As promised, here is the caption and additional info on the photo I teased last week.
The National Star April 4, 1974
The image (with Milbourne Chrsitopher in tux performing the Vanishing Elephant) was used in an article to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Houdini’s birth.
Unlike other authors (e.g., Gresham, Silverman, Culliton, Steinmeyer), Milbourne Christopher’s, Houdini The Untold Story, mentions Houdini firing a pistol to make the elephant disappear. Per Linking Ring [Vol. 48 No. 6], Walter B. Gibson would also echo this, “Four men push cabinet on wheels in center stage, Magician leads elephant up ramp into cage. Fires gun. Elephant disappears.”
And per WAH, David Haversat has Christopher’s” unpublished notes “explaining how he vanished his own elephant. Christopher writes that he believes the method is the same that Houdini used.”
On January 1, 1967, CBS presented, The Garry Moore Show, The Greatest Magicians in the world, where:
Milbourne Christopher [co-producer] closed the all too fast hour taking us back through time and space to present the Asrah Floating Lady, the Sword Basket and ending with the biggest effect in magic the vanish of an elephant, Miss Ronnie by name. Ronnie was brought on stage, a slat framed cabinet built around her and with a flash of flame and a puff of smoke she vanished. Needless to say, CBS, got a lot of publicity out of this effect and the audience wasn’t disappointed. [Genii Vol 31, No. 5]
Image from DVD
I recently acquired the hard to find historic magic special (of Milbourne Christroper performing the vanishing elephant effect) on DVD.
The sword basket from that special is on YouTube:
Oh great stuff Joe! I’m happy you were able to find a DVD of Christopher’s performance. The method doesn’t look the same to me though. Houdini’s method didn’t exhibit the elephant thru bars inside the cage as in the photo you provided. This is the method HH used:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fCX0LWmjZjE
Agreed, unlike Houdini’s version, the elephant is visible the whole time until the puffs of smoke, so…
Maybe we can get John to post Christopher’s notes on his patreon page in the future.
Thanks for the link.
Great idea! I will do that. Just gotta find it.
This looks to be the method that was exposed by the Masked Magician. That presentation used bars. The Christopher notes I have isn’t that. It’s more like Houdini’s.
Page 143-144 of Houdini’s Fabolous Magic, mentions Another Elephant Vanish:
“In this form the illusion is shown on the open stage, with no cabinet whatever…Houdini may very possibly have experimented with this or a similar type of vanish…”
You’re welcome! That Lance Burton horse illusion is the closest we’ll ever get to what it was like to seeing Houdini vanish that elephant at the Hippodrome. Interesting that the circus wagon could also be used as a production box.
John is really putting outstanding HH material on Patreon. He’s giving us HH junkies our fix for a reasonable price. Street dealers can’t beat it.