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.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly 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.

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

599 - Suzanne the Magician- Suz with a "Z"

Winner of the Academy of Magical Arts (the Magic Castle) trophy for “Close-Up Magician of the Year”, Suzanne the Magician joins us this week to talk about her experience of preparing then fooling Penn & Teller on their hit television show and also discuss ideas for performing in restaurants.

As discussed on this podcast episode, never make fun of your volunteer particularly when they become “easy targets.”

This week we learn how Suzanne had to rework and retool her signature “Band Aid” trick "(A Mother’s Love) to make it work for Penn & Teller Fool Us. She also shares stories from her decades of experience of performing magic at high end restaurants plus some advice on trick selections, approaching tables, and more.

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

This week’s podcast video on YouTube.