Harry Houdini

Though Harry Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary, he often claimed in interviews and news reports that he was born and raised in Wisconsin. Initially, however, he was age 4 before immigrating to the United States. At age 9, the family relocated to New York City where Houdini eventually replaced his family given name, Ehrich Weiss, and dedicated his life to performing magical acts, etc.

In 1893, Harry and brother Dash gained little publicity for their rather tedious and unimpressive acts. Bess Rahner would eventually elope with Harry and replace Dash as his personal stage assistant. Only 6 years later, though, Houdini would be introduced to manager Martin Beck in Illinois. The various magical card tricks and "Wild Man" performances were abruptly replaced with escape attempts. Naturally, these acts would precede Harry into stardom and establish a large fan base.

In Europe, Houdini was immediately infamous for his handcuff escapes and thus became known as "The Handcuff King." Various challenges with local police officers insisted that Houdini be restrained via shackles and chains, and of course, attempt to escape. Even though he was typically stripped to the nude and searched for keys, etc., one police officer depicted Harry as a fraud and claimed his escapes were successful via bribery. A court case was organized in an attempt to sue the officer, which Houdini accomplished victory for after opening the Judges' safe. Naturally, his competition flourished and various other magicians were exhibiting similar results. Houdini thus incorporated more life threatening situations into his act; one example relates to his Chinese water torture cell performance. The act required him to be suspended upside down in a glass tank filled with water. 3 minutes after, Houdini had vanished.

His book, Handcuff Secrets, revealed many of his secrets. He described how handcuffs could be picked or applied via force, and thus removed similarly. Other times, he would swallow keys and purposely regurgitate them. Straightjackets would simply be removed by dislocating specific parts of the body, at which point enough room was provided to wiggle free. Though various sources relate Harry Houdini's death occurred during his performances, he actually died from a ruptured appendix. Apparently, Houdini refused to seek medical attention, and eventually the injury resulted in his accidental fatality. The date of death was October 31^st, 1926. Harry Houdini was 52 years old.

H. Houdini (1909). Handcuff secrets (1^st ed.). Published by George Routledge & Sons, London; later reprinted by Magico Magazine, New York; 110 pages