#269 Harry Houdini and the Golden Age of Magic in New York

The Bowery Boys: New York City History

Tom Meyers

Places & Travel, History, Documentary, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.9K Ratings

🗓️ 9 August 2018

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Harry Houdini became one of the greatest entertainers of the 20th century, a showman whose escape artistry added a new dimension to the tried-and-true craft of stage magic. In this show, we present not only a mini-biography on the daredevil wizard, but a survey of the environment which made him -- a city of magic, mediums and mystery. New York during the late 19th century was a place of real, practical magic -- electric lights, elevated trains, telephones and other wonders that would have seemed impossible just a few decades before. Those that performed stage magic in a world of such unbelievable inventions would need to up their game. The great names of European stage magic -- most notably Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin -- would give rise to spectacular performances on both vaudeville and legitimate stages. Performers like Howard Thurston would dazzle New York crowds with unbelievable demonstrations of levitation while Harry Kellar and his 'spirit cabinet' would seem to use sorcery from other worlds. Houdini got his start in New York's dime museums, evolving from simple card tricks to elaborate routines of escape. He was a truly modern performer, borrowing from the magic masters and benefiting from an eager public, looking for a virtual superhero. But stage magic had a surprising foe -- actual magic or, as practiced by hundreds of mediums and mystics, spiritualism. Suddenly, the craft of magical illusion seemed secondary to those who could practice those same arts via a connection with the afterlife. Houdini was drawn into the debate early in his career, and the conflict intensified with his unusual friendship with one of the greatest writers in the world -- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/boweryboys

Transcript

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0:29.8	Irish America, published by Three Hills. The New York Times calls it comprehensive and insightful,
0:35.6	and I even reviewed it on the Barry Boy's website and what did you call it? Relevance,
0:41.1	actually, it's a wonderfully written and very relevant for the times. Dagger John is available
0:46.8	wherever you buy your books. You can also visit CornellPress.Cornell.edu and enter the offer code
0:54.0	09-Bowrie, B-O-W-E-R-Y, at checkout to save 30%. That's CornellPress.Cornell.edu and code
1:05.1	09-Bowrie to save 30%. The Bowrie Boys, episode 269, Harry Houdini, and the golden age of magic in
1:14.6	America. Hey, it's the Bowrie Boys. Hey, support for the Bowrie Boys is provided by our listeners.
1:24.0	Join us for as little as a dollar a month by visiting patreon.com slash Bowrie Boys.
1:32.7	Hi there, welcome to the Bowrie Boys. This is Greg Young. And this is Tom Myers.
1:36.8	You know, Tom, they say that New York is magical, metaphorically, but on this show,
1:43.4	we're going to look inside those top hats and those spirit cabinets at real magic, New York's
1:50.2	stage magicians of the Gilded Age. The Gilded Age and a bit later, actually, because we're talking
1:56.0	about the golden age of magic in New York and in the US, which really stretches from, like, let's
2:02.5	say, post-civil war into the 1920s. And while the story takes place all over the country,
2:09.3	and we'll even be going on world tours. Nearly all of the magicians will be talking about
2:15.1	built big careers on the stages of New York City. This is a look at magic on stage and off,
2:21.8	not only those influential performers that delighted thousands of New Yorkers, but also
	...

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