Summer break

This will be the last post of the month. I'm going to give myself a summer break to recharge my batteries, chamber some posts, and work on my projects. I will still be active on Patreon. Otherwise, see you in September!

Photo from Houdini His Legend and His Magic by Doug Henning and Charles Reynolds.

News 10 on Houdini's Rochester bridge jump

Here's a terrific report from WHEC News 10 in Rochester about Houdini's jump from the Weighlock Bridge and the film footage that captured that leap. It's well-researched, and we get to see our friends Jeff and Debbie Blood. I love that they pinpointed the location and identified one of the still-standing buildings glimpsed in the footage. Enjoy.

I think this footage is an excellent candidate for the National Film Registry, which every year selects 25 films that showcase American film heritage and increase awareness for film preservation.

Thanks to Jeff and Debbie Blood for the alert.

Related:

• Houdini's Rochester bridge jump
• In search of Houdini in Rochester
• Let's nominate The Grim Game to the National Film Registry

Amazing Indianapolis by Ashley Petry

Houdini makes an appearance in the new book Amazing Indianapolis, which is released this week. Author Ashley Petry is an Indianapolis native and the award-winning author of three previous books about her hometown. Here's a description.

Amazing Indianapolis is a fun and fascinating collection of Circle City history, from the city's first jailbreak in 1821 to its modern-day claims to fame. It features both celebrities and unsung heroes, and it highlights the city's surprising connections to historical figures such as Thomas Edison, Harry Houdini, and John Wilkes Booth. Amazing Indianapolis also shares the origin stories of sliced bacon, Wonder Bread, Raggedy Ann, and the rearview mirror, among other Indianapolis inventions. In addition, the book profiles the companies and industries the city has lost, from early manufacturers to a beloved modern bakery (and its spectacular downfall). And it discusses chilling tales of true crime alongside the bizarre history of an alleged curse, a legendary hoax, the infamous Irvington School War, and the city's first recorded exorcism. Why was one group of Indy residents called "the worst family in the world"? Why did Carl Fisher throw a car off a building? Native Hoosier and award-winning author Ashley Petry showcases the city's greatest hits alongside lesser-known stories that celebrate more than 200 years of Indianapolis history.

Purchase Amazing Indianapolis at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk or direct from Reedy Press.

Related:

• Houdini's last suspended straitjacket escape?
• Did Houdini play hero in a forgotten theater fire?
• The real deal

Where Houdini took his Water Torture Cell photos

We are all familiar with the famous photos of Houdini doing his Water Torture Cell. When and where these photos were taken has, to my knowledge, never been identified. But I think I may have finally found the answer.

I'm sharing this one on my Patreon as a History Exclusive. Click the image below to view it and 43 other similar discoveries. Lucky patrons!

Related:

• A warning from Houdini
• The Water Torture Cell at 100
• Houdini Torture Cell photo escapes with $889

The Man From Beyond for real

Houdini's 1922 film The Man From Beyond wasn't released in the UK until January 1927. That's right, The Man From Beyond didn't appear in British cinemas until after Houdini's death, meaning the flickering image on those screens really was a man from beyond! Of course, this presented a marketing challenge.

Below is one of the only ads that references Houdini's death, referring to him as "the late Houdini." I found another ad that calls the film as "His Last Great Creation." Apart from these, ads largely ignored the fact that the film's famous star was now deceased.

Evening Advertiser, April 1, 1927.

Evening Post, Feb 17, 1927.

Houdini had planned to tour the UK in 1927, presumably with his "3 Shows in One." It's possible he negotiated the release of The Man From Beyond for 1927 in anticipation of his return to the country after a six-year absence. When he last played the UK in 1920, The Grim Game was just coming out in cinemas.

I've often thought about how audiences perceived this last appearance of Houdini in the UK, where he was so well-known and popular. Seeing The Man From Beyond must have been a somewhat melancholic experience. And, considering the story is of a man returning from the dead, a little spooky!

But very Houdini.

Related:

• Houdini planned to return to the UK in 1927
• The Man From Beyond down under
• The Man From Beyond haunts Hollywood in 1971

William Pack Houdini lecture in Monmouth tonight

Apologies for this being so last-minute, but our friend William Pack will be offering a one-time revival of his famous Houdini lecture tonight at 7:00 PM at the Warren County History Museum in Monmouth, Illinois. It's open to the public and free.

You can purchase The Essential Houdini by William Pack at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

Related:

• William Pack retiring The Essential Houdini
• Houdini's Monmouth County mystery
• Museum will search for Nicola's vanishing elephant

Chip Romero brings Doug Henning to MAGIC Live!

MAGIC Live! is going strong in Las Vegas this week. I'm enjoying the convention vicariously via Scott Wells' The Magic Word Podcast. But this morning's report makes me wish I were there!

Scott revealed that Chip Romero presented a special one-time-only exhibition of his formidable Doug Henning collection. It took up an entire room! Of course, I love Doug. His first television special was part of the one-two punch that launched my passion for Houdini and magic in late 1975.

You can view more pics and listen to Scott's report, which includes an interview with Doug's sister, Nancy, at The Magic World Podcast.

Related:

• Pick up Houdini's diary at MAGIC Live!
• Doug Henning marks Houdini's 100th
• Doug Henning's Water Torture Cell is ready for a new home

Dorothy Dietrich receives the first "Houdini Award"

Here's some terrific news. The great Dorothy Dietrich received the very first "Houdini Award" at last month's Global Magicians Hall of Fame Celebration 2025 in Las Vegas. The awards are sponsored by the Los Angeles Tribune. The Houdini Award recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to Houdini's memory. I can't think of a more deserving first recipient.

Dorothy, of course, runs the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, along with Dick Brookz. She is also head of the S.A.M. Houdini grave restoration fund.

Congratulations Dorothy!

Related:

• Dorothy Dietrich honored in New York City
• Scranton honors Dorothy Dietrich and Houdini Museum
• Touring Houdini's L.A. with Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz

Houdini's "Bell" Handcuff Reproduction

Here is another video from Dan Cox's YouTube channel CoxysPicks. This one is about the Houdini Bell handcuff. Enjoy.

Related:

• Houdini-Hodgson Challenge Recreated by U.K.E.A
• Guest Blog: The Replica Mirror Cuffs
• Houdini's lockpick

Pick up Houdini's diary at MAGIC Live!

If you are headed to MAGIC Live! and don't yet have a copy of Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini, 1897-1899, be sure to stop by the booth of Mike Caveney's Magic Words. Says Mike:

"The response to Escaping Obscurity has been unbelievable. Getting ready for Magic Live where I will bring plenty of copies."

The diary's owner, Dr. Bruce Averbook, will also be at MAGIC Live!, so maybe you can get him to sign your book. Alas, I will not be there. I gave my presentation on the book at last year's convention. As I said at the time, it was worth the wait!

You might also want to swing by the booth for Vanishing Inc. They will have advance copies of their mammoth new book showcasing the collection of Ken Trombly. The book features two chapters filled with images of Houdini rarities from Ken's incredible collection.

If you're not going to MAGIC Live! and still want a copy of Escaping Obscurity, you can do that by clicking over to Mike Caveney's Magic Words.

Related:

• ESCAPING OBSCURITY: Reviews & Reaction
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY
• Revealing Houdini's diary at MAGIC Live! (2024)
  

"For My Last Trick" casting call

On August 23, there will be a Developmental Reading in New York of a new Houdini play by Jordan Baker, "For My Last Trick." There is an open casting call for performers/readers. Here's a description.

FOR MY LAST TRICK
Casting for the NYC premier reading of For My Last Trick

Written by Jordan Baker, this new play is a period drama about the final years in the life of Harry Houdini, aiming to perform by October 2026. This public reading will be used to gauge an audience interest, producer interest, and make future edits to the script.

“Harry Houdini will be dead by Halloween.” It’s the 1920’s and humanity has made its biggest breakthrough. The ability to communicate with the dead. Mediums and fortune tellers have used seances to finally bridge the gap to the afterlife and prove ghosts are real! But one man is not impressed. Magician and Escape Artist, Harry Houdini. When Houdini is invited to a seance by his best friend, Sherlock Holmes writer Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he is not amazed. Instead, he’s angry. What everyone else sees as a healing experience that's connecting them to their lost loved ones, he sees a sophisticated hoax which is extorting grieving people for money.

Harry sets out on his own “witch hunt” to expose these mediums with his brother, Theo. But everything changes when Harry has a “curse" put on him by the mediums, who all say he’s gonna die by Halloween… and on Halloween of 1926, Houdini dies of mysterious causes. Theo and Harry’s widow, Bess, are left to pick up the pieces and figure out, how did this happen? Who was responsible? And will Harry Houdini escape death and return from the grave?

"For My Last Trick" is a thrilling and thought provoking piece that tackles grief, belief, faith, and fame. Using authentic Harry Houdini magic tricks, spooky seances, and amazing dialogue. Do you believe in Magic?”

You can find details on how to submit for casting at Playbill or Backstage. Good luck!

Related:

• Houdini plays
• Margery's Curse
• The true story of Houdini & Doyle

Going wild on The Skeptical Help Bar, Friday (Aug 1)

This Friday (Aug 1), I will be live-streaming with Kenny Biddle, Chief Investigator for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, on The Skeptical Help Bar. This is Kenney's "Open Mic Night" Q&A style show. We will be talking about Houdini, Escaping Obscurity, my recent appearance on Ghost Adventures, and wherever anyone wants us to talk about! And, yes, we will be drinking.

The live stream link is embedded below, or you can check it out on YouTube. The time is 5pm Pacific. The video will reflect your own time zone. You can be notified when the stream goes live by clicking the video below.

Hope to see you there!

Related:

• Houdini's spirit trumpet on Ghost Adventures
• Center For Inquiry welcomes Houdini (and I)
• YOU CAN NOW OWN HOUDINI'S FIRST DIARY

Evidence of a NEW Houdini voice recording!

Let's kick the week off with some exciting news.

Houdini made more than a dozen radio broadcasts from 1922-1926, debunking spiritualism and giving magic lessons. I have long believed that there must be a recording of Houdini's voice from this time. Now our friend Joe Notaro of Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence has discovered evidence of such a recording, and I'm losing my mind!

The listing below from the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) at the University of California Santa Barbara, shows that Houdini recorded a "monologue" on Spiritualism to a 10-inch record in New York on December 16, 1922. This doesn't appear to have been a radio broadcast per se, but a direct recording made for the Victor company.

Click to view at DAHR

Before we get too excited (as I did when I first saw this), know this is just evidence that a recording was made, not that a recording survives. I confirmed this with the DAHR, who said, "The record was made but was never published (that we know). It's possible a test pressing exists."

This is still tremendously exciting. Perhaps a copy survives in the Victor archives. Or perhaps this 10-inch record exists unlabeled in some Houdini collection, just waiting to be played. 

But what is this exactly? Here's some speculation. 

This was during the first year of Houdini's radio broadcasts on Spiritualism (March is the first broadcast I'm aware of). Maybe he's making a private recording just to hear what his address sounds like? Not unlike how he recorded his Water Torture Cell patter on wax cylinders years earlier. Or maybe he's making a recording for use by radio stations. Pre-recorded material was in use at this time. This means some of the known Houdini broadcasts might have been this recording.

But here's another theory that's a little wild. 1922 was the year of the famous seance in which Lady Conan Doyle claimed to make contact with Houdini's mother. On December 19, just three days after making this recording, Houdini had a written statement notarized entitled, "The Truth Regarding Spiritualistic Seance Given to Houdini by Lady Conan Doyle."

Could this be a recording of Houdini speaking this same statement? He certainly thought it was important, and I could see him making a recording of it, if only for his own files.

Okay, audio historians, we have the date, we have the place, we have the label. Who wants to get their name into the Houdini history books by tracking down this recording?

Thanks to Joe Notaro at HHCE and David at the DAHR.

Related:

• Houdini's known radio broadcasts
• ALL the Houdini wax cylinder audio has been saved!
• "It affords me pleasure to address you for a few moments on the subject of Spiritualism"