Carnegie

Here's an interesting picture I found through the Library of Congress. It's an image from the opening pages of the bible that was owned by Houdini's father, Dr. Mayer Samuel Weiss. Houdini has his bookplate on the far left hand side, and I believe the hand writing in the book is probably Houdini's as well.

But the most interesting thing to me is the actual business card belonging to his father which has been inserted into the book. The address 227 E 75th Street NYC NY is shown below. However, the building they lived in is long gone and today the place where their home was is a group a tennis and recreational courts.

Grigori Rasputin

 In the 20th Century, it would be difficult to find two more mysterious people than Rasputin and Houdini. At first glance, one might think they have little in common, but actually they have more than you might realize. For example: they were both born in the late 1800s, they both were accused of having supernatural powers, they both did seemingly super human feats, they both were known personally by the Russian Royal Family, and the events of their deaths are both mysterious and unusual.

Grigori Rasputin was born on Jan 22, 1869 in a small village in Siberia. Later in life he would become an Russian Orthodox Monk. He had a reputation as a mystic and a healer and picked up the nickname of The Mad Monk because of his unusual ways.

It seems Rasputin and Houdini arrived in Saint Petersburg at roughly the same time 1903. Houdini was in Russia to perform and was a hit in Moscow at the prestigious Yar Restaurant and also other theatres and establishments around Moscow. Houdini was so popular in Russia that the Czar Nicholas sent for him.

Apparently the Russian Royalty had a fascination with mystics and the occult and though Houdini claimed that his feats were all done by legitimate means, he was a wonder worker and it would be easy for superstitious people to attribute unworldly powers to Houdini.

Houdini in Russia

In an Associated Press story which appeared several months after Houdini's death, it was revealed that Houdini had been asked to be a spiritual adviser to Czar Nicholas, but he refused because he was Jewish and much of Russia, especially Moscow at the time, was very anti-Semitic. The article goes on to say that Houdini again received a request from the Czar after he had left Russia to be the spiritual adviser and Houdini again turned him down. Then a third request was made and again a third refusal from Houdini. This role of spiritual adviser later went to Grigori Rasputin.

In Houdini His Life and Art by James Randi and Burt Sugar, the same 'spiritual adviser incident' is mentioned except in this version of the story, Houdini says wine was served at an elaborate ceremony and Houdini being a teetotaler, declined to drink. This was an insult and he lost favor with the Romanovs. This version of the story is repeated in the Ruth Brandon book on Houdini.

Is it a true story or just Houdini fiction? It's hard to say. The research I've done on the Romanov's shows that they were indeed very superstitious and did hire people they thought were mystics and prophets, which more often than not were just crazy people. Tsarina Alexandra had heard of Rasputin's ability to heal. Her son Alexei was sick with hemophilia and doctors had been unable to bring any relief to the boy. Rasputin seemed to heal the boy or at least ease his pain and so his esteem within the Royal Family grew.

In time however, things turned sour for Rasputin. People within and outside the Royal Family felt he was abusing his role and leading the royals down a dangerous path. On top of that he had a reputation for alcohol and women which did not seem to add up for someone who claimed to be a holy man.

In June of 1914, Rasputin was attacked by a former prostitute. She stabbed Rasputin in the gut and as his entrails burst forth from his body she screamed "I have killed the anti-Christ".  Except, Rasputin didn't die. He was operated on and he lived.

Then in December of 1916, another attempt on Rasputin's life took place. First he was poisoned, but he didn't die. Then he was shot several times and didn't die. Then apparently he was beaten and then tied up inside of a carpet and thrown into  Neva River.  Somehow, he escaped from the confines but was unable to make it out of the icy river. An autopsy showed he had not drowned, so perhaps the multiple gun shot wounds along with the severe beating and the poison finally got him.

When I read of Rasputin's death, I couldn't help but think of Houdini. Many people think he died inside the Water Torture Cell, mainly due to the Tony Curtis movie on Houdini which ended that way. We know a punch to the stomach in Montreal had something to do with it. But some speculate that perhaps the punch had been a murder attempt by angry spiritualists. There is much debate about a punch being able to cause an appendix to burst. And if I'm correct, did not the authors of Houdini-The Making of America's First Superhero make the claim that Houdini might have been poisoned!? Regardless of the what, why or how, Houdini's death is as strange as that of Rasputin.

Houdini only made one tour of Russia in 1903. He never again returned. The Silverman book on Houdini says "Houdini left Russia with a feeling of relief and liberation, looking back on the country as "some sort of mild prison" from which he had "managed to escape". These must be Houdini's words as the same sentiment is in other biographies as well.

Imagine for a moment that President Barack Obama decides the only way to solve the crisis in Afghanistan is to send David Copperfield there to put on a show and demonstrate that American Magic is stronger than anything the Taliban have to offer. Sounds ridiculous doesn't it? Especially given the political climate today with the GSA and Secret Service and other scandals. Frivolous spending is being scrutinized by politicians and the public alike.

But in 1856, this is essentially what happened. Not with the US, but with France. The French Government called upon recently retired magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, to travel to the country of Algeria. The government of France was trying to prevent a conflict between themselves and a religious sect called the Marabouts. These Marabouts were thought of as wonder workers and were trying to influence the local Arab tribes to break from France. So the French Government thought, 'why not send Robert-Houdin down there and show them that our magic is far superior to anything the marabouts have to offer'.

Again, think about that. Imagine this conversation, "Hey Penn & Teller, would you mind going to Syria and doing your Bullet Catch to help calm the hostilities there?"  That is basically what Robert-Houdin was asked to do. Crazy, wild, wacky? Yes, but read on...

Don't think that Robert-Houdin only met with the Marabouts either. He went straight to the theatre and put on his show! All the typical magic that he was famous for, but with one unusual addition. He walked to the front of the stage and made the bold claim that he would remove the strength from any warrior present. He asked for a volunteer and he quickly got a male from the audience. Robert-Houdin requested the young man to lift a small wooden chest that was on the floor. With very little effort, the Algerian man raised the wooden box off the ground.

Now, Robert-Houdin proclaimed he would rob the man of his strength. He asked the man to once again lift the box. But this time, the man struggles, he even falls to his knees and screams out. Then he let go of the wooden box and runs off the stage and out the theatre. I can just imagine the pandemonium that must have broke out following this. Needless to say, 'Conflict Averted'.

A wonderful story. Somewhat hard to believe but apparently true. If it happened today, the media would be having a field day with this, and not in a good way. But in 1856, it was a huge victory for the French Govt. Robert-Houdin was a hero, but rather than bask in his celebrity, he returned to retirement to work on scientific inventions and experiments with electricity.

Amazingly, the wooden box, which Robert-Houdin called his "Light & Heavy Chest" still survives. Today it is in the collection of Ken Klosterman and his Salon De Magie. It is a remarkable piece of history and unbelievably it still works today. Though I believe that Ken had it refurbished and tweaked the method slightly. But the fact that it remains is incredible. The "Light & Heavy Chest" has made appearances on a number of TV Specials about Magic History and appeared at more than a couple magic conventions as well. It's basically one of those pieces that has become legendary. Below is a photo of the wonderfully preserved Robert-Houdin Light & Heavy Chest. I would imagine it's the crown jewel in Ken's collection and he knows all about the history of the chest and who owned it after Robert-Houdin and he loves to share the tale of how it arrived in the Salon De Magie!

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Ken Klosterman is writing a monthly column in M-U-M Magazine (which you get as a member of the Society of American Magicians). He'll be featuring different pieces from his extensive collection. Please check it out because it is sure to be great.

I never know what exciting things the day is going to bring. Today was an exceptional surprise. This morning I received an email from one of my readers about a discovery he made of some Houdini Glass Plate Negatives. He had one of Houdini smiling which is pictured above. He purchased these about a year ago at a flea-market!

But it's the second image that is the incredible one. He believes that the image below is of Cecilia Weiss. Jeff from JB Auction House, who is the finder of the plates, pointed out that the photos we have of Cecelia are mostly from 1900-1908. However, Cecilia died five years later, so it's possible this is her. (SEE UPDATES BELOW)

The Mystery Photo

I'm also posting this image of Cecilia with some of her known photos so you can compare for yourselves. Now, if it is NOT Cecilia, then my best guess is it is Hannah Steiner, Cecilia's mother, who was Houdini's Grandmother and is buried in the Houdini plot in NY. This yellowish photo (at the very bottom) shows Hannah on the far left, Rose Steiner and a young Cecilia Steiner.

A big thank you to Jeff for allowing me to post these images. Now folks, PLEASE comment below. Let us know if you think this picture is indeed an older Cecilia or perhaps Hannah.

UPDATE: Leave it to John Cox. He pointed out that there was a photo taken after 1908, this one was 1913 as Houdini was leaving for Europe. The last known photo of Cecilia Weiss and it is not the woman pictured above. However, I still believe this is a relative, probably Hannah. Your thoughts?
UPDATE 2: It looks like folks are leaning towards Hannah Steiner, which to me is still incredible.

Hannah, Rose and Cecilia Steiner

1913 image of Cecilia Weiss

I love museums, I love collections of historical items and frankly anything to do with history. Though I have a small collection of my own made up of posters, programs, magic props and one large illusion owned by Harry Blackstone Jr., it's not enough to satisfy my craving for history.

So I seek out other collectors and have been fortunate enough to view a number of really wonderful collections. Every collection is impressive to me. I remember years ago Richard Kaufman showed me his collection of magic sets. It was just so cool to see so many wonderful examples of magic sets from all over the world. Ken Trombly invited me over to see his poster collection a couple years ago and that was truly amazing.

But the one collection that has really stood out above all others for it's magnitude of incredible pieces has been Ken Klosterman's collection. He calls the area he displays the collection the Salon De Magie.
It's awesome beyond words. But I'm not sure how many folks know that there is a second location, kind of an annex with some equally cool items.

There is one item in that collection that really caught my eye. It's a prop that was once owned by David Bamberg. The item is the Fu Manchu Floating Ball. I am sure the ball itself was made by David's father Theo Bamberg. The ball is inside of a plexiglass box which was used during the presentation of the illusion.

The plexiglass box is designed to have the lid open on it's own, as if by magic. The floating ball is often attributed to Okito (Theo Bamberg) but apparently, Theo learned the effect from David Abbott. Today, Teller presents a version of the Abbott Ball effect in the Penn and Teller show in Las Vegas.

By the way, Ken Klosterman is now writing a monthly column in MUM Magazine which features a different item from his collection each month. I'm sure he'll also share with the readers the way he obtained the various items and from whom.

While in the Boston area, Denise and I stopped by Ray Goulet's Magic Art Studio and the Mini Museum of Magic in Watertown. Ray was a very close friend of Cesareo and in fact, Cesareo had suggested I make this visit on one of my trips. So this time out, we made sure to stop.

I must say it was well worth the visit for many reasons. First off, we spent a few minutes in the actual magic shop which was fun. Then a fellow came in who said he was going to give us a tour. I kind of recognized him but couldn't quite figure out who it was. He introduced himself and gave me his card and as I looked at it for a minute I realized, "WOW, I know who you are!". The fellow giving us the tour was none other than Houdini's Great Nephew John C. Hinson. As you might imagine, the talk moved from general magic history to HOUDINI. My first question right out of the gate was in regards to the WTC and how many there were....and my suspicions were confirmed. It was really fun hearing his stories and talking about Houdini. We spent a little time looking over the collection in this room. There was a lot of stuff, some cool posters. tons of apparatus, pictures of Le Grand David and even a couple automatons. John is a really nice guy and it was fun meeting with him and talking to him.

I'm not sure how long we were in there talking to be honest because we all lost track of time. Then we went into the theatre area where Ray and his wife Ann were along with several other magicians. Among that group was a fellow I also recognized Alan Wassilak the illustrator and cartoonist and magician! I had seen his cartoons in MUM for years and this was the first time meeting him. He turned out to be a super nice fellow and we even saw him the following day at the LeGrand David Show! Great guy!

We spent some time talking to Ann and Ray and everyone. I noticed on the wall a LeGrand David poster I had never seen before. Apparently it was one of the very early ones and was never made into prints. It was hand painted by Rick Heath and it's simply stunning. Also on the wall, suspended by chains was a 500 lbs sculpture of the LeGrand David troupe which was made by David Bull's father. Three of these giant sculptures were cast and Ray has one, there is one on display at the Cabot and then a third is at the American Museum of Magic in Marshall Mich.

Ray decided to take us on a tour of his Mini Museum Annex, and what a surprise we were in for! There is so much stuff in there it boggles the mind. Hanging framed on the wall is a Houdini Buried Alive Poster. There is also a rather large display window with numerous Handcuffs, a costume worn by Bess Houdini, a stock certificate of Houdini's and a punch bowl trophy that was given to Houdini by his assistants. There was also a display with pieces of the original Water Torture Cell.

Among the pieces which belonged to famous magicians, Ray had; Harry Kellar's Die Box, a cloth used in the decapitation trick performed by Alexander Herrmann, A flower botania owned by Harry Blackstone Sr., and a costume worn by none other than Cesareo Pelaez. The wonderful thing about the costume was that it was on a mannequin that looked just like Cesareo. Well it turns out that this amazing piece was also created by hand by Rick Heath, the resident artist at LeGrand David. I think this was our favorite piece in all the collection!

Ray has a video called "Ray Goulet's Mini Museum of Magic" which is available from the shop. It's not very long but it does give a wonderful overview of his collection. By the way, Ray pointed out to us he has never purchased entire collections in his entire time of collecting. Instead, he purchased each item piece by piece and amassed it all over a period of 35 years. It was a real treat to meet Ray and his wife Ann, they are an adorable couple and super nice people!

If you're interested in finding out more about Ray, I suggest you pick up the new book Ray Goulet Recollections of a Renaissance Man by Frank Dudgeon and Ann Goulet available through MagicArtStudio.com

If you do contact the shop, also ask about the DVD on his Mini Magic Museum as well!

I would like to finish this Tribute with some thoughts on my friend Cesareo. There is no question he was a genius, a visionary, and a much loved person. He will be missed and I hope his status continues to build and build over the years. Cesareo was not a Houdini in the traditional sense. But in many ways he was very much like Houdini.

Both Cesareo and Houdini were immigrants who made a mark in this world that few could ever hope to duplicate. Both of them had a fiery passion for what they did. Both were innovative and creative. Both were Presidents of the Society of American Magicians. In fact, I'm sure if I gave it enough thought I could come up with a huge list of how they were similar.

But honestly, they were also very different. Cesareo was unique and though influenced by folks like David Bamberg and Chang and others, he was his own person. Even in his educational life he was different. He was an assistant to Abraham Maslow, but even Maslow couldn't communicate and connect with students the way Cesareo could. He was one of a kind and went on to have an amazing impact in the lives of his students, friends and everyone who came in contact with him.

I mentioned in an earlier blog article that I can still hear Cesareo in my head. It's true. I remember the conversations we had while driving back from the airport and sitting in the back of the theatre chatting. I recall vividly the very first conversation we had in the second floor of the Cabot. Quite an inspiring time to say the least. I remember him telling me 'You are doing it wrong' when I told him about the Festival of Magic Show that my friend Ralph and I were doing. Cesareo then told me what we should be doing, and we tried it and it worked! He told me to bring a video with me the next time I visited and he would discuss it with me while we watched. Unfortunately, he had a stroke only a week or so after that visit and he would be spending many months recovering and I never got to share my video with him or hear his thoughts.

I certainly didn't get anywhere near the time with him that others did. But I understood him and what he was about. So those lessons and conversations will be repeating in my mind for a long time. The suggestions he had for me will also continue to inspire and push me. And though he may be gone in the physical form, I know that he'll continue to teach and instruct through the writings he's left behind and those special friends who will carry on his message, and now I find myself among those special friends carrying on as well.

I just found out there is a new edition to the excellent book that Avrom Surath wrote called "Wonderful Suprises". It is a biography of Cesareo Peleaz by one of his closest friends. I read the first edition and it was great. But this new edition has some extra material.  On the back of the book is a quote from Cesareo which I will not give out, but I can tell you, for me they will be words to live by. You'll need to get the book to know what it says and you can probably get the book by contacting the Cabot St. Cinema Theatre at www.cabotcinemamovies.com

I'd like to leave you with this poem which was a favorite of Cesareo's and describes him perfectly and in a way, he leaves us with yet another lesson.

On our recent visit to Beverly, MA, we took some time to visit the grave of Anna Eva Fay. I have a photo of the site posted elsewhere, but this is the first time I got to see it in person. It's a beautiful structure, but there was an interesting bonus that I had never seen and was curious about. Inside the crypt there is an ivory bust of Anna Eva Fay on display.

Ms. Fay is laid to rest in the Wyoming Cemetery in Melrose MA.

I just returned from an emotional and very rewarding trip to Beverly Mass. The trip was really to say goodbye to Cesareo and to support my friends at the LeGrand David Show, the show which he created.  I had missed the funeral, but I felt it important to visit the grave site. My friend is in peace now, no longer suffering the effects of illnesses and ailments. And as David so eloquently said during the show on Sunday, Cesareo is now busy building a show for the heavenly hosts.

We went to dinner with David on Saturday evening and it was a very enjoyable night. On Sunday we went to see the first performance of LGD since the hiatus that was instituted by Cesareo following their 35th Anniversary performance. This show is one of the last for the 35th year of consecutive shows. The big question is will the show continue??? No one knows for sure, that is for the members of the company to decide. David now fills the shoes left behind by Cesareo. Though no one could really fill Cesareo's shoes, David has been groomed his entire adult life by Cesareo and I know the future is in excellent hands.

I must say that the version of the show we watched on Sunday was magnificent. It was different from what I had seen numerous times before and I was filled with joy over the changes and additions to the show. You get to hear Cesareo's voice in the show which is a treat. And there is more dialog in the show than in past versions which I really enjoyed. David's routine with a Toucan is a real treat. I don't want to give away any of the surprises, but I will say if you've never seen the show, there are still several more performances left of the 35th Season. It would be a very good idea to go see the show NOW as this version might never be presented again and believe me, it's wonderful!

Visit their website at www.LeGrandDavid.com for more information on showtimes.

For me, this visit was about saying goodbye to my dear friend Cesareo. But it was also about continuing to build the friendships with the members of the company. We only got to spend a few short moments with Mark and sadly an even shorter time with my friend Rick. I was glad to talk a little with Ann but we also didn't get to enjoy Avrom's company but for a few brief seconds. So next time, we will be sure to see more of them!

The future is going to be different for all of us but I predict it will be an exciting future! I cannot wait to see what they do next year and in the years to come. We will be back in Beverly later in the year and hope to spend more time with our friends and enjoy the next chapter in this exciting adventure!

The last article in this tribute http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-marco-magi-lives-on.html

I don't think I ever shared this story with anyone before. This is about my original visit to Beverly, years ago as a teenager.  I had seen an ad in GENII Magazine for this show called LeGrand David. I didn't know much about it other than they had a two page ad with tons of reviews by famous people. It just so happened my family and I were going to New England on a short vacation and would be staying in Nashua NH. I knew that Nashua was not far from Boston so I asked my Dad and he took us all, along with the friends we were visiting to the show.

As a teen-aged magician, I was more concerned about being sure none of the tricks fooled me. But somewhere along the way I got caught up in the show. Somewhere along the way I gave in to the sights before me and just took it all in. That singular event had a huge impact on my life. In fact, during intermission, I got met someone in the audience who was famous. I met Mr. Bill Larsen, of Magic Castle and Genii Magazine fame. He and his wife were in the audience that night and it was so exciting meeting him. After the show, I met David Bull, the man who is Le Grand David. But I wanted to meet Cesareo and was unable. He was swamped with people. I did buy two magic posters, both of which I still own and both of which I proudly displayed in the Underground Magic Theatre years later. But there was something about this guy Cesareo, who I only knew then as Marco the Magi. I didn't know he had another name.

I still can recall moments from that show in my mind. I remember seeing Cesareo bounce around the stage with so much energy and enthusiasm.  I remember his Linking Ring Routine and I remember a very different version of The Floating Table. I also remember young Seth the Sensational, who was the son of Leslie Bartlett. What a grand show it was. I remember Marco telling the story of one of the stage curtains and telling about FuManchu. I recall David performing an unbelievable two handed Billiard Ball Manipulation routine that stunned me. I also enjoyed seeing David present the Rice Bowls and the Vanish of a Walking Cane.

It left such an impression on me that years later I wanted to return. I sent a letter to the company and not even sure if I addressed it to anyone in particular. I wanted to bring my magic club up there on a field trip. A week later I received a personal invitation from Cesareo to be his guest for a weekend of my choice. He sensed something about me in the letter which he mentioned, and which I'm not even sure I was aware.

I made arrangements and along with my girlfriend at the time took the train to Boston. As we rode the train, I carried with me an issue of MAGIC Magazine that had been devoted to LGD. I wanted to show it to my girlfriend to let her know a little about what we were going to see. But a day before we left, I was sitting in my office with my friend Ralph and I said to him, "don't ask me why, but I have a feeling that I'm not going to return the same person I am now". Maybe that was the sixth sense talking, I don't know. But suffice to say, that weekend in April in 2000 changed my life because I did finally meet the real Magi, Cesareo and he had a profound effect on me that he probably never quite realized. It never would have happened though without that seed being planted years before. The desire to return always stayed with me and when I returned it was like going home, to my magic home.


Tomorrow, in the morning, I'll be leaving for Beverly, MA. I am anxious to see my friends and to say goodbye to Cesareo in person. I'll have more articles pertaining to LGD soon, and once things get settled, Episode 1 of The Magic Detective, which has been long delayed because of my workload and other issues, will be appearing.

This is a link to my other blog. It's a funny story of something that happened to me in 2007 while at the White House Easter Egg Roll. As today is the day of the annual event, I thought you might get a kick out of this. Just click the link below.
Carnegie: Artist of Mystery: My White House Easter Egg Roll Nightmare:

Today is Easter Monday and it's also the day for the Annual White House Easter Egg Roll. This has been an annual tradition here in D.C. since President Rutherford B. Hayes began it back in 1878. The Easter Egg Roll used to take place on the lawn of the Capital building, but the lawn was getting damaged with so many people attending the event that Congress passed a law forbidding such activities.

Mac King

In 1878, President Hayes opened the White House lawn to the event and it has grown and grown ever since. Many famous and not so famous magicians have appeared at the event. Back in the 1930s Howard Thurston appeared at the White House Easter Egg Roll and performed his famous routine with Eggs from a Hat with Two Children. Washington D.C.'s own Al Cohen from Al's Magic Shop has performed at the White House Easter Egg Roll. So have David Williamson, Silly Billy, the entire case of the Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company from Beverly Mass, Doug Henning, Harry Blackstone Jr., Steve Wyrick, Wayne Alan, Trixie Bond, Ralph The Great, Dean Carnegie, Dave Risley, Mac King, Ken Scott, Mark Daniel, Ray Goulet, Mike Bent (who is there right now by the way), Emanuel Shabum, The Pro Kids Show performers, Adam Ace, James Wand, and many many others from all over the WORLD! I have to admit, I'm not sure if Houdini ever appeared at the event. He certainly had been invited to the White House on numerous occasions but whether or not he ever appeared at the White House Easter Egg Roll is a mystery.

Dean Carnegie

Of course they don't just have magicians, they typically have famous celebrities and actors and singers in attendance. The singers, like Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers perform on the main stage. In 2011 Colbie Caillat and Willow Smith were among the featured acts.

The actors and other performers often read stories to the kids at various 'reading stations' throughout the grounds. Among the actors and celebrities appearing at the event in 2011 are Kelly Rippa, John Lithgow and Geena Davis.

Ken Scott

The only downer to the entire event is weather, which you can never predict. One year I sat in a Van with two friends waiting for the rain to stop and hoping we'd be able to perform. They canceled the event after an hour of constant rain and we drove home without ever having gotten wet. Other years we performed on both the White House lawn and on the Ellipse which is the area in front of the gated lawn between the White House and Constitution Avenue. I think that was the year we did 8 performances going back and forth between the two stages. That was also the year I presented Thurston's Eggs From Hat with a Boy and Girl, I'm sure I'm not the first magician since Thurston to have that idea.

Ralph the Great

For several years in a row they actually put up a 'Magic Stage' for all the magic acts to perform on. This was due to the effort of Ralph Meztler, known professionally as Ralph the Great. The Magic Stage had the benefit of being the stage closest to the White House which was nice and also closest to the actual Egg contests. The main stage was further down the lawn and though not as close, the area in front of the stage could hold thousands of people watching the shows. 

All in all it's usually a very fun day as long as the weather holds. My best wishes to the magical performers who are out there today!

*I originally posted this in April of 2011. But wanted to repost it because the Easter Egg Roll is this Monday.

The moment you walk into the theatre on show day, the show has actually begun. Not the stage show, but the overall LGD experience. The ticket taker is in costume in a painted booth which raises him off the ground. Immediately to the right of the ticket taker is a giant dragons mouth which is wide open and you've got to walk through it to get into the lobby. Once you pass through the dragons mouth you'll encounter clowns, costumed characters, jugglers and maybe even Leslie Bartlett and his playful hand puppet dog. What you might not realize while your eyes are taking in the sights, is that there is beautiful music playing and it's not a recording and it's not a player piano.

Lil Av

The music is being played by Avrom Surath, who is also one of the clowns. Avrom and his wife Ann have been with the company since the beginning. One of Avrom's many talents is as a classical pianist and the music that comes out of his fingers is heavenly.  If memory serves there is a piano in the lobby and also another, which might be an organ, in the theatre itself. At the beginning Avrom is playing in the lobby, during intermission Avrom is playing in the theatre. And during the show, you can find Avrom performing on the stage along side Cesareo and David and the rest of the cast. His clown name is Lil Av. You'll know Lil Av in the show because he does some hat juggling bits and is also featured in the Multiplying Bottle routine with David. In addition to this Lil Av plays the accordion (see photo left) while David presents a sleight of hand routine using sparkling balls.

Leslie Bartlett, who I mentioned earlier, has also been with the show since the beginning. He is the father of SETH, who at one time was one of the three main characters in the show, when Seth was just a child. Leslie serves a very important purpose. Along with helping to create the fun, playful atmosphere before the show, he also begins to draw peoples attention towards the front of the stage with his incredible juggling feats. He is the last performer of what I would call the 'preshow' performers that you'll see. Once he is done, the entire audience is looking forward and the stage show is starting.

All the members of the company who are visible, are in some sort of costume. From the folks selling popcorn and refreshments to the cast members selling programs or helping people find seats, everyone is wearing some sort of costume that was hand made by other members of the company. I'm not sure how many cast members are strictly behind the scenes, my guess is not many. They all contribute to the overall production and though you might see them serving popcorn at the start of the show, later they've got an important role to play IN the show.

To me one of the most impressive things happens the day before, when they conduct rehearsals of the various parts of the show. There is a juggling session, barbershop song rehearsal, dance rehearsal and much more. Then on the day OF the show, all the cast members arrive early to prepare the theatre. They all contribute to making sure the theatre is clean and ready by showtime. It's at this time when you realize that this  is much more than just a show it is a labor of love.

Next Article
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-original-visit.html

I have to take a brief break from the Tribute to Cesareo Pelaez, to recognize the second birthday of Erich Weiss. Yep, good ole Houdini had two birthdays, March 24th and April 6th. His real birthday was March 24th, but he always celebrated April 6th as his birthday.

Back in the Golden Age of Magic, the most popular form of advertising a show was to use colorful lithographs. Magicians used thousands of these full color posters and would have the town 'papered' or covered with their posters so that everyone knew they were coming or that their show was in town. This was before the advent of radio or TV so it was best way to promote a show.

Le Grand David and his own Spectacular Magic Company have borrowed a page from the book of the old time magicians and adapted a number of their marketing and advertising techniques. This group has produced more unique posters than probably any other magician or magic act in history. They don't paper the town, but they do prominently display their posters in the lobby and in the windows of the theatre. The posters are also pictured in vivid color in their programs.

Another interesting technique that Cesareo and company borrowed from past shows is to create their own newspaper. This paper is produced by them, they sell the advertising, have them printed up and then deliver the papers free of charge to businesses throughout the Boston area. There is a new paper every week. It serves a two fold purpose. It alerts the locals as to what movies are playing at their theatre and it also lets them know about this one of a kind magic show presented on various Sundays throughout the year.

Getting back to the posters for a moment, Kellar, Thurston, Houdini and others used full color lithograph posters to promote their appearances. The images on those posters needed to be striking and breathtaking in order to encourage people to attend their performances. Look at the two posters I have put on this blog. I chose them specifically because not only do they feature a prominent member of the company, in this case Cesareo as Marco the Magi, they also include painted images of moments from the show. Notice, not a detail is left out. If the backdrop is elaborate and colorful, they've included that very image in the painting. I think my favorite backdrop of theirs is the beautiful peacock feather backdrop. You can see a portion of it on the poster at the top of the page, it's in the small square with Cesareo presenting his 'Floating Table' illusion.
Some of the early posters for the company were line drawings. Over time they became more and more elaborate. In my personal collection, I own a poster from the early days which is black and gold. I think this was a silk screened image and it's gorgeous. I purchased it during my very first visit to the show as a kid.

In the 1983, the company published a small book called "The Making of a Magic Poster". I own a copy of it, but I don't have it handy to reference. I do know that many of the poster designs were the idea of Cesareo and then he would have members do the artwork. I'm fairly certain that the majority of full color posters were the creation of Cesareo and Rick Heath. Rick has been with the company since the early days and he is a fantastic artist in my opinion. He also plays the part of Albert Ping-Pong, one of the august clowns in the show. If you've seen the show you might recall the clown with the squeeker voice, well that is Albert Ping Pong. He is also the clown who makes the very tall newspaper tree just prior to David performing the Dancing Handkerchief.

If I had to guess, I'd say that there are over 100 posters created by the company. How many of them were turned into printed posters I don't know. But you can see many of the originals on display in the lobby of the Cabot Theatre and in the Gallery of the Larcom Theatre.

Next Article
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-creating-proper-atmosphere-before.html

I wanted to share with you a couple of photos that show the kind of thought and detail that went into the decorating of the props used in the show. Please keep in mind, that some of the smaller props they used in the show were purchased, other props were built from scratch. But no matter which way they got the props, they all went through the Cesareo decorating process.

The illusion pictured above is HUGE. I think it stands 5ft tall to give you an idea of scale. I was never fortunate enough to see it used in the show, so I am not even certain what it is. I have a feeling it's some sort of tip over trunk illusion. But regardless of what the prop does, it's the way the prop is decorated that I want to point out. You might think they all of their props are red and black with painted dragons, WRONG you are. This piece above is simply a work of art. The design on the front is incredible. The same design is repeated on the sides and the back. IF you look at the base of the prop, you can clearly see a similar design repeated. Let's face it, they could have easily just painted the base a solid color, but they did not go that route. The design is also repeated on the curved lid, which I honestly didn't even notice myself until just now. And then there is the flowered decoration on part of the lid. It's just another detail that takes this prop from ordinary to extraordinary!


The next prop is a smaller piece, a Die Box. 90% of the detailed paint work on this prop is going to be lost on the audience, but did that matter? No. Look closely at this prop and you can see the care and patience that had to go into painting it. BTW, these are not decals you're looking at. The detailed work on this prop was all hand painted. It's breathtaking if you think about it.

This final piece is a very large illusion known as 'Noah's Ark' or sometimes just as 'The Ark'. It's an illusion that has fallen out of favor. It was popular in the Vaudeville days and I know that Harry Blackstone Sr. presented a version of it as did many other performers. The effect was that the front and back doors of the prop were opened to show it empty, and then they were closed. At this point the magician would reach through the openings in the front of the box and pull out livestock, chickens, ducks and other such animals. Eventually, after numerous livestock had been produced, the doors were again opened and a female was seen reclining inside the box! Most of these things were decorated to look like Noah's Ark, so they had a wood grain finish or natural finish if you will.  Wood grain would not fit within the scheme of all the other props in the LeGrand David Show, so this prop got the special 1-2-3 Cesareo signature style applied to it. Keep in mind, the kind of design that is on this illusion isn't going to be listed among a set of workshop plans. Cesareo and the members of the company would have had to come up with the design first, draw it on there and then hand paint it! And this prop has DRAGONS! Look at the top and you'll see two ornate dragons that stretch from one side to the other meeting in the middle of the box. As I said before, not so much a paint job as it is a work of art! But it was this kind of work that was the signature of the members of this show. It was this kind of care that went into everything they did. When you step back and really examine the amount of effort that went into each and every prop,  you begin to understand that this was not just a magic show but it was a labor of love for everyone involved.

Next Article
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-marketing-from-golden-age-of-magic.html

 There is one thing that Cesareo knew well and that was how to put on a spectacle. Actually, there were countless things that Cesareo knew how to do well, but he knew how to create eye candy that would draw people in and peak their interests. He had numerous ways to do it and I want to touch on one thing today, detail.

What does that mean? Well, Cesareo was a stickler for details. When you walked into the lobby of the theatre, you'd immediately be drawn into the artwork on the walls, the painted ticket booth, the giant paper mache dragons head, and you were spent any amount of time in the lobby, you'd begin to see deeper and deeper into all that was there. The ceiling tiles were all hand painted. The posters that hung in the lobby were actually paintings done by members of the company. Even the bathroom were decorated with unique designs painted onto the walls. Everywhere you looked there was something new to see.

If you ventured up the stairs, you'd be taken in by the hundreds of framed images of newspaper and magazine articles that were done on the company over the years. Once you finally made it up the stairs, you'd see more paintings on the walls and even a huge bronze sculpture which was done by Webster and David Bull's father.

Before the show even started you were overwhelmed with beautiful images. And whether you knew it or not, the show actually began the moment you walked in the door. Clowns and other characters in costume walked around, entertained and mingled with audience members. There was something happening everywhere you looked. It was breath taking.

The stage show started with a cast members entering from the back of the audience and working their way up slowly to the stage. Now you were seeing elaborate costumes and giant costumed characters. When the curtains finally opened, it was if an enormous flower was blooming as the colors from the backdrops burst forth from the stage. There was so much to see and in lesser hands the audience would not know where to focus their attention. But not at this show. Cesareo as Marco, and David as LeGrand David and all the cast members knew exactly what to do to draw focus at the right time and direct focus towards to proper action when called for. The choreography of so many people on stage was amazing.

Contrast this to an average magic show that rarely uses painted scenery or any scenery for that matter, and often works against a black background. You rarely see more than one or two assistants on stage with the magician at a time and their costuming is almost never anything to write home about. In fact todays modern magic shows, the performers are wearing street clothes. Male assistants often wear all black, and some female assistants wear costumes that border on being appropriate for family audiences. Very little costuming, no theatricality, no spectacle.

I remember after 9-11 Cesareo added something new to the opening number of the show. He opened the show in silence. No music, no talking. It was an unusual way to open a show and it made a dramatic statement. I'm not sure any other show could have pulled it off, but they did.

Cesearo and his company were masters at detail, the detail of spectacle. Whether it was the ornate costumes, the incredibly beautiful backdrops and scenery, even the props which were all painted as works of art, no detail went unnoticed. It's a lesson we all should pay close attention to. It's certainly one of the first lessons I was confronted with and I took notice and have never forgotten it.

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http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-magic-of-spectacle-pt2.html

If you look above at the masthead for my blog (above), you'll see I've changed it. This is my first 'tribute masthead' and it will remain there for a while. My friend and mentor Cesareo Pelaez passed away on Houdini's birthday this year. It was just a week ago really and I still can't come to grips with his being gone. For whatever reason, for me he has not gone. I hear him in my head even now.  So over the next few days, and maybe longer, I'll be sharing random thoughts with you about my friend, about the LGD family and about things I learned from him.

His lessons, his guidance, and his kindness are with me everyday. And yes, I DO hear him, still. It's as if he has left me something to do, but I've not yet done it. There were many suggestions Cesareo gave me over the years. I listened to them all and went after many. Some I did not accomplish and others I still plan to do. One right now that sticks in my mind is a book that he suggested I write. But I know Cesareo would not want me to write a book in his words, but to use my creativity to explore the subject. Unfortunately, he did not know, I wrote it. Actually, I wrote the first one, of many. The first version is a children's book which features a young Marco the Magi as a boy. Marco the Magi was the character Cesareo played on stage. The story is part fiction and part truth. I pulled elements from his life story and put them together to write this story.

The one delay was that I had not illustrated the story yet. I did not want to illustrate it all, only a couple pages and then bring it to him to review. Now, however, he will watch over me as I work on the illustrations.

But that is not the task he has left me. I'm not totally sure what it is, but I have a good idea.

Next article: The Magic of Spectacle
http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2012/04/lgd-magic-of-spectacle-pt1.html

Gravestone of Carter the Great, Illusionist Charles Carter*

As many of my readers known, I'm very interested in locating the graves of our compeers in the art of magic and documenting the location of the graves and trying to keep the graves in decent order. Unfortunately for me, the one grave I put a lot of effort into organizing the clean-up (Robert Heller's grave) which fell through when I got terribly sick on the day of the clean-up. There are additional issues with these clean-ups, the main one being where they are located. In my case, I don't live close to the Heller grave so it's not like I can stop by anytime I want.

Well, I was thrilled to discover that I was not alone in this quest. Richie Magic and his wife Barbara from NYC have been searching out these old grave sites as well. In fact, they've been working with the SAM Parent Assembly #1 to set up a fund for the upkeep and in some cases restoration of various grave sites. In the NY area there are a lot of magic graves. Houdini of course is the most famous and the work on that grave was actually done by the Houdini Museum folks. But there are other graves in NY, like Alexander and Adelaide Herrmann, Bess Houdini, Signor Blitz, Washington Irving Bishop and many others.

Grave of Herrmann The Great*

If you'd like to donate to the Gravesite Restoration Fund the address is below. Any amount of donation is helpful. If you are in the NYC area and want to contribute to helping fix and/or locate these graves, you might want to contact Richie Magic at richie@richiemagic.net
 

This is the obituary for Cesareo from the Boston Globe. I'm still in shock over this, yet I know he would prefer we celebrate his life rather than mourn his passing. Personally, I think it's time he receive the Houdini treatment and continue to promote him and build his status to legend. He certainly earned it.

Cesareo Pelaez, teacher; created Le Grand David magic show

I don't even know how to write this, but my dear friend Cesareo Pelaez has passed away. He was the founder and creator of the Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly MA, he was also a former college professor. Actually Cesareo was many things to many people. To me, he was a mentor and dear friend.
I can't find the words to describe the sadness I feel today.

I was reflecting on this today and how much Cesareo changed my life. He was the one who encouraged me to write, which led me to write a couple books and then a magazine column and of course this blog and others. He also was instrumental in encouraging my artwork and it's continuation. And as far as my magical performances his contributions and suggestions were countless. He was such a wonderful person and I know he had a similar affect on every person he encountered. I will write more later.

Cesareo Pelaez (October 16, 1932 - March 24, 2012)

From my other blog

http://artistofmystery.blogspot.com/2012/03/cesareo-tribute-painting.html

 Previous articles I wrote about Cesareo and Le Grand David.

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-1.html 

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-cesareo.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magic-cast.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/meeting-magi-eyes.html

http://deancarnegie.blogspot.com/2011/05/le-grand-david-family.html

Today is the birthday of Erich Weiss/Harry Houdini. He was born March 24, 1874 in Budapest Hungary. Though he always celebrated his birthday as April 6th and his birthplace as Appleton Wisconsin. The photo above shows Houdini and his wife Bess which was taken on his American birthday, April 6th in the year 1923. He is a young 138 years old today! Happy Birthday Harry!!!

The historical record shows Houdini performed in Russia in 1903. In fact, he was appearing at the Yar Restaurant in Moscow, which was a very upscale establishment and some say the best restaurant in all of Europe and Russia at the time. His appearances here ran from May 4th-July 4th, 1903. For a panoramic view of the restored Yar Restaurant, click here.

Stage at Yar Restaurant

In addition to his Yar appearance, Houdini escaped from the Prison Transport Car during this visit, as well as numerous police restraints. None of this is new information.

But I came across something that was news, at least to me. It was a newspaper column called "The Inside Straight" by Michael MacDougall that appeared on April 18, 1954. Mr. MacDougall had a connection to magic, as he wrote several books on gambling and card technique. An earlier column, MacDougall describes some events in the lives of magicians that ended tragically. So I looked forward to the column he wrote on Houdini. He describes Houdini's visit to Russia in 1903 with detail that I'd never read before. First he says that Houdini was staying in the Grand Hotel while performing at the Imperial Theatre, both of these are in St. Petersburg. Houdini received a request to perform before the Czar and this performance could make or break his visit. If the Czar was not impressed, Houdini's contracts would quickly vanish.

This fear of loosing the contracts was also mentioned in a 1931 Omaha World Herald (2-7-31)  article about Ike Rose, who claims to have been the person who booked this tour for Houdini. Though his fear was more about Houdini getting stuck in one of the jails, more than having the Czar kick him out of the country for being no good. For the record, The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush says that Harry Day booked all of the Russian dates. Interesting contradiction here, though I suppose it's possible that Day worked for Ike Rose or vice versa.


So back to the appearance before the Czar. This story is one also confirmed by Orson Welles, who claimed that Houdini was one of his early magic teachers. It's the story of Houdini's incredible feat of causing a bell to ring in an old cathedral in Moscow. The 500 lbs clapper to the bell had mysteriously fallen from the bell twenty years before and killed 100 worshipers and injured even more. The Czar himself barely escaped with his life. The bell had never rung since that time due to a decree by the Czar that no repairs be done and that the bell was to never again make a sound.

On this day, Houdini had planned on causing the bell to ring via magic. He just needed the Czar to agree to the stunt. The mysterious bell ringing is described in good detail in the Kalush biography, but suffice to say, that Houdini did apparently cause the bell to ring 5 times at the stroke of 5 p.m.. The royal members were impressed. But there are some differences between the Kalush account and the MacDougall account. In the Kalush biography, Houdini presented this for Grand Duke Sergius at the Kleinmichel Palace in Moscow and Houdini was to shoot the bells of the Kremlin. Except, Kleinmichel Palace is actually in St. Petersburg and the Kremlin is very far away in Moscow. So there is no chance he shot the bells of the Kremlin. In the MacDougall version, Houdini is presenting the effect for Czar Nicholas and is indeed in Moscow. To further confound the issue, there were two Grand Dukes named Sergius. One was Grand Duke Sergius Alexandrovich of Moscow and the other was Grand Duke Sergius Mikhailovich of St. Petersburg.

Grand Duke Mikhailovich, Grand Duke Alexandrovich, Czar Nicholas II

The MacDougall version of the story also has an ending I had not heard before. Moments after the bell rang, the Czar expressed his astonishment to Houdini, but another member of the party accused Houdini of performing 'a trick'. A short time later another booming sound was heard, much louder than the ringing of the bell. All attention went to the bell tower, where they could hear and see unusual movement of the building and then, the bell broke loose and crashed to the ground. According to the story, Houdini took credit for that as well. The article goes on to say that the newspapers of the time covered the events of that evening. But I don't have access to Russian newspapers, so I don't know how much is accurate and how much is Houdini embellishment. If I had to guess though on the person Houdini presented this for, I'm going to go with Grand Duke Sergius Mikhailovich of St. Petersburg.

I found all of this quite interesting. But there was something else. Perhaps even more interesting than the whole Bell Ringing affair. Houdini did not begin his performance with the Bell Ringing, that was his conclusion. What he apparently opened with was the 'Infamous Bullet Catch' routine. What? The Bullet catch? Wasn't it the Dean of Magicians himself, Harry Kellar who once warned Houdini NOT to present the bullet catch because of how dangerous it was? Indeed.

Houdini had apparently presented the bullet catch, not once but numerous times during his career. John Cox at WildAboutHoudini has a great piece on the history of Houdini's Bullet Catch, though it does not mention the Russian incident.

According to the article, Houdini gave the Czar a repeater rifle and had him mark a bullet and load it into the weapon. The gun was handed to a marksman, who took aim at Houdini's head and pulled the trigger. Houdini swiftly reached out with his hand and apparently grasped the speeding bullet out of mid-air. The still hot bullet was checked and confirmed that it was the marked bullet.  But it didn't stop there, as the Czar wanted Houdini to repeat the effect. This time, the conditions were tougher and the Czar himself fired the rifle at Houdini. But just as before, Houdini caught the marked bullet!

Have you heard this story before? I'm unfamiliar with it and certainly do not recall hearing of the Bullet Catch being performed in Russia. The bullet catch comes from a single source, so it's hard to say where he got it. He may have heard it directly from Houdini while he was alive. Still, it does give yet another example of Houdini possibly presenting the dangerous effect. Houdini was all about danger, or pseudo danger, so it always seemed odd to me that he didn't do the bullet catch, and now, well it appears that apparently he did.

Check out this related blog article:  Rasputin and Houdini!

Thanks to John Cox at WildaboutHoudini.com for the photo of the Houdini Russian flyer.