(Although he later wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, a study that set out to debunk Houdin’s skill.) Though his magic met with little success, he soon drew attention for his feats of escape using handcuffs. In 1894, Weisz launched his career as a professional magician and renamed himself Harry Houdini, the first name being a derivative of his childhood nickname, "Ehrie," and the last an homage to the great French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin. It was there that he became interested in trapeze arts. When he was 13, Weisz moved with his father to New York City, taking on odd jobs and living in a boarding house before the rest of the family joined them. One of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Weisz moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. Houdini was born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. Houdini continued performing escape acts until his death, on October 31, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan. In 1893, he married Wilhelmina Rahner, who became his onstage partner as well. He proved to be a huge attraction.Fascinated with magic from a young age, Harry Houdini began performing and drew attention for his daring feats of escape. 'But his tricks and illusions were performed at a time when people were more naïve, and music hall and theatre were the only entertainment available. I think there are many artists who could match his tricks nowadays, such as David Copperfield, David Blaine and Penn and Teller. Mr Tait said: 'My favourite Houdini trick is the Water Torture Cell. Houdini was known for his generosity and was a benefactor to orphans.'Īt the peak of his fame, Houdini was the highest paid entertainer in the world, delighting and amazing audiences from Edinburgh to Exeter up until his death in 1926. 'However, word spread like wildfire and many more children turned up to the show than he had expected, so he took the rest to the nearest cobbler's shop and he made sure that they all had a pair. For instance, when he arrived in Edinburgh in 1910, he noticed that many of the children didn't have shoes in the cold weather, so he arranged for three-hundred boots to be handed out at a special performance for the Scottish youngsters. 'One was the great lengths he went to, to disrupt his competitors' acts, even disguising himself, and his family as members of the audience before heckling the performers. 'A few things amazed me while researching the book,' he said. Mr Tait he found several surprises while looking into Houdini's history. Mr Tait said: 'I thought I would find out all I could about his appearances from old newspaper archives, and this led to information about other appearances all over Great Britain' They're from a book called The Great Houdini: His British Tours which focusses on the world-famous escapologist's tour of the country between 19.Īuthor Derek Tait said he's always loved Houdini but got the idea for the book after doing some research in his home city of Plymouth. Other fascinating pictures shed new light on the life of Houdini during the entertainer's lesser-known years in Britain. A funeral procession was held in New York City on November 4 1926, with around 2,000 people filling the streets to see the performer's final farewell. Houdini collapsed soon after the show, but reportedly remained in good spirits right until the end. Witnesses reported that Houdini had winced with every blow, and had complained after stopping the punches that he had no had time to prepare for them. The student had heard that Houdini did not feel punches in the stomach and, upon asking him about it, proceeded to rein several blows down on Houdini, with the performer stopping him midway through. Right: Houdini with President Thedore Roosevelt, 1914 Left: On June 18, 1914, Harry and Beatrice Houdini sailed from Europe to New York aboard the S.S.
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