Houdini Halloween pt.2
Houdini was the first magician to operate on such a scale. His earlier tricks were small. He and Bess switched places in locked trunks. He swallowed a needle and thread and regurgiated the needle already threaded. Later, his illusions and escapes were more epic. He went over Niagra falls, jumped, fully bound in chains, from the Brooklyn Bridge and caused an elephant to disappear. Houdini made a second career for himself exposing fake spiritualists. Not only did he offer a prize to whatever medium could prove beyond a doubt that they had contacted the other side, but he also disguised himself and went from psychic to psychic in the company of a cop and a reporter. It was through this curious pursuit that he ran afoul of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- once a close family friend, who believed in the supernatural quite passionately. After Houdini's death, he published a book in which he postulated the theory that Houdini himself was a psychic so powerful that he could block the powers of those he pretended to be debunking.
Despite having sought truth so desperately, Houdini's life lends itself to an abundance of apocryphal tales. In Los Angeles, people don't even know where he lived; his house in Laurel Canyon burned down, but people always think it's a different house, one more visible from the narrow canyon road. In a curious turn, many psychics claim to be visited by Houdini. (Extremely doubtful, as we'll soon explain.) Probably the most well known story was propagated by the 1953 film of his life, starring Tony Curtis. In the film, Houdini dies as a result of performing his famous Chinese Water Torture trick, which is completely untrue.
In fact, Houdini died of appendicitis on October 31, 1926. He was fifty-two. In the days before his death, a youth punched him in the stomach several times while he was unprepared, backstage after a show. This may sound unusual, but part of Houdini's performance was that he invited audience members to punch him, which he was able to withstand by tightening his abdominal muscles (don't try this at home kids!) Many thought this was what killed him. This is not the case; however, it may have prevented Houdini from seeking the medical help he needed.
Houdini, an adventurer to the last, had a bargain with his wife, that whoever died first would visit from the other side and give a coded message if such a thing were possible. Every year, Bess Houdini held a seance on the roof of the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood. Every year, nothing happened. In 1943, at the end of the final seance, she blew out the candle she kept lit beside his photo, saying, you can only wait for any man just so long.
posted by kuaptic. @ 8:03 AM
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