Last week, I shared Day 2 (George Goebel) of my incredible Houdini Adventure on the East Coast, made possible by my friend and tour guide, Fred Pittella. Today, I share Day 3 (11/2), where Fred had made arrangements to visit two major Houdini collectors, Roger Dreyer at the Houdini Museum of NY and Kevin Connolly of NJ; Our friend John Cox had made arrangements to see 278; And I had made arrangements to see The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini by Cynthia Von Buhler. Holy smokes, all of this in one day, we must be nuts.

HOUDINI MUSEUM OF NEW YORK

Fred picked me up at my hotel in the morning and off we went. First stop, Houdini Museum of NY. The museum is located in the City’s premier magic store, Fantasma Magic, which is located at 213 West 35th St. They are on the 4th floor, so just take the elevator up and take a left when you get off!

One of the first things I noticed when I walked in was one of Houdini’s Gravesite busts and an original Grim Game Poster on the wall, behind it.

Upon closer inspection, this turns out to be the bust, that was stolen in August, 1983 and recovered in March 2002.

And to the left of the front door, you couldn’t help but notice, Q the Robot from the Master Mystery and an original poster from Episode Nine of the 15-part serial. (Note: Roger Dreyer had limited edition numbered Glicee’s made from the original poster; I got number 5).

The beautiful replica of the robot was made my John Gaughan, the mastermind behind many of the world’s most famous stage illusions.

Fred and I looked around the museum and were entertained by a young magician, while we waited for Roger.

As soon as Roger showed up, he immediately gave Fred and I the VIP tour of the museum.

On display, was an interesting page from Hardeen’s notes for an unpublished Houdini biography, stating that Houdini was born April 6, 1874 and was named Ehrich Prach after Prince Ehrich (who his father killed in a dule).  It also had a different account of the genesis of the infamous bullet lodged in Houdini’s left hand; Houdini’s own account was that he was shot by gamblers. Hardeen’s account has Houdini becoming a jockey, riding horses, mules and accidently getting shot in the palm of his left hand.

Roger recently acquired a couple lamps that were said to be from Houdini’s bedroom.

Also on display was one of Houdini’s Original Metamorphosis Substitutions Trunk and Houdini’s Original Escape 1907 Escape Coffin.

Roger then gave us the behind the scenes tour of the back room and office, where he pulled out all kinds of goodies that most people don’t get to see. This included some unpublished photos and candid images from his movies, that I had not seen before.

And speaking of movies, Kevin Connolly’s mighty collection was next and it was later than we thought. So, we took a picture with Q and said our good-byes.

What a blast, we had hanging out with Roger. I highly recommend the experience. Roger, his museum, magic shop and staff are all first rate. Thank You!

KEVIN CONNOLLY

I thought this day would never happen, but thanks to Fred, it was about to. I had dreamed of this day ever since I purchased my first Houdini Fix from Kevin years ago.

We pulled up to Kevin’s place at exactly 1:26 pm and were met by Kevin and his lovely wife Susan.  Come to find out that Susan knows her Houdini stuff and has given lectures on Houdini; she also plays a role in the collecting as well. Who knew?

I was given free reign, to explore the walls, bookcases, and cabinets in the study.  Of course, a number of things caught my eye, like the Russian pitchbook, Hungarian pitchbook with Master Mystery images, lobby cards from Houdini movies, and of course the largest collection of tobacco cards. Wow!

And speaking of movies again, Kevin had me sit at the dining room table, where he brought out the pressbook of all pressbooks.  It was the Haldane of the Secret Service pressbook, which may be the only one in existence.  It was about three times the size of any other Houdini Pressbook.

Kevin just kept bringing out binder after binder of photos, letters, playbills, and programs, including the letters on monkey gland research.  It was all a lot to digest, but so cool to see and experience.

Just wanted to say thank you to Kevin and Susan for the Houdini Fix of all Houdini Fixes.  Spending time with them was a real treat and honor.  Their hospitality and generosity in sharing their treasures is something I will always remember.

278

My last trip to NY, I ran out of time, and didn’t get to visit 278, which has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Was the same thing going to happen again? The answer was No.

278 was sold to new owners, who are currently in the process of undertaking the large job of restoring the brownstone and have been keeping John Cox up to date on the progress. John Cox arranged for Fred and I to get a sneak-peak at the work being done.  What a treat!

We arrived at 5 pm and got to explore this amazing place inside and out and top (roof) to bottom (basement) for over an hour.

Thank You to John and the new owners for making this dream come true.

THE GIRL WHO HANDCUFFED HOUDINI

And if 278 wasn’t enough, we still had VIP tickets waiting for us at the Theatre 80 to see Cynthia Von Buhler’s play, The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini. The trick was to get from 278 to Theatre 80 in time. Well, Fred is a New Yorker and knew how to drive and navigate his way through the busy streets of New York. He dropped me off in front of theatre around 7ish to get the tickets, while he tried to find a place to park in the city. I got our Passports for the show and was told that as VIP members, we needed to meet outside at 7:15 pm for something special.  Well, in all of the excitement going on in, realized we hadn’t had anything to eat all day and there were selling slices of pizza across the street.  As I was crossing the street, I was surprised to see Fred walking. He actually found a parking spot. We each woofed down a couple slices of pizza and a bottle of water before rushing to the show, where we were escorted up a flight of stairs.

I took a seat at Margery’s séance table next to someone who introduced herself as “Minky, she sat on one side of Margery and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sat on the other side of Margery.

After a private séance with Margery, I walked down to the main theater with Cynthia Von Buhler herself for a front-row seat to see the Great Houdini.

There are a number of different characters you could follow (Houdini, wife Bess Houdini, spiritualist Margery, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, puncher J. Gordon Whitehead, assistant Jim Collins, students Jack Price and Smilowitz, Houdini’s lawyer, or medical staff, or the exciting, sexy but more fictional character Minky Wookcock) depending on your passport. Fred and I followed Houdini throughout the evening as the story leading up to Houdini’s mysterious death unfolded. Fred even got to say a few words on Houdini’s behalf at his funeral.

The production was well researched and offered a meticulously detailed slice of history. It was truly a work of genius and the cast was amazing.

Afterwards, Fred and I got our books signed and each of us took a photo with Cynthia Von Buhler, the creator of this beautiful work of art.  Thank You Cynthia for the VIP treatment.

What an incredible Day 3. To be continued…