Hey Tim, Going to Appleton, Wisconsin This Summer? I Dunno.Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Have you been? Are you experienced? Have you gone to Appleton, Wisconsin? Have you seen this sacred ground where young Erich Weiss and his family moved after leaving Budapest, Hungary and where his father Mayer Samuel Weiss served as Rabbi for the reformed Synagogue?

Have you seen the Houdini Museum in this bucolic hamlet? It is truly a magical experience. You can walk the streets where young Erich walked and see the Synagogue where his father served until supplanted by a younger Rabbi.

Soon, you?ll be able to see how Houdini?s most famous effect, The Metamorphosis, was not only performed but also how it was accomplished. That?s right, you?ll be able to see and crawl through the trunk and learn the secret of the effect that fed Houdini and his brother, Hardeen, and later Houdini and his beloved Bess.

In Jim Steinmeyer?s new book, Hiding the Elephant, he credits Houdini with improving Metamorphosis by increasing the speed of the effect. And what an effect it was and still…

In Jim Steinmeyer?s new book, Hiding the Elephant, he credits Houdini with improving Metamorphosis by increasing the speed of the effect. And what an effect it was and still is. For background, Houdini described the trick as follows:

All the apparatus used in this Act is inspected by a Committee selected from the Audience. Mons. Houdini?s hands are fastened behind his back, is securely tied in a bag and the knots are sealed, the placed in a massive Box which is locked and strapped, the box is then rolled into a small cabinet, and Mlle. Houdini draws the curtain and claps her hands three times, at the last clap of her hands, the curtain is drawn open by Mons. Houdini and Mlle. Houdini has disappeared, and upon the box being opened She is found in his place in the bag, the seals unbroken and her hands tied in precisely the same manner as were Mons. Houdini?s when first entering the bag.
Just think over this, the time consumed in making the change is THREE SECONDS! We challenged the World to produce an act done with greater Mystery, Speed or Dexterity.
Respectfully yours, THE HOUDINIS.

The Outagamie Museum in Appleton will offer a display taking away the mystery of the effect in their new presentation set for June 2, 2004 ?A/K/A Houdini.? According to one report, the presentation will allow children to crawl through the trunk and encounter the use of the gimmick that permitted the effect to occur.

Say it ain?t so, Joe.

First of all, the name is Tim. But it is so.

But Joe, why would they do this? After all, who would care more about Houdini than the Outagamie Museum? After all, this is the museum that owes its existence to Houdini?s fame.

The Metamorphosis is still performed by many of our best Magicians, including the Pendragons. So it?s not an antique to be examined with the help of a curator. It is not King Tut?s burial sarcophagus or Van Gough?s ear. But I?m biased. What does the Outagamie Museum have to say. They must have a reason.

Terry Bergen is the Executive Director of the museum:

?They (Us – theMagicians)perceive our museum role to be a shrine for Houdini. We don?t see ourselves that way. We see ourselves as an educational institution that explores local history. It?s not a point of view that magicians understand at all. The entire industry of magic is based on deception and withholding information. It?s been a match made in heck from the beginning.?

Ms. Bergen may be right. I do perceive the museum?s role to be more shrine-like and less exposure-like. The exciting thing about the Metamorphosis is not the mechanics that make the trick possible, but the effect it had on audiences and its very special place in Houdini?s career.

I?ve been racking my brain to think of an appropriate analogy. It?s tough because I have such a small brain. I tend to see this issue as a clear-cut, black & white, no-brainer. Clearly the concept of Magic is lost Ms. Bergen and the Museum folk. Recall her statement, ?It?s not a point of view that magicians understand at all. The entire industry of magic is based on deception and withholding information.?

Yes, but that?s what audiences have sort of expected Magic to be. It is deception and withholding information but not in a bad way but an entertaining way. Houdini was very clear in his public statements:he did not perform any of his effects through the use of spiritual or true magical powers.

Can we agree that if the secret to Metamorphosis is exposed ? say, it was put into the front pages of the program you?d receive when attending the Pendragons? show ? it would kind of take away from their ultimate effect. You might still be impressed by their speed but no more than you would be impressed by the speed of a Kerry Woods? fastball or a very talented typist.

Criss Angel also uses the Metamorphosis and has replaced the curtain with a puff of smoke. To expose the secret of the effect would make Mr. Angel?s incredible skill simply interesting and the puff of smoke unnecessary.

So what is the proper analogy by which we can argue against the exposure?

Hmm.

The Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta shows the history of the wonderful drink that greets me each morning and never disappoints. It shows the effect the elixir has had on our nation and the world, it shows those that have tried to imitate or steal the formula, and even chronicles the changes made to the packaging and some of the ingredients ? it no longer contains cocaine, for example.

But no where in the museum can you find the chemical compound used to make Coca-Cola syrup. Why? Because it is a secret and really irrelevant to the story the museum tells. Sure, you can read the secret formula in a book if you want.

(Check out For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Unauthorized History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company that Makes It, by Mark Pendergrast. The secret ingredients contained in Formula 7X is detailed in the appendix.)

But the secret to the taste is not the reason we love Coca-Cola, we love it because we love it. We love it because of the marketing, the tradition and the positive associations we have made with drinking the brown, liquid love.

It should be noted that Coca-Cola does not have a patent for Formula 7X ? a patent would not have protected the secret. To have a patent, the formulation would have to be disclosed and the patent would have expired at the beginning of the last century. Formula 7X is just a secret, a trade secret. Coca-Cola resisted two court orders to disclose the formula. Why did they resist?Isn’t the public entitled to know what they’re drinking?

The answer is no. This secret allows Coca-Cola to employ millions directly and indirectly and keep its stock in the portfolios of institutional investors. This secret, like Colonel Sanders 11 herbs and spices, makes Coca-Cola special and desirable.

It is hard to be unbiased about this issue. The Museum folk have their backs up and the magicians have their silks in a wad. Curator Kim Louagie is quoted as saying, ?This exhibit is not about magic. It?s about the life and times of Harry Houdini and magic is used as a tool to tell that story.?

Magicians on the web have proposed boycotting the town and there is consideration of moving the Houdini Days festivities from Appleton. The Magicians count for about 200 hotel rooms and 5,000 visitors during the Labor Day weekend.

Some Magicians have written or called the Museum to voice their objection. Walter Blaney reports that both David Copperfield and Mark Wilson have called Ms. Bergen to seek compromise but to no avail. It is unfortunate that some Magicians have lowered themselves to ad hominem attacks on Ms. Bergen.

Ms. Bergen told the local Appleton papers, ?One magician referred to my ?whorish? behavior.? She likened the publicity she?d received to ?having your name on the bathroom wall.?

We?re much better than that. There is no need to attack or flame the people involved. It demeans all Magicians more than exposing our secrets.

So here?s to finding a solution that elevates our Art rather than tears down others. I don?t know that more publicity helps our cause, though. It turns the issue into one of the ?public?s right to know? ? whatever that means ? instead of the appreciation of a well-kept secret. If you ask most lay people, ?Would you like to know how that trick is done?? The answer is usually affirmative. They may or may not really want to know but what the heck; if you?re willing to tell them, why not?

There is still time to work behind the scenes ? something we do best ? and try to convince the powers that are to change the presentation. Perhaps it is in our best interest to work with the Museum to contribute to the exhibit and protect the secret. Rather than threaten a boycott, we could promise an increase in visitors to see a truly unique exhibit featuring items and memorabilia on-loan from all of us who have benefited from Houdini?s legacy.

If the Museum?s desire is to show how this effect was part of Houdini?s life and career, we must be able to offer the posters, news items and reviews of the Metamorphosis as well as video of how the effect is still used today without exposing the secret. Imagine the publicity that could be gained if the Pendragons, Criss Angel, Mark Wilson, David Copperfield and others not only contributed exhibits or videos but also promoted the Museum the place to visit for those interested in Magic or Houdini.

I am hopeful there is a solution and confident that if any group of people can find it, Magiciansare the best equipped for the job.