940: John Cox - Houdini Master

It’s National Magic Week, as designated by the Society of American Magicians. It also means it’s that time of the year to chat with the Houdini expert, John Cox. He has been blogging daily for years about all things Houdini. So, on the eve of the 99th anniversary of Houdini’s death, it seems appropriate to check in with John to see what’s new with Houdini. During our chat, he surprises us with several revelations that I didn’t know, and perhaps might be new to you, too.

John’s biggest and his proudest accomplishment over this past year has been the publication of his book, “Escaping Obscurity” available from Mike Caveney’s “Magic Words” website. He talks about this book in our chat this week, plus he also reveals that the ending to the Tony Curtis movie of “Houdini” did not end with him dying in the water torture cell! This and other revelations are discussed in this week’s episode.

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Thank everyone who entered the contest. We could only have one winner each week, but anyone who is genuinely interested in procuring a deck, you should visit their website at https://houdinicards.com while supplies are available.

Although this book is long out of print, I do have a source who can probably hook you up with a copy. Please contact Kent Cummiins at Kent@kentcummins.com and ask if he has an extra, shrink-wrapped copy to sell you.

867: John Cox - What's New With Houdini?

As we end our “Month of Boo'“ on The Magic Word Podcast, we close it out on the 98th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini who passed on Halloween (October 31st), 1926. It is fitting that we have a chat with the internationally noted expert on “all things Houdini,” John Cox. John is the blogger of “Wild About Houdini” which is a daily blog about the master of escapes. He always seems to find some interesting nugget about Houdini’s life that has been long overlooked or “escaped” his attention.

If you are more of a visual person, then you might enjoy watching our conversation that was recorded over Zoom.

This week, John Cox talks about the many variations of the “Houdini Seance” since the first one by Bess Houdini first held on the year following Harry’s death. These modern day seances includes the current “Official” one hosted by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz and the “Original” one hosted by Tom Boldt and Bill Radner. John also tells us some details about Houdini’s trial in Germany, plus he updates us on the books he is writing including the elucidation on Houdini’s diary from his early years before he rose to his legendary status.

851: MAGIC Live! 2024 Convention - Day Three Report

Tuesday, August 6th

24 hours Mystique Lounge, Jackson Square

9:00 a.m. Information Booth, Kiosk 11:00 p.m.

10:00 a.m. General Session for red lanyards, Showroom (Noon)

11:00 a.m. The MAGIC Shop, Mardi Gras (6:00p)

11:30 a.m. Out to Lunch, Esplanade (1:30p)

2:15 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards (3:15p)

Acting for Magicians, French Quarter with Chris Philpott & Steve Valentine
Share the Awe, St. Charles with Javi Benitez
Magyver of Magic, Bienville G with Christian Engbloom

3:30 p.m. Focus Sessions for red lanyards until 4:30 p.m. (see above)

Live Tonight!

Documentary Live: The Juniors, Dauphine 5:15, 7:50, 10:15 p.m.
The Little Big Show, Esplanade 5:35, 8:10, 10:35 p.m.
Close-up Experience, Bienville H 6:00, 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 p.m.
In Concert: Tanto, Dauphine 6:30, 9:05, 11:30p
Penguin Magic Podcast, St. Charles 7:00, 8:30, 10:00p

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:20 – Matt Alexander shaved his beard just for the Sunday night costume party. That was quite a commitment. We then summarized some of events that led up to today.

00:20:59 – Armando Lucero is enjoying this convention by visiting with friends and introducing some of them for their presentations. He shared some of the memories of past events.

00:23:31 – John Kippen is a Knight of the Magic Castle and is one of the regular performers there. He has been buying some a lot of magic here and telling us what memories are being created at this convention. He particularly liked Jon Armstrong. He also gives us a tip on how to handle an audience members who might be playing on their phone during your show. He also talks about his Friday Zoom meetings that was started during COVID and continues to this day.

00:31:27 – John Cox was one of the outstanding presenters at this convention as he talks about the book he is working on about Houdini’s life that was taken from his travel diary from 1897-1899.

00:41:22 – Morris Herzberg talks about our long-time friendship which is what this podcast is all about: renewing old friendships.

00:46:30 – Joey Martinez, Entertainment Director at Nashville’s House of Cards, talks about that venue and how has been doing. We also summarize one of the shows at this convention and how much we enjoyed it.