Houdini: A Life Worth Reading

by Higher Read

  Around 1910, after Houdini announced that he would no longer do handcuff tricks, he wrote a book called Handcuff Secrets. This book worried law enforcement officials around the world, who thought of it as a guide for criminals on how to open locks and escape cells.

  Continuing his literary endeavors, Houdini wrote a second edition of The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, and co-wrote a book called History Makers in the World of Magic. In 1918 and 1919, Houdini wrote a column called M-U-M (Magic – Unity – Might) for the Society of American Magicians’ magazine. He also wrote many other articles and participated in the publication of several other books about magic, although it seems likely that he hired others and used Oscar Teale to do the bulk of the research and writing on these numerous pieces (see Chapter XII for more information about Oscar Teale).

  In the early 1920s Houdini published the book Miracle Mongers and their Methods. Most biographers acknowledge that this book was really ghostwritten, even though it does draw heavily on Houdini’s many experiences during his early career in vaudeville and circus performance.

  Houdini’s crusade to expose fraudulent mediums led to his publication of another work of significant length, a book called A Magician Among the Spirits. This book was organized around exposures of famous mediums from history, and chapters explaining the various phenomena produced by “physical” mediums—those who produced physical effects such as the movement of objects, the production of ectoplasm, and the writing or drawing of words and pictures rather than who proclaimed to have psychic powers. Although Houdini prided himself on producing a work of historical accuracy and scientific significance, in reality A Magician Among the Spirits, although well received, contained a number of errors and plenty of personal biases, including a rant against Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (see Chapter XI). It is also a matter of debate how much of the work Houdini produced himself and how much he farmed out to ghostwriters.

  In the early 1920s, some combination of Houdini and his ghostwriters authored a romantic detective novel called The Zanetti Mystery. Houdini also claimed to have authored short stories for the publication Weird Tales, which were supposedly autobiographical. In reality, the stories were based on Houdini’s incredible imaginations of escapes from burials inside ancient pyramids and gothic dungeons and were written by the later famous author H.P. Lovecraft. Another controversial claim to literary fame by Houdini arose in 1923, when he claimed to have edited the long-awaited biography of a revered deceased magician named James Elliott, who was famous for his card tricks. Another magician, Clinton Burgess, disputed Houdini’s editorship, insisting that he was the editor and Houdini merely provided funding for the book’s publication. Burgess and Houdini fought publically and bitterly, and Houdini succeeded in getting Burgess kicked out of the SAM, although it is debatable how much editing Houdini actually did and how much he again turned over to Teale and to other contractors.

  Houdini continued to write up to his death. During the summer of 1926, he worked on a book about superstition and wrote an article on masonry and occultism.

  In Houdini’s Words

  Houdini was, as is mentioned above, eager to establish himself as a scholar despite his lack of formal education. In The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, the lengthy defense of his methods hints at this insecurity.

  The true historian does not compile. He delves for facts and proofs, and having found these he arrays his indisputable facts, his uncontrovertible proofs, to refute the statements of those who have merely compiled. That is what I have done to prove my case against Robert-Houdin. I have not borrowed from the books of other writers on magic. I have gone to the very fountain head of information, records of contemporary literature, newspapers, programmes and advertisements of magicians who preceded Robert-Houdin, sometimes by a century. It would cost fully a million dollars to forge the collection of evidence now in my hands. Men who lived a hundred years before Robert-Houdin was born did not invent posters or write advertisements in order to refute the claims of those who were to follow in the profession of magic. These programmes, advertisements, newspaper notices, and crude cuts trace the true history of magic as no romancer, no historian of a single generation possibly could. They are the ghosts of dead and gone magicians, rising in this century of research and progress to claim the credit due them.

  IX. Houdini, the Movie Star and Producer

  Read It and Know It

  After reading this chapter, you will know more about

  Merveilleux Exploits du Celebre Houdini a Paris: Houdini’s first movie showcased his talents and set him up as a hero.

  The failed entrepreneur: Houdini, wanting to capitalize on the Hollywood craze, started a production company that did not do well.

  Tricks revealed: Houdini allowed some of his secrets to be shown on the silver screen.

  More lawsuits: The litigious nature of the magician made for a bumpy road in Hollywood.

  The end of the era: As with flying, Houdini’s stint in film was relatively short-lived.

  Houdini was fascinated by film both because of his desire to stay current with the changing times and because he saw the opportunity to immortalize his talents. His first foray into acting came in a brief movie he made in Paris called

  Merveilleux Exploits du Celebre Houdini a Paris. In the film, Houdini shows himself defending a drunk from police brutality, only to be arrested and placed in a cell with a straitjacket. Fortunately, the King of Handcuffs cannot be restrained by such trivialities, and quickly escapes the straitjacket and the handcuffs the cops clap on him, and soon after, a locked cell. No complete version of this movie survives.

  Houdini’s second appearance on film is no less dramatic or self-focused. While debuting his incredibly dangerous Manacled Bridge Jump in Rochester, New York, he had himself filmed. The film shows Houdini diving from a high bridge into the river below and coming up out of the water miraculously free of handcuffs.

  By 1915 motion pictures threatened to end the careers of vaudeville performers worldwide. Houdini, determined as always to stay relevant, turned his attention more fully to entering into the world of film. He served as a consultant for the special effects of a horror movie. He signed a contract to play Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea’s Captain Nemo, but the film died in production. As resilient as ever, Houdini jumped into the film industry by starting a production company, the Film Development Company (FDC), which performed automatic film processing.

  In the summer of 1918, Houdini began filming a series called “The Master Mystery.” The series was a total of fifteen episodes, each of which featured Houdini escaping from a new, terrifying predicament. The public can see slightly more of how Houdini does his tricks on film than they had been allowed to see during Houdini’s live performances. In one film Houdini is seen picking a lock with a piece of an umbrella and some string. In another they see him using his toes as if they were fingers. In January of 1919, the serial was released, and although it aired in many countries, reviewers didn’t think much of Houdini as an actor, describing him as having very little range. His escapes, however, were praised as thrilling, even though the audience had no way to know if Houdini was actually performing them or if film manipulation was merely making it seem so. Houdini ran into legal problems collecting his share of the serial’s profits, however, and eventually fought and won a four-year battle in court against the company that produced the movie.

  By late 1918, Houdini’s company the FDC had begun experiencing serious financial trouble. Houdini was especially worried about this business’s failure because he had involved friends and family; his brother Dash had left his performing career to manage the company full time, and his friend and mentor Keller had purchased many shares.

  In spring of 1919, Houdini and Bess moved from New York to Los Angeles in order to star in a serial called The Grim Game. The film again depicted Houdini escaping from unbelievably life-threatening situations. During the filming, an actual, unplanned plane crash is filmed, although Houdini wasn’t actually i
n any danger during the crash, as his “midair stunt” was filmed on the ground. The film was well received as a thriller, and Houdini was signed to another movie called Terror Island. Most of that movie was shot on California’s wild Catalina Island. The film’s gimmicky presentation caused contempt from reviewers, although Houdini was as usual quite pleased with it.

  At the end of 1919, Houdini departed the United States for Europe, intending to work on his film career. The Master Mystery had been a hit in England, and Houdini earned huge salaries performing there, although some audiences complained that they wanted Houdini to spend more time performing tricks and less time speaking about his film career and other endeavors. Houdini decided to produce his own movies, in which he would of course star. He shot scenes for a movie about counterfeiting that he intended to make.

  In the summer of 1920 Houdini returned to the U.S. He devoted himself entirely to his movies, not performing onstage at all for the next year and a half. During this time, Houdini produced and starred in a movie called The Man from Beyond. The plot centers on a character who is revived after having been frozen in ice for one hundred years. The man, whose initials are HH like Harry Houdini’s, recognizes that a woman about to be married to another man is a descendant of his former fiancée and performs many death-defying stunts to win her over and escape enemies of their union. The movie contains Spiritualistic elements, and it is unclear in the movie if Houdini is receptive to the religion, or if he is just using its wild popularity to score viewers. Houdini certainly worked very hard to publicize the film; he formed four touring companies to promote the film and toured himself to promote it.

  Meanwhile, the financial troubles of Houdini’s company, the FDC, deepened. In desperation, Houdini started a second company to support the FDC, the Weehawken Street Corporation, which dealt in real estate. However, that company did not prosper, and when the FDC was sued, became a serious financial liability.

  Houdini’s last film, Haldane of the Secret Service, featuring another main character with the initials HH, came out in 1923 to poor reviews. The movie as usual starred Houdini, this time as a secret service agent for the United States who performs incredible stunts.

  By the early 1920s, Houdini’s film career was over, although Houdini was still involved in many lawsuits stemming from various contracts and corporations associated with his ventures in film. In some cases, Houdini was the plaintiff and in some, the defendant.

  X. Houdini, the Collector

  Read It and Know It

  After reading this chapter, you will know more about

  Houdini’s collection: Any item that related to magic interested Houdini.

  Collecting and continued insecurities: Houdini included drama and literature in his collection to help fulfill his desire to be considered well educated.

  Alfred Becks: Houdini hired a full-time librarian to handle his large collection.

  The collection today: The magic library is in the hands of the Library of Congress.

  Beginning in his youth, Houdini passionately collected books, artifacts, and historical memorabilia related to magic. An old man named Evanion approached Houdini during one of Houdini’s first tours of London. Evanion, although a man of modest means, was a collector of rare artifacts from the history of magic. Houdini became an admirer of Evanion’s collection and bought several items from him. He treated Evanion fondly and wrote sadly about his passing. Houdini hauled his massive magic library around with him, eventually establishing a huge collection in his home in New York. The library included a great deal of literature on the topic of Spiritualism.

  With his determination to become a film star and his eternal desire to prove himself a learned and cultured man, Houdini also became obsessed with accumulating a library of drama and theater literature and memorabilia. He reached out to Robert Gould Shaw, a famous drama collector affiliated with Harvard University, and George Pierce Baker, the creator of the Yale School of Drama. In October of 1919, Houdini’s drama collection received a huge infusion when he sent an agent to a large drama sale at the American Art Galleries in New York. His Harlem brownstone was flooded with thousands more programs, playbills, and other items from his purchases. The upstairs floors were so stuffed with Houdini’s collections of dramatic literature and magic memorabilia that he had to hire a full-time librarian to organize it in the early 1920s. The librarian, Alfred Becks, had formerly worked for Robert Gould Shaw at the Harvard drama library. Becks lived at the brownstone for a year and a half, working full-time on Houdini’s collections. Houdini, however, acknowledged that he was behind the game in the collection of theater literature and that his collection of magic literature was his crowning achievement.

  Houdini’s dedication to developing a library chronicling the history of magic paid off; he developed a huge library including books, playbills, and other artifacts from the history of magic, which is now housed at the Library of Congress. He also briefly attempted to bring to life a theater devoted exclusively to magic. In July of 1919, Houdini purchased the oldest magic shop in the United States, Martinka & Company. As president and majority stockholder of the New York business, Houdini opened “Martinka’s Magical Place” in the Bronx. However, by the time six months had passed, Houdini had already sold his shares in Martinka & Co, and his theatre idea with it.

  In his early fifties, Houdini bragged to friends that he spent only five months a year working, and the rest of his time in his library. He continued to add to both his drama and his magic library, insuring it for a great sum of money. His longtime librarian, Alfred Becks, died in 1925 at the age of eighty. Houdini mourned his passing both for its toll on his collections and for the loss of his friend. In his will, made out in 1925, Houdini left his magic library to the Library of Congress, where it is today, and his drama library to Bess.

  In Houdini’s Words

  Houdini’s relationship with Evanion was an important one to the magician, both for its own sake and for the access it gave him to the history of magic. In The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, Houdini remembers his relationship with Evanion.

  Often when the bookshops and auction sales did not yield fruit worth plucking, I had the good fortune to meet a private collector or a retired performer whose assistance proved invaluable, and the histories of these meetings read almost like romances, so skilfully did the Fates seem to juggle with my efforts to secure credible proof.

  To the late Henry Evans Evanion I am indebted for many of the most important additions to my collection of conjuring curios and my library of magic, recognized by fellow-artistes and litterateurs as the most complete in the world.

  Evanion was an Englishman, by profession a parlor magician, by choice and habit a collector and savant. He was an entertainer from 1849 to the year of his death. For fifty years he spent every spare hour at the British Museum collecting data bearing on his marvellous collection, and his interest in the history of magic was shared by his excellent wife who conducted a “sweet shop” near one of London’s public schools.

  While playing at the London Hippodrome in 1904 I was confined to my room by orders of my physician. During this illness I was interviewed by a reporter who, noticing the clippings and bills with which my room was strewn, made some reference to my collection in the course of his article. The very day on which this interview appeared, I received from Henry Evanion a mere scrawl stating that he, too, collected programmes, bills, etc., in which I might be interested.

  I wrote at once asking him to call at one o’clock the next afternoon, but as the hour passed and he did not appear, I decided that, like many others who asked for interviews, he had felt but a passing whim. That afternoon about four o’clock my physician suggested that, as the day was mild, I walk once around the block. As I stepped from the lift, the hotel porter informed me that since one o’clock an old man had been waiting to see me, but so shabby was his appearance, they had not dared send him up to my room. He pointed to a bent figure, clad in rusty raiment. When I approached the old man
he rose and informed me that he had brought some clippings, bills, etc., for me to see. I asked him to be as expeditious as possible, for I was too weak to stand long and my head was a-whirl from the effects of la grippe.

  With some hesitancy of speech but the loving touch of a collector he opened his parcel.

  “I have brought you, sir, only a few of my treasures, sir, but if you will call—”

  I heard no more. I remember only raising my hands before my eyes, as if I had been dazzled by a sudden shower of diamonds. In his trembling hands lay priceless treasures for which I had sought in vain—original programmes and bills of Robert-Houdin, Phillippe, Anderson, Breslaw, Pinetti, Katterfelto, Boaz, in fact all the conjuring celebrities of the eighteenth century, together with lithographs long considered unobtainable, and newspapers to be found only in the files of national libraries. I felt as if the King of England stood before me and I must do him homage.

  Physician or no physician, I made an engagement with him for the next morning, when I was bundled into a cab and went as fast as the driver could urge his horse to Evanion’s home, a musty room in the basement of No. 12 Methley Street, Kennington Park Road, S.E.