Houdini in the cockpit of his Voisin, at Hamburg before his first flying attempt. Image courtesy of Gywnn-Jones Collection

In 1909, while performing at theatres in Germany, Houdini purchased a French-built Voisin biplane.

Houdini then rented a building to serve as a hangar, and imported a French mechanic, M. Brassac, to teach him how to fly.  The German government even let him use a parade ground as an airfield on condition that he would instruct the regiment stationed there to fly.  He had many pictures taken with himself seated in the machine, the name HOUDINI painted proudly on the rudder, also photos with German army officers grouped around it.  After the war with Germany in 1917, Houdini destroyed these, saying “I taught those fellows to fly and they may have killed Americans”.

Early each morning Houdini would be at the hangar with Brassac, going over the plane.  Soon he was ready for his solo, but gusty winds kept him on the ground.  Finally after two weeks the wind died and he took off, rose a few feet and dived into the earth.

In his diary, he wrote: “I smashed the machine.  Broke propeller all to hell!”

Undeterred, Houdini arranged to have the plane repaired quickly so that the Voisin could accompany him on tour in Australia.

After two weeks for repairs, he managed a successful take-off and landing [November 26, 1909], staying in the air for a couple of minutes.

1909 Life Insurance Policy – Gywnn-Jones Collection

On November 29, 1909, in Hamburg, Houdini cautiously took out a 100,000 mark ($2500) life insurance policy with the Albingia Company of Hamburg prior to his tour in Australia and record breaking flight on March 18, 1910 at Diggers Rest. Displaying a fine sense of history, he wrote on the back of the policy: “This is the first insurance policy ever taken out re accident in an aeroplane. I had to pay 10 marks (about 25 cents) every time I made a flight.”

After making 18 flights in Australia, Houdini had the Voisin crated and shipped back to England.  He planned to fly the aeroplane to each of his performances during his next U.K. tour, as a publicity stunt. But Houdini never flew that aeroplane again.

In future weeks, we will examine some other Aeroplane accidents that Houdini was involved in.

Sources:

• Aviation January 1994, Houdini’s Historic Flight by Terry Gywnn-Jones
• Air Classics April 1968, Hedgehopping with Houdini By Manny Weltman

The story goes as follows:

• Before dying, the rabbi asked his promising young son to swear that he would take care of his mother.

Did Houdini’s father really make him swear to take care of Cecilia? Houdini said he did and lived accordingly.  In that light, I regard the story as true.

Last month on Mother’s Day, I asked you treat your mother like a Queen; so today please treat your father like a King.  Promise me.

Happy Father’s Day!

Is it true that Houdini never smoked?

While I don’t have a real photo of Houdini smoking, I do have some circumstantial evidence that he did:

On Monday 18th April, it was a cold and windless morning.  As Houdini waited for final preparation to be made, he smoked a cigarette.  This was highly unusual for Houdini and it indicated that he was nervous.  He gave orders in a ‘quiet yet incisive manner’ and watched with a ‘critical though quite unmoved eye.’

At approximately 8 am he took off and made a flight lasting between three to four minutes which covered a few hundred meters.  This marked the first officially recorded successful powered, controlled flight in New South Wales [Australia]. [Houdini’s Tour of Australia by Leann Richards]

After reading the above account, I searched for more evidence and was able to find a newspaper that documented this:

Houdini himself seemed the least perturbed of the party. Cooling smoking a cigarette, he watched preparations with a critical though quite unmoved eye. That he was taking an interest in the proceedings could be observed from the quiet yet incisive manner in which he ordered minor defects to be remedied. [The Sydney Morning Herald, Tuesday 19 April 1910, page 8.]

I also found the following:

Though personally frugal, and except on their anniversary, rarely known to join Bess in a glass of champagne, Houdini may have explored other mood-altering substances around the time he went to Hollywood.  Will Goldston believed he sometimes partook of a ‘nip of opium’ of the kind widely available in Edwardian music-hall circles, if only for its analgesic properties.  The drug may have numbed the pain of a damaged kidney and other health-related issues collected over the years, but, as with Bess’s drinking, it didn’t always produce a felicitous state.  [Masters of Mystery by Christopher Sandford]

Does anyone else have knowledge or evidence of Houdini smoking or exploring mood-altering substances.?

Cecilia Weiss, Houdini’s mother, in “Queen Victoria” dress (Photo courtesy of Marguerite Elliott)

One day, toward the end of January 1901, Houdini happened to notice an elegant gown displayed in the window of a London shop.  When he stepped inside he learned that it had been designed for Queen Victoria, but she had died a few weeks before it was finished and hence never worn it. Seized by a sudden inspiration, Houdini persuaded the shopkeeper to sell it to him. He promptly wrote to his mother in New York, inviting her to join him in Europe.

They traveled to her native Budapest, where in Palm Gardens of the Royal Hotel, which Houdini had booked for the occasion, his mother held court wearing the gown designed for the Queen of England, while her son stood proudly at her side.

Was this really the dress designed for Queen Victoria, or was Houdini duped by the shopkeeper who sold it to him, or did he himself concoct the entire story? Does it really matter?

I hope everybody treats their mother like a Queen today.

H A P P Y  M O T H E R S  D A Y !

Source:  Houdini: A Mind In Chains by Bernard C. Meyer, M.D.