Friday, September 20, 2024

Houdini in South Bend

It's rare these days that I find a suspended straitjacket escape that I didn't already have on my list, but that's precisely what happened last week. A recent upload of the South Bend News-Times online revealed that Houdini hung from the News-Times building in South Bend, Indiana, on January 29, 1924.

South Bend News-Times, Jan. 30, 1924

Why was this so hard to find? I've discovered many newspapers ignored a Houdini stunt if it was performed in conjunction with a rival paper. If that rival paper isn't archived online, it's like it never happened. How many more of these are waiting to be discovered, I wonder?

The News-Times building stood at 210 W. Colfax Avenue. Below is a photo of it as it appeared in Houdini's time. Today, the building is long gone. 


Happily, the South Bend theater where Houdini appeared, The New Palace, survives today as The Morris Performing Arts Center. So we can add to the list of surviving Houdini theaters as well!


Want more? While this was Houdini's first (and last) appearance in South Bend as a headliner, he had performed in the city in his early days. Houdini told the story to a News-Times reporter. It's a charming, untold tale that I'm sharing as a History Exclusive on my Patreon below.

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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 22, 2024 at 1:04 AM

    As a South Bend native, Doug Henning and Harry Blackstone, Jr. were my first magic show experiences in this very theater. My Uncle had told me about Houdini there even though he hadn’t seen it. Howard Thurston had played South Bend as well, my uncle recalled his floating ball fooling him.

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    1. John CoxSeptember 22, 2024 at 7:50 AM

      Wow, you saw Henning and Blackstone Jr. in a Houdini theater? Spectacular! Sounds like South Bend has some great magic history. Wonder if Copperfield ever played the Morris?

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  2. Khadi MadamaSeptember 22, 2024 at 7:31 AM

    How dare they underplay or ignore The Great Houdini. And, kudos to our favorite digital magician, John Cox, for finding this latest "double" listing.

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    1. John CoxSeptember 22, 2024 at 7:48 AM

      It was really the rival paper they were ignoring. You'll find plenty of interviews with Houdini in the other papers at this time.

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  3. Leo HeviaSeptember 22, 2024 at 9:28 AM

    The photos in the South Bend News Times look strange. Washed out it white.

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    1. John CoxSeptember 22, 2024 at 9:33 AM

      Yeah, not sure if that's the scan or they scanned a misprinted issue. It happens.

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