Recently I watched The History Channel’s newest Houdini special staring Adrien Brody. I found it to be very well done and captivating! Houdini lead an interesting, adventurous life. Unfortunately though, as many of my fellow magicians have pointed out, there was a lot of fiction in this docudrama.
According to one of the number one web sources on Houdini, http://www.wildabouthoudini.com, “HISTORY’s Houdini is the least accurate Houdini biopic ever made.” They wrote two fact checking blog posts outlining which parts of the mini-series were real and which were fake.
Growing up as a magician, I, like many magicians, have always been fascinated by Houdini. His magic career has inspired my show even to the point of accomplishing my dream of performing the upside-down straight jacket! He was one of the greatest performers of all time. What people may not also know, is that he was also one of the best self-promoters. I read many stories about Houdini, and it was often a little confusing. One book would confirm that Houdini did one escape and another would deny it completely. The main two reasons I believe this is true is 1) Houdini was one of the world’s best self-promoters and storytellers and didn’t mind fudging the details for better press and 2) Houdini is a legend, and when retelling his life, often new storytellers like to push the details to help their own story.
For example, one of the main escapes featured in the History Channel’s docudrama depicted Houdini jumping off a bridge into the hole of an icy river. He almost got trapped permanently under the ice only to hear his mother’s voice showing him the way out. According to wildabouthoudini.com there is “no evidence that it ever happened,” and yet, “Houdini himself would tell the story of being trapped under an ice sheet during a bridge jump… [but] Houdini would alter the location and details in various tellings.”
Even how Houdini died is riddled with questions. On snopes.com, they list the way most people believe Houdini died (by unexpected punches to his stomach that ruptured his appendix) as “Legend.” A first-hand, eye-witness account is listed in the article, but immediately following it they say, “Despite Price’s first-hand account, much dispute remains over exactly what took place in Houdini’s dressing room that day. Houdini’s wife Bess, a nurse named Sophie Rosenblatt, and Bess’s niece Julia Sawyer were also present, and the details of their stories differ.”
Thinking about all this makes me really digest the importance of authenticity. In our social media age we claim that transparency and authenticity are some of our highest values. Yet, a quick look at internet dating profiles would prove that people take the liberty of blurring the lines of truth about themselves.
I, of course, value transparency and authenticity, however; this proves to be a stumbling block in my unique profession. My job is to deceive people in order to point them to the Real Truth. (What an oxymoronic sentence!) The later part of Houdini’s career was often dedicated to exposing the fake supernatural and defrauding mediums. Before, during, and after his shows he challenged mediums to show him the real supernatural. And yet, when you observe how he presented himself to the public, I don’t think Houdini himself ever found the balance of being authentic outside of his magic persona.
I also feel this pressure! When I talk about my faith and what I believe I must be completely authentic to the truth. Yet, when it comes to the magic tricks and illusions, I am naturally limited on how much I can reveal! The saying, “a magician never shares his secrets” exists for a reason. Without it, there would be no magic, for every trick has a simple unimpressive explanation at its core. It is especially challenging for me during post-show interaction when people start asking me about my methods. Most recently my response is simply, “Ask me no questions, I will tell you no lies!”
The challenge for any magician lies in keeping the magic/stage personality separate from the real person. However, I know from my years of ministry, that this challenge does not just lie uniquely with the magician. It lies with all of us.
In one week I will be sharing with students at a retreat in California about “masks”. Why do we wear masks? Have you ever considered the truth why behind this question? For me the answer comes down to two basic concepts. TRUST and CONTROL. We do not TRUST that the Creator did a good enough job with our personality or giftings or maybe even in how He redeems us. So we try and take CONTROL and create a different persona trying to perform for everyone else.
So I put the question to you, can we truly live authentic and transparent? Are we able to lay down our masks be completely real before others and most importantly before our God?
Please comment below with your answer.