The Houdini Act; 18 facts about Harry Houdini a great magician and a complete entertainer.

We have seen many magicians and love been entertained by them. The kids particularly love the magic tricks of the magicians during their birthdays or even during some get-together. If you search the dictionary for the word Houdini act the meaning given is “sudden disappearance, typically so as to escape from someone or something.”

It refers to US magician Harry Houdini, who was known for his ability to escape from things such as straitjackets, handcuffs, underwater chests, etc. We are going to talk about one of the greatest magicians Harry Houdini.

1. He named himself after another magician

Harry Houdini was born as Erik Weisz in Budapest to a Jewish family. Houdini was one of the seven children.

His parents arrived in the United States on 3rd July 1878 and the family changed their name to the German spelling Weiss and Erik became Ehrich or Harry. Young Harry had a fascination with magic particularly the work of French magician Jean Eugene Robert Houdin.

When he began his own magic career he paid homage to his hero and added “i” to the name “Houdin” to create the name “Harry Houdini”. Later Houdini courted controversy by accusing his former idol of stealing other magician’s tricks. He wrote a book “The Unmasking of Robert Houdin” where he branded his namesake a fraud who became great on the brainwork of others.

2. His early career met with little Success

Houdini began his career as a magician in 1891 but met with little success. He appeared in tent acts and performed in museums and sideshows and also in the circus.

Houdini initially focused on the card tricks. Professional magicians would regard him as a competent but not greatly skilled artist; lacking grace and finesse to achieve excellence in his field. Soon Houdini began experimenting with the escape acts.

3. Houdini met his wife during a performance

In 1894, during a performance with his brother “Dash” at Coney Island Harry met a fellow performer, Wilhelmina Bess Rahner.

Bess was initially courted by Dash, but soon she and Harry married with Bess replacing Dash in his acts which became known as ”The Houdini’s”. Bess worked as his stage assistant for the rest of his performing career.

4. He first found fame as the “King of Handcuffs”

A great break came for Houdini in 1899 when he met manager Martin Beck in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Beck was impressed by Houdini’s handcuffs act and advised him to concentrate on escape acts. Houdini was now performing at the top Vaudeville houses across the country. In 1900, Beck arranged for Houdini to tour Europe.

Houdini began challenging audiences to tie him up or lock-in handcuffs and began promoting his shows by staging escapes from jails, usually after being strip-searched and put in shackles by the police.

This was a huge success. The newly christened “King of Handcuffs” played to sold-out crowds across Europe and later cemented his fame by staging several high-profile escapes in the United States.

Houdini invited the public to devise contraptions to hold him. Many times it included nailed packing crates, riveted boilers, wet sheets, and in another city the brewers challenged him to escape from a barrel they had filled with beer.

5. His brother was also a successful magician

After Harry Houdini was well established in the early 1900s, he brought his younger brother Theo, who had worked as his partner during his early career to perform with him.

Theo began performing under the stage name “Hardeen.” The pair created a phony rivalry to help boost their profiles.

Hardeen was overshadowed by his sibling and is now credited with having pioneered the act of escaping from a straightjacket in full view of the public a trick that had become Houdini’s routine.

He inherited Houdini’s effects and props after his death. Houdini’s will stated that all the effects should be burned and destroyed upon Hardeen’s death. Hardeen later sold much of the collection to magician Sidnet Hollis Radner.

6. Houdini traveled to many countries for performances

Between the years 1900 and 1920 Houdini appeared in theatres all over Great Britain performing escape acts, illusions, card tricks, and outdoor stunts becoming one of the highest-paid entertainers.

He toured the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Russia. In Moscow, he escaped from a Siberian prison transport van claiming that had he been unable to free himself, he would have to travel to Siberia where the only key was kept.

7. Milk Can Escape Act

In 1908, Houdini introduced an act called the Milk Can Escape. In this act, Houdini was handcuffed and sealed inside an oversized milk can filled with water and made his escape behind a curtain.

As a part of the effect, Houdini invited members of the audience to hold their breath along with him while he was inside the can.

The advertisement posters proclaimed “Failure means a drowning death”. Houdini soon modified the escape to include the milk can being locked inside a wooden chest, chained, or padlocked. This was part of his act for four years and later his brother Theodore continued performing the act into the 1940s.

8. He was a devoted son

After traveling throughout Europe Houdini returned to America in 1905 and bought a small farm in Connecticut and a stately brownstone in Manhattan.

As an entertainer, he had to travel constantly but the brownstone became a base for his family particularly his mother. Harry once purchased a dress said to have been made for Queen Victoria and in a grand reception presented his mother in the dress to all their relatives.

Houdini was always close to his mother but after the death of his father demonstrated devotion rivaled only by his love for his wife. When the word of the death of his mother reached him in Sweden in 1913, he reportedly fainted and then wept uncontrollably and said “I am what would be called a Mothers boy.” Though he was a superman to the rest of the world he grieved for her the rest of his life.

9. Houdini once staged an escape from inside a sea monster

A group of Boston businessmen in September 1911 challenged him to escape from the belly of a 1,500-pound “sea monster” that had washed up in the city’s harbor. Some have described it as a whale while others think it was a leatherback turtle, but Houdini was ready for the challenge.

As thousands of spectators looked on he was handcuffed, shackled in leg irons, and wedged inside the stinking carcass, which was then covered in chains and placed behind a curtain. Houdini emerged in just 15 minutes but later admitted that he was nearly suffocated by the fumes from the chemicals used to embalm the beast.

10. Houdini was an Aviation Pioneer

Houdini developed a passion for aviation while in Europe in 1909 and bought a French-made Voisin biplane, becoming one of the world’s first private pilots.

He crashed during his maiden flight in Germany but continued practicing and set sights on becoming the first man to pilot an airplane in Australia.

In March 1910, Houdini flew his Voisin and made three successful flights near Melbourne each only a couple of minutes long. The Aerial League of Australia certified Houdini’s display as the country’s first powered flight and in 2010 Houdini and Defries were both honored in a series of stamps commemorating the centennial of powered flight in Australia.

11. The Chinese Water Torture cell Act

In 1912, Houdini came up with the Chinese water torture cell Act replacing milk can act as there were now many imitators to it. In this act, Houdini’s feet were locked in stocks and he was lowered upside down in a tank filled with water.

The metal cell had a glass front from where the audience could observe Houdini. The stocks were locked to the top of the cell and a curtain concealed his escape.

In the earliest version, a metal cage was lowered into the cell and Houdini was enclosed inside that. Houdini continued to perform the act till his death in 1926.

12.Houdini assisted the American war effort during World War I

Houdini was a strong supporter of the American involvement in World War I and persuaded the Society of American Magicians to sign loyalty oaths to President Woodrow Wilson.

He canceled his touring season to entertain soldiers and raised money for the war effort. He counseled the troops on how to escape sinking ships and free themselves from ropes, handcuffs, and other items in the event of capture.

13. Served as President of the Society of American Magicians

Houdini served as the President of the Society of American Magicians from 1917 till his death in 1926. It was founded on May 10, 1902, in the back room of Martinka’s magic shop in New York and expanded under his leadership.

14. Overboard box escape

Houdini’s other famous act was to escape from a nailed and roped packing crate after it had been lowered into the water. He performed the escape in New York’s East River in July 1912, hired a Tugboat, and invited press on board.

Houdini was locked in handcuffs and leg irons, nailed into the crate which was weighed down with two hundred pounds of lead, and lowered in the water. He escaped in 57 seconds. The crate was pulled to the surface and was found intact with manacles inside.

15. Houdini owned his own Personal movie studio

His career as a silent film star began in 1919 with “The Master Mystery” in which he played an undercover agent and used escape skills to thwart criminal plots.

The series was a blockbuster hit. He went on to star in two more features before launching his own studio. Later he made two films, but neither fared well at the box office. Houdini quit the movie business for good in 1923.

16. Houdini debunked Psychics and the Supernatural

In the 1920s Houdini embarked on a mission as a debunker of psychics, mind readers, and other “Spiritualists” who claimed to be able to contact the deceased.

He campaigned tirelessly, exposing them as frauds, and offered a $10000 reward to any psychic who could present physical phenomena that could not be explained rationally. In 1926, he testified before Congress in support of a bill to outlaw the practice of “pretending to tell fortunes for a reward.”

17. Houdini séances are held every Halloween

In spite of his skepticism about the spirit world, Houdini swore to his wife that he would try to contact her from beyond the grave.

He told her to listen to a message and series of code. She eventually gave up after trying for ten years after his death. Since the 1930s his fans have held séances every Halloween to attempt to communicate with his ghost and an official Houdini séance takes place in different cities each year.

18. The cause of his death is often debated

Houdini died on Halloween 1926, at the age of 52. The cause of his death was peritonitis brought on by a ruptured appendix but there are many rumors floating on the cause.

Houdini was approached by a university student who enquired about a rumor that he could withstand heavy punches to his abdominal muscles.

While Houdini boasted of his abdominal strength the student hit him in the stomach without a warning, leading many to conclude that the unexpected blows triggered his appendicitis. Others believe that he was poisoned by spiritualists who had issued death threats on many previous occasions in response to his attacks.

Harry Houdini was one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived. He struggled in his life and reached a position of name and fame showing that everything is possible with grit and determination. People to this day talk about his performances fondly.

Sources

Wikipedia.