Houdini Uncle and Dorothy Aunty !!

Google celebrated the birthday of world famous escape artisit, Harry Houdini, with a Google Doodle.

Harry Houdini, the legendary escape artist, was born on March 24, 1874. He would have been 137 now. Houdini pushed the boundaries of stage magic with daring escapes; his tricks involved straitjackets, being submerged, and being buried alive. If you've ever watched the likes of Criss Angel: Mindfreak, you will have seen modern-day variations of several Houdini escapes
Interestingly …. Harry Houdini had been friends with Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed that Houdini had supernatural powers. Harry Houdini's insistence that he was a normal man ruined their friendship.
While we talk and remember Houdini and how he changed the performing landscape for so called magicians and illusionists; its also worthwhile to make note of yet another small news item.
Dorothy Young, Harry Houdini's last living assistant, died on March 20, 2011 at the age of 103. Young joined Houdini's company as a teenager after attending an open casting call during a family trip to New York. During her year with Houdini's stage show in the mid-1920s, she played the role of "Radio Girl of 1950," emerging from a large mock-up of a radio and performing a dance routine.
(Note - hardly any of the content above barring a few words have been written by me. they have been picked up from online articles on Houdini and Dorothy)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mumbai Local - First Class v/s Second Class

Image
    It is an old joke that the difference in the first class and second class of the Mumbai local trains is that people in first class use deodorants and hence you are exempted from the smelly underarms while travelling. The mute point being; both class of travel experience a passenger overload during the peak hours and you are almost equally squeezed and pushed around in both. Of course, the seats in First Class are cushioned (unlike the hard seats of second class) but then that would make a difference only if you get to sit (which would be a likely probability only if you get into the train from the station it originates). My father holds a first class pass from Churchgate to Andheri (since past 7 years, ever since we moved to Andheri). He often travels by Second class in the evening. Strange, isn't it? This is why he does it … In the First class, there is an unwritten rule that on the seat, only the designated number of people (which is 3) will sit. No sq...
Read more

Tongue Twister - V for Vendetta

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of Fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V." - V for Vendetta
Read more