Detail of a photo from the Daily Mail.
If you visited Google today, you’re aware that it’s illusionist, stuntman, stage magician and Debunker of Spiritualists Harry Houdini’s 137th birthday — or would be, if he hadn’t died in1926 from peritonitis following a ruptured appendix.
Yesterday there was an AP story that Houdini’s last surviving stage assistant, Dorothy Young, died at age 103 at her home in New Jersey. But if you want a real celebration of her life — which was far more exciting than just having been Houdini’s assistant, check out the glorious celebration of her life, with many gorgeous photos, from The Daily Mail.
Here’s the short version from AP:
Young joined Houdini’s company as a teenager after attending an open casting call during a family trip to New York. During her year with Houdini’s stage show in the mid-1920s, she played the role of “Radio Girl of 1950,” emerging from a large mock-up of a radio and performing a dance routine.
Young went on to become a professional dancer, performing in several movies. She also published a novel inspired by her career.
[Link.]
The local paper The Hawkeye has another interesting bit about her:
Young then formed a dance act with Gilbert Kiamie, a New York businessman and the son of a wealthy silk lingerie magnate, and they gained international prominence for a Latin dance they created known as the rumbalero. They later married and remained together until Kiamie died in 1992.
[Link.]
But the Daily Mail story — srsly, check it for the pics. That link again…