Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The return of Houdini


From the NY Times:

Four busts of Houdini atop the central pedestal of his family plot in the Machpelah Cemetery in Queens were smashed or stolen between 1975 and 1993. That was when the Society of American Magicians, of which Houdini was president at the time of his death in 1926, gave up trying to replace it.

After that, except for the annual observance of Houdini’s death, when a bust would be set there temporarily, the pedestal stood empty. The allegorical figure in the monument seemed to be grieving over its abandonment.

But look again. He’s back.

On Sept. 27, in a caper worthy of the intrigue-filled saga of the Houdini-Weiss family burial plot, self-styled commandos from the Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pa., took it upon themselves to install a reproduction of the bust, in what they hope will be durable statuary cement.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hope it lasts.

Glendale (where Machpelah Cemetery is located) could use something positive these days.

Jerry Rotondi said...

It will take the likes of a Harry Houdini to make that land grabbing Willets Point brigand Claire Shulman disappear!

Abra-kadabra, presto---
we live in hope for the day she retires.

georgetheatheist said...

I used to attend these wand-breaking ceremonies on Halloween afternoon. One of the S.A.M. guys, an elderly gentleman, stood on the grave wand betwixt fingers, said some kind of rigamarole, and then dramtically snapped the wand into 2 pieces. Then what? Nothing. They all applauded. Everybody said "That was nice". And then went home. No Houdini spirit showed up.

When you're dead, you're dead. (You can laminate that for your wallet.)

Anonymous said...

one must use the NICOLA TESLA ( inventor of the radio & Alternate Current ) electric lightening machine to return Houdini to life. it was used in the movie with Hugh Jackman/Scarlet Johannsen about magic.

give a shout out for an American/ Serb,who really changed the world. LET THERE BE LIGHT......

Gary the Agnostic said...

I think that train left the station a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

Houdini was a talented entertainer who thrilled many thousands of people with his performances and who continues to inspire many other entertainers to this day.

Some of these entertainers chose to restore a part of the monument erected to mark where he was buried because they appreciated his talent.

Wow! This post really has nothing to do with Tesla, Willets Point OR Claire Shulman! Imagine that!

Anonymous said...

It was always the story around the youths of glendale that if someone broke off the head on halloween, it would "grow-back" the next day.

Anonymous said...

do you remember the song "THIS MAGIC MOMENT" ? etc,etc.

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