On November 1st, 2018, Dorothy Dietrich, possibly the first woman to perform the Houdini broken wand ceremony, discovered that his historical monument is developing cracks.
Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz (D&D) best guess is that water got in, froze and created cracks.
The Society of American Magicians has been notified and they are proceeding with plans to address the issue.
The following are some teaser photos of my East Coast Trip so far:
10/31
11/1
11/2
11/3
Detailed report(s) to follow starting next week after I return to the West Coast.
Houdini in Milwaukee, has come up a couple times in the past month.
So, I thought I would share what I found in The Magazine of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Spring 1995 that I recently acquired.
You will notice that Larry Widen wrote a 12-page article, titled Houdini: Manacled in Milwaukee. The shorter article in the Mystifier appears to be a modified/condensed version of this longer article.
Both articles have the Weiss family in Milwaukee from 1883 [1882] to 1887.
The Milwaukee History article mentions that:
On October 28, 1883, he asked to perform in Jack Hoefler’s Five-Cent Circus. Seeing the value of the local boy on the bill, the circus advertised the nine-year-old as “Erich, The Prince of Air”.
The Milwaukee History article includes an interesting paragraph that lists various addresses for Houdini in Milwaukee:
With future employment options in Appleton looking dim, Weiss and his wife Cecilia moved their family to Milwaukee in 1883 [1882]. Upon their arrival in the city, the family resided at 712 Winnebago Street (now 708 West Winnebago). Weiss began a Hebrew school in their home, but the effort was short-lived. Ehrich and his younger brother Theo worked as bootblacks and sold newspapers to help support the household. Subsequent addresses for the Weiss family included 719 Prairie (725 West Highland), 593 5th Street (1743 North 5th Street), 517 Cherry Street (523 West Cherry Street), and 613 Cherry Street (619 West Cherry Street)
Note: The above infamous 1886 postcard that Ehrich sent his mother, “I am going to Galveston, Texas” was sent to 517 Sixth Street [Is this the same as 517 Cherry Street?].
I am assuming the house at North 7th Street and West Highland Avenue depicted above was the 719 Prairie address.
The Milwaukee History article also confirms the name of dime museum suspected in the Mystifier article:
One evening in 1885, an elegantly garbed gentleman billed as “The Bloodless Vivisectionist” was performing at Jacob Litt’s dime museum.
Both articles (i.e., Mystifier and Milwaukee History) refer to Ehrich as being eleven years old, when he witnessed the magic act, “The Bloodless Vivisectionist” that changed his life; however based on the source for the performance dated February 22, 1885, Ehrich would have technically been only 10 and wouldn’t turn 11 until March 24, 1885.
The Milwaukee History article then goes on to trace the rest of Houdini’s career from 1888 (when he rejoined family in NY) to 1926 (when he died on Halloween), with emphasis on when Houdini returned to Milwaukee (November 1892, December 1896, October 1897, April 1912, and September 1923).
BONUS:
Also included in the Milwaukee History, The Magazine of the Milwaukee County Historical Society, Spring 1995 was the Ordination Certificate for Mayer Samuel Weiss:
When the family moved to Milwaukee, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss filed a copy of his rabbinical credentials with the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds. Originally written in old German script, the translation above was prepared by Kurt P. Frenzel of Mequon, Wisconsin, from the ordination file housed in the Society’s Library.
In 2016, our friend and expert on Houdini in Milwaukee, David Saltman, actually discovered the rare artifact in an uncatalogued stack of old papers in the vaults of the Milwaukee County Historical Society. For more information on Houdini in Milwaukee and to see this original certificate in German, check out David Saltman’s excellent blog, The Houdini File:
On John Cox’ blog wildabouthoudini.com, he invited readers to come hear him talk about Houdini crusade against fraudulent spirit mediums at the Homestead Museum “Ticket to the Twenties”.
So last Sunday, at the Ticket to the Twenties, I had the honor to hear John Cox talk about Houdini Among the Spirits, and as an added bonus got to meet award winning composer, Michael Mortilla, and see him conduct a live accompaniment to two Silent Film shorts.
The festivities started with me arriving at the Homestead Museum just in time to get a ticket for the 3:15 Silent Film Screening with Composer Michael Mortilla.
Michael Mortilla is no stranger to Houdini. He scored the music for The Master Mystery Video Release and was recently commissioned to score “Terror Island” live for the Catalina Island Museum (Casino Theater).
Michael was introduced and then proceeded to do what he does best.
After the two shorts, I got to chat with Michael about my involvement with the Houdini Exhibit, Terror Island Screening and our mutual friends (Julie Perlin Lee and Jessica Zumberge) at the Catalina Island Museum. We talked about him using his improvisational skills on Houdini’s Silent Movie the Grim Game in the future. I gave him my business card for my blogsite and he gave me his brochure and a copy of his Modern Piano Improvisations Volume 1 CD.
Next on the agenda (4:00pm) was John Cox first talk.
John shared the story of Houdini and his crusade against fraudulent spirit mediums in the 1920’s. He used four posters as visual aids, which was very effective. And as promised he shared publicly for the first time, something he recently discovered hiding in plain sight in the well-known spirit photograph. But to find out what that is, you will have to read about it on John’s post he did after the event:
That said, he also shared something unusual about the photo with Margery, the Witch of Lime Street, that I can share. Did you notice the numbers on the door? Margery lived at 10 Lime Street not 11 Lime Street.
John commanded the stage during the 20 minute presentation and 10 minute Q&A. It was obvious, he knew his stuff. Questions ranged from the Under the Ice story to the Magic Castle Fire on Halloween.
Afterwards, John and I took a photo with the spirit photograph, got dinner, walked around and checked out the vintage cars.
John then took the stage (6:00pm) for round 2 and he knocked it out of the park, again.
What a great day!!!
Continued from Sequence G.
The next day, Houdini is in his living room, working at his desk, when the Butler announces that Sir Conan Doyle is here to see him.
Doyle asks Houdini to reconsider before his performance tonight, but Houdini tells him he believes in what he has to say.
The two part ways without shaking hands.
Later, Houdini, Powers and Bess are standing on the stage, Houdini is in street clothes. He is finishing the arrangements for the act.
The stage is draped with black curtains. A rope painted white hangs from the loft. Below the rope is a contrivance on which are two huge shiny swords that a path through the air in the cadence of the metronome. Houdini tells Powers that after he is placed in the straight jacket, he will be lifted to the flies and has he descends, that the swords need to keep moving.
Bess asks Erich if he plans to go through with the things he planned to say, tonight. And Houdini says of course I am — I’d say it if it was the last thing I ever said on this earth.
Houdini goes off the stage down a dimly lit corridor and walks into his dressing room and closes the door behind him. He senses something.
Suddenly from the very dark shadows steps a figure of a man. He appears almost wraith-like. He is dressed in black. His very white and angular face stands out sharply from the black around him. His eyes are cold and dark and piercing. He takes a step toward Houdini.
Houdini asks who he is and the man replies that it makes no difference, but that there are millions who believe in God and Houdini has no right to tell these people that there is no God.
The man looks at Houdini a minute, then turns, crosses to the door, locks it and then suddenly faces Houdini. As he does so, he puts his right hand in his pocket and slowly takes out a gun.
The man tells Houdini he is going to kill Houdini and then himself, because his work will be finished and he believes there is a God, but if Houdini is right and there is no God, then he doesn’t want to live any more.
Houdini takes a quick step toward the man, and as he does, the man fires. Houdini staggers under the impact of the bullet and puts his hand on the left side of his stomach.
As he stands there, stunned by the shock and pain, there is the sound of two more shots.
Powers, Bess and a few attendants burst into the room and ask Houdini what happened.
Houdini says he has just seen a man kill himself for his God.
Bess asks if Houdini is hurt and replies, No, and to leave him alone so he can dress and get everything ready for the show.
The Master of Ceremonies introduces the worlds greatest magician and escape artist, THE GREAT HOUDINI
Bess tells Erich not to go through with his trick tonight, but Houdini tells her that he is alright.
Houdini addresses the audience:
Ladies and gentlemen all of you know that I’ve promised to give you a message tonight. A message that is the result of my study and research. That message has been a little bit altered by something that happened tonight. I believe that there can be no contact in a material way between spirits and living humans. But I do believe there is a God — that, you must all believe. There is a high destiny that governs all of our lives.
If I ever doubted that, believe me. I’m sorry for it. But you people must never let yourselves be fooled by fakers — by leeches — that not only bleed you of money but bleed you a faith you must have. Bring these fakers out of their holes, expose them to the light and don’t let blind you and rob you and fool you. There are many people who are honestly looking, trying to find that secret. That is denied to us and that only comes to us, I believe, with death.
Suddenly a small group starts applauding. Others pick up the applause.
A group of assistants are now grouped around Houdini and he is being put in a straight-jacket. The white rope is lowered and tied to Houdini’s foot and he lifted up to the flies.
A burst of martial music begins. The swords begin their steady beat, swishing through the air. The rope is suspended. Houdini is hanging, head down.
Hanging. His face is contorted with pain.
As Houdini is lowered closer and closer to the swords.
Hanging head down. We can see a dab of blood appear on his shirt and seep onto the straight-jacket. Houdini is working feverishly.
Two drops of blood drop on the swords.
Suddenly there is a burst of applause. He has freed himself from the straight-jacket. He has lifted his body and is holding onto the rope by his hands. The swords stop and Houdini is lowered to the stage.
Houdini reaches the stage, stands there a moment, bows and then suddenly collapses.
The curtain drops quickly.
Bess is kneeling beside Houdini. She holds his head in her lap. Powers and some of the assistants are grouped near him. Powers has sent for a doctor.
Houdini tells them that the doctor won’t be able to help and that he is dying.
Houdini tells Bess that there is a secret that we all someday will find out, but we must die to find out that secret.
There is a pause. Bess cries.
Houdini looks up at her a moment, then closes his eyes, shudders and then his head drops and he dies. Bess bends down and kisses his head.
In the back can be heard the audience, still applauding and the music playing.
THE END
Last month, I had the extreme honor to assist Escape Artist, Joe Fox, at Scot Nery’s Booby Trap.
Scot Nery’s Boobie Trap is without a doubt the best use of a Wednesday night in Los Angeles. It is an entertaining variety show with 4 minute acts that are full of laughs and surprises. And Joe Fox surprise appearance was no exception.
In the middle of the show, you hear the sounds of police helicopters and police sirens, followed by a guy (aka Joe Fox) rushing the stage in a orange jump-suit, shackled with 4 pairs of handcuffs. Jail inmate number 103126 has just escaped from the police.
Joe offers to show the crowd his attempt at escaping from the handcuffs in 2 minutes or less without using the makeshift handcuff keys (“made in the slammer”) that are placed in the middle of a steel animal trap that could take his hand off.
As the official timekeeper, on my go, the house band “Fire Leopard” plays some dramatic music as Joe starts his escape, with me calling out 15 second time increments.
Joe uses the 4 inch lock-pick that he pulled out from his nose to pick the handcuffs one by one.
With only 15 seconds left, Joe is having trouble with the last cuff, and the steel animal trap gets sprung, but he is able to make his escape just before the 2 minutes are up.
Congratulations to Joe Fox!
According to Joseph F Rinn in “Sixty Years of Psychical Research”:
…Oscar Hammerstein, in June 1913, made him [Houdini] a great offer to come over to New York City to fill a two weeks’ engagement at his theatre with a new act Houdini had originated in Europe which he called “The Chinese Water Torture Cell”.
…
Hammerstein saw a chance for a publicity stunt for Houdini before his opening at the theatre, as a short time before, a convict ship of the days long ago had just arrived in New York Harbor. In this ship, prisoners used to be manacled to iron bars riveted to beams in the hold and nobody had ever escaped from the ship. Hammerstein advertised:
ON WEDNESDAY JUNE 4, 1913, AT 1:30 P.M., HOUDINI WILL PUBLICLY ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM ONE OF THE CELLS OF THE CONVICT SHIP AT 79th STREET AND RIVERSIDE DRIVE. THE PUBLIC ARE INVITED TO ATTEND.
The report of Houdini’s escape from the convict ship was given in the New York Tribune of June 5, 1913:
Houdini made good his boast to break out of the convict ship Success after being locked and shackled in one of the cells more than an hour before he finally appeared and swam ashore.
Search for Convict Ship Footage of Houdini
Earlier this year, I searched for and found the missing underwater box escape from Terror Island.
And a couple years ago, I searched for and found the missing footage (episodes) from the Master Mystery at the UCLA Film & Television Archive (FTVA).
John Cox, who has been meaning to view the Master Mystery footage at the UCLA FTVA, but has not had time, noticed a brief mention of the Convict Ship and Houdini, when he was looking at the UCLA Library Catalog holdings online. We agreed that I would see what this was all about.
So, I reserved [The Mutual weekly, Unidentified issues–excerpts] [ca 1913], a compilation of excerpts from silent newsreels, for the Summer Session.
Below is what I found. It is my chronological description of “what you see” on one of the excerpts.
See the following text appear:
New York City. The British convict ship Success, on board of which more than 150,000 people were transported from Great Britain to Australia in the last century.
See the ship docked
See the bow of the ship and then the stern of the ship
See five men (4 in uniform) standing on the bow of the ship.
See restraints:
See more restraints and torture devices
See the Iron Maiden on deck of ship
See civilian people walking around the deck wearing suits and hats
See the following text:
Convicts coming back from work” [reenacted]
See 7 convicts followed by a guard with a rifle on his shoulder on the dock.
See 7 convicts walking up gang plank followed by guard with rifle on his shoulder
See shot of 7 convicts on the deck of the bow each holding in their left hand, a ball with a chain fastened to their left ankle
See the following text:
Betting a 1,000 [dollar bill] Houdini can release himself from the Success cell
See a shot of Houdini looking sharp (cool hat, black bow-tie, white collar shirt, and black suit) with a crowd of people in front of the ship.
See Houdini tip his hat to the officer standing next to him, as they both laugh
See Houdini surface in the water with a dummy from the cell he just escaped from
See Houdini pulling himself up out of the water and adjusting his pants and shirt. And then Hardeen is seen motioning to Houdini that they need to go.
See Houdini standing in a convertible car with a group of people that witnessed the escape and taking a couple bows. Leo Weiss is sitting in the drivers seat, you also see Hardeen and Collins.
The End
Related
Notes:
UCLA FTVA does not allow you to duplicate or record footage, so the majority of the images are from souvenir postcards and photos found in The History of the Ancient Australian Convict Ship “Success” And Its Most Notorious Prisoners
Although the postcards say 1790, the ship was builit in 1840.
Continued from Sequence F
As Beck walks out of the door. Mrs. Gordon appears in the doorway. Beck passes her in the hallway.
Mrs. Gordon tells Houdini that she too has suffered a great loss and with the help of some mediums has seen and spoken with her daughter.
She invites Houdini on Tuesday night to let these men help him.
After two sessions, Houdini tells Bess he has seen and heard some amazing things and for the first time feels this has helped him; he has been given a certain faith and a certain belief.
Bess tells hims that its the other way around, he has helped them with money.
Houdini tells Bess that he has reason to believe that eventually they will be able to do what he hopes they can do.
At the third session, Professor Harvey tells Houdini that he believes tonight will the night we cross the border.
The room is black. The organ is playing very very softly. Harvey’s foot with the ghost-like face painted on the sole, is moving around the room.
Then suddenly, a very hollow voice is heard, as if from the distance. “Tonight there is someone who want’s to talk with Houdini
A phonograph is being played through a big horn. The figure of an attendant stands near the phonograph. The hollow voice is coming from the record on the phonograph.
Then suddenly Harvey brings his foot down and the head apparently disappears into thin air.
Suddenly four or five heads with long, gossamer and phosphoric tails appear and start floating up into the air.
Harvey asks if Houdini will be able to hear the message now and the Hollow Voice replies, Yes, Yes
Then suddenly from apparently right out of the wall appears the spirit of Houdini’s mother (This is of course, Mrs. Gordon dressed in a ectoplasm costume). She shines luminously in the dark and begins to speak, Erich, Erich, my son
Suddenly one of the heads that floated up, starts going down and hits Houdini’s shoulder. There is a little hissing sound.
Houdini looks up and grabs the tail of a balloon and pulls it to him.
The spirit of Houdini’s mother (Mrs. Gordon) tells Houdini that she is happy and his son is happy.
Suddenly, Houdini takes the balloon and forces his hand into it and it explodes with a loud pop. He gets out of his chair.
There is the sound of a little scuffle and then suddenly the lights go up and Houdini is standing at the switch.
Houdini then dashes over and rips the gown from Mrs. Gordon.
He turns over the table, rips down the drapes exposing wires, tears open the closet and exposes the phonograph, and smashes the records.
Harvey tells Houdini that will be enough.
Houdini tells him he hasn’t even begun, that he will put all of them out of business.
Houdini knocks Harvey to the floor, takes another chair and crashes it through the front window and then walks out of the room.
Next, Houdini is on the phone with Beck telling him he is ready to go back to work, and to arrange anything, to make it the biggest stunt he has ever tried. He also tells Beck that he has another angle that will pack them in, he is going to crusade against fakirs who claim they’re spiritualists.
Beck asks Houdini what has spiritualism got to do with your set?
Houdini tells him it’s got a lot to do from now on, that he has been bilked, cheated, fooled, like millions of others and he is going to tell the world that here is no hereafter, there is no God, there is nothing.
With that he hangs up and tells Bess to think that he fell for it, to think that he believed even for one minute.
Bess tells Houdini that those men were fakirs, but that doesn’t mean that
And before Bess could finish her sentence, Houdini tells her it means that they’re all fakirs and he is not going to let others be fooled like he was anymore.
He is going to tell the world.
To be continued…Sequence H
Houdini-Opoly has arrived and was definitely worth the wait. It is available exclusively from the Official Houdini-Opoly Site, where you can purchase additional pawn pieces.
I was one of the first if not the first to invest in Houdini-Opoly when I made a trip to visit Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz (D&D) at their Scranton Museum for a screening of the Grim Game; and I loved the prototype from the start. So excited to see this dream come to fruition. Congratulations D&D!
Below are some of the early reviews of Houdini-Opoly:Continued from Sequence E
Powers shakes his head no, when the Manager of the Empress Theatre in Times Square asks if Houdini is here.
Houdini is still at the hospital with his sick kid, which has taken the kick out of all the success he had in New York.
Houdini is leaning up against the wall of the corridor. Bess sits in the little chair next to him. They quickly turn as the door near which they are placed, opens. Two Doctors come out. These are Doctors Perry and Kahn. Houdini quickly straightens up.
The doctors tell Houdini the baby is very sick and they are doing everything they possibly can and that they should get some rest.
Houdini insists on the truth; Dr. Khan tells him it is out of his hands and he needs a little help (and with that he looks up)
Next, we see Houdini sitting in a cab looking up and saying a prayer:
I don’t know whether YOU’RE up there or not. They say you are. I want to believe that. Don’t do anything to my son — If you want, do something to me, but leave him alone — he’s so little. You’re the top act – the top magician — Open up your bag of tricks – Help my boy. Help him! Please – help him!
Next, we see Houdini is being tied to a board on a buzz saw.
An assistant on the stage pulls a huge lever. There is the sound of the buzz saw turning. In another instant the traveling table, with Houdini bound to it, his head facing the saw, slowly begins to move toward the saw. There is a distance of about 12 feet from Houdini’s head to the saw.
On the table as he begins to move his arms. He shakes his head as if trying to fight off something. He’s usually free by now. The table is much closer to the saw. He is struggling with his bonds. Again he makes that gesture of shaking something off his mind.
Houdini has freed the upper part of his body and struggling with the bonds around his knees which still hold him fast to the table. He comes nearer and nearer to the saw then suddenly he gets free just as it would appear as if the saw must strike him. As Houdini frees himself. He half turns his body and we can the saw clip his coat.
After the show, a doorman walks into scene and Houdini asks if he saw the show. The doorman says no and Houdini tells him he missed a great show, death just missed me like that.
The doorman bows his head and tells Houdini he’s got a message from the hospital.
Death didn’t miss Houdini altogether.
Houdini closes his eyes in shock and quickly runs off stage.
Houdini is then seen standing with Bess at the hospital. He holds her close in his arms as she sobs. In front of them is a small bed. Houdini is looking at the bed, his face is grief-stricken.
Bess asked why did it have to be that way, she prayed and prayed for some help.
Houdini said he prayed too, for the first time in his life and the last.
To be continued…Sequence G