Ferenc Dezső Weisz (March 4, 1876 – June 12, 1945), known as Theodore "Dash" Hardeen, was a Hungarian-American magician and escape artist who was the younger brother of Harry Houdini. Hardeen, who usually billed himself as the "brother of Houdini", was the founder of the Magician's Guild. Hardeen was the first magician to conceive escaping from a straitjacket in full view of the audience, rather than behind a curtain.Hardeen, Theodore. (1903). Life and History of Hardeen. A promotional pamphlet sold at performances wherein Hardeen explains how he came to do the straitjacket escape in front of an audience. Hardeen does not take credit for the idea, he merely states the facts.
Early life Hardeen was born as "Ferenc Dezső Weisz" (or "Ferencz Dezső Weisz") in Budapest, and went by the name "Theodore Weiss" when he and his family were living in Appleton, Wisconsin. He was known as "Deshi" and later "Dash" by his parents.
In 1893, Hardeen performed with Houdini at Coney Island as "The Brothers Houdini". While he and Harry were there, Harry met and married Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner.
Career
Will Goldston, English stage magician and editor of the Magician Annual, wrote that:
After his brother's death in 1926, Hardeen played the vaudeville circuit, doing many of his late brother's routines. From 1938 to 1941, he was featured in Olsen and Johnson's Broadway revue, Hellzapoppin. During World War II, he performed for the troops (as his brother had done during World War I).
In 1936, Hardeen starred in a Vitaphone short film for Warner Bros. called Medium Well Done.
Personal life and death Like his brother, Hardeen was skeptical of the claims of spiritualist mediums. With his friend Julien Proskauer, he exposed the fraudulent methods of the mediums.
Houdini, in his will, requested that all his files be given to Hardeen and destroyed ("I give, devise and bequeath to my brother, Theodore, Professionally known as "Hardeen" all my theatrical effects, new mysteries and illusions and accompanying paraphernalia, to be burnt and destroyed upon his death.")Randi, James; Sugar, Bert Randolph. (1976). Houdini, His Life and Art. Grosset & Dunlap. p. 153. Price, David. (1985). Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater. Cornwall Books. p. 203. On August 15, 1927, Hardeen's Brooklyn home was broken into and some of Houdini's apparatuses were damaged. Later that year, Hardeen burned all of Houdini's personal files in a furnace in his basement.Kalush, William; Sloman, Larry. (2006). The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero. Atria Books. pp. 530-531.
In 1945, while planning on writing a book about his brother, Hardeen went to Manhattan's Doctors Hospital for a simple operation. He unexpectedly died of complications while recovering from the procedure. He was 69 years old.
Legacy
During his final show on May 29, 1945, in Ridgeway, Queens,The source says Ridgeway, Queens. This may be a mistake for Ridgewood, Queens. Hardeen named his chief assistant, Douglas Geoffrey, his official successor. Geoffrey then went on to perform as "Hardeen, Jr."; he died January 14, 1990, at the age of 82.
Richard Valentine Pitchford (1895–1973) took over the Magicians' Guild after Hardeen's death. Sidney Hollis Radner received the Houdini collection from Hardeen.
Hardeen appears as a character in season one of Boardwalk Empire, played by Remy Auberjonois.
Gallery
References
Further reading Goldston, Will. The Magician Annual (1911–1912) Hardeen, Theodore. (1903). Life and History of Hardeen. New York.
External links
Theodore Hareen is interviewed over WNYC in 1939