There’s been a discussion about this question on the Magic Cafe forum and I figure I bring it up here. Here is the question. Why didn’t Hardeen have someone destroy Houdini’s props, etc. after Hardeen died?
My thinking is that the items weren’t Hardeen’s to destroy. The owner of the entire Harry Houdini estate was Bess. What do you think?
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Hardeen was smart, that’s why he didn’t burn it all. He used many of Houdini’s props. He promoted himself using the Houdini name (though I think there is a debate that could be had that he didn’t need to do that. He was a good performer in his own right). I suppose legally Bess was the owner of everything, but she didn’t seem to care much about the stuff.
The other thing is that Hardeen died suddenly following an operation. Did he go into the operation expecting to not survive? But even if he had known he might not survive the operation I doubt he would have had the props burned. He had been trying to sell some of them since the 1930s.
I forgot all about him selling some of it. I have one of his lists here. He had some serious Houdini items for sale. As I remember it there was Kellar and other big name magicians on the list too.
I think Hardeen would have needed to use Houdini’s name in the 1930′s and on. By then Blackstone and Thurston were hurting. By using Houdini’s name, he could still impress the folks and the people who hired him. He did well on the Steel Pier for a long time till he was priced off of it.
I don’t think Hardeen burned anything. As Dean wrote, he understood the value of Houdini’s props as performance pieces and as historical artifacts. Why destroy the milk cans and straitjackets when he could have, and did use them in his own performances.
I’m surprised that Houdini didn’t will his props to Hardeen. It seems logical to me that he should have left his props to his younger magician brother. There’s a photo of an old Hardeen climbing into the Milk Can in a public performance shortly before his death. I bet it was one of Houdini’s cans.
He also sold and gave much of Houdini’s apparatus to Sid Radner. Hardeen knew that Radner appreciated the value of Houdini’s props. It’s a good feeling when you know that your valuables are going to someone who really appreciates their worth.
What’s really magical is that today there are more “Houdini” cuffs then when Harry was alive. Imagine that?