Sunday, December 8, 2019

Houdini's troupe seeks new work in 1926

Here is a remarkable article form the New York Daily News that ran on December 5, 1926. The article details the disbanding of Houdini's show after the magician's death and includes quotes from many members of Houdini's inner circle that we rarely see quoted, such as Jim Collins and Julia Sawyer (spelled here as Sauer). There's also mention of an assistant named Jack Arden who I've not heard of before.

I've been struggling with how to best present this in a blog post because it's just so jam-packed with great information. I finally decided the best was just to give you the full article to read for yourselves. So click to enlarge, then right click to save to your desktop where you should be able to open it full size. Enjoy!

Click to enlarge.

James Collins and Jim Vickery went on to work for Hardeen in January 1927. I don't know what became of Julia Sawyer. Some assistants unnamed in this piece, such as Elliot Sanford, stayed on and helped Bess deal with Houdini's collections. But once Bess sold 278 in June 1927, the Houdini troupe appears to have disbanded for good.

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17 comments:

  1. Houdini MuseumDecember 8, 2019 at 9:55 AM

    Jack Arden, who returned to Europe is probably Franz Kukol (Frank Williamson), who Houdini loyally protected his whole life. This has been clearly proven by Pat Culliton.
    Others who have elaborated on this fact include Houdini experts John Cox, Kevin Connolly, Dick Brookz, Dorothy Dietrich and Dean Carnegie, and others

    Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich
    The Original Houdini Museum, Scranton PA.

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    1. John CoxDecember 8, 2019 at 10:18 AM

      Goodness, how many names did Franz need! :p

      I'm not 100% sold on the Franz/Frank thing. The man Pat identifies as Frank Williamson just looks too young to me. But there is evidence that Franz never left. Maybe he was Arden! But there are several assistants we see in pics that have never been identified.

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    2. AnonymousJanuary 24, 2022 at 5:49 PM

      Jack Arden was actually John Bryce, my grandfather. He was a skilled cabinet maker/carpenter and was hired by Houdini in the early 1920's. He also served as one of the pallbearers for Houdini along with other assistants. It was mentioned in a Dec 5th 1926 article that he went to Europe looking for work but he actually started working on the s.s. Leviathan in February of 1927 through 1928. He also went on to work with Hardeen for a few years leading up to 1935.

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    3. John CoxJanuary 27, 2022 at 10:33 AM

      This is fascinating. Thank you so much for posting and clearing up the mystery of Jack Arden aka John Bruce! If you care to share more, please feel free to email me.

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  2. Leo HeviaDecember 8, 2019 at 10:06 AM

    Great article! Thanks for sharing it! Arden is mentioned in Christopher as one of the pallbearers at HH's funeral. According to Silverman he was also the guy in charge of shipping the 3 in One show props back to NYC after the Detroit mishap. Collins would wire him updates on Houdini's condition at Grace Hospital.

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    1. John CoxDecember 8, 2019 at 10:14 AM

      Ah ha! Thank you, Leo.

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    2. Joe M. NotaroDecember 8, 2019 at 5:40 PM

      FWIW: Franz Kukol can’t be Frank Williamson and John (Jack?) Arden, since both are listed as pallbearers. Christopher’s source was Variety Wednesday November 10, 1926.

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    3. Leo HeviaDecember 8, 2019 at 9:15 PM

      You're welcome John! Great catch Joe! When I read HH's funeral in Christopher, Frank Williamson's name in the pallbearer roster went right by me.

      Which girl in the photo is Dorothy Young?

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    4. John CoxDecember 8, 2019 at 10:02 PM

      She's the one holding the rabbit.

      Haha.

      She's the one next to Houdini on his left.

      I'm so sorry I never met Dorothy. Her memory seemed so sharp. I bet if she was shown this photo she would have remembered taking it.

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    5. Leo HeviaDecember 9, 2019 at 7:47 PM

      Thanks John! Now I can see the resemblance.

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  3. Houdini MuseumDecember 8, 2019 at 12:07 PM

    At any rate it speaks volumes as to Houdini's sense of humanity and loyalty to those around him. Willing to possibly break the law and putting himself at risk.

    Dick Brookz and Dorothy Dietrich
    The Original Houdini Museum, Scranton PA.

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  4. Tom and JohanDecember 8, 2019 at 2:37 PM

    This is a really marvelous find and fascinating to read (even if the author's tone, just a little over a month since Houdini passed, seems a bit too flippant and disrespectful to both him and Bess and the company; they must've felt their whole worlds had shattered). The picture of Houdini and women from the troupe is really great; I'm trying to recall if I've seen it before. Thank you so much for sharing.

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    1. John CoxDecember 8, 2019 at 4:55 PM

      It's a great pic! I know I've seen it elsewhere, but never in really good quality. It's from the 25-26 first season, btw. There's Dorothy Young.

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    2. Joe M. NotaroDecember 8, 2019 at 5:55 PM

      Kalush Laid Bare book page 287 has that photo (from the John Gaughan collection) in it.

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    3. Tom and JohanDecember 9, 2019 at 8:58 AM

      Thanks, John and Joe!

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  5. Houdini & HardeenDecember 9, 2019 at 6:42 PM

    Oh that was a very interesting read. Thanks John!

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  6. Leo HeviaDecember 10, 2019 at 9:33 PM

    Collins and Vickery most likely made the smoothest transition out of the entire troupe. They went to work for Hardeen and remained employed. The $500 Harry willed them each wasn't bad either. It's about $7,000 in today's money. And Hardeen got his brother's best assistants.

    Dorothy didn't return for the 26 season so the end couldn't have affected her, at least financially.

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