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.

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619: Eric Colleary PhD - In Front of the Bookcase

This week we travel to Austin, Texas where one of the world’s largest collection of Houdini ephemera resides. Dr. Eric Colleary is our guest who is the Cline Curator of Theatre & Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center, an international humanities research library, archive, and museum. He holds a Ph.D. in Theatre Historiography from the University of Minnesota and an all-around great guy. The title “In Front of the Bookcase” for this week’s episode comes from the massive bookcase (and its contents) once owned by Houdini that now is owned by the University.

This week’s podcast episode on YouTube.

In this conversation, Dr. Colleary tells us about how this Houdini collection came to Austin, Texas and what is in the massive collection. There are some interesting stories in this week’s episode told about Houdini and Eric also debunked a few myths around parts of this collection.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

458: MagiCuba 2018 - Day One Update

Schedule - Wednesday November 7, 2018

12:00 - 6:00 p.m. All-Day Magic at Cereceria Antigo Aimecen de la Madera y Tobaco in Habana Vieja (“Cerveceria”) - essentially, a craft brewery

3:00 - 6:00 p.m. Registration/Information Desk (Hotel Nacional)

6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Welcome Reception (Hotel Nacional, Sala 1930)

8:00 p.m. Magic, Rum & Cigar Dinner at Hotel Sevilla (Extra Event)

10:30 p.m. Late Night Magic @ Salon Rojo

12:00 a.m. Nightcap @ Hotel Nacional Terrace

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:51 - Peter Rogers tells what attracted him to travel from Australia for this festival

00:06:12 - Chris Korn will be one of the performers and lecturers at this event

00:09:06 - Chris Gartner is a listener of The Magic Word Podcast ans was enticed to attend

00:12:19 - Jon Stetson is one of the hosts and organizers of MagiCuba and talks about some of the challenges facing the event. During the end of our conversation we are greeted by Asi Wind, Mitch Praver and Eric Mead.

00:24:56 - At the evening opening party, we chat with Ashley and Michael Trixx about this convention and others he has recently attended.

00:28:50 - Scott Wells recaps the evening “Cigars and Rum dinner” extra-cost event.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

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