Baltimore was regular stop on Houdini's tours. In 1916 he performed a suspended straitjacket escape from the Sun building before a reported crowd of 50,000. It was also in Baltimore at the Maryland Theater that he debuted his "3 Shows in One" on August 31, 1925.
I don't have time to cover more of Houdini's Baltimore connections, so I will send you over to Dean Carnegie's The Magic Detective to read: Houdini In Baltimore 1916.
It's likely I will not be updating the blog until I'm home. But I'm hoping to see some of you at Sunday's event. You can find details at the JMM's website or the event page on Facebook.
UPDATE: Discovering Houdini's Baltimore.
Good luck, John. Wish I could make it down but I have rehearsal. Have a great time!
ReplyDeleteGreat presentation, John!
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming, David! What a fun event. Glad you finally got to see The Grim Game.
DeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI happened to stumble onto your blog today, just a few days after your visit to Baltimore, sadly. I'm very curious if you were able to see the Vanishing Elephant at Inescapable: The Life and Legacy of Harry Houdini? I was commissioned to construct the display. I built it based on Jim Steinmeyer's description of Charles Morritt's design.I'd very much like your opinion if you had the opportunity to see it.
Thanks and Cheers, Jay Wright
DeleteHi Jay. I did indeed see it! It's a very clever display. However, I think it might be broken at the moment. The box was in "vanished" mode and I couldn't get Jennie to snap into place in her visible mode. But I didn't try all that hard, so maybe it just needs to be set up properly. I do love the idea of it and I enjoyed the explanation video. Great work!