The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush, Larry Sloman Read Free Book Online Page B

grizzled head of old Risey, they erupted in a torrent of cheers and a chorus of “Speech, speech, speech.” Risey was forced to step up to center stage.
    “I have been a showman for thirty-seven year, and I know what’s what. I have exposed the Davenport Brothers and called down the great Herrmann. I know fakers when I sees them, so these Hunyadi Brothers don’t scare me none. This is a fake box and I’m going to show this thing up or die trying,” the old veteran said.
    The audience cheered louder.
    Then it was time. Not even bothering to tie his hands behind his back, Harry and Theo assisted Risey into the silken bag and tied it at the top. Then they lifted him into the trunk and pushed it into the cabinet. And everyone waited.
    For five minutes the audience seemed to hold its breath. Then there was the faint muffled sound of “Help!” followed by some serious pounding on the inside of the box. Harry and his brother immediately leapt up, tore aside the curtain of the cabinet, and pulled the trunk out. They whipped out knives and frantically began cutting the ropes. Harry opened the lock, pulled the bag out of the trunk, cut the cord, and yanked the limp form of old Risey from the bag. He was perspiring heavily and trying to catch his breath.
    This was a crucial moment in the early career of Houdini. Risey, the old-timer, was likely a confederate. A mock rivalry was generated; harsh words were uttered casting doubts on the ability of The Brothers Houdini, and the ensuing publicity packed the house for the first time. Harry was beginning to learn the value of controversy and publicity.
    Houdini had also learned a tactic from the Spiritualists—the monetary or “prize” challenge. Or at least what seemed to be a challenge. It was loudly proclaimed that if Risey could get out of that box, Houdini would pay him $100, a substantial amount of money back in 1894. Of course, Houdini worked the odds so that there was very little chance that his money would ever be in jeopardy.
    There is one other interesting aspect of this Risey story. It was reported in the papers of June 22, 1894, which means that it probably took place the previous night. The fact that Bess Raymond of the Floral Sisters was in the wings cheerleading for Houdini was no accident. On the next day, after knowing each other a little more than a week, they would get married.
    Bess, whose real name was Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, was a Brooklyn girl from a strict German Roman Catholic family. Her father had died at an early age, and she was consigned to working at a brother-in-law’s tailor shop. But she had wanderlust in her blood and a natural inclination toward singing and dancing, so when she was sixteen, she got a job as a seamstress in a traveling circus. Soon afterward, she made friends with two girls, the Floral Sisters, who had a song-and-dance act. Within weeks, she had persuaded them to let her join the group.
    Harry’s brother Theo had arranged a blind date with two of the sisters for Harry and himself. Love-at-first-sight ensued, and soon Harry and Bess were inseparable. Houdini didn’t have the money to properly woo his love (Bess would later crack that she had “sold her virginity to Houdini for an orange”) and according to her account, not only did she have to contribute the lion’s share for her wedding ring but also had to loan Harry the $2 needed for the marriage license. Besides the civil ceremony, Bess claimed that they were married twice more, once by a rabbi and once by a Roman Catholic priest.
    Cecilia welcomed Bess into the family, but it was quite a different story for Bess’s people. “Though the matter had not been mentioned, I gathered from Ehrich’s appearance that he was a Jew,” Bess wrote, “and in our simple Catholic upbringing, a Jew was a person of doubtful human attributes.” In fact, Bess’s mother shunned her daughter for twelve years after her marriage, relenting only when Houdini and one of his brothers