HOUDINI Takes DC 2017

The ObscuraDay Event called Houdini Takes DC was a huge hit yesterday! They sold out, and I think they might have even over sold, which was fine by me! The event took place at the Tivoli Magic Shop in Washington DC. It's a a beautiful shop, though not really a magic shop. Check out the link if you'd like to learn more about them. They had a nice room for us and to start was Magic Historian and Collector Ken Trombly. Let me say, Ken has an INCREDIBLE collection. The fact he is willing to bring these priceless posters to events is beyond generous. Ken had 4 major posters and some smaller broadsides, as well as a folder filled with postcards and photographs.

Ken gave an overview of Houdini's life by showing the various items he had that

Ken Trombly

related to those periods. The audience sat riveted during his talk. He really delivered a great deal of information, and being able to see the actual posters and other memorabilia was the icing on the cake. I stood in the back trying to keep my big mouth shut and not interrupt. He spoke for a little over 30 minutes and showed some items that would have stunned a seasoned magic collector let alone a room full of history enthusiasts and lay people.

There was a break, for cherry pie ( a favorite of Bess Houdini and they served it at the previous Houdini event here as well).

Then they introduced me. I was supposed to do a show but ended up spending my time doing a mixture of magic and telling stories, some related to Houdini, some related to escapes, some related to associates of Houdini's. For example, I shared the story of Harry Cooke, a mentor of Houdini's and an individual who was present during the Lincoln assassination. I shared a story of a woman who found herself caught up in a haunted house and a seance. And I shared a ton of stories about Houdini. I tried to stay within the area that Ken had set during his talk but elaborated on various stories. I have found when talking about Houdini, I can go on forever, but I had to stay within the 30+ minute format....(I might have gone a little over).

Carnegie about to escape from Handcuffs.

The first piece of magic I presented was a newly discovered Houdini card trick. I say, newly discovered because I was unaware of it, lol. I found it in one of the Walter Gibson books and the trick comes from Houdini's notes. It's a strange sort of transposition trick with a card and it played really well. I followed this with my version of Cards Across, just to fill out the 'Houdini King of Cards' portion of my talk.

Next I moved into his early escapes, handcuff escapes specifically. And I went on to present two escapes, one from a pair of police issue regulation Smith and Wesson cuffs. The other from a pair of ungimmicked Hamburg 8 cuffs.



I wanted to give people a feeling for Houdini beyond just the regular stories, so I threw in the story of Harry Cooke, and how they were associated. I always thought their connection was because they were both escape artists. But I know believe that their connection was, #1 because of Cooke's Anti-spiritualist crusade years before Houdini was born, and #2, Cooke's connection to Abe Lincoln, who was Houdini's boyhood idol.

I shared the story about Cooke being summoned to Washington to demonstrate his ability to free himself from ropes. And here, I took the opportunity to present a rope escape.  I chose to use a technique found in Houdini's book, Magical Rope Ties & Escapes. The technique allows for an almost instantaneous escape from the bonds. In truth, Cooke had been tied up with 100 ft of rope and still escapes in seconds. I had 100 ft of rope on hand, but was saving it for later but ran out of time.

The closing routine was a Spirit Slate routine with a story. A true story? Sort of. Aspects of the story are true, but I do take liberties, it is a show after-all. The story is an emotional one, and I use it to help people understand the deep connection that people have when they see mediums....and also WHY Houdini was so angered by the whole thing because he knew the mediums were fake and playing off the emotions of the grieving.

At the end, I answered a few questions, spoke with numerous people after the program and packed up. All in all, I'd say the day was a HUGE success. I'd like to thank Julie Siegel for her great work AGAIN, and all her fellow Obscura staff. Thank you for inviting me to be part of your event! Also, I'd like to thank Tivoli Magic Shop and 826DC for letting us use their incredible space.

A NEW Houdini Poster?!

Well prepare yourselves, I believe we have a previously unknown Houdini  poster to add to the mix. I don't recall seeing this in any book. If it has been in a book, then this will likely be the first time you're seeing it in color. And the most amazing thing of all, this was purchased on eBay!

The poster is in the collection of Ken Trombly. Ken was one of the guest speakers at the ObscuraDay event in D.C. today. Ken has a HUGE collection of Houdini items, posters galore, and photos and postcards as well. He's got a number of things I'd like to write about in the future, so I'm going to keep quiet on the rest. But he told me this poster below was purchased on eBay....according to Ken, "back when eBay was good." So it was a number of years ago. I'll be writing MORE about Ken and his talk, but I wanted you to see this before anyone beat me to it! :)

I would encourage you to follow Ken on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/magic_posters/
and while your at it, follow ME there too https://www.instagram.com/carnegiemagic/

UPDATE: Joe Notaro alerted me to the fact that not only is this NOT a new discovery, but it's also appeared in three different books, and one of those was in color.  Well, lol, it was NEW to me, lol. I do appreciate the feedback though. I love to hear from folks so anytime anyone wants to comment, please do.

 (image used with Ken Trombly's permission)

Happy Belated Birthday Doug Henning and News

I guess I had forgotten, but May 3rd was Doug Henning's birthday, he would have been 70 years old. It's been 17 years since he left us. Seems like just yesterday. Though he had been retired, his absence in the world of magic is still felt deeply. I was looking over my past articles and saw that I had 15 articles that are either about Doug or mention Doug Henning. You can view those here: http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/Doug%20Henning

But there is news, and news for which I am very very happy. There is a new blog devoted strictly to Doug Henning. It is called DougHenningProject.com  and is put together by Neil McNally. He starts off very strong with a three part interview with Milt Larsen about Doug. It's great stuff. And with so many people who knew Doug still alive today, this site should be a rich treasure trove of Doug Henning facts and trivia. I almost wish I had done it! Best of luck Neil!!!

IF you're wondering if I was inspired at all by Doug Henning. YOU BET I WAS. Look at the photo below of a young Doug and younger me!

Next Up for The Magic Detective, Obscura Day 2017

Last year, I was invited to entertain during Obscura Day. This was part of a Nationwide group of festivities put on by AtlasObscura.com. Last year's event in Washington was called HOUDINI IN DC. And this year, it's called, HOUDINI TAKES DC. Last year, there were three locations for events. One in the law offices of Ken Trombly, who shared his collection of Houdini posters and photos. Next was McPhereson Square Park, where I presented a short magic show with routines that were similar to those that Houdini might have done. The final leg of the journey was a walk over to the location of of where Keith's Vaudeville Theatre once stood, today it is The Old Ebbitt Grill. I shared some history of the theatre, as well as information on Houdini's upside down outdoor hanging straight jacket escape from that very building.

Ken Trombly from 2016

This year the event takes place in a single location, no travel needed. Everything will be in one place. My friend Ken Trombly, who is a HUGE magic collector, will be bringing a number of his Houdini pieces. Last year he bought several posters and quite a few photographs. His collection is mind boggling! Ken will also be speaking about Houdini as well. I'll be bringing a pair of Houdini cuffs as well as some other Houdini-era cuffs. I will also be presenting a few magic routines, again in the lines of what Houdini might have done. Last year, pretty much the entire show was made up of escapes. This year, there will probably only be a single escape, maybe two and the rest of the program will be magic. If you can make it out, it's going to be a lot of fun. Seating is limited. So get your tickets soon! http://www.atlasobscura.com/events/obscura-day-2017-houdini-escapes-dc

Carnegie from 2016 Obscura Day!

Talking Magic History at TEDx in DC

I had the great honor of being invited to speak at a TEDx event in Washington. It was such an enjoyable event. I was asked to speak about magic history and possibly present some magic as well. Not an easy task with a time limit of 8 minutes. All the speakers at the event had 8 minutes to talk. If I had talked ONLY magic history, my speech would have been a bit more in depth. But as it was, I only spoke for 5+ and used the rest of the time for my magic routine. So what they got was a brief overview of magic history.

A TED talk is very different than a lecture. It has to fit within a structure and really move quickly and get to the point fast. Thankfully, the team at TEDxFoggy Bottom were super helpful with guiding my speech in the right direction. As time went on and I rehearsed the speech, I sadly had to cut several  whole paragraphs from the talk. The actual talk is more like 12 minutes, without the magic trick. But I still was able to present a wonderful talk on magic and then follow it up with an unusual piece of wonderment.

If you're wondering the effect I presented, I borrowed a bill and caused it to travel via a Victorian Teleportation Device into a Lightbulb. Actually, the same time the bill traveled to the bulb, the lighting element from the bulb traveled to my Teleportation Device, that's the effect I was going for. Kind of like a mini Metamorphosis trick done with different objects. (and Metamorphosis just so happened to be the theme of the day).

The event sold out so that means they sold 1500 tickets. And what a truly WONDERFUL audience they were! But as wonderful as the audience was, the backstage staff and crew were even more incredible. If only every theatre crew was as attentive and helpful as this bunch. Heck, I'd love to take them with me when we play theatres, they were simply beyond professional!

Eventually, my speech will be posted online, but it might be a couple weeks yet. So if you'd like to get a preview you can check out the incredible graphic that was done LIVE while I spoke by artist Trent Wakenight. Amazingly, he captured all the elements from my talk in the graphic below!