THIS DAY IN HISTORY: On October 31. 1926, Hallowe'en, Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer HARRY HOUDINI died in Detroit. Houdini died on Halloween. He expired on October 31, 1926 at Grace Hospital in Detroit. The official cause of death was peritonitis, internal poisoning resulting from a ruptured appendix.

October 31 is the birthday of Kansas City blues legend JULIA LEE (1902-1958). She is best known for her trademark double entendre songs, or, as she once said, 'the songs my mother taught me not to sing.' In 1934, during the Great Depression, Lee, who disliked touring after suffering from a major car crash in 1930,[10] started performing at Milton's Tap Room, a then-new white nightclub, and stayed there until 1950, with only brief appearances in Chicago at Offbeat Club, Silver Frolics, Downbeat Club,[11] and performances in New York at Apollo Theater (May 1948), Los Angeles (Million Dollar Theater, September 1948).