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| Intro to Bess Houdini's eyewitness account of her trip to Russia with Harry. Click to enlarge. Our recent posts have presented evidence that Houdini might have made a semi-secret second trip to Russia, around 1912-13, for the purpose of helping to undermine Rasputin. Our sharp-eyed friend Joe Notaro wrote: I know that Bess Houdini did a radio program called "I Was There" in October 1942 that related an incident that occurred in Russia that involved Houdini and Rasputin. Unfortunately, I can't locate a recording of it.
Joe referred us to this squib from the magicians' monthly Genii, October 1942:
Southern California Assembly No. 22 |
We, of course, have gone berserk trying to track this down. The Paley Center for Media, a/k/a the Museum of Broadcasting, had nothing. CBS Radio, which produced “I Was There,” could find no record of the broadcast (it’s not Mr. Paley’s CBS any more). The Newseum didn’t even call back.
We finally had the good luck to discover the Thousand Oaks Public Library in Ventura County, California. Believe it or not, that obscure institution has one of the finest collections of radio material in the world. It also has a first-rate research librarian, Jeanette Berard, who sent us salient pages of the “I Was There” script for September 21, 1942. The show open is at the top of this page. Beatrice Houdini - referred to in the intro as "Woman One" - is indeed a headliner.
We finally had the good luck to discover the Thousand Oaks Public Library in Ventura County, California. Believe it or not, that obscure institution has one of the finest collections of radio material in the world. It also has a first-rate research librarian, Jeanette Berard, who sent us salient pages of the “I Was There” script for September 21, 1942. The show open is at the top of this page. Beatrice Houdini - referred to in the intro as "Woman One" - is indeed a headliner.
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| Click to enlarge. |
"I Was There" was a live broadcast, complete with orchestra and audience, originating at the CBS Radio studios in Los Angeles. Its key feature was that it presented eyewitnesses to history.
"I Was There" later morphed into the classic "You Are There," which spawned "Hear It Now," which in the television era became "See It Now," hosted by the pioneer broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.
So - what was Bess's story? Click the script pages to read it:
There's a knock at the door and the servant of a Russian Count presents the Houdinis with an invitation to dinner. At dinner, the Count, on behalf of the Tsar, invites Harry to become spiritual advisor to the Throne.
At this gala, Harry is invited to seal the deal with a toast to his new brotherhood with the Tsar. He explains that he is a teetotaler, never touching alcohol. The Russian aristocrats are greatly insulted, offended by his refusal to drink, and the offer is withdrawn.
The takeaway? Kerensky, the first president of Russia, said: "Without Rasputin, no Lenin." Now we can add: "Without Houdini, no Rasputin."
"I Was There" later morphed into the classic "You Are There," which spawned "Hear It Now," which in the television era became "See It Now," hosted by the pioneer broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow.
So - what was Bess's story? Click the script pages to read it:
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| Click to enlarge. |
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| Click to enlarge. |
There's a knock at the door and the servant of a Russian Count presents the Houdinis with an invitation to dinner. At dinner, the Count, on behalf of the Tsar, invites Harry to become spiritual advisor to the Throne.
 |
| Click to enlarge. |
At this gala, Harry is invited to seal the deal with a toast to his new brotherhood with the Tsar. He explains that he is a teetotaler, never touching alcohol. The Russian aristocrats are greatly insulted, offended by his refusal to drink, and the offer is withdrawn.
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| Click to enlarge. |
The takeaway? Kerensky, the first president of Russia, said: "Without Rasputin, no Lenin." Now we can add: "Without Houdini, no Rasputin."
(© 2013 David Saltman.)
(Script © Columbia Broadcasting System.)
RELATED:
HOUDINI, RUSSIA, 1912
HOUDINI, RUSSIA, 1913
HOUDINI'S RUSSIAN ENEMY
HOUDINI RUSSIAN MYSTERY SOLVED!
HOUDINI & ORSON WELLES
HOUDINI AT THE YAR
HOUDINI IN MOSCOW
HOUDINI FOOLS THE AMBASSADOR
HOUDINI THE SPY
HOUDINI THE SCIENTIST: DUEL OF THE MAGICIANS
David, this is just marvelous!
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to track down Bess’ story on “I Was There” and thanks for sharing it. Besides hearing her story on Houdini being asked to be a Spiritual adviser, I was hoping we would have heard her other story WRT the Bell ringing incident or some other story that put Houdini in Russia at some other date besides 1903. I can’t wait for your book.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words and able detective work. The only reference to Rasputin in the script is the one word on the last page, shown above. There's nothing about the Kremlin bells. Still working on locating the recording itself. And getting more on the shadowy "second visit to Russia."
ReplyDeleteHoly cow! This is sensational.
ReplyDeleteThat library is very near me. I wonder what else they might have on HH.
They have a great collection of radio stuff, not always cross-indexed. Do you know of any radio broadcasts he might have made?
ReplyDeleteCheck out the link below for some Radio references:
Deletehttp://scoundrelsforum.com/index.php?topic=829.0;wap2
Looks rich. Will check & report back.Thanks for the leads.
DeleteYes, there's this:
Deletehttp://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2010/12/houdini-radio-address.html
have you tried the museum of broadcast communications in chicago, they have a wealth of radio material
Delete