Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Remembering Brother Houdini

Recently I nabbed on eBay this February 1988 issue of the Masonic journal, Knight Templar, which contains Part 2 of an article about "Brother Houdini" by Sir Knight C. Clark Julius, York Commandrey No. 21, York, Pennsylvania (that's all Mason stuff). The cover features an uncommon shot of our favorite freemason in full Master Mystifier regalia. Nice.


Houdini was a member of the Cecile Lodge No 568 in New York City and a member of the Mecca Shrine Temple in New York City. His funeral included full Masonic rites.

The article in this magazine is called Escape and Survive and is a biography of Houdini with a few curious additions. Among them is the "rumor" that following Houdini's escape from the Siberian Transport Prison Cell in Russia, "several secret police officers were executed as a result." (!)

That's news to me; but who am I to question an ancient Order.

UPDATE: For the most up to date information on Houdini the Mason please see: Guest Blog: Author-Lecturer-Mystifier-Mason.
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5 comments:

  1. DAVID SALTMANMay 23, 2013 at 8:51 AM

    Fascinating! Love the rumor about Russia!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HarrySeptember 5, 2017 at 3:24 AM

    Here is a link to a pdf version of the journal:
    http://www.knightstemplar.org/KnightTemplar/Magazine/1988/02.pdf

    ReplyDelete
  3. HarrySeptember 5, 2017 at 3:33 AM

    Here is part one: http://issuu.com/knightstemplar/docs/01_2df2f7e7addf97?e=9348930/34991605

    ReplyDelete
  4. HarryOctober 16, 2017 at 11:19 PM

    Are there any photographs of Houdini wearing his Masonic apron?

    ReplyDelete