Image courtesy of Kevin Connolly
The photo above has most of the cast from “Back Stage”: In the front row, we have Fatty Arbuckle, Molly Malone, Bess and Harry Houdini and in the back row, we have Buster Keaton and Al St. John.
Image courtesy of Kevin Connolly
Fatty performing his version of “The Needles”.
The above two photos were taken at the Lasky Studiios where Houdini was making “The Grim Game” and Fatty Arbuckle and company were making “Back Stage”.
Prior to these photos with Arbuckle, Houdini risked his life and sustained injury in making “The Grim Game”.
Image courtesy of Marc Wanamaker, Bison Archives
So that means, he is hiding the cast behind his straw hat in the pictures with Arbuckle.
Image courtesy of Kevin Connolly
Houdini showing off even with a cast on his left wrist.
Special thanks to Leo Hevia for giving me the idea for this post.
Holy cow. How have I NEVER seen this myself? Great observation. Thank you Leo and Joe.
It is easily missed. Glad we could share this.
You’re welcome Joe and John! I wrote about the hidden cast in Dean Carnegie’s Magic Detective website. I can’t remember which Houdini book mentioned this fact under the Arbuckle photo. Houdini’s sleeve looks long enough to hide the cast, but it appears he wasn’t going to take any chances. It looks like Harry and Bess were visiting during filming. I guess closed sets had not yet made their debut in Hollywood.
I am so glad that you comment on Houdini blogs. We learn a lot from them.
BTW: You are probably thinking of the Kalush book. It has the last image with the following caption: Houdini does card magic for Fatty Arbuckle despite having a cast on his wrist.
No, it wasn’t the Kalush book because I knew about the hidden cast behind the straw hat for many years before the Kalush book came along. It might have been in Doug Henning’s book Houdini His Legendary Magic. I got that for Christmas back in the late 1970s.
I also learn a lot from you and John and Kevin and Dean and Patrick and so on. Your blogs are fantastic. Participating is a no brainer for me.
Thanks! I love learning new stuff. The Henning book has the 2 Arbuckle images with his left hand hidden by the Straw Hat, but there is no mention of the cast, nor of the connection with the Grim Game. Seems like you need the additional 3rd Arbuckle image with the cast showing and knowledge of The Grim Game injury to piece it all together. Would love to know where this all first appeared in print.
I don’t have access to my Houdini books. They’re currently boxed in public storage but I’m sure I read about this in one of the older books. Possibly in:
1. Christopher’s Pictorial History
2. Walter Gibson’s Houdini Scrapbook
3. Randi and Sugar’s Houdini His Life and Art
Is it possible I read about the fractured wrist during filming of the Grim Game and realized he was hiding it in the Arbuckle photos? Could be…
I vote for the latter. Pretty impressive.
Thanks Joe but anyone who read about the fractured wrist during filming of the Grim Game would have realized Houdini was hiding his wrist. After two photos, it looked obvious.
Indeed. That’s exactly what this post was trying to convey. That is, it put the pieces together for everyone.