Harry Houdini: Keeping the Legend Alive

Magician became famous for, among other things, jumping from the Weighlock Bridge into the cold waters of the Erie Canal while handcuffed

By Mike Costanza

 

The legend of the famous escape artist, magician and illusionist Harry Houdini runs through the lore of Jeff Blood’s family.

“Our family often heard my mom, Marie Blood, tell stories about Houdini,” Houdini’s grandnephew said.

Marie was the niece of Harry and his wife, Bess, and a favorite of the childless couple.

Houdini was born in Hungary as Erik Weisz and emigrated with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin. After a brief stint in a circus, he changed his name and embarked on the career that made him famous.

Though he thrilled audiences the world over with his magic tricks and illusions, his seemingly impossible, death-defying escapes were particularly exciting.

By the time of his death on Oct. 31, 1926, he’d escaped from manacles, straitjackets and other restraints and managed to get out of locked steel milk cans full of water, coffins that were submerged in water and safes just to list a few of his exploits.

Bess was his stage assistant.

Houdini performed all over the U.S. and in Great Britain, Europe and Russia, but he and Bess called New York City home. When in town, they often spent time with Marie and her family, who also lived in the city. Family photos from that period show little Marie cradled in his arms and perched on his knee. Houdini died of peritonitis when Marie was just 8 years old and Bess died in 1943.

Marie’s many stories about Houdini led Jeff to read books on magic tricks, take a course from a local magician and join the Rochester chapter of the Society of American Magicians. The monthly meetings of SAM, the oldest and most prestigious magical society in the world, presented more learning opportunities.

“There is a strong camaraderie among magicians,” Houdini’s grandnephew said.  “They like to help each other learn and perform magic to become better magicians.”

Jeff ‘s skills as a magician grew and he eventually started doing his own amateur magic act.

The Magic of Jeff Blood thrilled audiences at picnics, birthday parties, outdoor festivals and other informal events in the Rochester area as many as five times a year.

“Sometimes it’ll be card tricks, could be other prop items that are magical,” he said. “You kind of say some magic words and a wand or a cane will appear.”

Jeff also put on shows for his family and friends. Debbie, his wife, was his offstage assistant.

“I do a lot of rehearsals and Debbie kind of watches many of them and gives me pointers,” the 74-year-old said.

In addition to entertaining audiences, they also helped their two children learn magic tricks and put together an act, Bonnie and Nate Blood and the Dazzling World of Magic. As the kids performed, their parents continued to help them improve their act and Debbie assisted them in other ways.

“I’d be more responsible for the costumes, the music and the behind-the-scenes stuff,” the 70-year-old said.

Nate and Bonnie performed for about 10 years, doing magic shows at local festivals, Wegmans Food Markets corporate family events and even their Greece high school before they ended their run.

Jeff eventually retired from his job as a consultant for Coordinated Care Services and Debbie from her position as a real estate auditor for Wegmans Food Markets. The two mostly do their act at family functions these days and Jeff teaches magic tricks to local Girl Scouts.

“I actually perform some tricks and then show them how to do the tricks, so by the end of the 45 minutes they can perform four magic tricks for their family or friends,” he said. “Before they are told the secrets to the magic, they actually take an oath, because for magicians, you don’t reveal the secret.”

The Bloods also work together to present Houdini’s life and exploits to the public.

“My mom’s Aunt Bess, she always told the family ‘Do whatever you can do to keep Houdini’s name alive,’” Jeff said.

To keep that name alive one or both of the Bloods have done radio and television interviews and appeared at events that recognized Houdini’s leadership in the field of magic.

In early July, they traveled to Appleton, Wisconsin, for the national SAM Annual Convention of Magic, which was held in honor of the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s death. There they gave a talk about his life and exploits and displayed part of their collection of about 100 items of Houdini memorabilia. At the end of July they headed to the Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford to exhibit parts of that collection and tell visitors about it.

The Bloods also sell copies of some of their collection to the public and if requested will attend seances with those who want to contact Houdini’s spirit. Not that they actually expect that to happen.

“We’re skeptics, but they also want you there, so we participate,” Debbie said.

In addition, the Bloods hope to commemorate one of Houdini’s local performances.

He entertained audiences in Rochester a number of times, but one escape was particularly notable.

On May 8, 1907, he stood on the Weighlock Bridge that at the time spanned a downtown stretch of the Erie Canal. As a crowd estimated to number 10,000 watched, a local police officer placed two sets of handcuffs on his wrists and he jumped into the very cold waters of the canal. He emerged from the water less than a minute later with his hands free. Though he’d performed similar stunts in other cities, this time he’d hired the Eastman Kodak Company to capture his stunt on movie film.

“The resulting footage is, as far as we know, the oldest footage of one of history’s greatest magicians performing a stunt,” said Emily Morry, a historical researcher in the Rochester Public Library’s History & Genealogy Division. “It is thanks to Rochester that people all over the world are able to experience the thrill and excitement of one of Houdini’s signature stunts today.”

Jeff and Debbie are trying to have a historical marker placed at the site of Houdini’s jump into the canal commemorating the event.