Magicians & Entertainers

A few weeks ago, many viewers tuned into the History Channel to watch a two-part miniseries about the most famous magician the world has ever known: the great Houdini. When I was younger, my mom would tell me stories about the amazing spectacles Houdini performed. As a kid, I was ecstatic to find Harry Houdini's signature in my great grandpa Bob's autograph book.

I wanted to find out how the world's most recognized magician could have come to know my great grandfather. After doing research on the subject, I discovered that Bob Effros and Harry Houdini both belonged to the  St. Cecile Masonic Lodge  #568 (Lodge of the Arts) in New York City. This Masonic Lodge had many famous musicians and entertainers such as Irving Berlin, Vincent Lopez, Al Jolson, and Paul Whiteman.

If you have been a fan of our humble blog for some time, you will remember one of my first posts about great grandpa Bob's magic quarter trick. Bob was fascinated by all forms of entertainment, and he loved magic tricks. According to various members of the Effros family, Bob claimed that he learned several of his magic tricks from the great Houdini himself! One of these tricks included Bob putting a cigarette out on his tongue without being hurt or burned.