Monday, March 31, 2025
Houdini and the wardrobe trunk
Did Houdini invent the wardrobe trunk? He did if you ask him! The full story behind this strange claim has finally come to light. I've shared it as a Patreon History Exclusive below.
Friday, March 28, 2025
Hardeen's last bow
We all know the details of Houdini's last performance at the Garrick Theater in Detroit. But what about Hardeen's last show? On what stage did he take his final bow? Until now, I only knew that it was in Ridgewood, New York, on May 29, 1945. So I decided to do a little digging and was surprised to find Bob Hope!
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| Brooklyn Eagle, May 29, 1945. |
If you look carefully at this ad, which ran in several New York papers on May 29, 1945, you'll see "Hardeen & others" in very small print along the side.
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This points to the RKO Madison Theater, located at 54-30 Myrtle Avenue in the Ridgewood area of Queens. The below confirms that.
It appears this was a one-day performance at the Madison, which was primarily a movie theater. But while waiting for the new Bob Hope film to arrive, you could catch a day of old-time vaudeville. It's interesting to think of how Hardeen's career spanned the history of vaudeville, from its beginnings at theaters like the Imperial to its decline as a one-day novelty at theaters like the RKO Madison.
It was during this final show that Hardeen named Douglas Geoffrey his successor, "Hardeen Jr." The next day, he went into Doctors Hospital for an operation. He never came out.
The RKO Madison opened in 1927 as the Keith-Albee Madison Theatre. It featured vaudeville and movies. It dropped vaudeville as a regular feature in 1932 when it became part of RKO. But its large stage was still sometimes used for live performances. In 1966, escape artist Mario Manzini performed there.
The Madison became a grindhouse in the 1970s and closed in 1978. But the building still stands today as the Liberty Department Stores. Where Hardeen took his last bow.
Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Magic Castle reorganizes with Houdini's help
The Academy of Magical Arts and Magic Castle Enterprises have signed a new agreement to share in the responsibilities and profits of the world's famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. The deal was signed in the newly refurbished Houdini Seance Room using a Houdini House Pen. A good way to start!
A new era begins! ✨ It’s official—the Academy of Magical Arts (AMA) and Magic Castle Enterprises (MCE) have signed the Resolution Implementation Agreement! This landmark agreement secures a vibrant future for the Magic Castle, preserving its legacy and ensuring that magic, artistry, and community continue to thrive for generations to come.
Photography by @danapleasantphotography from The Magic Castle Facebook page.
Tuesday, March 25, 2025
Ghost Adventures goes in search of Houdini
Check out this promo for the upcoming season of the popular Ghost Adventures. Zak Bagans and the gang are going in search of Houdini at the historic Winchester Mystery House.
You can see that our friend George Hardeen is part of the action. I also traveled to San Jose to participate in the investigation. I'm not sure if I made the final cut, but we'll see. Did we encounter any spirits? You'll have to tune in for the answer!
Prepare for the most intense season yet. Ghosts, witches, and a historic séance with a blood relative of Houdini. This is uncharted territory. A new season of #GhostAdventures Wednesday, April 16 on Discovery!
Monday, March 24, 2025
Houdini turns 151
We just wrapped up Houdini's birthday celebration on Zoom with Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz of the Houdini Museum and a great gathering of Houdini nuts. We went for five hours and I think everyone had a good time, especially the guy below.
Below are some links to new books we discussed, including The Cancer of Superstition, which releases today!
Houdini The Ultimate Trivia Compendium (Collectors Edition)
and
Thanks to Michael Albright and The Magic Castle Facebook page for the above image.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
Come wish Harry a Happy Birthday on Zoom
Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz at the Houdini Museum in Scranton in association with the S.A.M will once again be holding a birthday celebration for Houdini live on ZOOM. You can join the fun on Monday, March 24, at 1:00 PM ET. Details below. Hope to see you there!
🎉 Houdini Birthday Celebration 🎂
March 24, 2025 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 856 0342 0717Passcode: 653777
Friday, March 21, 2025
Deconstructing Houdini '53: Come in, spirits
Continuing my scene-by-scene dissection of Houdini (1953). Last time, we discovered what Houdini had been doing in seclusion for two whole years. Now, we join him in his strange quest to reach the Beyond...
Chapter 21: Come in, spirits
Most people fault Houdini (1953) for creating the myth of (spoilers!) Houdini dying in the Water Torture Cell. But the far more pernicious myth to come out of the film is the idea that Houdini's mother's death is what led directly to his involvement in spiritualism. The truth is Houdini's interest in spiritualism goes all the way back to the beginning of his magic career, and his crusade against fraud mediums came ten years after his mother's death. As far as I know, he did not attend any seances immediately after her demise.
However, his mother's death provides such a perfect narrative link to spiritualism that screenwriter Philip Yordan fused the two, and later screenwriters and documentarians all followed suit. Thus, the idea is still ingrained in the minds of the public today.
Having got that bit of business out of the way, let's go to a séance!
We drop into the scene mid-séance as Harry, Bess, and reporter Simms sit around a table with an unnamed medium played by Mabel Paige. She intones, "Come in, spirits. Come in, spirits." And they do! Spirit hands, a tambourine, and a spirit trumpet all float through the air. A veiled entity whips past the sitters. Mr. Simms looks ready to bolt, but Bess tells him to remain steady.
Suddenly, the French doors burst open, and the spirit of a woman floats just outside the window. The strains of "The Golden Years," which we first heard when Harry and Mama danced in Germany, mysteriously plays in the room. This manifestation is the grand finale as the medium wavers and then faints, her head falling atop the table with a thunk.
After the lights come on, the attendees discuss what they saw. Bess says the spirit in the garden "did bear a resemblance to Mama," and Houdini notes that the waltz they heard was his mother's favorite song. The medium tells them they are fortunate, as most first sessions produced nothing. "It usually takes several before the receptive vibration is established."
I always found it amusing that they only discuss the music and apparition in the garden and not the far more baffling manifestations that preceded this. Of course, those were done via optical effects in post-production. I would be interested to know if they even appear in the script. They may have been added after the fact to provide the séance with some more spooky thrills.
The French doors burst open again. This time, Otto comes in holding a man, Kit Guard, who has the "Mama" spirit apparition on his head. Houdini then pulls a microphone down from the chandelier. He then fishes under the table with his foot until he finds the trigger that starts the music, which is supplied by a phonograph hidden in a chair. Busted!
A bemused Simms asks Houdini if all mediums are fakes. Houdini quickly answers, "No, I'm sure there are those who are sincere and believe what they're doing. I just haven't found them yet."
This sentiment isn't too far from Houdini's real statements. However, I sense this line is in the movie to head off potential controversy. If so, it worked. As far as I know, Houdini (1953) did not draw any ire from the Spiritualism community.
As they depart, the medium looks to her accomplice and whacks him hard, barking, "Take that thing off!" Funny.
So did this kind of thing happen? Absolutely. However, it happened far less than most people think. While Houdini attended hundreds of séances, he rarely exposed mediums on the spot. He would generally thank the medium but say that he hadn't seen anything "evidentiary" and depart. However, there were a few high-profile exposés that did play out on the spot and drew headlines as a result.
Speaking of headlines, we now get Montage #3, beginning with the "What's become of Houdini?" layout now filled in with his spirit exposures. Notice there are dates visible on these newspaper pages. The first is dated March 2, 1922, which is pretty accurate to the start of Houdini's public activities related to Spiritualism.
If you look closely, you can see three illustrations from Houdini's Margery pamphlet on the page below. So, technically, the famous Margery does appear in Houdini '53!
We then see a headline touting Houdini's $25,000 challenge for proof of contact with the spirit world. This one is dated August 28, 1924, and is generally accurate, although Houdini's personal bounty was $10,000.
We end with a headline in Billboard dated September 11, 1925: "Houdini Returns to Magic: Goes on Tour." Notice the cigar in the astray and the shadow of the telephone, suggesting this is the desktop of a showbiz bigshot. Martin Beck or E.F. Albee maybe?
While the date here is accurate to the launch of Houdini's first "3 Shows in One" tour, spiritualism remained a big part of his life and act. But as far as Houdini '53 is concerned, his time among the spirits is now over.
Want more? I have a special epilogue to this installment on my Patreon. Click below for a quick trip to the afterlife.
Thursday, March 20, 2025
Houdini: The Ultimate Trivia Compendium Limited Edition
Joe Hernadez is now offering a special hardcover edition of his book Houdini: The Ultimate Trivia Compendium. The book is signed and limited to 200 copies with new cover art by Tom Interval and gold color metal corners.
To commemorate Houdini's 150th birthday anniversary, Joe Hernandez—an accomplished magician and devoted Houdini enthusiast—brings the man behind the magic to life. This compendium is not just a collection of trivia but a captivating exploration of mastery, determination, and the relentless pursuit of the extraordinary. 359 pages with over 208 photographs.
The cost is $95 plus $6.50 for Medial Mail shipping. You can only buy this edition directly from Joe via PayPal joedez53@gmail.com. Please use "Friends and Family" when making your PayPal payment. Be sure to provide an address.
If you tell Joe you saw it on WILD ABOUT HARRY, he will select a low number for you!
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Tuesday, March 18, 2025
No love for The Truth
That's why I'm so surprised to read this review in the December 30, 1970 Northern Echo that excoriates it! But the doc did generate controversy, at least in the UK. The Magic Circle objected to what it believed were exposures. However, apart from the cross escape (which was removed at some point), there are no significant exposures.
Anyway, this is a fun read, and I can't condemn someone for defending Houdini, even though, in my opinion, it was unnecessary.
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Want more? You can view the cut cross escape footage as a Scholar member of my Patreon below.
Monday, March 17, 2025
Latest dynamite from the Houdinarian Society
Dr. Larrian Gillespie at the Houdinarian Society website is continuing to do some groundbreaking research into the details of Houdini's final illness. As a trained surgeon and keen historian, Dr. Gillespie sees details in the record that have been missed, and she is making some dynamite deductions. But don't take my word for it; just click the images below and have a read for yourself!
Saturday, March 15, 2025
Graded Houdini (1953) VHS, because I'm a nut
Some of you may be aware that there is currently a wild collectors market for sealed and graded VHS tapes. A sealed and graded Back To The Future made headlines when it sold for $75,000 at auction in 2022. I recently took a deep dive into the 1991 release of Houdini (1953) on VHS. This was inspired by my buying a still-sealed copy on eBay. I paid $9.00, less than it cost in 1991.
On a whim, I decided to have my Houdini VHS professionally graded by CGC. Here's the result:
Not a bad grade! If you're wondering why this didn't grade even higher, know that companies downgrade for stickers that obscure the cover art. Removing all stickers will get you a better grade. But, for me, the stickers are what tell this story. Houdini was part of Paramount Home Video's 1991 wave of sell-through releases at $14.95. The stickers show this copy is from that first wave. If the idea is to freeze a VHS in time, you gotta freeze the stickers as well!
Now, I am under no illusions that this is valuable or will ever become valuable. In fact, any deal I got on eBay is now out the window. But I love this movie and I thought this was a fun way to honor it and make it as important as any other tape from the VHS era. Maybe it's worthless, but the movie is priceless. And it displays well.
I highly recommend watching this video from one of my favorite YouTube channels, Red Letter Media. It's all about the VHS grading and the collecting phenomena and their own very funny experiment.
By the way, their Nukie ended up selling for $80,600. Now that's wild!
Thursday, March 13, 2025
LINK: The mystery serum is a mystery no more!
Our new friend Dr. Larrian Gillespie at the recently launched Houdinarian Society website has knocked it out of the park today with a post about the "mystery serum" Houdini was given during his final illness. Dr. Gillespie is a UCLA-trained urologic surgeon with expertise in urogynecology and holder of four pharmaceutical patents. She's also a collector and keen historian.
Click the headline above or image below for the answer to this 99 year old mystery!
You can subscribe to the Houdinarian Society for updates and follow them on Facebook.
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Mastery Mystery Episode 10 poster sells for 31K
A one-sheet lithograph for The Master Mystery Episode 10 sold on Friday for $31,000 at Poster Store Auction. This does not include the steep 31% buyers premium. It's unclear if this was the same poster that was sold by Haversat & Ewing in 2020.
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The auction listing touted this as "only copy of this fabulous poster known to have survived," but this is not the case. There are at least two others in private hands. But it's a beauty and I think this might be a new record for a Master Mystery poster at auction.
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Monday, March 10, 2025
The Vanishing Elephant appears in Providence
Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased at the Providence Performing Arts Center website. And before someone asks what a "Sensory Friendly Performance" is, here's a link that explains.
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Sunday, March 9, 2025
Take a Sweet Escape at the Magic Castle
The world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood has created a specialty cocktail in honor of Houdini's birthday this month. It's called Houdini's Sweet Escape.
The souvenir Houdini mini poster is his famous "Europe's Eclipsing Sensation" lithograph. Certainly one of the most beautiful Houdini posters. Only two originals are said to exist. One is in David Copperfield's International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas and the other is in private hands. You can buy a stunning reproduction at Nielsen Magic.
Thanks to Mark Willoughby for the tip and Lupe Nielsen for the poster info.
Friday, March 7, 2025
Houdini and the windmill
Ever hear the one about Houdini and the Dutch windmill? The story first appeared (as far as I can find) in an article by Walter B. Gibson called "Houdini's Last Interview Revealed His Narrow Escapes." This ran in several newspapers in December 1926. Below is an excerpt from the Wichita Falls Times.
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| Wichita Falls Times, Dec. 5, 1926 |
This windmill story appears in Harold Kellock's Houdini: His Life Story and Milbourne Christopher's Houdini: The Untold Story. I suspect Christopher got it from Kellock, and Kellock got it from Gibson. Try as I might, I've never been able to find any evidence or independent source for this story, and most current biographies omit it.
So is the windmill story fiction, or just another example of the Germany problem (which encompasses the Netherlands)? If any of you research bloodhounds want something to track down, this would be a good one! It would have happened in May or June 1902 when Houdini was with the Circus Corty-Althoff in Holland.
It's worth noting that this Gibson article also contains what appear to be the first appearances of the stories about Houdini being tied to railroad tracks in Dresden, and being tied to the back of a horse in Nova Scotia in 1896. Those are also tales of outdoor stunts gone wrong that I've never been able to confirm.
Want more? You can read the full "Houdini's Last Interview" by Walter B. Gibson as a Scholar member of my Patreon. Fact or fiction, it's good stuff!
Top image A.I. generated.
UPDATE: For those who don't like my A.I. image, here's an illustration from the March 1928 Tales of Magic and Mystery. Thanks to Joe Notaro for this one.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Houdini Lincoln cover story in Skeptical Inquirer
The March/April 2025 issue of Skeptical Inquirer magazine has a cover story by Jason Emerson about how spiritualists tried to claim President Lincoln as a believer and Houdini's role in debunking that. This one is a must buy just for the awesome cover art!
You can read or listen to the article HERE, or pick up a print edition in stores. To subscribe visit the Skeptical Inquirer website.
I suspect this subject will be covered in greater detail in the upcoming book, Lincoln's Ghost: Houdini's War on Spiritualism and the Dark Conspiracy Against the American Presidency by Brad Ricca. You can pre-order that book now on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. Release date is October 28.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Discover the Houdinarian Society
Houdini devotees Larrian Gillespie, MD and Shell Reinish (who is currently teaching a class on Houdini at UNLV) have launched the Houdinarian Society. The website is already packed with Houdini content, including videos, artifacts, links, reviews and research. They also have a dedicated Facebook page and a way to subscribe and receive alerts when new content is published.
Larrian was kind enough to give WAH a shoutout and join my Patreon as an Angel, so I'm excited to share the love. The Houdinarian Society is a terrific way to keep up with all that's happening in the world of Houdini, so get to browsing!
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Monday, March 3, 2025
Houdini will never escape Jeopardy!
Houdini was back on Jeopardy! last Friday (Feb 28). This time he appeared as the answer to the Final Jeopardy question. All three contestants got it right.
Check out the J! Archive website to see all mentions of Houdini on the show going back to 1985. Cool to see that Hardeen got a nod on 12-26-24.
Thanks to Arthur Moses for the alert.
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