Thursday, March 23, 2023

Houdini's overboard box footage identified at last!

Here's one that has stumped me for years. The below footage is the only surviving film of Houdini doing his overboard box escape. But the date and location of this stunt has long been a mystery. Now thanks to a clue buried in a Houdini-Harry Kellar letter at David Copperfield's International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts (where I am typing this), I finally know when, where, and why Houdini did this escape.


This escape took place on June 30, 1917 in Westport (Saugatuck), Connecticut, during a special Red Cross charity drive at the home of Frederick E. Lewis II. Houdini is being lowered into Long Island Sound here. The below from the June 27, 1917 Bridgeport Times announces the event and Houdini's escape.


At the moment, this is Houdini's last known public overboard box escape.

Thanks to David Copperfield and the Westport Museum for History & Culture for their help solving the mystery of this famous footage.

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12 comments:

  1. Leo HeviaMarch 23, 2023 at 4:32 PM

    Kellar was the giveaway for me. I always suspected some waterway off of NYC, and I wasn't too far off.

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  2. ColleenMarch 24, 2023 at 8:17 AM

    wow! Love to hear HH situated in the Sound! Thrilling. Was that really his first appearance in CT?

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    Replies
    1. John CoxMarch 24, 2023 at 8:23 AM

      It wasn't. He made appearances in CT in his early years. But it had been a while.

      Delete
  3. AnonymousMarch 24, 2023 at 1:55 PM

    Interesting that F Scott Fitzgerald lived close by the Lewis mansion. That mansion, it’s lavish parties are probably what are illustrated in The Great Gatsby based upon what Ive just read. Fitzgerald probably attended these parties. The Lewis home is long gone and is now Longshore country club.

    “The back story of Lewis — a descendant of one of the wealthiest families in American history — is particularly fascinating. He’s not a familiar name. But his parties at what later became Longshore — which the Fitzgeralds surely must have attended — were beyond legendary. One even featured Harry Houdini. (Yes, he performed an escape trick right there.)”

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  4. AnonymousMarch 24, 2023 at 2:02 PM

    Sorry. The home still exists! It’s now The Inn at Longshore

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    1. AnonymousMarch 24, 2023 at 2:02 PM

      260 Compo Road South in Westport Conn.

      Perry from NJ.

      Delete
    2. John CoxMarch 24, 2023 at 2:30 PM

      Excellent! Thanks Perry.

      Delete
  5. Jersey RomerMarch 26, 2023 at 8:14 AM

    Was the underwater sequence added in later?

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  6. AnonymousMarch 26, 2023 at 11:41 AM

    How does Patrick Culliton sign in so he can edit? The auto correct changed Saugatuck to Naugatuck.

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    Replies
    1. John CoxMarch 26, 2023 at 1:41 PM

      Hey Pat. You can't edit comments, but I can redo it for you. The comment interface here on Blogger isn't great.

      Delete
  7. Patrick CullitonMarch 26, 2023 at 1:43 PM

    "Years ago, a midsummer day, Saugatuck, Long Island Sound, suddenly he stepped out on the shore, a bather smiling, bowing, in the sun. From "Houdini" by Melville Cane. "--Incredulous ones peered into a packing box. . ."

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