In Memory of Henry Muller

By Tom Interval

Henry Muller in 1992 (Photo: Doug Johnson)

Henry Muller, cofounder of the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame, a public museum and tourist attraction operated in Niagara Falls, Canada, from 1968 to 1995, died on Feb. 28 in Hamilton, Ontario. He was 86 years old.

Here’s Henry’s official obituary, reproduced from YourLifeMoments:

MULLER, Henry – Born July 12, 1930 in Hlohovec, Czechoslovakia, died at 1:45 pm on Tuesday, February 28, 2017 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bella (Zucker) Muller, by his four children, Jerry (Sharon), Alice (Ben Zion), David (Joyce) and Michael (Adrienne), by his grandchildren, Elisha (Laura), Sara (Alan), Joseph (Keren), Tali (Jesse), Liat, Matan, Jacob (Aviva), Rachel, Rebecca, Isaac and Abraham, and by his great-grandchildren Nadia, Julia, Maya, Hannah, Daniel, Benjamin and Lily. Mr. Muller was the founder of Muller’s Meats, Houdini Magical Hall of Fame, Cavalier Motel and the Niagara Industrial Mall, a respected businessman and entrepreneur and a lover of Niagara Falls, Canada. Funeral Thursday, March 2 at 1:00 pm at the Adas Israel Synagogue in Hamilton, Ontario followed by interment at Lundy’s Lane Cemetery in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Muller, with Dr. Harold A. Stein and four others, opened the Hall of Fame in May 1968 at 1019 Centre Street. The attraction housed many significant items from Houdini’s personal collection, including some of his childhood props, posters, a multitude of handcuffs and leg irons, a wooden packing crate he used for underwater escapes, and the famed Water Torture Cell.

Four years after opening, the Hall of Fame moved a half block southeast to 4983 Clifton Hill, into the old Victoria Park Railway Station, where it remained until it burned down 23 years later, on April 30, 1995.

While some of the collection, including the Water Torture Cell, was destroyed in the fire, a lot of the paraphernalia survived and exists in many private collections.

Heartfelt condolences to Henry’s wife, Bella, and the rest of the family.

A Note from Henry’s daughter, Alice (Muller) Rubinfeld:

Alice wants to inform readers of this blog that her family found in Henry’s closet “a number of items of Houdiniana that we were not aware still existed.” I emailed her for more information, which I’ll include in a separate blog post along with Alice’s contact information.