EMC 2011 and Ask Alexander Research Contest
Hello Team! As a special treat for EMC 2011 attendees, we are offering a contest! Everyone that registered for the convention before July 4th has received special EMC 2011 level access to Ask Alexander. The challenge will be to use Ask Alexander to answer the question posted below as quickly as possible. The first person [...]
Some Memories of Charles Reynolds by Ricky Smith
It is with great sadness that we write of Charles Reynolds’ recent passing. Brilliantly knowledgeable in magic perfomance and history, always friendly and charming, with his hat and cane (when he remembered them), Charles was persistently full of life all the moments he shared with us. While many have written wonderful thoughts about his life’s [...]
BBC Features Randini!
Greetings! Next Tuesday, October 12, the BBC will have a feature on Randini on their radio program Making History. Some of you may be familiar with him from reading The Secret Life of Houdini or perhaps through Edwin Dawes’ article in the Magic Circular (members can view this by going to the link at the [...]
Ask Alexander 2.0 Beta!
Those of you who have logged in to Alexander recently may have noticed the new look and some new features. We are calling it Ask Alexander 2.0, and, although we are still working on many neat ideas, it is coming along nicely. The first thing you will notice is the new design which was elegantly [...]
Jim Bard Houdini Bust
A new piece of Houdini memorabilia has been kind enough to grace the library with its presence. It is a reproduction of a bust that Houdini gave to Jim Bard in the early 1900s which is quite striking. Since only two busts of Houdini are known to have survived, the Houdini-Bard and one sold at [...]
The Secret Life of Houdini
The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero By William Kalush and Larry Sloman Handcuff King. Escape Artist. International Superstar. Since his death eighty years ago, Harry Houdini’s life has been chronicled in books, in film, and on television. Now, in this groundbreaking biography, renowned magic expert William Kalush and best-selling writer [...]
Footnotes for The Secret Life of Houdni
Below are the links to our preliminary version of the footnotes to The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero. Please keep in mind that these are preliminary and to get the fully refined notes with annotations you should order the boxed set. The Oath (Draft v1.1) Updated 11/09/2006 Starving for a Living (Draft [...]
Who was Harry Houdini?
“Harry Houdini didn’t die in the Water Torture Cell. He didn’t have a mother fixation. And he wasn’t just a great showman. Eventually all legends get cluttered by apocryphal stories, and the legend of the greatest professional master of deception is no exception. Much of what has become his story is fabrication. Ironically, the real [...]
Was Houdini a Superman?
“Ehrich Weiss was born into poverty and cast into the world with an inadequate education and a great burden. This flawed mortal struggled, schemed, and persevered, transforming himself into Harry Houdini, America’s first international sensation by creating the idea that he could beat any possible restraint. The idea was so powerful that he became mythic—a [...]
Was Houdini a Spy?
In the late 1800s, a young Harry Houdini, though stunningly creative and clever, couldn’t make enough money to succeed at magic. Hungry and crestfallen, he was ready to give up his dream, until he walked into a Chicago police station and met a detective who would change his life. Immediately after this fateful encounter, he [...]
