Even had my newborn son fanning cards before leaving the hospital...
Posted on 06/02/2004 7:52:17 AM PDT by wallcrawlr
Edited on 06/02/2004 10:22:28 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
APPLETON, Wis. -- How did Harry Houdini do his signature ``Metamorphosis'' escape, the one where he was handcuffed inside a sack, locked in a trunk and yet somehow managed to switch places with an assistant on the outside?
To find out, all a fan or an aspiring illusionist has to do is go to a new exhibit opening today and climb inside the trunk.
That has some in the business tied up in knots.
Magicians say their code of ethics prohibits revealing secrets to the public. The famous and not-so-famous alike, including David Copperfield and Ronald ``Rondini'' Lindberg,'' have called the Outagamie Museum to protest its ``A.K.A. Houdini'' show.
``It's just that this is a very, very passionate thing that magicians feel about and what the museum is doing is wrong,'' said Lindberg of Appleton, a city of about 40,000 that Houdini considered his hometown.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
It's magic! Darn it! No trick! What is wrong with these people. I bet they think wrestling is fake too! /s off
Freeper magician ping...
There is no "rest of the article".
what you have posted is the complete article.
He made it vanish.
Good one SG!!
Even had my newborn son fanning cards before leaving the hospital...
Starting off in life with an inside straight to fill. Poor fella!
"The Historical Society has recently severed it's ties with long-time benefactor Sidney Radner and will no longer display his world famous collection of Houdini artifacts. The Radner Collection was handed down directly by Houdini to his brother Theodore, who was known as "Hardeen", and from him to Sid Radner. The Historical Society is now preparing a replacement exhibit entitled "a.k.a. Houdini" scheduled to open in the summer of 2004. The Houdini Historical Center had been a resource for researchers, documentary film makers, and was also a top attraction for tourism in northeastern Wisconsin. Without the Radner Collection it is questionable whether they will be able to maintain the credibility that was built up over the past fifteen years since the Center was established."
"Apparently, aware of the limitations of their remaining collection, the Outagamie County Historical Society is planning to offer an exhibit EXPOSING! the secrets of Houdini's signature illusion, the Metamorphosis. The illusion has been presented to delighted audiences throughout the world by magicians young and old. This wonderful illusion has never lost its excitement in over 100 years of performances. Magicians take an oath of secrecy to never reveal how a trick is done to the general public. Yet, the Outagamie County Historical Society, which has been entrusted with magical secrets as a result of it's sponsorship of the Houdini Historical Center, now feels it can EXPOSE! Houdini's and the magic community's secrets for its own questionable purposes."
I am distantly (very distantly), related to Erich Weiss*. My grandfather and his father were second cousins. Speaking for my side of the family, the secrets are out there and have been for many, many years. The museum is doing no harm by showing what it has.
Also, technically speaking, he was an escape artist, not a magician. What magic work he did was trite and he often blew the tricks.
Having said that, he was in excellent physical condition and could get his body to do things you wouldn’t believe.
Erich Weiss was taken too soon from us.
* One of the variant spellings of Houdini's real name.
Sign in Magic Shop parking lot: "Violators will be toad."
Great pics, man!
I saw a show once that revealed secrets in several different magic acts. It was really quite funny how simple the ruse can be.
For example, catching a pullet in the mouth. 1). Real bullet fired from gun. 2). Bullet passes through a sheet a glass between the gun and the guy catching it. 3). Bullet is now slowed down by the glass to a fraction of its original speed so the guy can catch it in his teeth.
are the pics showing up for you? They are showing up about half the time for me for some reason.
I'm the warm up act for Jim Passe's kick off gala for his Million Dollar Blindfolded Drive. Hopefully I will get some killer pics from that. And at $150 a ticket, I better kill! If not, they might take my wand away.
I still wouldn't want to be on the other side of the glass.
A women in the IBM Ring that I am in does a comedy bullet catch.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.