Houdini in Milwaukee, has come up a couple times in the past month.

1. John Cox at WildAboutHoudini shared that Wisconsin Researcher and writer Larry Widen contributed a very well researched article called “Houdini in Milwaukee: The Forgotten Years.” to the Mystifier (First Quarter 1995 newsletter of Houdini Historical Center).
2. And Glen Gerard at Kevin Connolly’s Facebook group CONJURING HISTORY – BUY, SELL AND TALK shared Newspaper ads for various Houdini appearances in Milwaukee.

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:

• HOUDINI FILE DISCOVERS RARE ARTIFACT!

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:

• Haunting the “Tickets to the Twenties” festival.

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!!!