Joe Notaro at Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence has a nice post comparing and contrasting the various biographical accounts of the events on October 24, 1926 when Houdini arrived in Detroit for what would be his fateful last show. Joe then shares the February 15, 1927 affidavit of nurse Sophie Rosenblatt who was with Houdini every step of the way.In Rosenblatt's account, Houdini comes across as much sicker than one gets from the other tellings. It also contains this heartbreaking and somewhat chilling detail that, as far as I know, had never appeared in any book:
"It seemed that he was unable to open his eyes while he was putting on his make-up for the performance."
Click the headline to read the full post at HHCE.
UPDATE: Patrick Culliton pointed out that he has the full affidavit on his website www.houdinisghost.com. This includes events starting with Rosenblatt's arrival on the scene in Providence on October 4, 1926.
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Thanks for the heads-up about Joe Notaro's fascinating and dramatic post; it is devastating to read, particularly Nurse Rosenblatt's account. Imagining the string of events from Bess's perspective is even more devastating.
ReplyDeletePat Culliton has the full affidavit on his site Houdini's Ghost. It begins on Oct. 4.
DeleteThanks, I will check it out.
DeleteI've had a chance to read the full addidavit of Nurse Rosenblatt on the "Houdini's Ghost" site, as well as J. Gordon Whitehead's full addidavit there (with much thanks to Mr. Culliton for these). While the nurse's full account is even more harrowing to read than the excerpt, Mr. Whitehead's seems to significantly downplay the events and related implications compared to what I've read in other accounts of those last days. Not an accusation, just an observation (and perhaps accurate from his own point of view). But that's a whole other discussion! (Reposted this comment due to a typo.)
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