HOUDINI @ HALLOWEEN

A curious juxtaposition of 90th anniversaries this month: the birth of Winnie-the-Pooh on 14 October and the death of Harry Houdini on Halloween 1926, ninety years ago today.

 

Back in 1996, I made a radio programme marking the 70th anniversary of Houdini's passing: twenty years on, it's still quite a good listen...

DEATH AND THE MAGICIAN

Many strange things are alleged to have happened on Halloween. One that most certainly did occur was the death of a man whose name was – in his lifetime and has remained in the 87 years since – synonymous with Magic...

HOUDINI

Throughout his life, Harry Houdini diced with death – accepting challenges to undertake life-threatening stunts and dangerous escapes. 

Following the death of his beloved mother, he sought to discover whether there was a means of contacting the departed: a quest that led him to expose fraudulent mediums and spiritualists who faked contact with the dead for financial gain.

And so he danced with the Grim Reaper – cheek-to-bony-cheek – until his own tragic death on 31 October, 1926.

The story of Houdini's life, death and what did (and didn't) happen afterwards is told in this radio programme which was first broadcast on this night in 1996 to mark the 70th  anniversary of the legend that was HOUDINI...

"ARE YOU THERE, HARRY HOUDINI?"