THE
HOUDINI ESTATE
LOS ANGELES
01 · HOUDINI IN HOLLYWOOD · 1919
Houdini comes
to Laurel
Canyon.
Harry Houdini came to Los Angeles in 1919 to make The Grim Game and Terror Island for Famous Players-Lasky.
Houdini and estate owner Ralf M. Walker were friends. Houdini invested in Walker’s Laurel Canyon Land Company, beginning the connection between Houdini and the property that still bears his name.
The Grim Game, 1919. The motion picture that brought Houdini to Hollywood.
Harry Houdini at the estate’s spring-fed swimming pool. From The New York Public Library.
02 · HOUDINI AT THE ESTATE
Houdini was here.
Harry and Bess Houdini lived in the guest house at the Houdini Estate while the films were being made. Photographs place Houdini in the gardens and at the estate’s spring-fed swimming pool.
Laurel Canyon historian Patrick Culliton writes, “There’s no question that Houdini lived in Laurel Canyon for the better part of a year.”
After Harry’s death, Bess Houdini returned to Laurel Canyon. Her gatherings and séances brought magicians and guests back to the estate and strengthened the connection that gave the property its enduring name.
HOUDINI: THE KEY
Patrick Culliton’s definitive illustrated reference work on Houdini’s life, magic and escapes.
Additional historical research draws on the work of Houdini historian John Cox, author of Handcuff King: The Conquests of Harry Houdini, 1900-1909.