Houdini is his DNA. Finding Uncle Harry is his journey. George Hardeen was 10 when he learned the family secret: his Grandfather Theo “Dash” Hardeen was younger brother, stage successor and bloodline link to his Great Uncle Harry Houdini. Now, after a life in journalism, George is following the history and stories back through conversations with magicians, escapologists, collectors and authors to the family line he scarcely knew.
Theodore Hardeen (right) poses with brother Harry Houdini around 1901.
About Finding Uncle Harry
Theo Hardeen, George’s grandfather, Harry Houdini’s younger brother, and the heir to his legendary career.
Episodes
Follow the investigation episode by episode: reported conversations, archival clues and family discoveries. Listen to the unfolding story of how George Hardeen came to understand the Houdini bloodline he never knew he carried.
Guests
George’s search for his Uncle Harry leads him to descendants, historians, archivists, magicians, collectors, librarians and researchers.
Their stories, discoveries and sometimes conflicting opinions illuminate Houdini’s remarkable life and enduring legacy.
Transcripts
Episode notes and transcripts preserve the trail: names, dates, relationships, claims, contradictions, and discoveries behind each conversation.
Finding Uncle Harry is structured like the investigation itself. Listen to episodes, meet the sources, read transcripts, follow George’s Hardeen family connection, and invite him for interviews, panels, podcasts, and events.
Each episode follows George Hardeen as he works the story like a journalist: one clue, one witness, one archive, and one hard question at a time. Guests help trace Houdini, Dash Hardeen, escape artistry, family memory, and the evidence behind the man George came to know as Uncle Harry.
“ An investigative family journey into Houdini the legend, Houdini the brother, and the Hardeen bloodline George did not know he carried.”
Finding Uncle Harry
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Speaking & Appearances
Speaking & Appearances Bring George Hardeen to interviews, panels, libraries, podcasts, corporate events, conventions, and magic-history gatherings for a grounded conversation about Houdini’s family legacy from someone reporting the story from the inside.
As the world approaches the 100th anniversary of Houdini’s death in 2026, George offers a timely, deeply personal investigation into the bloodline, brotherhood, and family legacy behind the escape artist’s myth.
George speaks as a journalist, storyteller, and descendant of Dash Hardeen, connecting newsroom discipline with family discovery, Navajo Nation reporting, travel, horsemanship, and the enduring question of what Houdini left behind.
