Among the inner circle was Teller of the magic duo Penn & Teller; Houdini biographer Kenneth Silverman; Bill Radner, son of Sidney Radner; Houdini collectors Roger Dreyer, Tom Boldt, Larry Weeks and escape artist Alexandria the Great, who performed an underwater escape after the seance.
Several officers of the Springfield chapter of the Society of American Magicians, no. 17, were also guests, including dean of the society Tom Gentile.
This year's seance was as much about honoring Sidney Radner as it was to contact Houdini. Sid, who died this year at age 91, had carried on the annual seance tradition since the 1940s.
"I was a great fan of Sid’s," said Teller. "He was a fascinating man of many talents."
The medium this year was Kandisa Calhoun from Berkeley, California.
The no-show appears to have been Houdini himself, although Roger Dreyer commented on Facebook how the inner circle got to watch Houdini's spirit enter Calhoun's body.
"Well, at least that's what she said," says Roger. "I say no more."
I wish I would have met Sid before he died. So, any video footage of this anywhere?
ReplyDeleteSorry I couldn't be there but at least one of our Cell miniatures got to attend!
ReplyDeleteYou continue to do a great job, John!
Dave Dorsett
Douglas~Wayne Illusioneering
Thanks, Dave. :)
ReplyDeleteYep, there's one of your USDs. Still got mine. #017. It's one of my treasures!
I had the great honor of being invited t the table and doing an escape, my Underwater Cell (UC) escape, prior to the seance. Teller spoke and could not have been nicer.
ReplyDeletePhotos of the event can be sen here http://photos.masslive.com/4502/gallery/holyoke_hosts_seance_for_harry_houdini/index.html
The newspaper story can be seen at http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2011/10/teller_of_penn_and_teller_spea.html
Alex
Thanks, Alex. Congrats on being invited! A real honor.
ReplyDelete