Houdini for the Shoe-lessInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

We Look For Magic News Always

The Inside Magic Daily Newsroom looks like something out of the classic film, The Front Page.

We’re checking the wires constantly, the
click-clack-clucking of the chicken-powered teletype machines drone in
the background, we have the newsroom monitors and radio scanners
blaring, and cub reporters file in-and-out with new stories ready for
the editor’s big red pen.

When we approach deadline, the tension in the room increases
dramatically and the background noise becomes almost soothing. There is
news to be found, but where. When we look at the front page of the
Inside Magic web site or this newsletter, we often find a large blank
space.

We can hope for some horrific tragedy to befall one of our beloved
brothers or sisters so that a sentimental article can be written of
sufficient length to fill the vacancy. We have no pride. We have a news
site to run.

But despite our best efforts, there are days when no news comes in.
No news is not good news, it is the death-knell of a major metropolitan
magic daily like Inside Magic.

Fortunately, there is always The Scotsman.

We have praised this wonderful paper in the past. Magicians in
Scotland must love this otherwise normal newspaper for its obsession
with all things magic.

Tonight, as this edition goes to bed, we turned to The Scotsman for help and were not disappointed.

There, big as Dallas, was the headline “How Edinburgh was Held Captive by Houdini.”

It was perfect.

It had all of the aspects of a great Inside Magic Daily News feature. Parse the headline with us:

Houdini – a magician of great fame and instant recognition;
Held – a verb connoting restraint in either a good or bad sense;
Captive – submission forced by the great magician through some natural
or supernatural power; By – some question perhaps about the great
magician’s preferences and poor spelling?; How – a homonym of Sir
General Howe, the arch-enemy of George Washington during the
Revolutionary War; and Was – the past tense of the verb “to be” used to
intrigue readers and tease their senses of history.

The more we read the headline, forget what we said about “By” and “How” — that seems a little bit of a stretch.

But the story of Houdini in Edinburgh fulfills the great expectations set-forth by the headline (except the How and By parts).

Houdini was well-known to fans around the world for his world-wide
fame. But more than that, he was known to be a rich, very rich guy.

He let it be known in the castled-city of Scotland he would share
his wealth with the children. “Word spread like wildfire. Any child who
did not have a pair of boots to his or her name should make their way
to the theatre where Houdini was performing and receive a fine pair of
boots.”

Why did he do this? What was his motivation?

“He was so shocked at the bare feet of the kiddies that he had them
all into the theatre, and fitted them then and…

We Look For Magic News Always

The Inside Magic Daily Newsroom looks like something out of the classic film, The Front Page.

But despite our best efforts, there are days when no news comes in.
No news is not good news, it is the death-knell of a major metropolitan
magic daily like Inside Magic.

Fortunately, there is always The Scotsman.

We have praised this wonderful paper in the past. Magicians in
Scotland must love this otherwise normal newspaper for its obsession
with all things magic.

Tonight, as this edition goes to bed, we turned to The Scotsman for help and were not disappointed.

There, big as Dallas, was the headline “How Edinburgh was Held Captive by Houdini.”

It was perfect.

It had all of the aspects of a great Inside Magic Daily News feature. Parse the headline with us:

Houdini – a magician of great fame and instant recognition;
Held – a verb connoting restraint in either a good or bad sense;
Captive – submission forced by the great magician through some natural
or supernatural power; By – some question perhaps about the great
magician’s preferences and poor spelling?; How – a homonym of Sir
General Howe, the arch-enemy of George Washington during the
Revolutionary War; and Was – the past tense of the verb “to be” used to
intrigue readers and tease their senses of history.

The more we read the headline, forget what we said about “By” and “How” — that seems a little bit of a stretch.

But the story of Houdini in Edinburgh fulfills the great expectations set-forth by the headline (except the How and By parts).

Houdini was well-known to fans around the world for his world-wide
fame. But more than that, he was known to be a rich, very rich guy.

Why did he do this? What was his motivation?

“He was so shocked at the bare feet of the kiddies that he had them
all into the theatre, and fitted them then and there with 500 pairs of
boots,” wrote Houdini’s friend, Sherlock Holmes’ creator Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle. “He was never too busy to give a special free performance
for the youngsters . . . he was the greatest publicity agent that ever
lived.”

Now, that’s a great story. In fact, so significant was the great
magician’s influence, his name is still spoken with great admiration.

But you may ask, why would The Scotsman write a story about Houdini giving away shoes?

You are clearly a discerning reader. We suspect it is what we call
in the news business – a lead-in or “introduction” to the real story.

Just a few paragraphs below the shoe give-away, you’ll learn of a new ?10 million film production, Death Defying Acts, will begin filming next year.

Almost all of the movie (95 percent) will be shot in Scotland.

The film will tell a slightly fictionalized story of Houdini and a
tawdry affair with a Scottish woman — presumably well-stocked in
shoes.

“It places him in Edinburgh in 1926, the year of his death, and
centres around not just the great escapes, but his other obsession –
the debunking of psychics. The fact it is set in Edinburgh is the most
important point.”

The Scotsman does itself proud by describing some of Houdini’s
escapes on the Scottish stage, his challenges to psychics and builders
of restraints, and even provides a gallery of news photos of the
magician in Scotland.

And then, there is the unfortunate ending. After such great research and thought, the author, Sandra Dicks, concludes with: