here is a mystery photo. I'm curious to see if anyone can figure out what site this is and why it's important to the overall Houdini story? Just post your guesses in the comments section. Good Luck!

The Houdini Museum In the News

I have to admit something which I'm not happy about. I've not been to the Houdini Museum in Scranton PA. Why haven't I? That's a good question, for which I don't have a good answer. BUT, I can tell you that I'll be making a trip up there fairly soon!

The museum is run by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz. You should all be very familiar with them at this point in time. Their efforts to help and promote the name of Houdini in the past few years are incredible. Their latest effort of course was getting that film footage that Larry Weeks had into a better safer home. Had it not been for Dick and Dorothy, I hate to think what might have happened.

But, let's get to the museum. They've been getting a lot of press lately and the most recent article is from Getawaymavens.com. The article lists the best things to do in Scranton and a visit to their Houdini Museum tops the list! I think for any magic fan and especially Houdini fan, a visit to their museum is a must do!

The photo below shows Dorothy and Dick and their holding a vest once worn/owned by HOUDINI himself. They brought the vest with them to the Turner Classic Movie Film Festival in California recently. This is just one of the wonderful items that they'll share with you during the tour. In the photo at the top I can see images of Houdini's Father and Mother hanging side by side on the wall. So much cool stuff! I can't wait to go there in person so I can give a much better description of everything. Until then, if you are in Scranton, please arrange a visit!

Open year round Saturdays and Sundays, in July and August Daily. Only one tour and show (plan on 3 hours) per day, $17.95 adults, $14.95 under 11. You must CALL for RSVP (570-342-5555). The museum is in a house on a very busy main street, with a parking lot in the back.

Magic On TV Update

Wizard Wars from the SyFy channel has been cancelled. This is really a shame as it was a fun show and I know a lot of lay people who loved watching it. On the flip side of things, apparently the WB which was showing reruns of Penn and Teller Fool US from England has now ordered a new batch of shows. So this week, Penn and Teller will be filming a new round of FOOL-US from their home in Las Vegas! Host Jonathan Ross will be back as well P&T. I really enjoyed season 1 of the show, so I expect the same from season 2.

Gay Blackstone's Masters of Illusion will also be back on the CW. Syfy has a number of other magic TV shows like Troy and Close-up Kings. Of all the shows I've mentioned, I have not seen Troy or Close-up Kings. But I've enjoyed the others. I fully expect to see even more magic on TV in the coming months/years.