Difference between revisions of "Sidney Hollis Radner"

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Revision as of 14:48, 15 September 2012

Sidney Radner (1919-2011), a retired rug salesman from Holyoke, Massachusetts, was a Houdini enthusiast and gambling history expert.^[1]

Sidney Hollis Radner
Born	Sidney Hollis Radner December 8, 1919
Died	June 26, 2011 (age 91)
Categories	Books by Sidney Hollis Radner

In 1935, Radner was an aspiring magician using the stage name Rendar. At a convention in Springfield that year, Radner met Theodore Hardeen, Houdini's brother. Hardeen considered Radner, when he was a student at Yale University, as his protégé.

He eventually bought from Hardeen during the 1940s many Harry Houdini's items, eventually having one of the world's largest and most valuable collections of Harry Houdini artifacts.

During his Army service in World War II, he helped investigate card cheats on troop ships. He later wrote books about card games, including several on how to spot cheaters.

Radner organized the annual Official Houdini Seance beginning in the 1940, a tradition started in 1927 by Houdini’s widow, Bess. She held a séance on the anniversary of his death for 10 years, then gave up. But Houdini buffs like Radner carried on in his honor.

Radner allowed pieces of his collection to be displayed at The Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Canada. In 1995, a fire destroyed the museum and many of the items.^[2]

Radner archived the bulk of his collection at the Houdini Museum in Appleton Wisconsin, but pulled it in 2003 to auctioned them off in Las Vegas on October 30, 2004. Many of the choice props, including the restored Water Torture Cell, are now owned by David Copperfield. More props were auctioned off in 2008.^[3]

Books

• Radner On Dice: How to Win, How Gamblers Cheat, Odds and Percentages (1957)
• How to Spot Card Sharps and their Methods (Ghost written by Walter B. Gibson, 1957)

References

1. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27radner.html?_r=1
2. ↑ http://www.handcuffs.org/radner/
3. ↑ http://www.geniimagazine.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=247563

• Obit Genii 2012 February
• http://www.baroquepotion.com/2012/09/sidney-hollis-radner-1919-2011-a-personal-remembrance/