Friday, August 19, 2011

When Orson met Harry

Check out the article, Bits of Coincidence, on Meredith Grau's terrific blog, L.A. La Land: Fame, Fortune, and Forensics. It tells the story of when Orson Welles as a boy met Houdini, and the life lesson he took away from the encounter.

Now, I knew Welles said he saw Houdini in his youth (commenting on how Houdini's show was filled with "German illusions"), but I've never heard this story of a personal backstage meeting. Of course, Welles was as much a teller of tall tales as Houdini, so maybe this didn't really happen (or maybe it wasn't Houdini). But, hey, it's still a cool story, so click on over to L.A. La Land and have a read.

Welles and wife Rita Hayworth perform The Houdinis Metamorphosis.

UPDATE: The above photo does indeed show Orson and Rita Hayworth performing the substitution trunk. This was part of Orson's USO Wonder Show. In the show Orson also performed Houdini's Needles.
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2 comments:

  1. EricAugust 19, 2011 at 10:58 AM

    The February 2000 Genii magazine had a fairly long article about Orson Welles and magic, containing this anecdote. The article was written by Wynn Pierce Wheldon.

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  2. John CoxAugust 19, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Oh, cool, thank you, Eric.

    Heck, I should have checked my Ask Alexander before I posted this. :)

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