DR. WALFORD BODIE : THE ELECTRIC SHOWMAN WHO SHOCKED THE WORLD

EARLY LIFE

Walford Bodie

Walford Bodie, Born Samuel Murphy Bodie 11 June 1869 to William Walford (A Travelling Baker) and Margaret Bodie, 33 George St Aberdeen, Scotland. A Charismatic and Enigmatic teenager developed an interest in magic from an early age. Practising pocket tricks and performing ventriloquism and sleight of hand for pupils at his school.

His professional work life started as an apprentice for the National Telephone Company in 1883 at age 14, He developed a fascination for the new technology and would manage trade show's and fairs demonstrating 'The Wonders of the New Age!'.

By 16 he got his first engagements performing at the Stonehaven Town Hall in Kincardineshire.

Here he dropped Samuel becoming the titular Walford Bodie. Adopting the forename from Walford's list of the Rich and Famous of the day. A Bold performer with a variety act consisting of Hypnotism and Sleight of Hand Magic with a passion for exposing fraudulent mediums. He had a brief fling with his first cousin going so far as to getting her pregnant, he decided it best to lay low Enlisting in the Army and completing a years service with The First Volunteer Battalion of The Gordon Highlanders. Being honourably discharged in 1886 he returned to his job with the National Telephone Company. During his military service he had matured into a devilishy attractive young man, being both tall and handsome with a chiselled jaw.

MARRIAGE & CHILDREN

During an engagement at a community theatre in Banff he met his first love Jeannie Henry.

Jeannie Henry

He didn't get to see her much for he was often on the road touring 'The Bodie Show' They happily married April 28th 1888. Jeannie and several of her sisters would accompany Bodie in his show, assisting in the illusionary aspects of the show. Bodie would go into to develop his look with his piercing eyes and iconic mustache, soon adopting the illegitimate title of Dr; a common practise for performers of the Victorian era.

Jeannie and her sister Helen would go on to adopt royal titles as princess Jeannie & (Helen) Rubie. When Jeannie fell pregnant with Bodie's first child Marie would become Mystic Marie becoming both a fortune teller and clairvoyant replacing her temporarily in the show.

Mystic Marie Promotional Poster

Bodie & Jeanie would go onto have three children. Albert Edward Walford Bodie (1889-1915), Jeannie Rubie Bodie, (1890-1909), and

Samuel Murphy Walford Bodie (1896–1974),

Who became Samuel Murphy Walford Bodie, M.B., Ch.B., a (genuine) anaesthetist. All three children would go onto assist in the touring Bodie show.

THE ELECTRIC EXPANSION

They would expand the show purchasing a Horse drawn carriage to transport the troupe and props across Scotland. 1894 the show would take a drastic turn with the introduction of electricity in Aberdeen. The Electric Chair was first devised and utilised as a supposedly effective means (though it often took inmates several minutes and various 'hits') to neutralise inmates in the year of 1890. Bodie became fixated on the thought and went about trying to build one for use within the Bodie show.

Bodie and his Electric Chair

And that he did, with his new macabre instrument he'd electrocute Himself and Isabella Henry with 30,000 volts, lighting up to 16 bulbs and two handheld lamps as an act within the show. From this point forth she became known as La Belle Electra. The method being the change of current from Amps to Volts. Outputting a mock electrocution complete with sparks and lightning. following the dramatic display, members of the audience, were invited onto the stage to test the device out for themselves. Bodie made some minor adjustments and gave the unsuspecting volunteer a genuine jolt of electricity, much to the audience’s delight and amusement. The ‘victim’ would often tremble, becoming lethargic, and ‘fry’ with the occasional hypnotic suggestions bestowed upon them. On the occasions where volunteers were stunned into unconsciousness, Bodie would revive them by administering a few hearty slaps to the face. He would open the segment up explaining his distaste for the barbarity of the invention, Though hanging was still a common practise of execution in England at the time. In fact it was one of England’s most famous hangmen who came to his rescue. Quite unexpectedly, during a performance, James Billington announced his presence in the audience and introduced himself. "Bodie-", he said, "was quite right to decry the barbarity of this method of execution! Strapped to the electric chair, the soon to be deceased suffered, whereas the split second efficiency of the hangman’s noose offered the victim an instant oblivion."

HYPNOTIC PUBLICITY

By 1891 Bodie had incorporated a complete hypnotic stage act into the show, Volunteers would like pigs, flap like birds and barked like dogs. During the interval, male volunteers hopped around the theatre on one leg, I the midst of a performance in North Wales, a hopping subject escaped the theatre and was arrested by the local constable because he wouldn’t stop hopping when told to do so! The show would expand and so would their means of transport with Bodie booking a train carriage to transport his act across the country. He was amassing quite the fortune, and developed a philanthopic outlook, donating to those in need both out of charity but also to favour good publicity increasing his reputation. When The Bodie Show arrived in Thurso in the Scottish Highlands, they discovered the whole town was in mourning over the tragic deaths of some local fishermen, lost at sea. Bodie donated the entire week’s takings to the families. Bodie was an ardent publicist He would often hypnotise a subject in a town and leave them sleeping in a coffin in a shop window for the whole week the show was running! This feat, carried out for the first time in Aberdeen would demonstrate Bodie’s genius and original thinking. he was soon feted as

‘The Most Remarkable Man on Earth,’ and ‘The World’s Greatest Showman

Parisian Author Du Maurier would publish Trilby, a book that would alter the public perception of hypnosis forever. In the book, the evil controlling and sinister Svengali exercised total control over the helpless young and beautiful Trilby. In 1897, Jeannie was once more unable to perform due to the birth of their third child, Samuel, which compelled Bodie to find a new leading lady. His manager introduced him to Lil Clifford, who was not only beautiful, but also quite fortunately, an excellent hypnotic subject capable of entering deep hypnosis swiftly. Bodie recognised the potential of using Lil for the shop window stunt that had been highly successful in Aberdeen. With the success of Trilby and The Svengali Phenomenon, Bodie would capitalise off of the narrative introducing a Svengali segment with the beautiful Lil being the subject. Swooning unconscious into the illustrious Bodie's arms at will. He would go on to purchase the next electronic marvel for his show a Roentgen X-Ray machine. The bright light of the machine showed audiences the inner workings of the human body in all its skeletal detail. One must remember that no one had ever seen anything like it before. Theatres were still illuminated by gaslight, the sparks from an electric chair and the powerful light of the X-ray machine must have been an incredible sight.

BRUSHING WITH DEATH

The pièce de résistance of The Bodie Show would remain La Belle Electra. After audience members had experienced the chair firsthand, the lights would dim, and Bodie would return to the stage wearing a cloak and top hat. Meanwhile, La Belle Electra connected electrical wires to his body and dramatically pulled down a large lever to activate the current. Always the entertainer, Bodie wholly embracing his role as the Electric Wizard. Thousands of volts coursed through his body, blue flames surrounded him (a spectacle created by harmless static electricity), and volunteers nearby would notice their hair standing on end as a result of static electricity. Bodie was known for many a daring feat, and laid claim to being able to tame and hypnotise animals. Whilst at the Dundee Zoo, he had stepped into a cage of four ferocious hyenas, claiming to be able to hypnotise them. He later did the same in a den of wolves, writing about it in detail in The Bodie Book. (1905)

A year later Bodie would have a brush with death during his run at the Bimingham Circus after a mentally ill member of the audience would throw a molotov cocktail on stage at body in an effect to neutralise the showman for good. However the bottle did not combust and flame was extinguished. Bodie, badly cut was rushed to hospital, the perpetrator; the mental asylum.

OFFICIATING HIS CREDENTIALS - THE HEALER

The same year he would lecture on the board of a medical council berating the professionals for their lack of trust in the medical benefits of hypnotism. Often giving free Electroshock & Hypnotherapy to the poor who could not finance their medical bills, this would garner him great publicity. With patients often claiming to be cured of myriad psychosomatic and physical ailments. As a side hustle practitioner he would go onto at the Initials M.D (Dr. of Medicine) at the end of his title, though he claimed it stood for Merry Devil!

in July 1903 he was taken to court by The Medical Defence Union for this adjustment to his title, however the case was dismissed on the grounds of entertainment and his successes. with the judge ruling: “Perhaps his methods may not suit the taste of all –and it was well-known that doctors were jealous people – but we have evidence of cases where doctors have failed, and which have been cured by doctor Bodie’s treatment. There was no doubt that he had done a great deal of good. He could not be stigmatised as a ‘quack’ or an impostor.”

However he did take the precaution to purchase M.D from a diploma mill from Barrett College in the United States, making it eligible for use as an official title. Toward the turn on the century Bodie would incorporate two new illusions into his show. One suspension illusion where Jeannie would levitate mid air, alongside an illusion where Jeannie would appear in a burst of flames before vanishing into thin air. His partial medical venture would soon pick up and Bodie was introduced to a man by the name of Rupert Burnham who had the ingenious idea for Bodie to open The Electric Drug Company. This new entity would produce Electric Ointments, Elixirs and Potions, Electric Life Pills, Electric Liniment, even an Electric Dentifrice. Every advertisement, every bottle, every box would have Bodie’s image and name on it.

Burnham would fork out the money to finance the operation, and would pay Bodie a handsome percentage of the profits. In effect, Bodie would earn money for doing nothing - and rather a lot of money it would turn out to be. The deal was settled with a shake of the hand, and it turned out to be one of the best decision's Bodie ever made.

Bodie Electric Drug Co. Promotion

With each passing year at the turn of the century the show would grow in size and be refined to the point he was issued a season in Londons West End. Throughout the season he would perform his show, treat ailments free of charge and sell his cabinet of Electric Cures. Though the public loved the man the medical world was getting increasingly apprehensive about Bodie's claims and displays of 'Bloodless Surgeries'. Putting them down to pure Placebo and Fakery.

THE WEALTHIEST ENTERTAINER

Bodie would publish his first work The Bodie Book running ten editions and selling over forty thousand copies throughout his life. His Electric Drug Company a success and his show's selling out. He was issued a second season in London. King Edward VII would attend one of Bodie's performances praising him for his charity and work with poor and in 1905 he was made a Freeman of the City of London. He became the highest paid entertainer in Britain with The New York times claiming he was the Highest paid entertainer in the world. Earning over £250 week (approx £30,000 adjusted for inflation) at the height of his career. Bodie would purchase The Manor House in MacDuff Scotland. Moving in with his family on Boxing Day 1905. He would go on to add an additional title to his repertoire becoming the Laird of MacDuff. Elevating his societal image even further. Bodie completed a third season at the London Brittania in Hoxton London in 1906 before moving onto an engagement in BlackBurn Lancashire. Here he would add an additional gimmick to his show offering a cash reward of 30 shillings for every 30 seconds one could endure in Bodie's Electric Chair.

On the night of April 27th, a professional electrician named James Wright volunteered for the chair. Wright had hidden some insulating material on his person and wrapped his wrists in copper gauze, connecting them with a copper wire that ran up his sleeves and over his shoulders. It quickly became clear that Wright was not being electrocuted as intended, and Bodie realized there was some sort of deception involved. Wright was taken to a nearby dressing room and searched. His trick was revealed to the unsuspecting audience. Enraged at being caught, Wright sued Bodie for assault and false imprisonment. He was awarded £3 in damages.

AN UNLIKELY CHARACTER

Bodie would go on to poach a young comedian touring with Casey's Court Circus. The Comedian would however stay loyal to the circus and start his career as a Bodie Impersonator. That young man would go on to become The Great Charlie Chaplin. The 'Mystic' Marie Henry one of the original cast members of the Bodie Troupe wold fall ill of Tuberculosis in late 1906, passing a short time after. He'd add a new illusion to his show a spectacle labelled The Cage of Death and Hire a young Comic George Fornby Sr. into his show as a guest for eighteenth months. by 1909 Bodie was still performing to sell out crowds, twice nightly, at the Central Theatre in Edinburgh. Highlight core segments of the show including

Hypnotherapy, under the heading ‘The Bloodless Surgeon’ the Electric Chair, the X-Ray

machine, The Cage of Death, Isabella – La Belle Electra, and of course his staple comedy hypnosis routine.

TRIALS & TRAGEDY

These would become the best years of his life, before a tragic turn of events. Their youngest daughter Jean would pass at just age 18 in 1909 of Heart Failure. Amongst dealing with this the Medical Defence Union would hit Bodie with the Triple blow acting a third lawsuits against him after their prior two failed attempts. This one proved to be far more difficult... The Bodie Electric Drug Company appeared likely to close down. Disagreements arose among the parties involved, especially after Burnham introduced another investor, making it seem inevitable that this source of income would cease.

However, Bodie was not overly concerned about losing the merchandise revenue; his primary interest and energy were, as always, focused on the show.

By this time, he was wealthy enough not to worry about the business,

so he was content to run it into the ground.

However In 1906, Bodie took on an apprentice, Charles Henry Irving, who paid Bodie one thousand pounds to learn the trade. Irving worked as the stage manager for The Bodie Show and expected to be mentored by Bodie. By early 1908, Irving felt he wasn't receiving the value he anticipated and parted ways with Bodie. Unemployed, Irving regretted his payment and wrote to Bodie requesting a refund, which Bodie refused. Irving sued, accusing Bodie of misrepresentation, specifically alleging that Bodie had falsely claimed to be a doctor. The Medical Defence Union saw an opportunity and would fund Irving's prosecution. The Great Bodie Trial was afoot. The trial would begin in the usual manner, with Bodie invoking 'showman’s privilege' and the testimonial of those he had 'cured' over the years. The opposition accused him of dishonesty and deception. However, this time they had a significant edge. Insider information from none other than Charles Irving. Bodie's tricks were methodically outlined to the court, exposing the methods of his electrical apparatus and, more damagingly, his regular use of a stooges to entice audience participation. Bodie presented a box filled with letters from his 'patients,' supporting his practise but the judge deemed them irrelevant. The prosecution argued that it would be impossible to claim people were cured without medical certificates deeming they were ill in the first place. additionally the letter writers were not available for cross-examination.

Ultimately, the judge determined that a breach of contract had indeed occurred, awarding Irving his full one thousand pounds (£120,000 adjusted for inflation) in damages. While returning the money was bad enough for Bodie, the trial's greater impact was in discrediting him and exposing him as a fraud. Yet, Bodie refused to be discredited. He continued using the title 'Dr.' in his promotions and even designed a new poster, which, in true Bodie fashion, celebrated the case by labelling himself The High Court Victor.

A Great Victory

The end of the Great Bodie Trial did not mark the end of Bodie’s troubles. The Medical Defence Union began a campaign of sabotage. On November 8, 1909, at the Glasgow Coliseum, medical students mildly heckled Bodie during his performance. By November 11, the students had organised into a mob of a thousand, throwing rotten fruit, herrings, and brass knobs from the orchestra pit. Police were called, leading to a scuffle, and the show was halted as the mob marched on Glasgow’s West End. On November 15 in London, inspired by Glasgow, 300 students attacked Bodie’s home, burning an effigy and smashing a window while chanting “Bodie! Bodie! Bodie! Quack! Quack! Quack!”

Both incidents involved drunken students who waited for Bodie’s appearance before causing chaos. Despite Bodie’s attempt to negotiate, the situation escalated, with students storming the stage and damaging the safety curtain.

The police were unable to control the chaos, and Bodie and his team escaped through a back door. Naturally his preceding engagements were cancelled and Bodie returned to Macduff to collect his thoughts and rethink his strategy. He planned a legal appeal against his former assistant Irving and lost. He suspected Irving was quietly being assisted by The Medical Union for his defence. Irving would sue Bodie for a second time for the toll and strain of the second trial, Bodie again lost and had to pay £200 in damages.

SHOW REVISIONS & SUNKEN GOODS

In 1910 Bodies mother would pass away, The Fiscal and Psychological Toll of these recurrent blows started to take a toll on the performer. However still a household name he remained a well respected champion of the poor.

He'd write a series of anecdotal memoirs and publish it under the name Stage Stories the same year.

By 1911 he returned with a new shows. He'd redacted The Cage of Death and X-Ray machine. The Hypnotic Segment and La Belle Electra remained. But long gone were the initial's M.D from his name, his practitioning day's were all but over.

The show's gaps would be maintained with more variety performances from respected special guests, these included comedians, musicians and vocalists. Bodies shelved ventriloquism act would also return for the first time in eight years. In 1913 Bodie would join the London's Magician Club a club setup independently of The Magic Circle after Goldston's resignation by him and Harry Houdini. Soon after both Bodie and his Son's memberships would be revoked and fee's returned by Goldston due to a personal dispute, we know not much more than that. In 1915 his only son Albert would pass away due to complications from a relatively simple surgery, this devastated Bodie who had experienced blow after blow over the prior half a decade. Then came the First World War, with few members of the public wanting to fork out on trivial entertainment The Bodie Show decided to go international on a tour of South Africa, India, Ceylon, Cape Town, Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

On returning from India their ship the Arabia was sunk by a German U Boat on Nov 16th 1916. Had it not have been for a nearby French Minesweeper (The Merseilles) The Bodie show would have been gone for good. All the Show’s five tons of equipment, props and costumes would go down with the Arabia. His wife would leave the show after the ordeal, but Bodie was far from ready to give up.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

Still financially secure with a beautiful home in Scotland, he waited until the war concluded.

Nevertheless, Bodie and his now smaller company would tour again.

While performing in Glasgow in 1919,

Isabella Henry passed away on December 21st, 1919. Of a pneumonia related illness, though some suspect the performances and voltage exposure took a toll on her body.

The beautiful La Belle Electra was now lost forever. Though 43 years old, she appeared much younger than her age, and remained the mainstay of The Bodie Show. Bodie now 50 had lost the majority of his immediate family in a domino of tragedy's. Physically and Mentally drained he prevailed. He now needed a new assistant and hired an attractive young woman Phyllis Buck who became known as Lady Tesla. He continued performing with a smaller show shelving The Bodie Show format.

In early 1920, Bodie met Marie Lloyd, the ageing yet popular Queen of the Music Hall. Seeing an opportunity, Bodie proposed a double act to revive their careers. In October 1922, they performed at the Holborn Empire, where Bodie showcased his ventriloquism and hypnotism, while Marie captivated the audience with her song and dance. Seven days after the champagne glasses clinked in celebration, during a performance at the Edmonton Empire, London, Marie Lloyd collapsed on stage and died within the week.

In Macduff, Bodie’s home town, he built, at his own expense, a public baths and supported the building of the Tarlair Golf Course.

On the opening day, April 4th 1926, he was the first to tee off (the course is still there.) He sponsored the Macduff Walford FC football team and became a prominent member of the local Freemason’s Lodge. The Laird of Macduff would remain Scotland’s most well-known and respected entertainer for years to come. Jeannie Bodie would pass away in 1931, at sixty-six years of age, after fifty-three years of marriage.

THE FINAL STRETCH OF THE GOOD LIFE - BODIES FINAL YEARS

Eighteenth months later Bodie would marry 22 year old Florrie Robertshaw, in a private ceremony. His show had now become exclusively hypnotic.

Walford Bodie Mesmerising a Participant

He had proudly acquired a nightclub located in Leicester Square on Green Street, as well as two top-tier hotels and six guesthouses in London.

His prestigious residence was at 134, Gloucester Terrace, Hyde Park. Additionally, he owned a pet monkey with its own suite of rooms and a parrot. His preferred place of residence was a spacious houseboat called La Belle Electra, moored at Thames Ditton across from Hampton Court Palace. Bodie hosted extravagant parties on the boat, often attended by the future Edward VIII and Mrs. Wallace Simpson. By 1938, Bodie's career was winding down. On stage, he remained as graceful and self-assured as ever, but once the performance ended, he was worn out. In October 1939, during a show at the Indian Theatre in Blackpool, Bodie collapsed before the performance concluded. He was carried off stage and did not recover. Dr. Walford Bodie was the last of The Bodie Show members to be buried in the churchyard in Macduff. His grave is impressive, located on the same plot as La Belle Electra, and both graves can still be visited today. Bodie's show business career spanned 57 years, from 1882 to 1939. He never charged fees for his cures, insisting only that the patient be declared incurable and willing to be treated on stage. Bodie was notably transparent about his cures, as detailed in The Bodie Book. He claimed to have performed 900 stage cures, a number that seems plausible, if not conservative, given the volume of his performances. He held his ‘clinic’ in community halls in the same towns where he appeared. Despite his wealth and success, by the time of his passing, his debts nearly equaled his assets. Florrie Robertshaw continued her acting career after her husband's death, but lived in somewhat diminished circumstances. She never remarried and relied on a widow’s pension, always maintaining that “the age difference never worried me – he never looked or acted his age in any way… Off stage he was a very quiet man, very unassuming.” Bodie’s uninsured houseboat sank during heavy rain because the caretaker, allegedly intoxicated, failed to operate the pumps.

Copyright © 2025 by Sid Quatrine, Author, Editor