- Playing
- StoryCorps: Sid Radner
- From
- StoryCorps
Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. For 10 years after his death, his wife, Bess, held an annual séance on October 31st in the hopes of reaching her deceased husband. After 10 years of trying, Bess Houdini gave up.
At the time, Sid Radner was the protege of Houdini's brother, Theodore Hardeem. Being a huge Houdini fan, Radner decided to carry on Bess' séance tradition, and has done so every year since the 1930s.
Here, Sid talks about the annual Halloween séance he still hold on Halloween.
More from StoryCorps
StoryCorps: Harrison Wright and Sean Guess
(00:01:56)
From: StoryCorps
Harrison Wright tells his grandson, Sean Guess, about serving in the Army at the end of World War II.
StoryCorps: Van and Shirley Harris
(00:02:17)
From: StoryCorps
Van Harris and his wife, Shirley, remember being young in Brooklyn during the 1940s.
StoryCorps: Theresa and Dennis McLaughlin
(00:02:16)
From: StoryCorps
Theresa McLaughlin speaks about raising her son, Dennis, who was born with spina bifida, leaving him unable to use his legs.
StoryCorps: Ricardo Isaias Zavala and Ricardo Javier Zavala
(00:02:32)
From: StoryCorps
Ricardo Isais Zavala remembers his grandfather, Vicente Domingo Villa, in an interview with his son, Ricardo Javier Zavala.
StoryCorps NTI: Kate Musick and Harleé Patrick, Jose Catalan and Carlos Vizcarra
(00:02:50)
From: StoryCorps
Two stories about teachers who went beyond the classroom to help their kids.
StoryCorps: Marco Ferreira and Wendy Tucker
(00:01:54)
From: StoryCorps
Marco Ferreira talks to his wife, Wendy Tucker, about surviving a near-fatal motorcycle accident in 2008.
StoryCorps: Lisa Combest and James Hanson-Brown
(00:02:25)
From: StoryCorps
Lisa Combest and her ex-husband, James Hanson-Brown, talk about how their marriage ended.
StoryCorps Griot: Karen Slade, Eric "Rico" Reed and Arthur "Sonny" Williams
(00:02:28)
From: StoryCorps
Karen Slade, Eric "Rico" Reed, and Arthur "Sonny" Williams of radio station KJLH remember the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.
StoryCorps: Kenneth and Gaye Honeycutt
(00:02:03)
From: StoryCorps
Kenneth Honeycutt tells his wife Gaye about witnessing the New London School Explosion of 1937.
StoryCorps: David Plant and Frank Lilley
(00:02:34)
From: StoryCorps
Frank Lilley interviews his stepfather, David Plant, about approaching the end of his life.
Related Pieces
Piece Description
Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926. For 10 years after his death, his wife, Bess, held an annual séance on October 31st in the hopes of reaching her deceased husband. After 10 years of trying, Bess Houdini gave up.
At the time, Sid Radner was the protege of Houdini's brother, Theodore Hardeem. Being a huge Houdini fan, Radner decided to carry on Bess' séance tradition, and has done so every year since the 1930s.
Here, Sid talks about the annual Halloween séance he still hold on Halloween.
Broadcast History
NPR's Morning Edition October 29, 2010
Transcript
SR: Houdini died in '26 and his wife tried to contact him on the anniversary of his death for ten years. Well, at that point she said ten years was long enough to wait for any man, so she stopped.
WIFE: I do not believe that Houdini can come back to me or to anyone. The Houdini Shrine has burned for ten years. I now turn out the light. Good night, Harry.
SR: I started doing seances in the '30s. And as a matter of fact, I own the trademark, the name "Official Houdini Seance." Usually, there could be eight, ten, twelve people, and you sit around and hold hands, concentrate and wait to see if you get some contact from Houdini. One time the medium asked for Houdini to make his presence known, and a gal standing around, her beads broke and fell on the floor.  Another time, a book fell down off a shelf. We had some strange things happen.
SR: If I can't contact Houdini, and I've been trying...
Read the full transcript
Intro and Outro
INTRO:Time now for StoryCorps ...
... the project that's crossing the country ...
... recording people talking about their lives.
Today, we hear from 90-year-old Sid Radner ...
... and his lifelong fascination with Harry Houdini.
The legendary escape artist and magician died on Halloween.
Each year, on the anniversary of Houdini's death ...
... Radner leads the Official Houdini Seance ...
... to contact his hero.
OUTRO:Sid Radner at StoryCorps in Holyoke, Massachusetts.
He'll be trying to contact Harry Houdini again this year -- in New York
City.
Sid's interview will be archived at the Library of Congress.
The StoryCorps podcast is at NPR-dot-ORG.
Musical Works
| Title | Artist | Album | Label | Year | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Peguin | Raymond Scott | The Music of Raymond Scott: Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights. | Sony BMG | 1992 | 01:41 |
Additional Credits
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and Joe and Carol Reich
Related Website
Of 1 purchasers of this piece...
- 1 also bought:
Dia's Diary: My Mother (00:06:08) - 1 also bought:
Civil War Widows (00:12:59) - 1 also bought:
Garbage Man-Long Version (00:09:00) - 1 also bought:
Memorial (00:05:51) - 1 also bought:
Movin' Out the Bricks (00:27:46)
