The photo shows two horizontal bands wrapped around the cell. In 2012 a never-before-seen photo of Houdini performing his Water Torture Cell in 1920 was unearthed and put on display in Scotland. The lawsuit can be viewed at this link: In 2011, Richard Sherry of Richard Sherry's Magic and Escapes created the only exact working replica of Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell. Sidney Radner filed suit against John Gaughan. In 2003, an exact duplicate of the Water Torture Cell was discovered, leading to controversy over the authenticity of the restored cell. This backup glass traveled with Houdini as a spare in case the Water Torture Cell had to be axed to save Houdini's life.
Additionally, Geno Munari provided John Gaughan an original back-up Water Torture Cell glass plate from The Houdini Museum in Las Vegas. In August 1998, John Gaughan subsequently sent those items to Geno Munari, owner of Houdini's Magic Shops, in Las Vegas. Sidney Radner gave the burned wood, screws, nails, metal straps and many other unused pieces of the original Water Torture Cell to Geno Munari. It now resides as part of his massive private magic collection in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2004, the restored cell was sold at auction to magician David Copperfield. It was initially reported that the cell was completely destroyed, but the metal frame survived and the cell was restored by illusion builder John Gaughan. In 1995, the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame burned to the ground. The leaky tank caused mold and damage to the cell wood and structure.
At one point, the museum owners put a fish tank inside the cell to achieve an aquarium effect. Here the cell suffered from neglect and theft. The cell remained in the Radner basement until 1971 when it was put on display at The Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Canada. Hardeen never performed the cell himself, and despite Houdini's instructions for it to be "burned and destroyed" upon Hardeen's death, his brother gave the cell to Houdini collector Sidney Hollis Radner in the 1940s. Despite two Hollywood movies depicting Houdini dying in the Torture Cell, the escape had nothing to do with his demise.Īfter Houdini's death, the cell was willed to his brother Theodore Hardeen. In letters Houdini referred to the effect as "the Upside Down" or "USD." Houdini continued to perform the escape until his death in 1926. The first public performance was at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany, on September 21, 1912. This was so he could copyright the new escape (having learned with his Milk Can escape that patents failed to stop imitators). Houdini first performed the escape for an audience of one person as part of a one-act play he called Houdini Upside Down!. The original Chinese Water Torture Cell was built in England in 1911.
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