The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Who Was Houdini?
Do you like to perform magic tricks for friends or family? You may have read about Harry Houdini, a famous illusionist from the early 20th century.
Houdini’s acts involved escaping — from prison cells, handcuffs, straitjackets and even wooden crates thrown into deep waters.
Harry Houdini died on Halloween in 1926, 90 years ago. This week, The Mini Page learns more about this legendary escape artist.
Early life
Harry was born in 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. His birth name was Erik Weisz. When his family came to America in 1878, Erik’s name was changed to Ehrich Weiss.
His father was a Jewish rabbi, and his family settled for a time in Appleton, Wisconsin. Later they moved to Milwaukee and New York City, but times were hard for the Weisses. Harry knew he had to help out.
He worked as a messenger boy and in a necktie factory. After reading about a famous French magician, Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin, Harry decided to start a magic act. He called himself Harry Houdini, the King of Cards, as a tribute to Robert-Houdin.
Escape tricks
Harry brought his brother Dash into his act, and together they performed a trick called Metamorphosis. In it, Harry would bind Dash’s hands and tie him inside a canvas sack. Then he would place Dash inside a large trunk that was locked and tied with ropes. A curtain was pulled around the trunk, and when it was pulled away just seconds later, Dash was standing next to it. Harry was inside the trunk and the tied sack with his hands bound — right where Dash had been!
A new partner
Harry fell in love with an entertainer named Bess Rahner, and they quickly married. While Dash went on to start his own act, Bess became Harry’s partner.
One night, a businessman saw Houdini’s act and offered him and Bess a job in California. They improved their act and focused on Harry’s ability to escape from containers and handcuffs.
People were invited to bring their own handcuffs and shackles, or leg irons, and challenge Houdini to escape them. He and Bess took their successful act to Europe, where Harry would challenge each local police chief to lock him up. Harry escaped every time!
Jumping into danger
When he returned to America, Harry knew he had to make his act even more daring. He trained himself to hold his breath for three minutes and to withstand cold temperatures. Then he tried his first bridge escape, jumping into the Detroit River in November 1906 with handcuffs and chains weighing him down. Harry was back at the surface in no time. Thousands of people came to watch him perform.
Harry continued to make his acts more and more dangerous. He had himself lowered into a glass box full of water and wedged himself into a metal milk can filled with water. He always escaped.
Harry’s last act
Over the years, Harry had often bragged that he could take any punch to the stomach, no matter howhard. One evening in Montreal, a young man took the challenge and hit him three times. The next day, doctors discovered that Harry’s appendix had burst, and he died on Halloween from the infection that followed.