Harry Houdini and My Dad Both Led America’s Magicians

Detroit – The attention of the magic world is focused squarely on Detroit this week for the 100th anniversary of the famous magician Harry Houdini’s death.

It was 100 years ago on Halloween—Oct. 31, 1926—that Houdini died at Grace Hospital in Detroit, just a week after giving his final performance across town at the Garrick Theatre. Both of those building are long gone, but that won’t stop magicians and Houdini fans from across the world from gathering at those two sites this week, holding séances, and hoping to communicate with him from beyond the grave.

The centennial anniversary holds some added significance for my family because of a unique connection we have.

Harry Houdini was a fierce proponent of the Society of American Magicians, a fraternal organization that formed in 1902 with the goal of preserving, advancing, and promoting magic as a performing art.

Houdini served as president of the Society of American Magicians (SAM) from 1917 until his death in 1926. He was the group’s 11th president. My dad, Hank Moorehouse, who was a somewhat famous magician himself, was the 65th. He served as president from 1981-82. He literally followed in Harry Houdini’s magical footsteps.

I’ve always been proud of the fact that my dad led America’s magic community just as Harry Houdini did, and it’s always been cool to see his name on the list of SAM presidents alongside Houdini’s. I keep his Society of American Magicians Past President pin on my desk, and it’s one of my prized possessions.

My dad, who lived in Ypsilanti and White Pigeon, was the first SAM president from Michigan, and for many years, he was the only one.

We finally had a couple more Michiganders in recent years: John Sturk—who was born in Detroit, raised in Plymouth, and graduated from Michigan State —served as the SAM president from 2023-24. He was followed in 2024-25 by another Michigander, John Midgley, a Western Michigan grad.

So as the world observes the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s passing—and as we celebrate his spectacular life—it’s noteworthy to look at all his connections to the Mitten. Not just for the Moorehouse family, but for anyone who loves magic.

Houdini was born Erich Weiss in Hungary in 1874, and his family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin, when he was 4. He changed his name to “Harry Houdini” when he launched his magical career and quickly became the biggest vaudeville star in the country.

He did a lot of standard magic, but his specialty was escapes. Houdini especially loved performing in Detroit, because there were so many beautiful theaters here. He performed in Michigan 19 times through the years, including a spectacular routine in November of 1906, when he was handcuffed on the Belle Isle bridge and jumped into the frigid waters of the Detroit River. He emerged less than a minute later, having freed himself from the handcuffs. Twenty years later, he did his final show about three miles away at the Garrick Theatre.

If you’re interested in taking the “Houdini Tour” in Detroit this week, here’s what you need to know.

There are three main sites linked to Houdini, only one of which is still standing: the theater where he performed his last show, the hospital where he died, and the funeral home where his body was taken. Only the funeral home is still there.

The Garrick Theatre, where he performed his last show on Oct. 24, 1926, was located at 1122 Griswold Street. It was demolished three years later and became a Cunningham’s Drug Store. The abandoned building is still there today.

Houdini was 52 years old when he did his final performance, and according to a review in the Detroit News, the show at the Garrick was broken up into three acts. The first act was a standard magic show with rabbits appearing and various items disappearing. The second act featured some card tricks and a sawing-a-lady-in-half routine, while the third act was an exposé of the fraudulent hucksters who were prevalent at the time.

The Detroit News reviewer also noted that during his show at the Garrick, “Houdini was a little late, a little hoarse and more than a little tired, having just completed the jump from Montreal.”

What the reviewer and the audience didn’t know was that two days earlier, right after his show in Montreal, Houdini had been punched in the stomach by an audience member who was testing Houdini’s legendarily strong stomach muscles. Houdini wasn’t expecting the blow, and it likely triggered some acute appendicitis that ended up killing him.

So when he performed in Detroit on Oct. 24, he was in great pain and had a high fever. A few hours after the show at the Garrick ended, he was taken to Grace Hospital.

Located at 4160 John R Street, Grace Hospital was a stately building that had been built in 1888 and was one of the largest hospitals in the state. Houdini was taken to Room 401, and when the newspaper reporters heard he was there, they camped out in the lobby and filed daily reports, telling the world that the famed magician was near death. He died in Room 401 on Halloween.

The hospital was torn down in 1979, and the site now houses the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The exact spot where Grace Hospital was located, though, is the parking lot and a grassy area in front of the building, so if you’re looking to hold a séance on Halloween, that’s where you’ll want to gather.

After he passed, Houdini’s body was taken to the W.R. Hamilton and Company Funeral Home at 3957 Cass Avenue. The business closed decades ago, but the building is still standing. It’s abandoned and dilapidated, and to tell the truth, it looks spooky as hell. On the day I visited last week, there was a curtain blowing in a busted-out window on the second floor, even though there was no wind outside. It was almost like, I don’t know, there was some sort of ghost in there.

So if you want to connect with the spirit of Houdini this week, 100 years after he made his final bow in Detroit, those are the stops you need to make.

You can also take part in some of the official events taking place across the state this week. The Detroit Historical Society is hosting “Houdini 100: Magic and Mystery” on Oct. 31, an evening of storytelling, performances, and Houdini-inspired escapes. At the American Museum of Magic in Marshall, they’re holding a Houdini séance on Halloween from noon to 3 p.m. I hope he shows up.

As for me and my magical family, we’ll be celebrating both Harry Houdini and Hank Moorehouse, forever linked by their association as leaders of the Society of American Magicians.

When Houdini died a hundred years ago, the SAM started a tradition called the “Broken Wand ceremony.” Some members of the society gathered at Houdini’s gravesite, they took one of the magic wands he used in his shows, and they broke it in half. Then they put it in his grave alongside his coffin.

The Broken Wand ceremony is meant to symbolize the fact that when a magician dies, the wand has lost its magic.

When my dad died in 2011, the Society of American Magicians performed the Broken Wand ceremony at his gravesite in Colon, Michigan, too. Just like they did with Houdini. They’re brothers in magic, forever.

Rest in peace, Harry Houdini. And rest in peace, Dad. Thanks for all the magical memories.