Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Houdini in 1919

Welcome to another year of WILD ABOUT HARRY. Lets kick off 2019 with a look back at what Houdini himself was up to 100 years ago.

Houdini began 1919 with the flu. This was not a small matter. Between 1918 and 1920, the Spanish Flu pandemic killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide. Fortunately, Houdini beat the virus and recovered. Another death-defying escape!

This post is now retired. 

But you will still be able to enjoy the story of Houdini in 1919 with the publication of my upcoming book.


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    14 comments:

    1. Joe M. NotaroJanuary 1, 2019 at 8:55 AM

      Fantastic start to the new year. 1919 was definitely my favorite year for Houdini. Lots of great info here.

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    2. Tom and JohanJanuary 1, 2019 at 9:33 AM

      Wonderful piece and many thanks. I seem to remember the Psycho automaton being in residence at the Houdini Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls.

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      1. John CoxJanuary 1, 2019 at 10:18 AM

        He was. He's now in John Gaughan's collection.

        Wait a few more days and I'll have a nice post about Psycho with something I don't think people have seen. Believe it or not there's a tie-in with the Circumnavigators Club.

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      2. Tom and JohanJanuary 1, 2019 at 7:48 PM

        Thanks, John. I'm glad that it, too, survived the fire. Looking forward to the upcoming post.

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      3. John CoxJanuary 12, 2019 at 10:29 AM

        Here we go: A gift between Circumnavigators.

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    3. Leo HeviaJanuary 1, 2019 at 10:03 AM

      Great 1919 recap John! Where is Psycho now? In Copperfield's museum?

      There's a picture of HH with Gloria Swanson in JC Cannell's Secrets book. There were also the giant wagon wheel and ladder publicity photos where Harry was roped and tied.

      I just now realized that the fellow holding HH up by the neck in that Terror Island still was not an African-American extra. He looks Mexican or Pacific Islander.

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      1. John CoxJanuary 1, 2019 at 10:24 AM

        Also notice there are no female African Americans. All the female extras are of some other ethnicity.

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    4. AnonymousJanuary 1, 2019 at 11:30 AM

      Great story! 1919 certainly was a busy year for Houdini.

      Jack

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      1. John CoxJanuary 2, 2019 at 12:07 PM

        Each time I do one of these I'm amazed at how jam-packed each year was. My chronology also reveals that. Truly one of the secrets of his success is he just worked harder than anyone else.

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      2. Leo HeviaJanuary 4, 2019 at 10:37 PM

        At some point, I think it was 1914 or thereabouts, HH told a reporter he was tired, and was looking for a better way to earn a living. The pain to glory ratio numbers were not there. He had been working harder, not smarter, and probably explains why he tried the movie and film development business.

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    5. Leo HeviaJanuary 1, 2019 at 2:58 PM

      The fellow seated right behind Houdini's head in that Silver Anniversary photo looks like Arbuckle. The Houdinis were away from 278 from April to December of 1919. Who lived in the house and took care of it? The pets and so on. Bess's mother?

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      1. John CoxJanuary 1, 2019 at 3:40 PM

        Yep, that is Arbuckle back there.

        I'm pretty sure Bessie's mother did live in 278 at this time. But I believe there was a constant rotation of family members and/or people employed by Houdini staying there, so there was always someone to look after the house and animals. The Houdinis were gone all the time, but I don't think 278 was ever empty.

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    6. Tony ChapparoJanuary 1, 2019 at 3:26 PM

      Excellent start to 2019! Looking forward to more...

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    7. UnknownJanuary 2, 2019 at 7:04 PM

      Great tead, Rick Schmidlin

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