Houdini again changed direction after 1913, when his mother died. The Metamorphosis (in which he changed places with his wife Bess, who was locked inside a trunk), the Milk Can (in which he was locked inside a metal can full of liquid) and the Water Torture Cell (in which he was shackled upside down inside a tank full of water) were his most famous onstage escape illusions. Houdini changed his direction in the early 1900s, abandoning the Challenge (sadistic policemen were caught on several occasions trying to shackle Houdini with hopelessly jammed cuffs) in favor of the straightforward escape. A public relations genius far ahead of his time, Houdini created the image of the living superhero, escaping from straitjackets, bonds and jails. To survive in vaudeville, Houdini invented the Escape Challenge, daring spectators to handcuff or tie him in unusual knots and devices - and Houdini was always able to escape. To escape a life of poverty reinvented himself as magician Harry Houdini, King of Cards and Handcuff King. Without doubt, the most famous magician in history. Inspired to become a professional by reading Robert-Houdin's Memoirs in 1890 and then in 1891, at Hyman's suggestion, adopted 'Houdini' as stage name. Moved to New York City in 1888 when taught his first sleight-of-hand tricks by friends Jake Hyman and Joe Rinn. Brought to USA later that spring when the family name was henceforward spelled Weiss and his first name was re-spelled Ehrich.Īt age 9 saw his first magician (Dr Lynn). Of Hungarian-Jewish parents, his father being a rabbi. Stage name of Ehrich Weiss (born Erik Weisz). His wife waited for a communiqué from the spirit world but it never came she declared the experiment a failure shortly before her death in 1943.Born in Pest, Hungary. Then, on Halloween 1926, Houdini himself passed on at the age of 52. Several of these friends died, but Houdini never received a sign from them. At the same time, he was deeply interested in spiritualism and made a pact with his wife and friends that the first to die was to try and communicate with the world of reality from the spirit world. In his later years, Houdini campaigned against mediums, mind readers, fakirs, and others who claimed supernatural talents but depended on tricks. Other acts featured Houdini being hung from a skyscraper in a straitjacket, or bound and buried-without a coffin-under six feet of dirt. In another, he was heavily bound and then suspended upside down in a glass-walled water tank. In a favorite act, he was bound and then locked in an ironbound chest that was dropped into a water tank or thrown off a boat. In 1908, Houdini began performing more dangerous and dramatic escapes. In executing his escapes, he relied on strength, dexterity, and concentration-not trickery-and was a great showman. He went on his first international tour in 1900 and performed all over Europe to great acclaim. He soon was specializing in escape acts and gained fame for his reported ability to escape from any manacle. When he was nine, he joined a traveling circus and toured the country as a contortionist and trapeze performer. At a young age, he immigrated with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin, and soon demonstrated a natural acrobatic ability and an extraordinary skill at picking locks. Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Budapest in 1874, the son of a rabbi. The burst appendix poisoned his system, and on October 31 he died. Doctors operated on him, but to no avail. He fell ill on the train to Detroit, and, after performing one last time, was hospitalized. The magician hadn’t had time to prepare, and the blows ruptured his appendix. Suddenly, one of the students punched Houdini twice in the stomach. Twelve days before, Houdini had been talking to a group of students after a lecture in Montreal when he commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and their ability to withstand hard blows. Harry Houdini, the most celebrated magician and escape artist of the 20th century, dies of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital.
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