Sunday, November 29, 2020

Tony Spina reveals Amedeo Vacca

The Magic Times website has posted this intriguing interview with Tony Spina about his friendship with a little-known Houdini assistant, Amedeo Vacca. The interview was recorded in July 2006.

Meir Yedid interviews Tony Spina about Houdini’s secret assistant Amedeo Vacca. Amadeo was Houdini’s front man and secret enabler. You will learn Houdini’s behind the scenes secrets, that were implemented at his shows, stunts, escapes, and challenges.

Magic Times has several other Houdini-related videos by Meir Yedid, including the 2020 broken wand ceremony and a multi-part tour of the Houdini Museum of New York. It's a great site well worth a browse.

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3 comments:

  1. Leo HeviaNovember 29, 2020 at 1:27 PM

    You're welcome John! According to Spina, between 1918 and 1924 Amadeo prepped the tools and whatnot for Harry's challenge escapes from manacles and even jail cells. If true this means HH never completely dropped the challenge escapes.

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    1. John CoxNovember 29, 2020 at 1:36 PM

      Jail breaks this late are debatable. And Spina didn't really say that. That was just suggested as a possibility by Meir. But HH did challenges right up to the end. Even the 3 Shows in One would occasionally feature a packing crate challenge instead of the USD.

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    2. Leo HeviaNovember 29, 2020 at 2:36 PM

      Okay, I thought Spina had mentioned the jail escapes. I think he might have mentioned handcuffs. It's possible Amadeo told Spina he assisted HH in "escapes" and Spina took that to mean handcuffs and jails. Yes--the packing box was a bread and butter escape for Harry. A crowd pleaser, can be performed almost anytime/anywhere, and you don't get dirty or wet. What's not to like.

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