And what always amazed me is that “the person being a confederate is usually one of the last things people think of.” OF COURSE, the “least likely” person is the MOST likely. That’s how these things work, but, generation after generation, the rubes don’t figure it out.
The cult of celebrity was as strong a century ago as today, and, “No, a warden would be embarrassed that someone could escape from his escape-proof cell,” is trumped by, “The only guy to escape was Houdini, and the warden got several NATIONAL articles written about him before and after the escape.” A warden was a schlub who got maybe half an inch* around the time of an execution, but having Houdini break out was good for twelve inches, minimum. Which, if you haven’t figured it out, was totally cool and I can think of no wardens whose reputations were permanently harmed, versus enhanced, by a Houdini escape.
Newspapers measure space in “column inches.” Look it up if you want, but suffice it to say that, as in much of life, the more inches the better.
Cite? With a couple of exceptions, Houdini’s jail escapes weren’t national news. They were local publicity at best. As I said, he did this all the time. Why should it be national news?
Conversely, stopping Houdini from breaking out would indeed be national news. It would be huge and guarantee the local jail’s fame forever.
The locals had every incentive to foil Houdini and none at all to have him escape. Dog bites man isn’t news. Man bites dog is.
Um, what exactly should they be doing, if not “lying?” Magic is deception. The magician isn’t actually reading your mind to know which card is yours - he forced it on you or used some other deceptive means to know the right card. The pretty lady doesn’t actually disappear - the magician is using various forms of visual trickery (i.e. deception) to make you think she does. David Copperfield did not actually make the Statue of Liberty disappear, Teller is not actually catching a bullet fired from Penn’s gun in his teeth, and nobody has ever actually sawed a woman in half and then put her back together to jump up and take a bow. It’s all deception. What’s the alternative?