Tag Archives: new york
Blogcast #6: Houdini Optical Illusion on National Geographic Brain Games
By Tom Interval In 2013, National Geographic’s Brain Games commissioned artist Pete Fecteau to create a Rubik’s Cube mosaic of the Houdini two-face optical illusion I made that year. I wrote about it at the time, and that’s the subject of today’s blogcast. Hope you … Continue reading
71 East Eagle Street: Another Houdini Address?
By Tom Interval In September 1856, homeowner E.A. Rockwell petitioned the Buffalo Common Council to build a 7 x 14′ addition to his one-story home at 71 East Eagle Street in Buffalo, New York. Little did he know that 39 … Continue reading
Houdini’s Suspended Straitjacket Escape at Police Field Day Games
By Tom Interval There’s no enviable day to die, but if you’re a magician, and you have to cash in your chips, anyway, it might as well be on Halloween. That’s exactly what Harry Houdini did 91 years ago today: … Continue reading
NPR Story: Unpublished Houdini Straitjacket Photo
By Tom Interval This morning, NPR’s Pam Fessler interviewed a gentleman by the name of Chris Shweie, coauthor of The Voice of the City: Vaudeville and Popular Culture in New York and collector of all things vaudeville. Shweie said he recently … Continue reading
Houdini’s Voice Recorded 100 Years Ago Today
By Tom Interval It was exactly 100 years ago today that Houdini recorded his voice on Edison wax cylinders. This particular version is one I put together a couple of years ago. It’s about 3½ minutes long and is different … Continue reading
Houdini in The New York Times Turns 10: Its Origin and Future
By Tom Interval This year marks the 10th anniversary of Houdini in The New York Times, a website housing more than 125 articles and letters in The New York Times written by or about Harry Houdini. Please enjoy this brief … Continue reading
Did this man live at 278 W. 113th St. before Houdini?
By Tom Interval We know a few things about Harry Houdini’s New York City home at 278 W. 113th St. and even got a glimpse inside last year when the New York Daily News interviewed Fred Thomas, the current owner. … Continue reading
Breaking News from Queens re Houdini Grave
They’re calling this “an unprecedented act of theft and vandalism.” The news broke this morning. Here’s a quick excerpt, but you can read the full story by clicking on the link below. Body of Harry Houdini Stolen From Queens Grave … Continue reading
Carrie Gladys Weiss Died in mid January 1959
By Tom Interval There seems to be a lot of uncertainty about when Carrie Gladys Weiss (Houdini’s sister) died. Until today, even the Wikipedia page about Houdini stated that the year of Gladys’s death is unknown (I changed it). But … Continue reading
Houdini Museum 