Friday, November 2, 2018

Houdini Gets Stabbed



I found an interesting bit of information about a Houdini mishap at an Orpheum Theater show in California. Thayer's The Magical Bulletin of Jan. 1916 reported, "HOUDINI met with a peculiar accident while playing at the Orpheum in this city. While doing his Turban trick, Houdini holds the cloth for a gentleman from the audience to cut. On this occasion the gentleman jabbed at the cloth with the scissors and made a severe cut in Houdini's hand. Houdini was forced to drop this trick from the act and wear a rubber glove in his escape."

Houdini wasn't the first, or the last, to have a scissor mishap. David Copperfield accidentally cut off the tip of his finger with sharp scissors while doing the Cut & Restored rope in the 1980s. The audience thought it was part of the show, but he had to be rushed to the hospital and the fingertip was reattached.

1 comment:

  1. This accident was noted in a bio, but I can't remember which one. Could have been in Silverman.

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