Bess Houdini

AKA:

Bessie

Birth Name:

Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner

Birth Date:

January 23, 1876

Birth Place:

Brooklyn, New York

Death Date:

February 11, 1943

Place of Death:

Aboard a train, Needles, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Heart Attack

Cemetery Name:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Associates:

Harry Houdini

Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner was born to German immigrants in Brooklyn, New York, in 1876. Her life changed while performing at Coney Island with “The Floral Sisters” act, catching the eye of Theo Houdini. However, Bess fell in love and ended up marrying Harry Houdini, Theo’s older brother, on June 22, 1894 (just three weeks after their first meeting). They started working together as ‘The Houdinis,’ with Harry as ‘The Handcuff King’ and Bess as his assistant, occasionally performing their signature trick: Metamorphosis. Bess enjoyed collecting dolls, caring for their pets, and designing costumes for Harry’s shows. They didn’t have children due to Bess’s medical condition. Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926 from a ruptured appendix caused by peritonitis. He was punched in the abdomen by Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead on October 22, which may have contributed to the rupture. Houdini had severe abdominal pain, but he didn’t seek immediate medical help and continued performing for the next few days in great pain, leading to his death. Long after Houdini’s death Bess continued to hold séances in an attempt to communicate with her deceased husband, honoring a pact they made while he was alive. Despite persistent attempts, she never successfully contacted him and eventually called off.

Fun Fact

Bess Houdini died from a heart attack on February 11, 1943 while in Needles, California, aboard an eastbound train traveling from Los Angeles to New York City. She was 67 years old. While many have reported that her grave is located next to her husband, actually her family would not allow her to be interred with her late husband at the Machpelah Cemetery in Queens, New York, as she had been raised a Roman Catholic and he was a Jew. She is interred instead at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York. However confusion persists as there is a headstone for Bess next to Harry at Machpelah Cemetery.

Harry Houdini, in his will, requested that all his files be given to his younger brother Theo 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.”). 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.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Gate of Heaven Cemetery

10 West Stevens Avenue

Hawthorne, New York, 10532

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, New York

Grave Location:

Section 48, Row 184, Space 10

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery from Stevens Avenue, turn right and drive a short distance to the first intersection. At the intersection turn left and drive to the next intersection. Turn left and drive along the lake shore. At the intersection take another left and drive around Section 48 on your right. Turn the corner and look for the Schneider upright monument. Count 8 monuments into this row to find the final resting place of Bessie Houdini, wife and magician’s assistant to Harry Houdini.