A Life of Magic and Glamour

Dorothy Young, the last surviving stage assistant to Harry Houdini, has died at 103. She lived an amazingly full life, working in show business from the very start, when she toured with Houdini in 1925-26, the last year of his life. How fortunate to have known him, and lived this long to tell about it! I wish I was her.

News story about her life and death

Here is a great video summarizing her life, and detailing how she joined Houdini's troupe. Her life was rich in everything I love about the glamorous Art Deco era - the mystery, magic, elegance and glitz, when showbiz venues of endless variety were all the rage, music was haunting, and celebrities were objects of mystique and class. It is often easy to forget that the elderly folks we see every day were eyewitnesses to historic times, and have valuable stories to tell.

 

This photo from the tour shows Houdini and Dorothy, at far left.

Dorothy was featured as the "Radio Girl," who magically appeared out of a seemingly empty radio and danced the Charleston. How whimsical! People's tastes in entertainment sure have changed.