Monday, February 28, 2011

Hardeen -Theodore 'Dash' Weiss


Brother of Houdini and quite the performer in his own right. Theo, was born Feb 29th. For those unfamiliar that is leap year so he'd only have a birthday every 4 years. Today would be his birthday IF it were a leap year, but it's March 1st so no cake!



Theo worked originally as one of the 'Houdini Brothers', but Harry dropped Theo for his new wife Bess and apparently for a time Theo dropped magic. When he returned to magic, Houdini suggested Theo use a different name so it would not be confusing to audiences. Harry wanted there to be only ONE Houdini, though history shows there were actually five!

Theo is buried in the Weiss Family plot in the Machepelah Cemetery in the Ridgewood area of Queens, NY. His tombstone faces the larger monument. His tombstone is also a different shape than the others with an inscription in the side as well as the top.
The above photo is of Hardeen and Bess Houdini visiting Harry's grave and the Weiss Family Plot. It just so happens that Theo would be buried about a 2 feet from where he is standing in this photo.

2 comments:

  1. Ah, we were just having this discussion on Facebook. I love the inscription on the side. Kind of nice.

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  2. I saw the talk on Facebook which is what reminded me. I had the pic of the grave so I figured it would be a good time to put it up. Plus it would tie in with anyone else's Hardeen stuff today if anyone did it.

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