Houdini (in white circle), shackled in Pittsburgh steel, leaped into the Allegheny River from the original Seventh Street Bridge
Bruce Averbook Photo from Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

I was intrigued by a recent post that John Cox at Wild About Harry did about Houdini being trapped under the ice. John discovered a telling of this story in Houdini’s own words where the location was Pittsburgh and it wasn’t a handcuffed bridge jump, but an overboard box escape.  It made me wonder.

• Did Houdini ever perform an overboard box escape in Pittsburgh?

Well, as evidenced  by the photo above, we know that Houdini (in white circle), shackled in Pittsburgh steel, leaped into the Allegheny River from the original Seventh Street Bridge and emerged free of the handcuffs. But this was not an overboard box escape. BTW, the bridge was torn down in 1924.

I searched the internet (i.e., blogs, articles, ads) and my Houdini books for other references to Houdini in Pittsburgh and this is what I came up with.

From the internet:

It is very hard to discern which facts of Houdini’s life (and death) are factual because there are so many myths about him (many of which were perpetuated by him).  For example, Houdini claimed the he jumped into a hole carved out of ice on the Detroit River, freed himself of handcuffs, and went back up for air only to discover that the current had moved him away from the hole.  He survived by breathing in air trapped between the ice and water and, at the last minute, the spirit of his dead mother guided him to the hole.

It is a great story but it never happened.  The Detroit Free Press published a story refuting Houdini’s claim, noting that the Detroit River was not freezing on November 27, the day Houdini jumped.  So Houdini changed his story, and then he changed it again, and again.  Detroit became Pittsburgh, November became December, and so on.  [October 31^st 2013 History/Herstory blog]

From Kalush:

On March 13, [1908] before his jump off the Seventh Street Bridge in Pittsburgh, Houdini told a reporter from The Pittsburgh Leader that the day before the leap he sent a cable to Hardeen, who was doing similar act then in Europe, and the charges came to exactly $13.  That same day Houdini’s mail consisted of 13 letters.  He switched rooms at his hotel and the new room, was no. 26, divisible by 13.  The letters contained 13 new challenges, the license plate of the auto that drove him to the bridge totaled up to 13, and the cinematographer who was filming the jump had exactly 1,300 feet of film in his camera.

“I feel nervous today,” Houdini said.  “There is a goneness in my innards that isn’t pleasant.” He ate an apple to settle himself down, then dove.  It was exactly 1:13.

“In a minute and half from the time, I struck the water I had freed myself and was ready to rise to the surface,” Houdini told the press.  “Small boats were cruising about looking for me, and, as luck would have it, I came rushing up at great speed just underneath one of these crafts.  So rapid was my ascent that in rising I hit my head a fearful blow…and sank back into the water again stunned and bleeding.  When I struck that boat I thought of the thirteens of the day and concluded that it was up to me to battle for my life.  Just when it seemed that all was over with me, I rose to the surface and willing hands dragged me to safety.  It isn’t any fun taking your life in your hands.  Really, I’m in earnest.  If a fellow wasn’t married it would be a different thing, though even a single man oughtn’t to be hankering for chances to risk his life”

From an article by Clay Morgan titled, “Harry Houdini and Pittsburgh – the ties that bind”:

Around 40,000 Pittsburghers were treated to the nail-biting exhibition one century ago on March 13, 1908. Houdini stripped to his swimsuit, surrendered to tight manacles fashioned from Pittsburgh steel and leapt 40 feet from the original Seventh Street Bridge into the stinging Allegheny River waters.  In a short while, his head bobbed up and vanished before he emerged for good, free and holding the conquered cuffs.

Houdini’s first Pittsburgh plunge came almost a year earlier, on May 22, 1907.  A rare photo [seen above] from the time peers over the backs of spectators staring at the bridge in direction of the North Shore.  In the background, filthy factories pour billows of smoke into the lunchtime sky over the crowed waterfront.  To the right, onlookers crowd the rails of the bridge.  Over a dozen boats linger in the water.  In the center of it all is Houdini in mid-jump – dressed in a white bathing suit and falling, knees still up.  In less than two minutes he rose from the murky stage.

However, his first trip to Pittsburgh was in November 1905, The Jewish Criterion wrote: “He defies anyone to come on the stage of the Grand next week and bind him successfully.”

The Grand Opera House hosted Houdini during his first visits to Pittsburgh from 1905-08. Intense buzz in 1906 created so many sell-outs that Houdini stayed a third week so everyone around town could have a chance to experience the mind-jarring show.

He returned to the Pittsburgh Grand in 1913 [most likely 1915] and brought influences from afar, the East Indian Needle Trick and the legendary Chinese Water Torture Chamber.

On Nov 6, 1916, Houdini escaped from a Straitjacket while hanging from the Pittsburgh Sun Building 50 feet in the air.

On Nov 7, 1916, Pittsburghers packed in the New Davis Theatre to see Houdini headline.

In October 1919 (as Congress outlawed alcohol), “The Grim Game” opened in theatres such as the Grand, Strand and Belmar. Houdini played Harvey Hanford, wrongfully accused of murder and desperate to escape.

Pittsburgh’s strict “blue laws” also outlawed movies and performances on Sundays, so Houdini won by grabbing the headline show on Saturday evenings.  In Pittsburgh, he topped his buddies Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Tom Mix.

Over the final years of his life, Houdini dueled with Sherlock Holmes creator Sir Authur Conan Doyle, an avid supporter of spiritualism. The men took turns lecturing in Pittsburgh.  Houdini spoke at the Carnegie Hall on Feb. 21, 1924.  The following year he brought a full medium exposing show to the Davis Theater.  Once again, Pittsburgh demand kept him in town an extra week.

Houdini’s final Pittsburgh show was at the Alvin Theatre in September of 1925.

From Koval:

Nov 1905: No reference to Houdini being at the Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

Sep 24-29 1906: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

May 20-25 1907: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

May 27 – Jun 1 1907: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

Mar 9-14 1908: Grand Theatre, Detroit, MI [Note: Mar 13, 1908 jumps from bridge in Pittsburgh, PA]

Mar 16-21 1908: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

Nov 13-18 1911: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

Mar 8-13 1915: Grand Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA [Morgan article mentions 1913 as opposed to 1915]

Nov 6-11 1916: Davis Theatre, Pittsburgh PA

Mar 6-11 1922: Davis Theatre, Pittsburgh PA [No mention in Morgan article]

Feb 21 1924 (only): Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh, PA

Feb 23-28 1925: Davis Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

Sep 14-19 1925: Shubert Alvin Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA

From newspaper or magazine references:

• I was unable to find any newspaper or magazine references of any overboard box escape in Pittsburgh.

Although, Houdini appeared in Pittsburgh many times during his career, it appears that he only hit the water twice (1907 and 1908), and both times they were bridge jumps not overboard box escapes.

I am hoping that somebody can prove me wrong and produce evidence that he really did do an overboard box escape during one of his visits to Pittsburgh.

2013 was an amazing year for Harry Houdini Circumstantial Evidence (HHCE) for a number of reasons:

Participated in an exchange of ideas regarding the life of Harry Houdini and his enduring effect on modern history with John Cox, Patrick Culliton, Arthur Moses, and Stacey Zimmerman.

Shared a number of not widely known facts about the Houdini movie starring Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh:

• 1953 Houdini: In Search of the Lost Plane to Plane Transfer
• In Search of Original Houdini Material for 1953 Houdini Movie, Part I of 2
• In Search of Original Houdini Material for 1953 Houdini Movie, Part 2 of 2
• What are some things Harry Houdini and Tony Curtis have in common?
• Part 1: Is this really how it went down?
• Part 2: Is this really how it went down?
• Another Ending to the Tony Curtis Houdini Movie

Buffalo Evening News November 21, 1913 clipping courtesy of Bill Mullins

Researched and shared evidence WRT when Houdini may have first publicly performed his suspended strait-jacket escape from a building, as well as where he got the idea from:

• First Suspended Straitjacket Escape 98 Years Ago Today
• First Suspended Straitjacket Escape Not 98 Years Ago Today
• The Kansas City Post Wednesday September 8, 1915
• That was my idea!

Acquired a signed limited edition Grim Game Three Dimensional Giclée Print by Disney Artist Dave Avanzino:

• An Amazing Magical Work of Art

Photo courtesy of Marc Wanamaker, Bison Archives

Discovered several rare behind the scenes shots from The Grim Game in the book, Aviators in Early Hollywood by Shawna Kelly:

• Houdini Grim Game Stunt Doubles

Discovered the true identity of the police reporter in The Grim Game:

• In search of the Police Reporter
• Police Reporter is West Point’s own Edward H Martin
• Check out The Police Reporter from The Grim Game at the USMA Library Blog

Shared some incredible Grim Game ads and not widely known info about Houdini and the movie:

• Feature is not up to Expectations but Photography is Excellent
• 4 Days Starting Today – Something New Under the Sun (Ad 1 of 4)
• Many Film Thrills at the Strand – Houdini in the Grim Game (Ad 2 of 4)
• A Rhyme Dedicated to Houdini the Wonder Man – The Grim Game Houdini (Ad 3 of 4)
• Houdini in “The Grim Game” – aka Houdini Believes in Reincarnation (Ad 4 of 4)
• October 31 1919
• What is Houdini’s Greatest Stunt on Screen?
• December 25 1919

Shared some incredible Master Mystery ads and not widely known info about Houdini and the movie:

• Houdini “The Master Mystery” Paper Robot 1919
• Houdini breaks own record in The Master Mystery
• The Master Mystery postpones Buried Alive Stunt on Stage

Shared research on how many times Houdini’s bust was replaced:

• How many times has the Houdini Bust been replaced?

Shared memories and ads from Houdini Magical Hall of Fame:

• Houdini Hall of Fame Memories
• Houdini Magical Hall of Fame Memories – Houdini’s Bust
• Houdini Hall of Fame Memories – 1968 to 1972

Shared Houdini’s last message to the American public:

• The Grim Game last seen in Allentown sixty years after Houdini’s Last Message to the American Public

Shared Houdini’s connection with the last days of the Father of American Music (Stephen Foster):

• Houdini connection with the last days of the Father of American Music (Stephen Foster)

Mentioned numerous times by John Cox at his Wild About Harry (Houdini) blog and Facebook pages:

• Wild About Harry (Houdini) blog
• Wild About Harry (Houdini) Facebook
• Houdini’s movies on Facebook
• Houdini (1953) Facebook

And last but not least, my daughter had a baby girl, my son got engaged, and I survived a heart-attack.  I am truly blessed and look forward to 2014.

In 2014, I will start the New Year by sharing some new information I came across about the Mirror Handcuff Challenge.  You won’t want to miss it.  See you next year!

This past weekend, we went to San Jose to celebrate the engagement of my Son David to a beautiful girl named Danielle.

It was magical.  At the engagement party, Danielle’s father gave a very touching speech about his little girl; and I did a special magic tribute to the couple:

“This 1 dollar bill represents David and his family and this one dollar bill represents Danielle and her family.  If we put both together, we end up with two (the two bills become a 2 dollar bill) amazing people meant to be together.”  I followed this with a silk, ring, rope routine with a theme about tying the knot.  For the finale, I said that “David and Danielle could not get married unless they passed my test with a deck of cards”:

They each select and sign cards that are obviously put in different halves of the deck. When she squeezes the deck and thinks fondly of him, his card and only his card mysteriously turns face up in the deck.  Then he squeezes and thinks of her, and her card does the same.  As a kicker, the two cards are shown to have moved together in the deck.  Then as the final straw, when the two cards are put together in her hand and his hand covers the cards, the two cards become one in their hands.

They passed the test.

It was an amazing time had by all!  The food, drink, cake and party were a total success.

BTW:  During our visit, my son told me that Houdini had performed at the San Jose Improv.

I have finally tracked down and received a copy of the infamous Kansas City Post newspaper that I alluded to in my previous posts:

• September 29 – First Suspended Straitjacket Escape Not 98 Years Ago Today
• September 8 – First Suspended Straitjacket Escape 98 Years Ago Today

Below is the proof that Houdini Frees himself of a Straitjacket Suspended Head Downward at the Post on September 8, 1915 in Kansas City.

Special Thanks to the Kansas City Public Library for going back and digging through their archives one last time and locating this elusive article for me to share.

According to Kenneth Silverman (Houdini – The Career of Erich Weiss, 1996), the First Suspended Straitjacket Escape by Houdini was performed 98 years ago today.  Houdini did perform a suspended straitjacket escape 98 years ago today (September 29, 1915) hanging forty-five feet  from the office building of the Minneapolis Evening Tribune; it was just not the first place he performed it. I believe the first place was in Kansas City (September 8, 1915).

Three weeks ago, on September 8^th, I did a blog about the First Suspended Straitjacket Escape by Houdini.  In that blog, I presented proof that Harry Houdini was in Kansas City in September 1915 and could have performed the suspended straitjacket escape then.  The evidence included the following:

• Ad for Harry Houdini performing his Water Torture Act at the Orpheum Theater in Kansas City on September  11, 1915
• Reprint of a Suspended Straitjacket Article from Kansas City Post Newspaper (undated) that appeared in Will Goldston’s October 1915 Magazine of Magic

The only thing left unfinished from my blog three weeks ago was to locate a copy of the Kansas City Post Newspaper that has the Suspended Straitjacket Article and verify the date.   Little did I know how difficult a task this would turn out to be!  After much searching of online newspaper archives, and numerous queries to different libraries, the infamous article was finally located by the Kansas City Public Library on microfilm which I will post here as evidence once I receive it in the mail.

I was intrigued by a question that John Cox brought up on his blog:

• Where and when did Houdini first perform the suspended straitjacket escape?

And of course, when I am intrigued by something, this blog is what you get.

Kalush via a mention by Will Goldston says it was September of 1915 in Kansas City.  Silverman says it was hanging forty-five feet from the office building of the Minneapolis Evening Tribune on September 29, 1915 sourced to a newspaper in the Stanley Palm collection.

There is a very nice discussion on The Magic Cafe Forums but nothing is definitive.

Well the Sept 29^th, 1915 date in Minneapolis is well sourced, so that leaves the Kansas City date that needs more research.

So what is this mention by Will Goldston?

It just so happens that I have the October 1915 edition of Will Goldston’s The Magazine Of Magic, with the article “Harry Houdini – His Latest Escape”.

[Page 17]

[Page 18]

But nowhere in the above “Harry Houdini His Latest Escape” article do we see a date.

So did he perform in Kansas City in September 1915?

I checked some other sources:

• Koval (Houdini Research Diary) doesn’t mention him being in Kansas City at all in September 1915.
• Brandon (The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini) mentions the following: In September 1915, “the greatest street throng in the history of Los Angeles” – 20 -25,000 people – had seen him swing from the Los Angeles Tribune building. The same month, 5,000 saw him in Kansas City, where the tie-in was with the Kansas City Post.   Los Angeles in September 1915 is clearly an error; Brandon doesn’t provide sourcing for Los Angeles or Kansas City, although Kansas City likely came from the October 1915 edition of Will Goldston’s Magazine of Magic.
• Last but not least, Kasson (Houdini Tarzan and The Perfect Man) mentions the following: He appears first to have executed this escape in Kansas City on September 8, 1915.  By this time he had been wriggling out of straitjackets for almost twenty years but never before while suspended upside down over a street in full view of thousands.  For days The Kansas City Post, known for sensational journalism, had trumpeted the coming event to its readers… Now we have a possible date, Wednesday, September 8, 1915. 

Next I contacted the Kansas City Public Library:

Jeremy Drouin, Senior Librarian of Special Collections, searched their electronic newspaper archive and found an advertisement for a September 11, 1915 afternoon show at the Orpheum Theater where Houdini was performing his water torture act.

Here is the full citation provided by Genealogybank: Advertisement Date: Saturday, September 11, 1915 Paper: Kansas City Star (Kansas City, MO) Volume: 78  Issue: 218 Page: 11

This evidence of him performing the Water Torture Cell at the Orpheum Theatre puts him in Kansas City in September 1915, which means he could very well have performed the suspended straitjacket on September 8, 1915 as sourced by Kasson.

Unfortunately, the electronic database at the Kansas City Public Library does not include copies of the Kansas City Post which based on the evidence should have an article to match Goldston’s reprint of the suspended strait-jacket event and possibly some ads leading up to event as suggested by Kasson.

Last weekend, my wife and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in San Francisco.

Harry Houdini, probably the greatest magician, appeared at least four times in San Francisco, nearly eight years apart: June 1899, September 1907, November 1915, and March 1923. He was 25 during the first appearance and was not yet famous enough to headline the theater billing at the Orpheum. But by 1907 he was known world-wide. In 1915, for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, he performed an escape from a manacled box lowered into the water at the Aquatic Park. He was also performing his famous Chinese-water torture escape at the Orpheum.  But his visit in 1923 was his biggest.  At the age of 49 and in front of 30,000 watchers, he performed his famous “escape from the strait jacket while in mid-air” at Third and Market streets. This visit was to be, unfortunately, his last.  Before he could return to San Francisco, he died three years later from peritonitis on Halloween, 1926.  [sfgenealogy.com]

We had an incredible visit to San Francisco that was very magical.  It started with dinner at Pier 39 over-looking the Bay.  We then walked around the shops and just happened to stumble across a Houdini’s Magic shop where I picked up a Houdini calendar celebrating Houdini’s 100^th Anniversary of the Water Torture Cell; what is really cool about the calendar is that it identifies key dates and events in Houdini’s life.

We also stumbled into a shop at Pier 39 that specialized in displays of famous people signatures.  For $9000, you could own the display below which includes signatures of Houdini, Blackstone, Thurston, Wilson and Dornfeld.

We then took a taxi to the Marrakech Magic Theater to see an uproarious one-of-a-kind close-up show in an intimate, historic setting located right near San Francisco’s famous Union Square.

The first thing I noticed when we walked inside the historic building was a beautiful poster of Carter the Great and The Vanishing Elephant illusion.

Of course it made me think of a couple items displayed below that I had seen a few weeks ago at an antique shop (after seeing the acclaimed “Watson and The Dark Art of Harry Houdini” at the Sacred Fools Theatre) in Hollywood with some magic associates.

• A gigantic original Carter Poster from San Francisco

• Spot light from the New York Hippodrome circa 1910-1920 which could have illuminated Houdini and his vanishing elephant

The evening at the Marrakech Magic Theater began in the Sultan’s Oasis lounge where we enjoyed cocktails, a little pre-show entertainment and a meet and greet with magician-owner Peter Morrison.  After about an hour, Peter personally took us into the main showroom.  The main showroom was an intimate close-up theatre, where Peter put on an amazing 75 minutes of extremely fun and entertaining magic.  He made sure to get every audience member involved in the show. I personally got involved in a multi-spectator mind reading prediction routine, where I had to write down the time to check out of the DEVON hotel (I wrote 1:19 PM).

My favorite routines of his were the following:

• Comedy Houdini Escape – where two strong men lock chain handcuffs behind Peter’s back and raise and lower a red velvet curtain upon his command where we find the magician, his suit jacket and the chain handcuffs in humorous positions and poses.  Eventually he escapes the suit jacket and the chain handcuffs.  Hilarious!
• State of Mind routine – Peter drops four quarters as a prediction into an empty chest given to him by his wife.  A spectator throws 4 darts at a map of the United States that randomly end up on four different states.  Everyone is stunned, when the spectator opens the chest and removes the four quarters and finds that they are the four randomly selected states hit by the darts.  Amazing!

He also performed a very nice rope and ring routine, linking ring routine and multiplying billiard ball routine.  I would highly recommend Peter and his show if you are in the San Francisco area.

What a great night of magic!

The magic continued the next morning.  We had an incredible breakfast at the hotel and then walked to Ghirardelli Square where they had a “milk can” of chocolate that I just had to have.

Walking through the park on our way back to check out of the hotel, we came across a strait-jacket hanging from a tree.  Only in San Francisco!

San Francisco was definitely a magical place to visit!

Two Weeks ago, I attempted to see the Houdini Display with the Russian Manacle at the Whittier Museum, but the docent with the key never showed up; apparently there have been some problems.

I called the Museum this past Friday and they promised someone would be there this weekend with the key. They told me to make sure I arrived before the last tour, which is at 3 pm.

On Saturday, my wife, son-in-law, daughter, grand-daughter and I made the trip to the Whittier Museum to try and see the Houdini Display with the Russian Manacle.

Grandpapa and Grand-Daughter at the Whittier Museum

We arrived at 2:45 and the door was locked due to a tour in progress and only 1 docent on the premises.  There were 3 other people waiting that had arrived at 2:00 and were told by the docent that they could not join the tour that had just started, but would have to wait outside for the next one at 3:00.

We had driven in from Los Angeles and the other 3 people had driven in from Hollywood to see the Magic Exhibit.  At 3:00, our tour began with the docent telling us that the magic exhibit upstairs was closed and that we would be getting a tour of the down-stairs on the Whittier experience.  At first I thought the docent was joking.  This was not the case; we were told that we needed to arrive at 1pm to see the magic exhibit and we could come back tomorrow.  I let the docent know that I was here two weeks ago and called yesterday to confirm that I would be able to see the magic exhibit.  The docent confirmed what I already knew, he was the docent that was supposed to be here two weeks ago with the key.

Well, I wasn’t about to drive all this way a second time and not see the Houdini Display and the Russian Manacle or was I.

I can tell you one thing, at this point, there was no way my family was going to participate in a 45 minute tour of the Whittier experience. We were just about to walk out, until I finally was able to talk the docent into foregoing the Whittier tour and taking us upstairs to see the Magic exhibit.

The elevator doors to the second floor opened; Were we finally going to get to see the Houdini display and the Russian Manacle?

The first thing that the docent announces as we exit the elevator is that we can’t see the Houdini display on the right because the lights in the display won’t come on.

You had got to be kidding me.  I felt like I was in the twilight zone.

Apparently, 2 months ago, the museum had motion sensors for all the lights in the museum installed and since that time, the lights in the Houdini display have not come on.  So for 2 months and counting the highlight of the exhibit, display and museum has been in the dark.

Family trying to see the Russian Manacle in the Dark

After trying to see the Russian Manacle in the dark, I asked the docent if he was going to describe the other magic exhibits that were not in the dark; he proceeded to tell me that he was never given a script.  At this point, I took matters in my own hands and gave my family and the other 3 guests my own tour of the magic exhibit.

I don’t think the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) would be happy with how their collection is being portrayed by the museum and that the Houdini Display has been in the dark all this time.