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Funeral of the Great Lafayette at Edinburgh (1911)
 

BFI

Main image of Funeral of the Great Lafayette at Edinburgh (1911)
 
Funeral of the Great Lafayette at Edinburgh, May 14, 1911
35mm, 73ft, black & white, silent
 

The funeral of celebrated illusionist Sigmund Neuberger, 'The Great Lafayette'.

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A devastating fire at the Empire Palace Theatre on 9th May 1911 claimed the lives of 10 people, including the man responsible for setting fire to the sets, the principal act, Sigmund Neuberger, known as 'The Great Lafayette'. His illusionist's act, entitled 'The Lion's Bride', used a live lion in a cage, from which a young lady would be rescued. The lion would be replaced at the last moment by Neuberger.

During that night's act, a torch set light to the scenery and the cast and some of the orchestra were trapped behind the fire curtain. Those who died included Neuberger and his body double, 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 mechanical teddy-bear.

This newsreel item shows Neuberger's elaborate funeral, on May 14 1911. He was buried in Piershill cemetery, Edinburgh, beside his beloved and apparently hideously over-indulged dog, Beauty. The dog was a gift from the escape artist Harry Houdini and had died from overeating in April. The distraught Neuberger had Beauty interred in a tomb at Piershill, which was permitted by the authorities only on the understanding that Neuberger too would be interred there in due course. The bargain was honoured much sooner than anyone was expecting.

Bryony Dixon

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Complete film (1:12)
GALLERY / SCRIPTS / AUDIO
SEE ALSO
A Year in Film: 1911