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Houdini's Final Performance Haunts Detroit 100 Years Later
· Confirmed
In Short: Houdini's final performance in Detroit, and his subsequent death, have left a lasting impression on the city, with his spirit still said to haunt certain locations.
On October 31, 1926, the legendary magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit, marking the end of a career that spanned over three decades.
Houdini performed in Detroit 19 times between 1894 and 1926, reflecting the arc of his career from a relatively unknown performer to a superstar of the vaudeville era.
Despite being advised by his doctor to cancel his shows and rest in Montreal, Houdini traveled to Detroit to fulfill his contract, performing his '3 Shows In One' revue at the Garrick Theatre on October 24, 1926.
Houdini's final performance was marked by a series of death-defying stunts, including a daring jump from Detroit's Belle Isle Bridge in 1906, where he leapt from a height of two dozen feet into frigid water while handcuffed.
Houdini's wife, Bess, stood in the wings during his shows, ready to assist if he couldn't complete an escape. She recalled a secret code they used to ensure his safety.
In a 2004 interview with NPR, Bess Houdini's assistant, Mrs. Young, revealed that Bess always stood in the wings during Houdini's shows, ready to help if he couldn't get out.
Houdini's final show in Detroit was interrupted by a series of punches to his abdomen, which left him in visible pain. Despite this, he continued with the performance.
Houdini was rushed to the hospital after his final show, where he was diagnosed with appendicitis. He died 11 days later, on October 31, 1926.
Houdini's death has been the subject of numerous theories and speculations over the years, including the idea that he was poisoned by a group of malevolent circus midgets.
Houdini's legacy lives on in Detroit, with magicians and enthusiasts continuing to honor his memory and influence.
In Marshall, Michigan, about 100 miles west of Detroit, John Sherwood, a curator at the American Museum of Magic, still uses Houdini's milk can as a centerpiece for séances.
Houdini's impact on the magic community is also evident in his role as president of the Society of American Magicians from 1917 until his death in 1926.
What this adds
Houdini's final performance in Detroit was interrupted by a series of punches to his abdomen, which left him in visible pain. Despite this, he continued with the performance.
Houdini's death has been the subject of numerous theories and speculations over the years, including the idea that he was poisoned by a group of malevolent circus midgets.
Houdini's legacy lives on in Detroit, with magicians and enthusiasts continuing to honor his memory and influence.
Houdini's impact on the magic community is also evident in his role as president of the Society of American Magicians from 1917 until his death in 1926.
Background
NPR and C & G Newspapers both highlight the enduring fascination with Houdini's life and death, noting that his spirit still haunts Detroit and continues to influence generations of magicians and entertainers.
What's confirmed
- On October, 24, Houdini performed his "3 Shows In One" revue at the Garrick Theatre in Detroit, located at 1120 Griswold, right at the intersection of Lafayette and Michigan Avenue.
- It reported he actually was "tied by a lifeline 113 feet long, handcuffed … Houdini … leapt from the draw span of the Belle Isle Bridge at one o’clock this afternoon, freed himself while underwater, then swam to a waiting lifeboat, passed over the unlocked and open cuffs and clambered aboard."
- The Detroit News reported on Nov. 27, 1906 that Houdini's feat – although done in frigid water – wasn't as death defying.
- He changed his name to “Harry Houdini” when he launched his magical career and quickly became the biggest vaudeville star in the country.
- We finally had a couple more Michiganders in recent years: John Sturk—who was born in Detroit, raised in Plymouth, and graduated from Michigan State —served as the SAM president from 2023-24.
- Houdini was 52 years old when he did his final performance, and according to a review in the Detroit News, the show at the Garrick was broken up into three acts.
- Houdini came dangerously close to death in 1915 while performing a trick in which he was bound and buried beneath six feet of soil.
What's still developing
- Sometimes the buildings housed a local newspaper, ensuring free publicity for Houdini's upcoming stage shows.
- 31, 1926, and his spirit still haunts the Motor City.
- As his fame grew, and a series of other magicians began copying his escapes, Houdini ramped up the stakes, stacking one increasingly death-defying feat on top of another.
- Dimick said Houdini only made it through one performance.
- "And to think those boys didn't give him a chance to get himself protected."
- "Houdini was laid out here by the Hamilton Funeral Home, in this room here," Hammond said on a tour in 2004.
- "Some say, 'I'm not going back to the kitchen because I might see Houdini,'" she said.
- "One time he showed me that he had a way of doing it," Young said.
- "I always watched because it was very exciting!"
- He earned his reputation by freeing himself from traps that seemed impossible for a mere mortal to survive.But Houdini couldn't escape the ultimate fate waiting for him in Detroit on Oct.
- But at a séance on Halloween a decade after her husband's death, Bess Houdini finally said good night to Harry.
- “I used to work on cruise ships and stage shows, and if you ever said to anybody in the audience, ‘Name a magician,’ nobody said (David) Copperfield, nobody said David Blaine. People yelled out, ‘Harry Houdini,’ because he set the bar for magic,” said magician Eric Bedard, of Windsor.