Houdini and Chase's Polite Vaudeville House and More

 

I have been searching for a long time for a photo of Chase's Vaudeville house. A fellow historian told me it was actually Keith's Theater, but he was slightly incorrect. Chase's began on Pennsylvania Avenue and later moved to 15th and G Street. Later, B.F. Keith's bought that location. But the original was on Pennsylvania Avenue, in view of the Capital Building. 

In 1906 Houdini played Chase's Theater. In fact, I wrote all about it in 2014.But I never knew what it looked like until now. I recently discovered a photo that includes Chase's theater. And just by coincidence it contains a whole lot more related to magic as well. I'm going to share them all with you.

First, Chase's Polite Vaudeville Theater, it was located at 1424 Pennsylvania Avenue NW. In the photo above, Chase's is on the right hand side #3. Here is a close up of the theater. Houdini was there from September 16th to September 29, 1906. He was heavy into his Challenge Act Days, and each day provided a new and exciting challenge for DC audiences to enjoy. I will have more on Houdini in DC in an upcoming future project. But for now I want you to see, the outside and possibly the inside.

The reason I say possibly the inside is, this location really doesn't look big enough for the auditorium for which I have a photo. Looks can be deceiving and the building may be much larger than the facade out front, which was not uncommon with theaters. But there are two things that make me think this like was in fact the right place. One, it says 'Chases Theater' at the bottom of the picture, though this could be the second location. But the other thing is that Chases was originally the Grand Opera House and this auditorium sure looks like it should be an Opera House!

That's not the end of the story. If you move left on the upper most photo you see a tall building marked with a red #2. This was the Post Office Pavillion. Built in 1892, it was originally Barton & Logan's Dime Museum. This was pre-vaudeville. In 1880, Imro Fox, the magician who would later be one of the Bosco's in LeRoy Talma And Bosco, worked at Bartons. He was working as a chef at a local hotel about a block away. The manager of the Dime Museum had hired a magician who was showing up drunk and then not showing up at all. Word reached him that there was a chef who was an amateur magician. He approached Imro Fox, the chef,  who at first said no. Then he offered to pay him $50 and he said yes. Fifty dollars in 1880 had to be like crazy money. 

Back to the photo at the top of the page. The red #3 is the Nation's Capital, where in 1902, a 29 year old Max Malini, bit the button off the coat on Senator Mark Hanna on the steps of the Capital, and then immediately restored it. Word reached the White House and the next day, Malini was performing for President Teddy Roosevelt!

However, there is another incident. In 1926, Houdini testified before Congress, twice, about an Anti-Spiritualism bill, which was actually an Anti-Fortune Telling Bill. I covered those exploits on this blog and also on two episodes of my podcast, one which has yet to air. 

Finally, we get down to the last red number, #1. It is obscured by the trees, but it is iconic to both the magic world and DC residents. It would be the future location of Al's Magic Shop, run by Al Cohen and his son. Originally it was a gift shop that he and his father ran. Slowly, Al started adding magic tricks to the items sold and eventually the magic took over. 

In 1980, Al got word that the area was going to be redeveloped and his building would be torn down. So he moved the shop. Al would move the shop from 1205 Pennsylvania Ave NW to a couple different locations, eventually ending up on Vermont Avenue, which is only a few blocks from this location. 

Al's served as the go to place in the DC areas for magicians to gather and buy tricks and meet up. I remember bumping into David Williamson there once, and the Amazing Randi, and even Patch Adams. But the most ironic part of all this to me, and I didn't realize it until today. Long after the shop had been torn down, my good friend Ralph and I went down to a festival in DC that was on Pennsylvania Avenue. We went down there busking and if I might add, made quite a bit of money. Fortunately we didn't get thrown out, at least not at that one. But the spot we set up at, was the exact spot of the old Al's Magic Shop! I never realized it before, but looking over the old photo and checking locations, sure enough we stood in front of Al's location. Wild.

And I'll leave you with a bonus. Houdini was at Chase's earlier in 1906 too. Again, I'll have more on all that soon. But here is a newspaper article from his January appearance! This is from The Washington Star Newspaper, January 2nd, 1906.

When A Wizard Dies : Remembering Denny Haney

 

My friend Denny Haney, owner of The Denny and Lee Magic Studio, magical artist known as Denny Lee,  died this day, Jan 23rd in 2019. He wasn't world famous, but yet he performed Internationally. He wasn't a household name. But among magicians he was revered. The best names in magic would call him for his opinions and advice. He freely shared his knowledge and wisdom with whoever wanted to hear. I know it also frustrated him at times. Denny was highly opinionated, this came from being the real deal, an actual performing magician with thousands of shows under his belt. 

He performed nearly every type of venue there was and nearly every style of magic, with the exception of mentalism. For some reason, mentalism didn't really interest him. He admired those who did it, but his forte was stage magic. He loved manipulation having been a graduate of the Chavez Course in Magic. And he loved illusion magic. He had many clever twists on existing illusions. He was from the old school of 'make it entertaining'. So whenever magic was done, he also added in plenty of bits of business.

A perfect example of Denny's style of entertainment was his version of the Bottle Trick. This was something many many magicians have done. Denny's routine was straight out of Ken Brooke's booklet. But what made it special was Denny. He was often compared to Red Skelton in his style of performing and I can see that. Watch the video below and notice his impeccable style. 

As I said, Denny was opinionated, but he could always back it up. There are plenty of people with opinions, but when you press them on it, they often fall apart. Why? Their opinions are based upon what they heard someone else say and they have no real knowledge of the subject. Denny's opinions were backed by years and years of work before real world audiences. Honestly if Denny made a suggestion about something, you'd be wise to follow the masters direction. Below is a video of one of Denny's signature routines. Again, I think much of this is Ken Brooke's handling. But notice how Denny interacts with the audience members. He's funny, friendly, and his magic is top notch.

I didnt get to see Denny during his last days, which on one hand makes me very sad. He even asked about me to some friends who were up there. But on the other hand, I remember Denny as the lively old Wizard who loved magic and loved sharing it with anyone who would watch. I learned so much from that guy. I still have a hard time thinking he's gone. It was a crushing moment for anyone who knew him and for those of us who were close to him. He was one of a kind.

A quick story to finish things up. I was in his shop, back in the 90s and I asked him about a particular trick that I had seen Doug Henning perform. It was something that fooled me and I could never find out where it was in print. So I asked Denny and he said, "It's in Tarbell". This was often something Denny would say in regards to an inquiry and he was usually correct. Except this time. This time I stopped him and said, "No it's not. I know what you are referring to and that's not it" And Denny said, "Yes, that's it. Go check it out again." And I was sure he was wrong. I went home, opened my Tarbell Volume 5 and there it was...he was correct, again. I had looked at that a dozen times or more and was convinced that what Doug Henning did was NOT that trick. So the trick fooled me TWICE! Once live and once via a book. 

On his gravestone, is printed his favorite saying. I found a photo of it online. RIP ole friend.

Coming Next to the Magic Detective Podcast, will be BESS HOUDINI!!!

 

I plan to do the next podcast on Bess Houdini. Is she the forgotten Houdini? I mean, all Houdini historians, writers, biographers, write about Harry, but Bessie is always a secondary player. I would like to write this podcast where Bess is the focus, and Houdini is the secondary player. 

She outlived her husband, and then outlived her business manager/companion, Edward Saint. She had 17 years without Harry, and yet in that time, she helped to make him a legend. Episode 115 will bring the life of Bess, perhaps in a way that has never been done before. The research has begun. I won't have it ready by her birthday on Friday. But I hope to get it finished before the end of the month.