Houdini centennial: new book and investigator question 1926 death record
The gist
A retired fraud investigator and a surgeon-author say Houdini's Detroit death certificate may have been altered.
The 100th anniversary of the escape artist's Halloween death has revived the cover-up question.
How it unfolded
- Oct 24, 1926Houdini gave his final performance at Detroit's Garrick Theatre, at Michigan and Griswold.
- Oct 25, 1926The Detroit News reported he was "a little late, a little hoarse and more than a little tired," performing rabbit-and-alarm-clock magic and card tricks and escaping a torture device akin to "a domestic egg slicer."
- Oct 31, 1926The long-accepted account says Houdini died on Halloween of an infection from a ruptured appendix at the former Grace Hospital, aged 52.