Houdini: A Life Worth Reading by Higher Read Read Free Book Online Page B

that had helped him and his family while he was growing up.
     
    In his forties Houdini became known as a generous charity figure. He called his works of charity “Good Works” and received no payment for them. He had a particular reputation for handing out money to older people who were down on their luck, perhaps because they reminded him of his impoverished father. He performed shows at charity hospitals, orphanages, and prisons. Most famously, he put on a three-hour show at Sing Sing prison, much longer than his or any other magicians’ of the times shows. Houdini interestingly commented that he thought that given a different set of circumstances, he himself might have found himself leading a criminal life.
     

Houdini and Bess
     
    Despite Houdini’s passion for publicity, his relationship with his wife Bess was kept private from the press. Observers frequently said that Houdini appeared to act very lovingly towards Bess, and after his death his property was found to contain many love notes written to her, describing her as his sunshine and using many other romantic metaphors. Bess, like Houdini, was very private. She liked to make clothes and fine food, and to shop. The couple did not have any children, despite their attempts to conceive. Their letters to friends reflect sadness that they were not able to have children. They parented instead their pets, which included a small dog named Charlie and a parrot named Polly.
     
    Houdini and Bess continued to enjoy each other’s company, although some of Houdini’s diary entries reflect that he treated her at times more like a griping mother than like a wife. He also made it clear to her that his devotion would have to be shared with his mother, and then the memory of his mother when Cecilia passed away. Houdini obsessed about another man benefiting from his hard work and savings. He repeatedly made Bess promise that if she should remarry after he died, that she insist that her second husband sign a prenuptial agreement agreeing to not pursue any part of Bess’s estate that came out of her marriage to Houdini. Houdini took out a large life insurance policy naming Bess as his beneficiary and put the Harlem brownstone in her name.
     
    As many opportunities as Houdini must have had to cheat on Bess, there is only evidence of one affair: with the widow of his famous friend Jack London, Charmian London. In 1918, after Jack had passed away, Charmian spent a winter in New York City. Houdini invited her to come see his show “Cheer Up” in January, and diary entries on her part reflect that soon thereafter he and she started a love affair. Houdini’s own records reflect that he felt troubled by his infidelity, and the physical aspect of their affair seems to have died out relatively quickly, even before Charmian returned to California. Houdini and Charmian continued to exchange amorous letters, however. It is unclear if Bess ever knew of the affair; she did speak of discovering love letters from several women to her husband after Houdini’s death, one of which she said came from a widow whom she had trusted, possibly Charmian. Bess also complained when Houdini played the lover of younger female actresses during his film career. Charmian and Houdini met up again in 1924 when Houdini was performing in California, but there is no evidence that their love affair continued at that time.
     
    Normally Houdini and Bess made an event out of their anniversary; for several years they took trips out to Coney Island in New York City, the site of their honeymoon. For their twenty-fifth anniversary, in June of 1919, Houdini threw an elaborate banquet at a Los Angeles hotel (the pair was living in Los Angeles at the time in order to accommodate Houdini’s acting career, see Chapter VIX). Two hundred guests attended and gourmet food was served. The couple made an entrance and Bess reportedly nearly fainted. A letter from Houdini from that night reflects his genuine affection for Bess