On the February 11, 1981 episode of "The Benny Hill Show," Benny has a sketch called "The Poster Girl." In it, he tries to woo the very lovely Allison Bell, who was one of his "Hill's Angels," and at one point heads to the cemetery to get some flowers for her. Benny just happens to pluck them from Houdini's grave whose tombstone has several dates on it, a reference to Houdini as a great escapologist. I've included images from the sketch.
A disturbing tale of madness and mystery. Lisa Mannetti leads the reader into a maze and illusion scandal surrounding Harry Houdini, world famous magician. Elusive like a magic trick, the story unfolds through the memories of one of his former assistants, Leona suffering from various mental disorders. The words of the novel entice the reader to explore an obscene liars and lust world. As soon as the layers of intrigue unfold, the reader is forced to keep reading...
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| "Is this any way to treat a guy on his birthday?" |
I think the idea as far as publicity for the P.C.A.M., Mrs. Houdini and the Winchester House, would be very fine and all probabilities handled right, might hit the press syndicate. Will you please advise me as to your idea on this matter? Also the time and date of such proposed seance.
Before escape artist Harry Houdini died, he vowed he would find a way to speak to his beloved wife, Bess, from beyond the grave using a coded message known only to the two of them. But when a widowed Bess begins seeing this code in seemingly impossible places, it becomes clear that Harry has an urgent message to convey. Unlocking the puzzle will set Bess on a course back through the pair’s extraordinary romance, which swept the illusionist and his bride from the beaches of Coney Island, to the palaces of Budapest, to the back lots of Hollywood. When the mystery finally leads Bess to the doorstep of a mysterious young photographer, she realizes that her husband’s magic may have been more than just illusion.
"The secret is this: When you dive for the shark, you hold in your left hand a stick of wood with a [sharped] point at each end and a piece of cloth tied to each to attract the shark. The big fish turns on his back to attack you and you point the stick at him. He opens his jaws to bite off your arm and you thrust the two pointed stick into his mouth. He closes his jaws and they are caught tight on the points. Then you use your right hand to rip open his body. Quite easy when you know how."
The shark stunt is on the square, so don't let that worry you, even if all the papers copied the advert.
The original music used in the documentary was written by Jonathan Astor and myself.
Jonathan adapted/re-scored instrumental parts of songs, composed for a musical, for which we also wrote the lyrics.
The musical is still being developed. As you know, there have been so many aborted or failed Houdini musical projects over the years...we're trying everything in our power to get this right!
Houdini starts out like you think any biopic would start out. We get one of those oft-used cross-cuts between the present (Houdini trying to salvage a buried-alive trick gone wrong) and the past (Houdini as a child stealing a loaf of bread for his starving family). I figured I was in for one long biopic retread.
But then things get weird. President Woodrow Wilson calls Houdini and tells him that his 28 year-old daughter, Margaret, has been kidnapped by someone in France. Wilson believes Houdini’s unique talents make him the perfect agent to go and retrieve his daughter.
Looking for a new challenge, Houdini teams up with Wilson’s stuffy lackey, Andrew Day, and the two seahorse their way to La Francoise. Once there, Houdini calls upon old friend (and rival) Chung Ling Soo, a famous magician who’s been known to publicly roast Houdini. But no worries, it’s all for show, as is Chung himself, who’s actually, under all the make-up, a white American!
In 19th-century Whitby, a magician prepares to compete with Harry Houdini at a major international Magic Convention. When a ship carrying a cargo of fifty coffins runs aground on the town's beach, he suspects Houdini of pulling a huge publicity stunt.
In this second series, the comedy troupe Peepolykus assume the roles of minor characters in great works of fiction and derail the plot of the book through their hapless buffoonery.
American Pinball will premiere their new "Houdini Master of Mystery" pinball machine at the Texas Pinball Festival, March 24-26. This is a completely new design from what was shown in Las Vegas and Chicago last year.
Along with politicians, rappers seem irresistibly drawn to Houdini's name and imagery. The latest is this "collab" by rappers Lil Purpp and Madeintyo.Produced by Gnealz & Bighead, “Houdini” is a heavy drug-referenced record that finds the two rapping about their love for the lean, “the lean make me feel like Houdini,” the chorus repeats.
I'm writing/illustrating a comic series culminating in a graphic novel for @HardCaseCrime @ComicsTitan #houdini #fb pic.twitter.com/lZBKr0go49— Cynthia von Buhler (@CynthVonBuhler) March 4, 2017
Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.
Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.
In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.
Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her. Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage.
This post is now retired.
But you will still be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1901 with the publication of my upcoming book.
The Houdini three sheet poster was originally purchased in 1973 at an auction in San Francisco by one of the owners of the Winchester House. It was purchased to be a part of a Houdini display (complete with a wax figure of Houdini and the newspaper article) that never came to fruition. The poster on its own was on display for a short time and then it was placed in storage until recently.
Today in 1923: Houdini escapes while hanging upside down outside the Vancouver Sun building https://t.co/ExwEahv5T2 pic.twitter.com/l7PgyVY375— Vancouver Archives (@VanArchives) March 1, 2017
