Detroit marks 100 years since Houdini's death

Detroiters will mark the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death this Halloween. The escape artist died on Oct. 31, 1926, after performing a final show at the Garrick Theater.

Houdini performed in Detroit 19 times between 1894 and 1926. He rose from a minor act to global fame by escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets, and locked boxes. In 1906, he jumped from Belle Isle Bridge into the river while bound in handcuffs. Local reports noted the water was not frozen, though later films depicted it that way.

His final days were marked by physical strain. Before arriving in Detroit, a college wrestler in Montreal punched Houdini in the stomach several times. Houdini refused to rest or cancel his Detroit contract. Jeremy Dimick, a curator at the Detroit Historical Museum, noted that Houdini made it through only one performance before collapsing during intermission. He was carried from the theater to Grace Hospital.

Doctors at Grace Hospital found that Houdini had ruptured his appendix. He underwent two surgeries and died days later. Dorothy Young, Houdini's stage assistant, recalled that his wife always stood in the wings with a secret code in case he could not escape his acts. Young died in 2011, the last surviving person to work with Houdini.

The buildings associated with his death have disappeared. The Garrick Theater, his hotel, and Grace Hospital are gone. The funeral home that embalmed him became a girls' art school. Juanita Hammond, a former head of the school, described a storage room with an indented floor used to drain fluids from corpses. She said some students feared seeing Houdini in the kitchen.

Bess Houdini, the magician's wife, held séances for years to contact her husband. At a séance on Halloween ten years after his death, she said goodnight to him. She later stated that if the dead could return, she would have received a sign earlier. She appeared in a movie cameo reenacting the event.

John Sherwood at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, Michigan, is holding a séance this Halloween. He uses a metal milk can from Houdini's workshop. Sherwood said some groups have placed a lox and bagel sandwich in the can to appeal to Houdini's Jewish heritage. He believes the centennial is a prime time for the magician to appear due to his sense of showmanship.