Bess houdini and harry houdini

  • Harry houdini net worth
    • Beatrice or Bess Houdini was born Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner on January 23, 1876, in Brooklyn, New York. Like her famous husband, Bess came from a large German speaking immigrant family and was bitten by the showbiz bug in her teens.

    Bess was working at Coney Island in a song and dance act called The Floral Sisters when she was first courted by Houdini's younger brother, Dash (aka Theo Hardeen). But it was the older Houdini brother, Harry, that she fell in love with and married on June 22, 1894.

    Bess and Harry worked as The Houdinis for several years before Houdini hit it big as The Handcuff King. But he and Bess continued to occasionally perform the Metamorphosis. Bess also looked after their menagerie of pets, collected dolls, and made the costumes for Houdini's full evening show. She also said it was her duty to make sure her absent-minded husband was dressed well and had clean ears.

    By all accounts, Bessie was strong-willed and very spirited. While her husband was a teetotaler, Bess enjoyed drinking and she also smoked. Following Houdini's death in 1926, Bess struggled with money, alcohol, and was the target of unethical spiritualists and journalists out to exploit her. She twice attempted suicide.

    In 1930 Bess met Edward Saintwho became her companion and manager (and some say secret husband). Together they moved to Hollywood where they held a Final Houdini Seanceatop the roof of the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel. Bess also helped form the MagiGals, a group of female magicians and enthusiasts which included Gerri Larsen, the mother of Magic Castle co-founders Bill and Milt Larsen. In 1938 she appeared as herself in the film Religious Racketeers.

    Bess remained a much loved and respected fixture at magic conventions until her deathon February 11, 1943 aboard a train in Needles, California. She is buriedin Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.

    Marie Hinson remembers her sister Bess Houdini

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    June 22: When Harry Married Bess

    Twenty-year-old escape artist and stage magician Harry Houdini married his stage manager Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, known ever after as Bess Houdini, on this date in 1894. According to her own account, she helped pay for the wedding ring and had to lend Harry $2 for the marriage license. The couple was wed in a civil ceremony, then twice more, once by a rabbi and once by a Catholic priest. They worked onstage as The Houdinis for several years before he made his reputation as an escape artist (“The Handcuff King”). Physically frail (a niece reports that Bess suffered from primary amenorrhea, an endocrinological condition that causes infertility; the couple had no children), she nevertheless traveled with him all around the world, served as his costume designer, and took care of their extensive menagerie. According to a 1943 article in Time magazine, Houdini and Bess “agreed before his death to try to get in touch with each other afterwards. Gravely ill last week in Hollywood, his widow announced that she had not only given up trying but had her doubts about the existence of a hereafter. She had held seances every year for ten years, unsuccessfully. ‘Ten years,’ observed patient Mrs. Houdini last week, ‘is long enough to wait for any man.’ ” Harry died in 1926, Bess in 1943 (aboard a train from Los Angeles to New York). Her Catholic family refused to bury her in the Jewish cemetery where her husband lay, even though he had engraved her name on his headstone in preparation. To see a series of still photos of the Houdinis, look below.

    “The last half of [Houdini’s] act was devoted completely to exposing spiritualism. He felt spiritualism was wicked; it preyed on poor people who’d spend their last dollar to hear the voice of their loved ones. And, he had a person we called the Reva woman who would visit the . . . mediums, and card people in the city before we would play. And then she would come to report to H

  • Bess houdini net worth

    • Bess Houdini

    Stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini (1876–1943)

    Bess Houdini

    Houdini in the early 1900s

    Born

    Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner


    (1876-01-23)January 23, 1876

    Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

    DiedFebruary 11, 1943(1943-02-11) (aged 67)

    Needles, California, U.S.

    Resting placeGate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, New York, U.S.
    Spouse

    Harry Houdini

    ​

    ​

    (m. 1894; died 1926)​

    Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Houdini (néeRahner; January 23, 1876 – February 11, 1943) was an American stage assistant and wife of Harry Houdini.

    Biography

    Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner was born in Brooklyn, New York (before New York City was consolidated), in 1876 to German immigrants Gebhard Rahner (a cabinet maker) and Balbina Rahner (née Bugel).

    Bess was working at Coney Island in a song and dance act called The Floral Sisters when she was first courted by Houdini's younger brother, Theo (a.k.a. Theodore Hardeen). But it was the older Houdini brother, Harry, that she fell in love with and married on June 22, 1894. The pair worked as The Houdinis for several years before Houdini hit it big as The Handcuff King. But he and Bess continued to occasionally perform their signature trick, Metamorphosis, throughout his career. Bess also looked after their menagerie of pets, collected dolls, and made the costumes for Houdini's full evening roadshow. The Houdinis remained childless throughout their marriage. Bess's niece, Marie Hinson Blood, said Bess suffered from a medical condition that prevented her from having children.

    After Houdini died on October 31, 1926, Bess opened a tea house in New York, and briefly performed a vaudeville act in which she froze a man in ice.

    She moved to Inwood, Manhattan, and would try to contact Harry during seances, with a code that only the two of them knew about, to be sure that the spirit me

  • Harry houdini cause of death

    • HOUDINI – MAGICIANS IN THE GHOST WORLD

    (Audio Drama)

    In our audio drama ‘Houdini – Magicians in the Ghost World’ to be released worldwide in 2023, we tell a story about Harry’s quest to prove life-after-death and his mission to expose fraudulent mediums and spiritualists. The Houdinis go undercover to uncover a shady medium bilking an elderly couple out of a fortune in New York, 1925. 

    The first super-spectacular Audio Novella to go into production is HOUDINI~ MAGICIANS IN THE GHOSTWORLD.

    The year is 1925 and Harry Houdini, grieving from the death of his beloved mother, declares war on fraudulent mediums, psychics and spiritualists. With his wife Bess by his side, the dynamic duo set out to take down these cheats that prey on heart-broken souls, and uncover a syndicate of criminals and confidence men run by one of the most notorious spiritualists in New York City!

    This 74 minute audio drama-adventure tale features a full cast, headed by Mark Redfield (as Harry Houdini).

    The audio novella is written and directed by Mark Redfield. Original Music and Sound Design is by Jennifer Rouse. Look for it on Audible and on Redfield Arts Audio CD in 2024!