The Commemorative Houdini Coloring Book for Adults

 

He made a what??? Yes, I made a Houdini Coloring Book. But it's more than that. Let me explain. First, there is a huge influx of Houdini books this year. Naturally, for the centennial, many people are taking full advantage of it and so they should. There are some very comprehensive biographies coming out, many already have come out. I didn't want to just do another biography, so I thought, what could I do that might reach a bigger audience? I had just heard about 'Adult Coloring Books', which I didnt even realize were a thing. These are coloring books for adults, NOT x-rated or anything like that. (get your mind out of the gutter!)

But it wasn't enough to make a coloring book. I wanted to add history to the mix, so I wrote short descriptions of the various images, most of which were Houdini photos or posters. But there are several that I created myself and one that is actually ME. Anyway, the short descriptions gave way to another thought which was to add QR links on the pages to articles or podcast episodes related to those images. NOW, I was onto something!!!

I did use ai to create the line drawings. I could have done that part myself and the book wouldn't have been done till next year. The other side of it, the book would have been enormously expensive had I hired someone to do it. So keeping costs low, I went this route. Trust me, I am an artist, I know the value of hiring living human beings and will continue to do so many times in the future. I used photoshop to fix some of the pictures so it wasn't just a process of telling ai to do something and 30 seconds later it was done. It was a lot of work to get things the way I wanted. I rejected a lot of images. 

Sadly, there were a couple images that didn't make the mix. One in particular was in the book, then out, then in and then finally out. It just didnt work. Then when I hit 52 pages, I knew it was time to stop. 52 pages was going to be the perfect amount. The buyer would get a good mix of images, some easy to color, some more advanced, but all would have QR codes with links to this blog or my podcast. Only one,  page went without a QR code and that was the one on Vintage Houdini Era Cuffs, which by the way, came from my own collection. 

The end result blew me away. I wasn't quite sure how it would all turn out, but graphically, it really looked awesome. To prevent 'bleed throughs' if the buyer uses markers, every image is on it's own page. The final image in the book is a favorite that I created, Harry & Bess reunited. 

I did learn after finishing the project, that there were two previous Houdini coloring books, however, the illustrations in one of them were pretty weak. The other appeared to be a 'magic coloring book', so not actually, a true coloring book but rather a magic prop. Neither is available anymore. Well, one is, but the price is $84, lol. 

My hope is that I will find a good mix of non-Houdini people buying the book and in the process they get to learn about him, through coloring, my audio podcast and reading my blog articles. Naturally, magicians are welcome to buy it. It's way less expensive than all the other Houdini books this year. And, it's interactive! I will also offer it for sale in my Houdini lectures and back of the room sales at shows. Hey, for magicians who have kids and grandkids, it's perfect for them too!!!!

To get your copy of the book, just to to Amazon. https://a.co/d/05AOd8Rl

Houdini and the Art of Jumping From A Bridge

 

Generally, when you hear about someone jumping off a bridge, it's bad news. They are probably attempting to commit suicide. Depending upon the height of the bridge and the angle of their descent, it's likely they will succeed. Houdini, chose to use this concept of jumping off a bridge as a publicity stunt, but he would take it up a notch.

You see, not only was Houdini prepared to jump, he would also do it handcuffed. This adds another element of impossibility for those watching. So he has two things he must handle, he must survive the jump and then he must get the cuffs off of himself before he drowns!

One can clearly see Houdini's athletic abilities on full display here. Just the ability to jump and land without hurting yourself is remarkable. You could easily bash yourself in the head or the face with the cuffs as you hit the water. And, though it looks like a very soft target, water is nearly like stone due to its surface tension. Once you break through you are ok, but if you hit the surface wrong, the result can be devastating. Think of someone doing a belly flop dive into a pool. I have vivid memories of doing this myself as a kid and how painful it was when I hit the water. 

Then there are other elements to consider. How about the temperature of the water, or weather conditions in general? This type of stunt is ideal for warmer temps, in other words Summer time. But Houdini's first attempt would be on November 27th, 1906. This was on a Tuesday, and just before Thanksgiving that year. Houdini would be jumping from the Belle Isle Bridge in Detroit, Michigan. This is also the jump that would go down in history as having to cut a hole in the ice so that Houdini could jump and then getting stuck under the ice do to the current of the water. It was depicted quite graphically in the 1953 Houdini movie with Tony Curtis, and later in the Adrien Brody Houdini Miniseries. First biography to cover it was the Harold Kellock biography. The only problem was, that part of the jump never happened. The water was never frozen over. It would have been ice cold, but not frozen over. And yet it was Houdini himself, that started to whole 'story'. He would make the claim, on more than one occasion, that they had to cut a hole in the ice and he nearly died trying to escape. Totally, bulls**t, well let's be nice and call it 'fluttery' lol. 

HOUDINI-Tony Curtis 1953

But he did jump from the Belle Isle Bridge, about 25 feet from the top of the bridge to the surface of the water. He wore two pair of handcuffs and he apparently wore a safety rope as well. Actually quite smart thinking for someone who had not done anything like this before. He also had a safety boat to pick him up once he made the jump. Considering the temperature of the water, another smart move. Once Houdini hits the water in the handcuffs, he initially is overcome with cold shock, sudden immersion triggers, hyperventilation, gasping and a spike in heart rate. This will continue for several minutes until the blood begins to cool and then the ability to swim rapidly decreases. So, both the safety line and the safety boat were smart precautions.

For me as a kid watching the 1953 movie, I often wonder if I would have gone into magic had this under the ice scene not been in the movie. It was the one scene I had caught over and over when they showed that movie on TV, and the only one I would see for a while. It wasn't until the day I asked my Dad what that movie was and what it was about that I took the time to sit down and watch it end to end. Well, that was the day my life changed. But back to Houdini.

BOSTON JUMP

Houdini would do a lot of exciting things in Boston during his career. But on April 30th 1908 he announces he is going to jump from the Harvard Bridge, into the Charles River, while handcuffed and manacled. That image is at the top of the page. He is wearing leg irons on his arms and a the chain between the leg irons is padlocked around his neck. He also has a pair of handcuffs on his wrists which are behind his back. As an escape artist, this tells me everything I need to know about the escape. But for you, the lay person, I don't give up secrets.

An estimated 20,000 people came out to watch Houdini jump off this bridge into the Charles River. Notice it was April, a much warmer time of year, though still not Summer time. It should also be pointed out that far more people could see a stunt like this than could see a Jail escape. Both were certainly strong publicity events, but the Bridge Jump was more spectacular and a bit more dangerous. Interestingly, both likely had to be coordinated with the police. Which I might add, was a pretty fast process as compared to today when you'd need permits and permission and insurance and who knows what else. Houdini gets to Boston, and a short time later, days, is jumping. And before then, he has time to notify the media, print flyers and make the arrangements for a safety crew, as there were boats in the water ready to pull him out once he jumped. Oh, and he has a film crew on hand to document the entire thing.

There is a commemorative plaque today on the Harvard Bridge, dedicated to Houdini's jump in 1908. They do get the date wrong, the plaque says May 1st and it was actually April 30th. One thing you might note, the photo at the top of the page and the photo of him dropping into the water, clearly not taken from the same spot. Brilliant marketing frankly. He gets some good publicity shots, which appear as if he is about to jump. Then the goes over to the actual location and has a film crew standing by to record the entire thing. They are filming from a different location, possibly even from a boat. 

All in all the bridge jumps are an education in Houdini thinking. So many aspects are involved here. You have the technical side, how will he be manacled, with what, and how far down is the water? Then you have the logistical side, media, the authorities, the audience. No small feat for a stunt that actually lasted a mere moment. He was out of the manacles and on the surface of the water in 30 seconds. But look at how much publicity he received. Imagine how the ticket sales for his shows was have blown up that week. Wow.

Houdini's last bridge jump would be in England in 1913, he would have been 39 years old. His brother, Theodore on the other hand,  though he also stopped doing bridge jumps around this time, was doing underwater escapes well into his 60s. So, the moral of the story is, don't let age stop you if you really want to do something (and NO, this does not apply to kids). It should go without saying, but Im saying it, these types of things are EXTREMELY dangerous and should only be done by professionals and by taking every precaution possible. 

The Master Mystery - The Original Terminator?

 

In 1918, Houdini made a Silent Movie Serial called The Master Mystery. Before the Terminator, before Skynet,  before AI, Houdini faced the danger that we all are concerned about today,  Q-The Automaton. This was the first evil movie robot in American movie history.  They called it an Automaton, because the word 'robot' had not been coined yet, let alone, 'android', 'cyborg'  or any other sci-fi word.

The movie is a 15 serial, or 15 episode production. IMDB says of the movie, "Quentin Locke, a Justice

Department agent, is sent to infiltrate a fraudulent patents company. In an attempt to gather evidence on the phony patents, he takes a job as the manager's secretary who takes up residence in the mansion of business partner Peter Brent. Brent wants our of the nefarious scheme and has been rendered mentally incapable of cooperating with Locke through exposure to "Madagascar Madness", a chemical substance that was added to the wax of candles in his room. Locke accepts the challenge of protecting his daughter Eva as the gang pushes forward with their unethical agenda. The vicious gang of thugs use an ambulatory mechanical man to assist them in intimidating the household into supporting their plans."

The original robot is lost to time. But a few years ago, master builder John Gaughan rebuilt Q and he even made an appearance at a Magic History Conference. Today, two of them exist, one in John Gaughan's collection, the other in Roger Dryer's Houdini museum. Im assuming Mr. Gaughan built both of them.

The Master Mystery marked a new chapter for Houdini, the movies. He had made smaller productions in 1905 and 1909, but The Mastery Mystery would be seen by many more people and would lead into several other movies.

Now, if you have nearly 4 hours, you can watch this epic silent movie!