Entertainer's death to be marked 100 years after tragedy

THE audience was spellbound. It was the signature illusion of the grand master of mystery The Great Lafayette, and a young woman was apparently about to be eaten alive by a caged lion.

This, however, was one trick which would not go to plan.

Moments later the spell was broken and the audience in Edinburgh's Empire Theatre were fleeing from an inferno which would claim 11 lives, including the illusionist himself.

Now almost 100 years since that tragic night, the Festival Theatre – which stands on the site of the old Empire in Nicolson Street – wants to mark the anniversary of Lafayette's death by finally unravelling the full story.

A friend of Houdini's, the US-based entertainer was the highest-paid magician of his time and had just begun a two-week run in Edinburgh when tragedy struck.

Ian Buchan, secretary of the Edinburgh Magic Circle, said the story deserved to be told.

"He was a great magician, a real star, long before the advent of television.

"It was a real tragedy, especially as he apparently locked the back doors of the theatre to ensure no-one could see how he did his tricks, and therefore no-one could get out that way during the fire."

He added: "We'll be looking to do something ourselves to commemorate his death next year – minus the lions of course."

The Festival Theatre is planning an exhibition, tours, magic workshops and possibly even an evening of entertainment by modern-day star Derren Brown, when the centenary of Lafayette's death occurs on 9 May, 2011.

In the 1900s, The Great Lafayette – real name Sigmund Neuburger – earned today's equivalent of 3 million a year.

The 40-year-old German-American bachelor was an eccentric who lavished all his affection on his pet dog Beauty, who travelled to Edinburgh with him.

On 6 May, Beauty died, and three days later, after having his pet interred at Piershill Cemetery, Lafayette was back on stage.

During the finale – in which he was supposed to mysteriously have changed places with an African lion just as it was to pounce on a young woman – a lamp fell into the elaborate scenery and caught fire.

Only when the theatre manager ordered the orchestra to play the national anthem did the crowd spot the fire and rush for the exits. It took firemen three hours to bring the blaze under control, and they discovered eight bodies and two unaccounted for – including Lafayette.

Those who died included members of the orchestra, stage hands, a midget in the act called Little Joe and Alice Dale, a tiny 15-year-old girl who operated a scene-stealing mechanical teddy-bear.

Days later, a charred body, dressed in Lafayette's costume, was found and cremated. But it was discovered he wasn't wearing Lafayette's famous diamond rings. A further search revealed another body, this one with the rings, proving that the first man was one of Lafayette's doubles.

The Festival Theatre's deputy front-of-house manger Kim McKenna, who is organising events, said: "I have always been quite fascinated with The Great Lafayette and what happened when he died.

"It was almost the perfect death for an illusionist as it wasn't straightforward.

"His dog Beauty died and he was grief-stricken, promising he would be buried where his dog was. Then the fire was just a few days later, and then the fact that they were about to bury him when they realised it wasn't his body that had been cremated."

On May 14, 1911, the streets of Edinburgh were crammed with spectators to see his ashes moved from a funeral parlour in Morrison Street to Piershill.

At the cemetery Beauty's coffin was opened and Lafayette's ashes placed beside the dog. Harry Houdini sent a floral representation of Beauty to the funeral.

Mary Fairbairn, owner of Piershill Cemetery and Abercorn Memorials – the masonry firm which revamped Lafayette's gravestone in 1992 – said: "It is a wonderful idea that his life and death are to be remembered."

Anyone with a suggestion on how to celebrate the anniversary should e-mail [email protected]

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

NEXT to Greyfriar's Bobby, Beauty the cross-bred terrier is the most famous dog to be buried in Edinburgh.

He was bachelor Lafayette's constant companion after he was given to him as a present by Harry Houdini, and the magician lavished him with luxury.

He slept on velvet cushions, dined at the table and allegedly had a collar made of gold studded with diamonds. The radiator ornament on Lafayette's limousine was a metal statuette of the dog and his home was said to be fitted out with Beauty-sized settees and even a miniature bath.

However, just days after opening a two-week run in Edinburgh, Beauty died, it is believed, of apoplexy caused by over-feeding.

He was laid out on a silk pillow surrounded by fresh lillies in Lafayette's rooms in the Caledonian Hotel.

Finally, he found a cemetery that would bury Beauty – Piershill Cemetery – although permission was only granted once the magician agreed that he too would be interred there when he died.