By Tom Interval
In my relatively small magic collection, I recently dug up this 1980 Dynamite article about Harry Houdini (1874-1926). What’s scary about this piece, besides the picture of Scott Baio on the cover, is that more than 36 years have passed since its publication. (Let me immerse myself in age denial about that one for a moment.)
The article—mostly about Houdini’s crusade against fraudulent Spiritualists— is just okay. But the Houdini punch-out? Dynamite! (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) I didn’t actually punch it out because I wanted to leave the magazine intact, but I was compelled to scan it and animate it for your and my entertainment pleasure.
It’s an illustration of Houdini in his pre-1920s scandalous canary-yellow swim trunks escaping a heavy set of chains, just as he did in real life. Well, not “just” as he did, and his trunks weren’t really yellow, but you get the idea. Pretty cool: All you do is punch out the lot, weave the artwork into the jail-cell bars, use the tabs to move the artwork up and down, and voilà! Houdini sheds the shackles!
But don’t take my word for it:
Here’s what the original punch-out looks like:
So there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, Houdini once again escapes, this time as recently as 1980, long before this magician was born. *wink*
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Fantastic! You might know that Houdini also appeared in a 1976 issue with Welcome Back Kotter on the cover. That one I have, but, unbelievably, I don’t remember ever seeing this issue! Maybe by 1980 I felt I had outgrown Dynamite. But now I’m gonna have to get this. Like the ’70s issue, I love the original Houdini art.
Thanks John! I wasn’t aware of the 1976 issue. I’ll have to check that out! I’m glad this particular issue was something new for you to see.
And it looks like James Randi was in the Nov. 1981 issue.
Yes! He was the cover story, as I recall. I think I have that issue somewhere.
Looks great, it would be nice to see on the market again.
Thanks, John. It would be fun to see many more Houdini-themed toys, puzzles, etc., on the market today. Get kids interested early.
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