Happy anniversary, Harry and Bess

Today is the anniversary of Harry and Bessie Houdini. The couple married on June 22, 1894, in Coney Island, where they were both working as sideshow performers (Bess paid the $2 license fee). They claimed they later had two more ceremonies to satisfy their families -- one with a rabbi and the other with a Catholic priest. Bess would quip, "I'm the most married woman I know." (There is, however, a school of thought that believes they were never actually legally married, but we'll save that for another day.)

During their 33 years of marriage, Harry and Bess would sometimes return to Coney Island to celebrate their anniversary. Their song -- said to have been the song Bessie was signing when Harry first saw her -- was Rosabel...