Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Houdini living on the air in Cincinnati

Reader Dutch Schantz checks in today with a "Hidden Houdini" he spotted in the classic TV show WKRP in Cincinnati. As you can see below, a "King of Cards" poster can been seen in the background of season 2, episode 7, Mike Fright. The episode first aired November 12, 1979.


You can bet this is a Lee Jacobs reproduction King of Cards poster. You can read the history this famous magic bedroom mainstay HERE.

But what of the real Houdini in Cincinnati?

Houdini appeared in Cincinnati ten times between 1899 and 1925. Eight of those engagements were at the Columbia/B.F. Keith's theater on 5th and Walnut streets. During these runs he did handcuff and a jail escapes from the local police station. He also did a suspended straitjacket escape from the Pickering Building in 1916. Houdini gave his spiritualism lecture at the Emery Auditorium in 1924. His final appearance in Cincinnati was at the Shubert Theater in 1925 with his 3 Shows in One.

Here's something that ties in nicely. Houdini also appeared on Cincinnati radio! During the week of September 20, 1925, Houdini broadcast nightly from station WLM. He addressed spiritualism and even gave magic lessons. I doubt he was as smooth as Dr. Johnny Fever, but I bet he didn't get mike fright!

Rushville Daily Republican, Sept. 20, 1925.

Eagle-eye Dutch also made an interesting sighting in The Greatest American Hero. A pair of straitjackets from the 1953 Tony Curtis Houdini biopic can be spotted in the season 3 episode, "The Resurrection of Carlini", which first aired November 19, 1982. As I covered in my last installment of Deconstruction Houdini '53, these straitjackets where custom made for the movie by Abbott's Magic Co. Wild to see them still available to productions in 1982. I wonder if these are still lurking in some Hollywood prop or costume shop?


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11 comments:

  1. Leo HeviaJuly 20, 2022 at 12:09 PM

    Great stuff! Cincinnati must have been a reliable bread and butter city for Harry, much like Boston was. Those Houdini 53 style jackets are I believe still available in S & M bondage websites.

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    1. John CoxJuly 20, 2022 at 7:02 PM

      It was certainly a bread and butter city for Keith/Albee vaudeville, and that circuit was Houdini's bread and butter. Eight appearances at this same theater. Makes me curious which theater holds the record for the most appearances by Houdini. This is in the running.

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  2. AnonymousJuly 21, 2022 at 8:07 AM

    Do we know how many times Houdini played at the Palace in Manhattan?

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    1. John CoxJuly 21, 2022 at 8:53 AM

      I live for questions like this. To the Chronology!...
      I have him at the Palace in Times Sq. four times:
      Oct. 19-25, 1914
      Aug 2-15, 1915 (two weeks)
      Dec. 25-31, 1916
      Jan. 2-8, 1922

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    2. John CoxJuly 21, 2022 at 9:04 AM

      He also played the Hippodrome four times. But these were engagements of many, many weeks. He also appeared in several one-off benefit performances there. The Hippodrome was easily the NY theater where he appeared the most. And if we count number of days, it's very likely the stage he walked the most.

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    3. Leo HeviaJuly 21, 2022 at 9:42 AM

      What about the Princess Theater in Chicago? HH spent a lot of time there.

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    4. John CoxJuly 21, 2022 at 9:56 AM

      He only played one engagement at the Princess. But it was an 8 week engagement. So it depends on how we want to measure it. Number of unique engagements (which is how I've been thinking about it) or number of performances.

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  3. AnonymousJuly 21, 2022 at 3:55 PM

    I’ve gone to plays at the Palace in the past. It’s a magnificent restored theatre. All I could do was sit there and imagine that Houdini himself preformed on that very stage. Perry from NJ.

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    1. John CoxJuly 22, 2022 at 7:48 AM

      Haha. Love it. It's a gift it still survives and in such great shape. So few theaters left where Houdini performed.

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  4. AnonymousJuly 22, 2022 at 8:36 AM

    Last I walked by that area they were completing massive construction. Heard they are raising the theatre to build retail stores on a first floor! Perry from NJ.

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    1. John CoxJuly 22, 2022 at 9:35 AM

      Yes, I actually did a post about this. Houdini's name was on the construction signage!

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