The Garrick after Houdini

Houdini was booked at the Garrick Theater in Detroit for two weeks starting Sunday, October 24, 1926. As it turned out, he only did one show before entering Grace Hospital early on the morning of October 25. There, he would spend the rest of the week battling peritonitis before dying on Halloween the following Sunday.

But what happened at the Garrick during Houdini's absence? I find this kind of thing interesting, so let's have a look.

Houdini's hospitalization was unexpected, and the next day, Monday, October 25, the paper advertised him appearing at the Garrick that evening as usual. However, the theater was dark that night.

Detroit Free Press, October 25, 1926

Detroit Free Press, October 26, 1926.

The Garrick remained dark on Tuesday, October 26. Then Duse Mohamed Ali and his Oriental Theater Company moved from Orchestra Hall to the Garrick and played out the rest of the week.

Duse Mohamed Ali wasn't the only performer at the Garrick that week. The Junior League of Detroit presented "Old King Cole" during three afternoon performances on October 28th, 29th, and 30th. It appears these performances would have happened even during Houdini's run, as they were announced before Houdini's arrival in Detroit.

Houdini was originally booked for a second week at the Garrick starting October 31st. Of course, this was not to be. It appears the Garrick remained dark this entire week. The only advertisement for the theatre announced the coming of "The Garrick Gaieties" for the following week of November 7th, when Houdini would have moved on to Cleveland.

The Garrick Theater closed on August 11, 1928. Its last show was Gene Buck's dramatic play Ringside. 

Last week for Ringside and for the Garrick Theater.

The Garrick was torn down in early 1929 to make way for the David Stott building, which still stands today. In an account of its history in the Detroit Free Press, writer Len G. Shaw did not mention the Garrick as the site of Houdini's last performance, but that is certainly what it is remembered for today!

Detroit Free Press, Nov. 1, 1928

Want more? You can read Len G. Shaw's full history of the Garrick Theater as a "Scholar" member of my Patreon below.

Related:

• Houdini's last stop
• Houdini's Detroit today
• Plymouth man believes house bricks from Garrick Theater

Potter & Potter 'Houdiniana' auction April 26

Need something to look forward to? How about a Houdiniana auction from Potter & Potter! That happens on April 26, and if past Houdiniana auctions from Potter are anything to go by, this will have some stunners!

If you need more to look forward to, I recently updated my patrons on the progress of my first Houdini Chronology book. That will have some stunners too!

Related:

• Rare pitchbooks highlight 'Houdiniana' auction (2018)
• Potter & Potter Houdiniana auction results (2016)
• Potter & Potter's Houdiniana auction results (2014)

David Blaine will give up stunts at 52, like Houdini

David Blaine told the Where Everybody Knows Your Name podcast that he is planning on giving up stunt work at age 52, in honor of Houdini.

"Harry Houdini, who has always been my favorite and a big inspiration for so many things, died when he was 52," says David. "I've always thought 52 should be the mark, you don't want to push until the point that you break. So I have a few more years of pushing and then I'm going to shift to what people like to see me do more, which is just magic and bringing that to kids in hospitals, which I love doing."

He also revealed that he is currently planning his final stunt. "There's one that's a culmination of everything I've ever done that I'm obsessed with but it's a pretty over the top ambitious idea, so I'm trying to put it together, and it will be my last one."

As we know, David frequently states in interviews that Houdini died in his Water Torture Cell. This time he parsed it somewhat, saying, "[Houdini] had done the water tank, collapsed on stage because he didn't want to disappoint the audience even though he had severe stomach pains and then he was rushed to the hospital and died."

You can listen to the entire interview on Spotify.

Related:

• Is David Blaine reviving a Houdini myth?
• The enduring mystery of David Blaine
• David Blaine shares his Houdini posters

Houdini's secret marks?

Here's a curiosity from the January 1938 issue of Genii magazine. This is a new one to me.

Another Houdini mystery? Or a bit of Ed Saint malarkly? Let us know if you've spotted any mysterious markings in any Houdini-owned books you might be fortunate enough to have.

Below is Houdini's copy of Hocus Pocus Junior: The Anatomie of Legerdemain (1635) in the Library of Congress. Certainly one of his rarest books. If you click the image you can see every page. I've paged through it and found no obvious marks.

Thanks to Eric Colleary for providing the LOC link. Eric is currently organizing an exhibition and writing a book on Houdini's Library for the Harry Ransom Center.

Related:

• Houdini the bibliophile
• Houdini’s Library coming to the HRC in Fall 2026
• Dean Carnegie looks at the enigmatic Edward Saint

Huis van Houdini at Bellewaerde Park in Belgium

The Bellewaerde Park in West Flanders, Belgium, has a "Huis van Houdini" (House of Houdini) ride attraction. This appears to be the same ride that one can find at Six Flags in New Jersey and MagicLand near Rome. I gotta say, I love that there are Houdini rides at amusement parks, and I love the facades.

You can watch a video of Huis van Houdini below.

Don't forget that you can go inside the real house of Houdini in New York. Although I'm not sure if it spins around! Click for details.

Related:

• Houdini is back in action at Six Flags
• Rainbow MagicLand's Maison Houdini
• "I'm not a Frenchie, I'm a Belgie!" (Patreon)

Margery lost her prize 100 years ago today

It was one hundred years ago today that the Scientific American committee, on which Houdini famously served, denied Mina Crandon aka "Margery" their $2500 prize for proof of genuine psychic ability. The committee had sat with the medium in July and August of the previous year. Below is part of a story that ran in The Republican on February 12, 1925.

The Republican, Feb 12, 1925.

J. Malcom Bird, the head of the committee who had been a Margery champion and partisan even before the investigation had begun, blamed Houdini for the failure.

Detroit Free Press, Feb 13, 1925.

The verdict came down during a busy week for Houdini. He was playing two theaters in New York at the same time; the Hippodrome in Manhattan and The E.F. Albee in Brooklyn. A police escort sped him between the two vaudeville houses.

Houdini remained relatively quiet on the final verdict. But he had been making his case against Margery for over a year, first with his Margery pamphlet and later with two exposure lectures in Boston. For him, this was vindication.

This wasn't the end of investigations of Margery. In June 1925, a committee of Harvard scholars sat with the medium. After witnessing her retrieve objects from her lap to aid in her manifestations, they concluded she was fraudulent. The American Society for Psychical Research investigated her in 1926 and also concluded that the phenomena she produced was fraudulent.

Related:

• 100 years ago on Lime Street
• Houdini comes out swinging
• Houdini vs. Margery II: The rematch that wasn't

Story Theater Company presents The Last Illusion

The Story Theater Company in Ames, Iowa, will present The Last Illusion at the Ames City Auditorium February 14-23, 2025. The play features Charlie Huntington as Houdini and Ashley Heimer as Bess, along with a cast of talented young people.

The Last Illusion is a touching portrait of well-known illusionist, Harry Houdini, as told through the memories and voices of those who knew and loved him for the magic he brought to their lives. Derived from the actual facts of Houdini’s life, this play will captivate the audience with the fascinating story of the man known as the world’s greatest magician. 

Act I features a family-friendly vaudeville style show followed by a brief intermission with The Last Illusion featured in Act II.

The Last Illusion is sponsored by Greater Iowa Credit Union, a member-owned, not-for-profit financial cooperative offering a full range of financial services.

You can reserve tickets at the Story Theater Company website.

Related:

• Murray County Central Schools presents 'The Last Illusion'
• Cypress Lakes High School presents The Last Illusion
• The Last Illusion with Theatre By The Blind

Now you can read "The Amazing Exploits of Houdini"

This is exciting. Joe Notaro and Arthur Moses have teamed up to bring the elusive Kinema Comic series The Amazing Exploits of Houdini to print in a collected edition for the very first time. This first book contains the stories from 1920 with the original illustrations. Details below.

The British Boys weekly The Kinema Comic ran a serial “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” (“Written by Houdini Himself” – or so it says) from April 24, 1920 to November 27,1926. In these yarns, which no one should miss, the Master of Mystery chronicles his most amazing exploits. Surviving copies are almost impossible to come by these days.

Joe M. Notaro and Arthur Moses have been tracking down these rare issues and are making them available to you in a book series by year. In this offering, they have compiled the 1920 (Apr – Dec) weekly serials (36 issues) of “The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI” into a single book with original illustrations.

You can purchase Kinema Comic 1920 (Apr-Dec) The Amazing Exploits of HOUDINI from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk in hardcover or paperback.

Related:

• "The Amazing Exploits of Houdini"
• Joe Notaro publishes 'Houdini's Schooldays'
• Houdini Periodical Bibliography Revised 3rd Edition

Dixie Dooley's remarkable visit to 278

Dixie Dooley, magician, escapist, and author of Houdini--Question Reality (a wild book I really enjoy), has graciously allowed me to share a recording he made about his visit to 278 on November 16, 1985. Dixie was one of the only Houdini fans to enter the house in those days, and he came away with some amazing artifacts. It's a story you have to hear to believe, so click below and take the journey at my Patreon. 

Thank you, Dixie.

Related:

• New Houdini book by Dixie Dooley
• The haunting of Houdini's 278
• Inside Houdini's 278

The Brothers Houdini at the Imperial Music Hall

In 1936, Hardeen wrote an article for The Sphinx entitled "Houdini––as his brother saw him." In it, he talks about the beginnings of The Brothers Houdini.

My debut (and the debut of the Brothers Houdini) was in the big time of the day in the Imperial Music Hall in 29th St., New York City. The act started, I recall, with the flower in the buttonhole––Harry's buttonhole, of course. It included the trick of taking a handkerchief out of the flame of a candle, and some card tricks––Harry's card work was excellent even then. The act wound up with the substitution trunk––Harry called it Metamorphosis. I still think we have a pretty good act.

It's exciting to see Dash identifying a specific theater here. The Imperial Music Hall opened on October 24, 1892. I could not find the Brothers Houdini listed among Imperial performers in 1893-94 when this would have taken place. However, an explanation might be found in Milbourne Christopher's Houdini's The Untold Story. I don't know Christopher's source for this, but it's great stuff.

“The Brothers Houdini” increased their efforts to get engagements. They performed at neighborhood socials, lodge meetings, and Manhattan beerhalls. When an opening act didn’t arrive at the Imperial Music Hall, a harried booker called them in.

There were few people in the audience for the first show. Harry touched his magic wand to the buttonhole of his jacket. A flower appeared. He reached in the flame of a candle and produced a red silk handkerchief. He began his card tricks. They were not as effective on a big stage as they had been in more intimate surroundings. Then Houdini announced his feature mystery “Metamorphosis.” Theo’s hands were bound behind his back. He was put in a sack, the mouth of the sack was tied, and the sack, containing Theo, was placed inside a large wooden box, which in turn was locked and doubly secured with rope. Harry then pulled a cabinet—a frame covered with cloth—around the box.

“When I clap my hands three times—behold a miracle!”

He darted into the cabinet. The audience waited expectantly.

There were no handclaps—and no miracles. Instead, after what seemed an interminable stage wait, the theater curtains swung closed and the orchestra struck up the music for the second act on the bill.

Inside the cabinet, a baffled Houdini had discovered that his brother was still a prisoner in the box. He worked feverishly untying the outer ropes, opening the two padlocks. He threw up the lid. A red-faced Theo, free of the sack, gasped that he had left the device which opened the box from the inside in his dressing room. The act was canceled. Thereafter, it was Harry, who was tied and locked in the box and Theo, who made the “Behold a miracle!” announcement.

Since the fiasco at the Imperial had obliterated their chances for other theater dates in New York in the near future, “The Brothers Houdini” left town to tour dime museums in the Midwest.

The fact that the brothers were engaged at the last minute and canceled after their first night could explain why they don't appear in any newspaper ads at this time. However, the Imperial didn't always list all their performers, opting instead to just promote "Vaudeville" as their week's attraction, which could also explain it.

Now, there are issues with both of these accounts. History records that The Brothers Houdini started with Harry and Jacob Hyman. Dash came later. So this could not be the debut of the act itself, as Hardeen says. And if we are to believe that Dash was the one making the escape, then Hyman did as well. So while I'm not sure of the details here, the fact that the Imperial is cited as the location in both accounts makes me think that much is true. I just wish I could nail down the exact date. (If any sleuths want to take up the challenge, please do!)

In 1896, the Imperial was leased by the popular comedy team Weber & Fields and became the Weber & Fields' Music Hall. When the act broke up in 1905, it was renamed Weber & Ziegfeld’s Music Hall. It was converted into a movie theater in the teens and demolished in 1917. Today, you'd never know this area once hosted The Brothers Houdini.

Related:

• The Modern Monarchs of Mystery
• The Brothers Houdini take Buffalo
• Uncovering the grave of Houdini's first "Brother"

Buried beside Houdini?

Here's an odd one. The insurance company Choice Mutual asked more than 3,100 people if they could be buried next to any celebrity, who would they choose. Houdini came in at #43 between Robert F. Kennedy and Bette Davis. He was the only magician to make the list.

For the record, Houdini's mother is buried beside him in Machpelah Cemetery in Queens.

So who's the lucky stiff at #1? Elvis, of course!

You can dig into the entire list at Choice Mutual.

Related:

• Larry Weeks now "Houdini's Biggest Fan" for eternity
• Ashley Drew discovers Houdini in Memphis (update)
• The Houdini-Weiss exedra turns 100

GENII gets a magical makeover

You may have noticed that the February GENII magazine is sporting an all-new look. That's because this is the first issue under the new stewardship of our friends Julie Eng and Jim Steinmeyer. I'm very excited about this new era as I know both Jim and Julie have a great love of magic history. 

To mark the occasion, I've put together a PDF of all the Houdini (and Hardeen) Genii covers from my own collection. It's cool to see how the magazine has evolved and celebrated Houdini over its 89-year history. I'm offering it as this month's free Patreon reward. You can uncover it by clicking below.

Might we see a new Houdini cover from the new team? Well...

You can subscribe to GENII via their website: geniimagazine.com. Also, keep an eye on their all-new space: geniimagic.com

Related:

• Genii & Houdini
• Houdini makes the cover of Genii's 1000th issue
• Jim Steinmeyer on Houdini’s North Pole mystery