The Witch of Lime Street -Book Review

The Witch of Lime Street by David Jaher is a book about the life of Margery the Medium. The subtitle of the book is ‘Séance, Seduction and HOUDINI in the Spirit World’. Houdini plays a part, but he is a secondary character even though his image and name appears on the cover of the book. Speaking of the cover, it might be the coolest book cover of ANY book with Houdini because this book cover GLOWS IN THE DARK! It’s very subtle, but I think the glowing in the dark cover and spine add to the already spooky subject matter.

When I heard that a first time author was writing this book, I had my doubts about the quality of the content. But having read the book AND listened to the audio version as well, I can tell you that Mr. Jaher did an outstanding job of research. The book is well written, entertaining and filled with history.

I had never been that big a fan of Margery until fairly recently. I think for me my interest began when I saw the actual Bell Box that was used in the Margery/Houdini Séances. I also got to see the so-called spirit-fingerprints that Walter, Margery’s spirit guide and brother, apparently created during a Séance. Shortly after this, I started to correspond frequently with the late escape artist and Houdini historian Norman Bigelow, about Margery. I wish Norm had lived long enough to read this book, I know he would have enjoyed it.

David Jaher does a great job of laying out the details for the reader of Margery’s character before becoming a medium and after and then during the last days of her life. It would seem that Mina Crandon was a fun loving individual. When she became Margery she developed a seductive air about her. She was overly flirtatious with many men on the  investigative committee. No doubt her suggestive behavior helped to take many of them off their game. Despite this she still had standards of behavior that can be seen when Malcolm Bird tried to bring a prostitute to Margery’s Lime Street home and he was abruptly chastised by Margery and turned away.

Margery was a complex woman. Early in the book, it’s apparent that she doesn’t believe in any of this ‘spirit nonsense’. Though skeptical, she still attends a séance with a friend and encounters a medium who shares a revelation with her that she has a future in the spirit business. Sure enough, she eventually becomes the best-known spirit medium in the country. Oddly, though she likes presenting séances she claimed she didn’t want publicity. She doesn’t even use her real name Mina; rather she uses a form of her middle name Margery. And though she doesn’t want the publicity, she is competing for the top prize in country, to be examined and proven to be genuine by a committee of investigators from The Scientific American Magazine. Yes, she was a complex woman.

Houdini is in the book because he plays a major part in the investigation of spirit mediums during the 1920s and he is an important player in the investigation of Margery. The author shares Houdini’s encounters with Conan Doyle and their early friendship as well as their eventual parting of ways. This helps to set-up Houdini  as an authority on fake mediums, for the reader. Even one of Houdini’s spirit debunking co-workers, Rose Mackenberg, gets featured in the book.

There really is no better person to spot a spirit faker than a knowledgeable magician. I preface that with ‘knowledgeable’ because if the magician doesn’t know anything about fake spirit work, they’ll likely be as taken in as anyone else. Houdini was not the first to expose mediums though he was arguably the most famous debunker. Magicians were involved with exposing mediums since the very early days of Spiritualism. John Wyman, known as Wyman the Wizard at one point helped to investigate the Fox Sisters. John Nevil Maskelyne, in England, went after the Davenport Brothers. So magicians have been at the forefront of investigating fake mediums from the start.

One thing that puzzles me is where Margery learned her tricks of the trade? It’s clear that she used deception. But she was creating manifestations that no one else was doing. And she continued to evolve over time adding more and more unique effects to her Séances. A great example would be the ectoplasmic arms and hands that would mysteriously protrude from her body yet no trace of them could be found after the Séance.

I really enjoyed The Witch of Lime Street. I’m not the only one, as the movie rights to the book have already been picked up. Will we see a Houdini/Margery movie? Time will tell. But what a fascinating movie it could be. It’s a very unique chapter in history and frankly I think we owe it all to Houdini. Without him, I don’t think there would have been as much press exposure.  I also think this unique confrontation would have likely been forgotten over time without Houdini’s participation.

Chung Ling Soo Model Plane Maker

One of my favorite things about this blog are the readers who contact me with various bits of information. Earlier in the year I received an email from a reader about a magazine he had in his possession, called The Model Engineer from June 1949. Within the magazine is an article written by Donald Stevenson, who worked with Soo, and it's about Soo's interest in model aeroplanes.

There are some interesting facts that come out in the article. First thing that jumps out at me is the list of machinery in Soo's workshop: "One treadle fretsaw, one treadle circular saw, a 4.5 inch screwcutting lathe, and a pillar drill and emery wheels, also treadle-driven, a wood bench with vice, metal bench with vice, large assembly bench, a small forge and a good supply of wood and metal hand tools. All the small tools were hung on the walls in their own places, and there were also shelves all around the workshop". That complete description came from The Model Engineer Magazine.

Another interesting fact was that besides magic books and periodicals, it would seem that Soo's favorite magazine was The Model Engineer, in which this article appeared.  Stevenson goes on to describe how Soo would often come to the workshop with an idea and spend hours and hours working it out. Soo's illusion ideas were built from cardboard and wire first before they would be build from wood and metal.

Soo had an interest in model aeroplanes and would build working models from time to time. In 1911, he was approached by a company that was interested in having him build model planes. After showing the company samples of his work, Soo received an order for a weekly supply of model aeroplanes. Soo hired several new employees to help with the increased workload. This made his shop one of the very first in England to produce model planes. The work continued until the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914.

Soo continued to tinker with the models even after 1914. According to Donald Stevenson, Soo's favorite place was in his workshop.  Below is an image of a model plane that William Robinson/Chung Ling Soo built.

Thanks to Martin Griffiths, for making me aware of this and for mailing the magazine to me!

The Linking Rings, A Tricks Whose Time Has Come and Gone and Come Again!

I would love to blame my sudden fascination with the Linking Ring trick on Frederick Eugene Powell, but he is only partly to blame. I was already researching this ancient mystery when I saw his video 2  weekends ago. In his routine, at the 5:50 mark on the video, he does a remarkable move where all the rings fall and cascade off of one ring onto the floor. I had read about this move before but never saw it in action. Having seen it, all I can say is WHOA! That is awesome!!!

Just so you know, I will not be revealing the methodology of this trick. I know that 90% of the people who read my blog are magicians, but I do get lay people who read it from time to time and I am from the old school, a keeper of secrets.

The trick known as the Chinese Linking Rings is said to be 2000 years old, possibly older. I am not certain of it's origins, though I have read it can be traced to Egypt and other areas of the Middle East as far back as the first century. The Annals of Conjuring mentions that it could possibly be from Ancient Rome, but it also says that evidence is slight.  And still other sources point towards India and China as the place of origin for the Linking Rings.

The trick was introduced to the European magic world via a troupe of Chinese Jugglers and Acrobats in 1830 and thus I suspect the reason the effect is known as the 'Chinese' Linking Rings.  According to the book The Annals of Conjuring, 'they were from the Court of Pekin and performed at the Savile House, #1, Leicester Square.' A number of online sources list the French conjurer Phillipe as the first magician in Europe to do the Rings after the Chinese troupe came through, but apparently, an English magician by the name of Jacobs was doing the Rings two years earlier than Phillipe. That information also comes from Annals of Conjuring.

I think it's probably safe to say we'll never know the true origin . But at least we have a good idea of when they gained popularity, in the 1800s. The early routines presented by Europeans were done with a lot of rings, 8, 10, 11, 12 and more. I'm not sure there is anyone today doing routines with large numbers of rings. About the most you'll see are six or eight, as most sets sold in magic shops come in eights. Levant, in the book Roy Benson by Starlight speculates that the reason shops started selling sets of eight rings was because Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann contained a routine with eight and twelve. Eight was easier and less expensive to produce and thus cheaper to sell a set of eight. However, Levant says on his DVD Levent's Ultimate Guide To The Linking Rings, that magic shops probably always sold a variety of rings, from 8-12. Today however, the set seems to stay at 8 or less.

From my research on Edward Maro earlier this year I learned that he too presented the Linking Rings but he used very large rings. I suspect he was doing either Robert-Houdin's routine or one of the routines featured in Modern Magic by Professor Hoffmann.

I first learned the Rings when I was a kid. But from the research I've done over the past week, I apparently never really learned the Rings, lol. I learned a routine, but to my delight there is so much more to this little effect than meets the eye. I was surprised by the amount of magic literature that covers the rings. For example: The Robert-Houdin routine can be found in The Essential Robert-Houdin by Miracle Factory, Tarbell #4 contains a couple sweet routines, one of which was the routine of Eugene Laurant, Greater Magic by John Northern Hilliard contains several different routines, Roy Benson by Starlight by Levent has the best possible recreation of the Benson Liking Ring routine available, and there are many other sources as well.

I've recently watched over a dozen routines on video including: Chris Capehart's brilliant routine, Pop Haydn's stellar 4 ring routine, Dai Vernon's Classic Symphony, Richard Ross's 3 Ring and 4 Ring award winning routines, Cellini's Silent but deadly two ring routine and many others. One of the best variations was Mike Caveney's Linking Coat Hangers.  I have watched videos by pros and by some not so pro but still well done. And I've seen a couple routines that I did not like at all. Two that I didn't like come to mind because I could tell, both performers knew how to do the rings, both had skill with the rings, but they chose to add dance and fast movements and it got difficult to follow the magic. Confusion is not magic and speed is not needed when performing the rings, in fact, the slower you go the more mysterious the illusion. 

I believe my first real exposure to the rings was watching Doug Henning present them. Actually, my first true exposure was a theme park magician in Kentucky just a few months before the first Doug Henning Special. I desperately wanted to know how the trick worked so I bought a copy of The Amatuer Magician's Handbook by Henry Hay and found the secret, or so I thought. That's the great thing about magic, there is never one secret to any trick. A good effect has layers of secrets along with psychology and misdirection. Then there is the  magician who must interpret all those elements and bring something of himself/herself to the mix. One of the most beautiful routines I've seen with the rings is done by Tina Lenert. Her routine is so mysterious and magical and fun. Her's is done to music and she just captivates with her presence.

Having watched so many ring routines over the past week, I have a far better knowledge of the

different routines. I know that David Copperfield for example was doing Richard Ross's routine on one of his old TV specials. I know that Doug Henning and my friend Cesareo Pelaez from Le Grand David both were doing Dai Vernon's Symphony of the Rings. OH, and Dai Vernon's routine seems to have been based on Cardini's routine. I can see similarities in Chris Capehart's routine to those in the smaller Ninja Ring by Shoot Ogawa.  I would surmise that Chris developed his through the school of hard work and repetition. His routine, uses only three rings and features a repetitive link that simply looks impossible. He does the link over and over, right under people's noses and still it's impossible to see how he does it. The Capehart routine has a different feel from others, almost a more direct in your face sort of approach, and I like it.

Who has the best routine? I don't think there is a definitive answer. John Northern Hillard says in Greater Magic that Chung Ling Soo's routine was the best he'd ever seen. Many magicians point to Vernon's Symphony or Pop Haydn's 4 Ring routine as their favorites. In the 1970's, I would have to say that Richard Ross dominated the field with his beautiful Linking Ring routine. There are just so many great ring routines, it's impossible to choose a 'best'. One thing is for sure, a Linking Ring routine, well constructed and well performed is just as strong today as it was in the 1830s.

On the DVD, Levent's Ultimate Guild To The Linking Rings, Levent share's Robert-Houdin's routine with 12 rings, Chung Ling Soo's 12 Ring routine, Claudius Odin's 8 Ring routine, Cardini's 6 Ring routine, Dai Vernon's 4 ring and 6 ring routines, Paul Potassy's 8 ring routine, Jack Miller's 5 ring routine, Roy Benson's 11 ring routine, Richard Ross's 4 ring routine, and several of Levent's own ring routines that he created. He does these routines perfectly and they are all a pleasure to watch. If you want to learn the Linking Rings, Levent's DVD is a must have, but it's expensive, so the merely curious will stay away. His 4 DVDs are a college course in mastering the Linking Rings. One thing that sort of surprised me was that among all the various ring moves and sleights he displays, none of the four I created are among the bunch. Now, I did not reveal mine to Levent, but I had always kind of assumed that I was likely reinventing something someone else did, but apparently that isn't the case. So, it's nice to know I've got four Linking Ring sleights that are unique! One more think on Levent's DVD, it's FANTASTIC. I found the historical information and the recreations to be just as great as the teaching segments. He always does a stellar job.

Oh, and I was surprised to find that Houdini has a contribution to the Linking Rings. Though, it appears that Houdini's contribution may have come from Adrian Plate's notebooks that Houdini owned. The contribution appears in the book Houdini's Magic by Walter Gibson. The sequence is a very unorthodox linking of two rings that is brilliant and deceptive. I don't know if Houdini ever actually performed the Linking Rings in his show, but I'm guessing he probably did not (if I'm wrong, let me know).

UPDATE:  I had to mention this, I just watched Jonathan Pendragon's Linking Ring routine on video. I had seen it before but forgot about it. After watching so many ring routines over the past couple weeks and watching 7 hours of rings this weekend, I must say that Jonathan's routine is among the best there is. His routine is very well constructed. It's a combination of patter and music, part of the routine he interacts with the audience, part of the routine he is on stage performing to music. And his choice of music is the perfect fit for the routine as the rings act as almost a musical instrument interacting with the music. As with anything Jonathan does, it's a very physical routine and it goes to show how a performer takes a routine and makes it their own. Just great stuff.

UPDATE2: I forgot to mention I have two friends who do the rings. But they don't really 'do the rings' They make music with their rings. They're routines are a thing of beauty and you can sense the years of dedication and practice and love in every movement. They both do similar routines but yet the end results are different. My two friends are Glenn Gary and Keith Pass, two maestros with the rings.

The reason I did not personally continue with the rings many years ago was because I shifted to the Linking Hula Hoops, which is a variation of the Linking Rings. I have been doing the Hoops for 30 years and it's become my signature trick. Originally created by Dick Zimmerman in the 1960s. I took the original routine and added my own additional moves and figures. The only flaw, if there is one, to the Linking Hula Hoops is that it's a stage trick only. So now, I'm considering a return to the Linking Rings for smaller venues. I'd like to venture into one of the 11 or 12 ring routines because those are so rarely done.  For now however, I'd like to share my variation of the Linking Rings, done with Hula Hoops. This is actually a ten year old video, so my current routine is slightly different, but you get the general idea. I hope you enjoy it and I hope you liked my history of the Linking Rings!

Frederick Eugene Powell Extra!

I think I have a new favorite magician. I can't help it, I get drawn into these people when I learn about their life stories. Naturally, Houdini remains #1. But I need to add another new one to the list and that is Frederick Eugene Powell. If you read yesterday's article, you've already learned that Powell was part of Houdini's Wonder Show to help promote The Man From Beyond movie. I also mentioned that Powell was part of The Triple Alliance with Servais LeRoy and Imro Fox.

I felt so fortunate to find a list of the effects he performed when he worked for Houdini. But I never imagined that there might be video footage. I mean there is precious little video footage from some of the best names from that time period let alone the last remaining 'old timer'. But there is. In his later years, Powell lived with his friend John Petrie. Apparently, Petrie filmed Powell performing. This is not just a quick 30 second piece. This video is 11.5 minutes of material. It's very poor quality, but that's to be expected. The content is there and it's breathtaking! Powell does a number of the kerchief tricks that he did at the Wonder Show, including the barehanded production of silks which then turn into a flag! He also does the Linking Rings and there are some very unusual moves in his routine. At a later date I'll write more about the 2nd Dean of The Society of American Magicians, but for now, please enjoy his magic!!!

UPDATE: Sadly, this video appears to have been taken down. Uggggh. This was one of the coolest videos I ever saw. It was on the SAM's Vimeo page. Now gone :(

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