Published in 2006, The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush and Larry Sloman has been called the most controversial book ever written about the infamous magician, Harry Houdini. This biography’s subtitle “The Making of America’s First Superhero” is no exaggeration either.
Harry Houdini Was a Superstar
Before television or even “talkies”, there was live vaudevillian entertainment for the masses, and Houdini was the king of the stage. Not only were Houdini’s magic tricks and escape artist routines known worldwide, he went on to become a movie star and an aviation pioneer.
Houdini was indeed what we would call today a "superstar." Kalush and Sloman have taken him to the even higher level of “superhero” by exposing yet another facet to Houdini’s legend, that of international spy.
Author Larry Sloman is no stranger to controversial writing. He is best known for his collaboration with shock jock Howard Stern on Private Parts. Sloman also tagged along on Bob Dylan’s 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour, often annoying the musicians but turning out a wonderful account entitled On the Road with Bob Dylan. It was his collaboration with magician David Blaine, Mysterious Stranger, that led to an interest in magic and ultimately, Houdini.
Authors Kalush & Sloman Questioned Gaps in Houdini's Life
William Kalush is the founder of the Conjuring Arts Research Center and publisher of the magic history journal, Gibeciere. Both Kalush and Sloman were struck by the fact that, despite the vast amount of published biographical information on Houdini, “there were huge gaps in Houdini’s life story and some puzzling inconsistencies.”
In seeking to fill in those gaps, the authors pored over hundreds of thousands of pages of documents (Houdini himself wrote upwards of 150,000 letters in his lifetime). The Secret Life of Houdini is the result.
Houdini Had Ties to Scotland Yard, MI-5, Secret Service
The authors have done an admirable job stating their case, which is primarily their conviction that Harry Houdini was a spy for both the U.S. and Britain in the days leading up to World War I. Much of their “proof” lies in the relationship between Houdini and officials in England’s Scotland Yard and the MI-5 and the U.S. Secret Service.
The magician’s behind-the-scenes access to leaders in Germany and Russia, for whom he did private shows, presented a unique opportunity, particularly for perhaps the world’s greatest “sneak”. The combination makes for enticing possibilities, and though Kalush and Sloman never conclusively prove their beliefs, their case is a strong one.
Biography Also Highlights Fraudulent Spiritualism
The Secret Life of Houdini doesn’t just focus on the spy aspect, however. The authors have rewritten Houdini’s entire biography, including yet another lesser-known aspect of Houdini’s latter years, as he waged a personal war against fraudulent “spiritualists”.
One of these movements was led by author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and the two very famous men became very public foes. All in all, the new material presented in this biography would make for another movie on the life of Houdini.
Even without the epiphanies regarding espionage (which, it must be added, have been questioned by Houdini historians) the reworking of so many of Houdini’s well known tricks--like the Chinese Water Torture--as well as his renowned showmanship and entrepreneurial skills are given new life in this book.
Whether or not the slant Kalush and Sloman have taken is true, there is no question that The Secret Life of Houdini adds another layer to the legend of Houdini. Despite some repetitiveness, it’s captivating reading, a book that will continue to be discussed for some time.
Kalush, William & Sloman, Larry. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero. 2006, Atria Books (Simon & Schuster), New York. (ISBN: 13:978-0-7432-7207-0)
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
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