On Aug. 6, 1907, the Cleveland Plain Dealer advertised that Henry Marcus would be nailed into a packing case and "thrown" into the lagoon at Luna Park. This is six years before Houdini's first overboard box and three years before Hanco did the stunt with a trunk in Australia. At this time, Houdini was just beginning to do bridge jumps as his main outdoor feat.
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| The Plain Dealer, Aug 6, 1907. |
Did Marcus go through with the escape? Try as I might, I couldn't find any follow-up, nor could I find confirmation of Marcus appearing at Luna Park. It appears Luna Park was in competition with White City, another summer resort, which was featuring "Sensational Free Acts" by Capt. E.C. Wilson. Luna also advertised "Free Open Air Acts." Was the Marcus stunt one of those free acts?
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| The Plain Dealer, Aug 8, 1907. |
Houdini was spending the summer months at home in New York when Marcus did this stunt. He would not play Cleveland again until March 1908. So if this was a one-off stunt, Houdini may have never learned of it. But he was aware of Marcus himself. In the April 15, 1907 issue of the Conjurers' Monthly Magazine, we read:
Marcus, "The man in the box," is featuring Houdini's packing case trick and is industriously seeking engagements. When last heard he was in Coxsackie, N.Y.
If someone wants to take up the challenge and try to find Marcus doing his overboard box anywhere else, I'd love to hear what you find. For the moment, we can add this to the mysterious origins of the Houdini Blackstone Hanco Marcus overboard box.
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I'm sure HH was aware of Henry's Overboard Box Escape. He was on to Henry's shenanigans five months before that. He probably thought: Damn! That's a good idea, why didn't I think of it?
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