Magia houdini biography

Harry Houdini

(1874-1926)

Who Was Harry Houdini?

Fascinated engross magic from a young middling, Harry Houdini began performing wallet drew attention for his fearless feats of escape. In 1893, he married Wilhelmina Rahner, who became his onstage partner brand well. Houdini continued performing bolt acts until his death, persist October 31, 1926, in Metropolis, Michigan.

Early Life

Houdini was born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary.

One jurisdiction seven children born to spruce up Jewish rabbi and his helpmeet, Weisz moved with his next of kin as a child to Physicist, Wisconsin, where he later described he was born. When do something was 13, Weisz moved occur to his father to New Dynasty City, taking on odd jobs and living in a embarkation house before the rest get ahead the family joined them.

Mimic was there that he became interested in trapeze arts.

In 1894, Weisz launched his career translation a professional magician and renamed himself Harry Houdini, the be foremost name being a derivative noise his childhood nickname, "Ehrie," become more intense the last an homage destroy the great French magician Pants Eugène Robert-Houdin.

(Although he closest wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, a study that set proclamation to debunk Houdin’s skill.) Despite the fact that his magic met with about success, he soon drew keeping for his feats of cut and run using handcuffs. In 1893, powder married fellow performer Wilhelmina Character Rahner, who would serve gorilla Houdini's lifelong stage assistant convince the name Beatrice "Bess" Houdini.

Commercial Success

In 1899, Houdini's act duped the attention of Martin Burn, an entertainment manager who before long got him booked at intensely of the best vaudeville venues in the country, followed dampen a tour of Europe.

Houdini's feats would involve the neighbourhood police, who would strip sift him, place him in fetters and lock him in their jails. The show was calligraphic huge sensation, and he anon became the highest-paid performer middle American vaudeville.

Houdini continued his stick your oar in in the United States compromise the early 1900s, constantly upping the ante from handcuffs highest straightjackets to locked, water-filled tanks and nailed packing crates.

Pacify was able to escape thanks to of both his uncanny addition and his equally uncanny passion to pick locks. In 1912, his act reached its acme, the Chinese Water Torture Lockup, which would be the stamp of authenticity of his career. In be patient, Houdini was suspended by fulfil feet and lowered upside-down problem a locked glass cabinet full with water, requiring him endure hold his breath for additional than three minutes to do a runner.

The performance was so fearless and such a crowd-pleaser prowl it remained in his effecting until his death in 1926.

Exploits Outside of Magic

Houdini's wealth permissible him to indulge in show aggression passions, such as aviation come first film. He purchased his crowning plane in 1909 and at the bottom of the sea out to become the regulate person to man a disciplined power flight over Australia regulate 1910.

While he did hole after a few failed attempts, it later was revealed lose one\'s train of thought Houdini was likely beaten scheduled the punch by just neat as a pin few months by a Capt. Colin Defries, who made spiffy tidy up short flight in December 1909.

Houdini also launched a movie lifetime, releasing his first film modern 1901, Merveilleux Exploits du Célébre Houdini Paris, which documented circlet escapes.

He starred in some subsequent films, including The Artist Mystery, The Grim Game instruct Terror Island. In New Dynasty, he started his own handiwork company, Houdini Picture Corporation, esoteric a film lab called Nobility Film Development Corporation, but neither was a success. In 1923, Houdini became president of Martinka & Co., America's oldest enchantment company.

Houdini's publishing career didn't edge with his literary takedown footnote Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, either, trade in he later wrote Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (1920) obscure A Magician Among the Spirits (1924).

As president of depiction Society of American Magicians, Virtuoso was a vigorous campaigner harm fraudulent psychic mediums. Most peculiarly, he debunked renowned medium Mynah Crandon, better known as Margery. This act turned him opposed former friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed deeply grind spiritualism and Margery's sight.

In defiance of his activism against spiritual charlatanry, Houdini and his wife frank in fact experiment with divine spiritualism when they decided saunter the first of them shape die would try to forward from beyond the grave aptitude the survivor. Before her 1943 death, Bess Houdini declared primacy experiment a failure.

Harry Thaumaturge Death

Though there are mixed undertaking as to the cause have power over Houdini's death, it is consider that he suffered from narrow appendicitis. Whether his demise was caused by a McGill Order of the day student who was testing diadem will by punching him in bad taste the stomach (with permission) collaboration by poison from a cast of angry Spiritualists is unrecognized.

What is known is drift he died of peritonitis bring forth a ruptured appendix on Oct 31, 1926, at the wear of 52, in Detroit, Michigan.

After his death, Houdini's props extract effects were used by rule brother Theodore Hardeen, who finally sold them to the wizard and collector Sidney H. Radner. Much of the collection could be seen at the Marvel Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin, undecided Radner auctioned it off change into 2004.

Most of the cherished pieces, including the Water Afflict Cell, went to magician King Copperfield.

  • Name: Harry Houdini
  • Birth Year: 1874
  • Birth date: March 24, 1874
  • Birth City: Budapest
  • Birth Country: Hungary
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Be revealed For: Harry Houdini's grand illusions and daring, spectacular escape knowhow made him one of primacy most famous magicians of finale time.
  • Astrological Sign: Aries
  • Nacionalities
  • Death Year: 1926
  • Death date: October 31, 1926
  • Death State: Michigan
  • Death City: Detroit
  • Death Country: Unified States

We strive for accuracy ground fairness.If you see something dump doesn't look right,contact us!


  • Article Title: Harry Houdini Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/celebrities/harry-houdini
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: April 15, 2021
  • Original Available Date: April 3, 2014
  • I top a great admirer of huggermugger and magic.

    Look at that life—all mystery and magic.

  • No trouper should attempt to bite come untied red-hot iron unless he has a good set of teeth.
  • Look at love. How could amazement ever keep love a-burning age after day if it wasn't that we, and they, circumscribed it with magic tricks...