Hmm. I just read about this on the net. I do find it very interesting. After all those years in the grave. I am curious as to what might become of this. Probably a good mystery movie.

Both Houdini & Hardeen eventually had their names changed legally although I don't have the exact dates. And perhaps the Hardeen side of the family does want to know how death occurred. But if so it is a recent itch being scratched. Take this from an old interview with George Hardeen-
" But Houdini-mania never engulfed George or his two sisters. 'If I'm in a library and I see a book about Houdini, I look at the index to see if my grandfather's mentioned,' he says. "That's about it."

He keeps phoning in appearances but the attorney, Margery's relative and, of course, the authors of "The Secret of Houdini" are all there in person. Who's driving this exactly?

I heard Mr. Hardeen talk on KNX-AM Radio (owned by CBS) last night.

This is a very good idea...to set the record straight and solve an old mystery
with today's scientific tests!

This link hasn't gotten posted here yet... thanks to Kevin Connolly & Jamy Ian Swiss for bringing this forward in other quarters.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con......850.html

I just found out why. They're trying to get a DNA sample to find out if he is Anna Nicole Smith's baby's father.

Greetings,
Some things make you go HMMM...mm..

I have entire different theory..... Could this be Houdini's last PR stunt? Here are my thoughts, keep in mind it is just a fun theory.....

Prees release:
Houdini's well-planned PR stunt: “I promise I will return...”
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/detailed/Enter......616.html

WISH it were a Houdini stunt.

Just something done in his name.

Sad.

He was bold and brash. Love him or hate him he was a HUGE American success story.

Interesting indeed.

mano.

Kevin Connolly said; "This is more Barnum than Houdini"

I agree - but it's exactly the sort of thing Houdini would have loved. Houdini and P.T.Barnum were very much alike in their thoughts on promotion and publicity.

Good for magic? Well, it couldn't hurt. Along the way a few folks might even discover the man didn't die in the Water Torture Cell. On the other hand, the myth has helped keep the Houdini name alive and well - thanks partially to Tony Curtis and company.

HOUDINI LIVES! The latest Houdini headline is that several people want to exhume his body to settle once and for all the exact cause of his death. Hair samples could tell the story. Just heard from the closest living relatives of Houdini on his wife's side. Ruth, sister of Houdini's wife, Bess and Jeff Blood, Houdini's grand nephew. They are totally against this project of having Houdini exhumed. They are closer to Houdini than the others that started this. Ruth, feels Bess would have been horrified by such a thing. Several magicians who are influential in the Society of American Magicians have also come out against it. The SAM has paid for the upkeep of the grave, and has acted as its protector since Houdini's death. Though it is not clear who has actual ownership of the grave, as far as we can tell. Watch CBS Morning News show for our own Dorothy Dietrich being interviewed, should they use the footage. We here at the Houdini Museum have mixed emotions about this but feel the wishes of his family should be repected.

The question here is who owns or has control of the grave?

We do know this... before he died there were many threats against his life by swindlers, crooks and phony spiritualists. He wrote friends before he died that he did not expect to live long because of the threats he was getting from them. When he announced he was going to attempt the Jinxed bullet catch, the then Dean of Magicians wrote him... Do not do it, you have too many enemies in the underworld who will seek to do a job on you. That same year he died he went to Washington DC to try to have a law passed making it a felony to claim to talk to the dead which brought him much heat. He was even attacked backstage in Montreal by a fanatic student who had first asked him if he believed in the miracles of the Bible. He had in his program of his traveling show that year a $10,000.00 challenge if they could produce any spiritualist manifestations that he could not prove was a fake or duplicate. He went from town to town exposing them with a vengence. Houdini had threats from many spiritualists including Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes series, and from Margery, well known spiritualist of the Houdini era. We tell much of this story in our Psychic Theater Production of "Haunted! Mind Mysteries and THE Beyond!" that has been running in our theater for the past 2 years. The Houdini Museum has seen to it to have a Houdini expert on call 24 hours a day during these difficult days.

It is, however, amazing how so many years after his lifetime, Houdini still can generate headlines.

Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich
Houdini Museum
Houdini Tour & Magic Show
Haunted Mind Mysteries & THE Beyond
Scranton PA

I also meant that Barnumn would promote others and gain fame and cash. Houdini did it by doing it himself. Houdini doesn't need this "opportunity" to keep his name alive. As long as Scholastic and others produce children's books on Houdini, he will be known for future generations to come.

I just don't like the exhumation to bolster book sales or promote a movie or documentary deal.

Yes, I could probably could make some money off this, even get some face time on TV if I jumped on the bandwagon. I'll take the high road instead.

:lol:

I really just wish they would let the man rest in peace. What does it matter at this point how he died? After all, he would be dead by now anyway.

Ironically, having died when and how he did, he was close to the top of his game. Most well known entertainers end up being totally forgotten by society if they just let themselves fade into oblivion rather than going out in a blaze of glory.

The one thing I found disturbing about Houdini's funeral site is that Bess is not buried alongside him. His grave is in a Jewish cemetary and Bess was a Christian. So she could not be buried next to her husband, soulmate and lifelong companion.

A copy of the Houdini Family letter that was sent to the Houdini Museum can be found on our web site at
http://houdini.org/HoudiniMuseumFamily%20.doc

We believe the family plots would have passed on to Bess, being his wife. It would then have gone to her sisters Marie Blood, who passed away, and on to her sister Ruth who is still alive.

Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich
Houdini Museum
Houdini Tour & Magic Show
Haunted, Mind Mysteries & THE Beyond!
Scranton Pa 18508

A text version of the Houdini Family on Besses side of the family for those of you who do not have Microsoft Word can be found at
http://houdini.org/HoudiniFamilyLetter.html

Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich
Houdini Museum
Houdini Tour & Magic Show
Haunted, Mind Mysteries & THE Beyond!
Scranton Pa 18508

Now that sounds a lot better! People with some morals and not trying to cash in on his name.

All this brouhaha and nobody on either major board did it, so Happy belated birthday to Houdini!

Look in the Escape section above.

Either way, we have April 6th do it all again.

My bad, Kevin... spent so much time in these threads I didn't think to look there! And, of course, you're right about the 6th. Too big for just one birthday. There's some billing for you!

Even in the afterlife Houdini knows how to cause a stir with publicity. I bet he's looking down from the heavens smiling.