The Columbia was wild about Harry!

I've seen effusive Houdini advertising before, but this ad for the independently run Columbia Theatre in Cincinnati, Ohio, takes the cake. This was for Houdini's two-week run in January 1908. I love how it adds "And Houdini" after every other name on the bill.

Cincinnati Post, Jan. 6, 1908

I would love to know what exactly was displayed in Max Joseph's cigar store window. 

This was Houdini's third appearance at the Columbia. During his first week, he escaped from a cell at Cincinnati’s Central Station in 31 minutes. The cell had once held the infamous Scott Jackson (right), a murderer whom some believed had hypnotic power and was able to impose his will on victims using his steel blue eyes.

During his second week, Houdini featured a string of challenges: packing case (Monday), leather bag (Tuesday), iron-bound willow hamper (Wednesday), paper bag (Thursday), and a packing case built on the stage (Friday). He finished his run on Saturday with a straitjacket escape in eight minutes on a $100 wager.

Another nice detail about this engagement is that Houdini's mother joined him. Houdini recorded in his diary that, upon her arrival in Cincinnati, “Charlie the dog went wild for thirty minutes with joy.”

The Columbia Theater stood at 525 Walnut Street. It became part of the Keith circuit in 1910 and was renamed the B.F. Keith Theater in 1912. Houdini played the theater seven times. It closed in September 1965 and was demolished in July 1966. Today, it is the site of Fountain Square.

Want more? You can download research related to Houdini's 1908 engagement in Cincinnati as a Scholar member of my Patreon below.

Related:

• Off-script in Cincinnati
• LINK: Houdini, Martin Beck, and Herrmann in Cincinnati
• Houdini living on the air in Cincinnati

Houdini and The Last Action Hero

The Last Action Hero is an awful movie—famously awful. It was the first bomb after a string of successes for star Arnold Schwarzenegger. However, The Last Action Hero has a Houdini reference that's integral to the plot. Luckily, you don't need to watch the movie to see it. The entire "Houdini's Magic Ticket" scene is below.

If you're curious, the theater we see here is the 1927 Orpheum in downtown Los Angeles. The exterior is the Empire Theater on 42nd Street in New York. Houdini never played either theater.

Related:

• Houdini nods in Disney's new OZ
• The best Houdini movie without Houdini
• List of surviving Houdini theaters

American Oddities Museum Houdini Seance

What better way to kick off October 2024 than with news of a Halloween Houdini seance. This sounds like a must if you live near Alton, Illinois. Details below.

Join author and host Troy Taylor at the American Oddities Museum in the Mineral Springs Hotel in Alton for this special Halloween event as we continue the tradition of attempting to contact the spirit of one of the great magicians and illusionists who ever lived! On Halloween night of 1926, Harry Houdini stepped through the curtain from this world to the next, promising that if it was possible to reach out from beyond the grave — he would do so! Over the years, there have been many attempts to reach Houdini in the next world — and despite several close calls — his spirit has remained elusive. Will this finally be the year? And will it happen at the American Oddities Museum, where relics from Houdini’s life are on display?  

This is your chance to find out — and we’ll have VERY LIMITED SPOTS AVAILABLE, so you don’t want to miss out!

You can get more information and purchase tickets HERE.

If you are organizing or know of any Houdini seances or Houdini-themed Halloween events, feel free to let me know, and I will give it a shoutout!

Related:

• The secret origins of the annual Houdini Seance
• Halloween 1936: The Final Houdini Seance
• The Final Houdini Seance redux 1986