Houdini’s centennial spotlight: A newly published essay and a fresh fight over when and how he died

NEW YORK (AP) — A century after his death, Harry Houdini remains a man we're still trying to learn more about.

A rare essay by the iconic escape artist about magicians of the past has just been published for the first time, while a recent book revisits longtime questions about the cause and date of his death at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. Other centennial publications include a Houdini coloring book and an overview of his vast personal library.

His legacy will be debated at numerous Houdini events taking place this weekend, from a "Grand Houdini Centenarium" in his hometown of Budapest to an auction of memorabilia in Hollywood, California, to seances in cities he visited such as Chicago and Frederick, Maryland. His burial site, at Machpelah Cemetery in New York City, has long been a Halloween gathering place.

“I’m not sure many of the people who know the name ‘Houdini’ could pick him out of a lineup, specify when he lived, or say what he actually did in his performances. But, they know that 'Houdini' is synonymous with magic, an ability to do the impossible, or get out of a tight spot,” said Matthew Solomon, a film history professor at the University of Michigan and author of “Disappearing Tricks: Silent Film, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century,” which came out in 2010.

“For those who know a little more, he’s the epitome of the self-made man and immigrant success story. The fact that he (reportedly) died on Halloween certainly enhanced his mystique," Solomon added.

Houdini's “An Interesting Scrapbook" appears in the new issue of The Strand Magazine, which has published rare works by Mark Twain and Edith Wharton among others. Houdini offers tribute to some magicians who preceded him and laments that more wasn't known about them. He was inspired by playbills shared with him by cartoonist Kin Hubbard for appearances by such popular 19th century entertainers as Robert Heller and H.J. Sargent.

“The following information was presented to my gaze, and I herewith present it, so that we can eventually form a list of the early American magicians," Houdini writes. “American magicians never were thought of enough to be placed in books or chronicle lists so that the future generation could read of the various old-timers; no, magicians were in a class by themselves, and it is only of late years, when Vaudeville had to make use of them as headliners and drawing cards, that magicians became prominent enough to be listed as real acts.”

Eric Colleary, whose “Houdini's Library” came out in September, says that Houdini had a deep interest in other magicians, to the point of visiting their graves and even personally paying to have the graves maintained. The magicians' families would in turn give him scrapbooks, playbills and other items “so that he could keep their memories alive,” says Colleary, the curator of Theatre and Performing Arts at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin.

Houdini was born Erik Weisz in 1874, a rabbi's son whose family emigrated to the U.S. in part to escape the antisemitism of what was then Austria-Hungary. By his teens, he was a professional magician and by age 30 an international celebrity known for his astounding ability to break out of handcuffs, shackles and other restraints. He was also an author, a movie actor and a spoken word recording artist whose audio archive was purchased by magician David Copperfield.

According to contemporary media accounts, Houdini died Oct. 31, 1926, from diffuse peritonitis after being hospitalized with appendicitis, possibly aggravated days earlier when a college student in Montreal tested his legendary strength by punching him in the stomach. His demise on Halloween fit well — too well, some allege — with his mysterious, even supernatural aura.

Aided in part by no autopsy being performed, alternate theories have thrived ever since, including that he was poisoned by a cabal of circus performers. In “Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice," author Larrian Gillespie draws upon medical records, his death certificate and other materials to challenge the official diagnosis and to contend that he actually died Oct. 30.

The real cause of death, she writes, was intestinal blockage, caused by a doctor's fatal decision to allow Houdini to eat a bowl of vegetables and sour cream while he was recovering from surgery. She also cites conflicting records of his date of death: a doctor's affidavit among other documents lists it as Oct. 30, while the state death certificate — which she found highly flawed — has him dying on the 31st.

Houdini's inner circle wanted his death to be on Halloween “so he would always be remembered,” says Gillespie, a forensic medical researcher who has also written books on menopause, dieting and cystitis.

“Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice” received a starred review from the book industry publication Kirkus, which called it an “absorbing, argument-starting account." Houdini's great- nephew, George Hardeen, told The Associated Press that he found the book ”convincing and persuasive" and had “zero doubts" about Gillespie's findings.

Others were skeptical, including two experts Gillespie cites in her book as among “the most respected and knowledgeable men in the Houdini world.”

Bruce Averbook told the AP he doubted that the date was altered so it could land on Halloween.

"The family was in significant grief and not thinking about legacy," he said. Averbook, a Houdini scholar, added that writings from Houdini's personal assistant list his death as Oct. 31.

“He had no reason to lie about this,” Averbook said.

Another man praised in her book, John Cox, told the AP that while the “book does have some very good new information” about his career, a “second opinion” was still needed about his death. Cox, a Houdini blogger and founder of the Houdini publishing imprint Wild About Harry Press, acknowledged there was “confusion about his death and a desire for clarity.”

“But I think his death is a very small part of the story,” he said. “Houdini’s fame, and why he’s remembered today, comes from his remarkable life.”