Harry Houdini was one of the greatest magicians and showmen of the 20th century. A 5'5" Hungarian Jewish immigrant with little education, he changed his name from Ehrich Weiss and compensated for his small stature with grand illusions and escape stunts that earned him worldwide fame.

His magic career began with card tricks, then graduated to escape acts using handcuffs, straitjackets, jails, milk cans, and crates, often while strung upside down and submerged in water. He was a master of escape, illusion, and most importantly self-promotion and marketing. He manipulated the press and generated his own publicity; often staging daring acts in newspaper offices, and public arenas. So while there were many magicians who competed with Houdini, even imitating his acts, none would remain in the public's memory for decades to become the most influential magician of all time.

Houdini's talents also went beyond magic and included aviation, acting, producing films and even writing books revealing magic secrets (including his own) and exposing fraudulent clairvoyants.

His death on Halloween in 1926, added to the mystique he worked so hard to build, and the annual séances his wife held for ten years in attempts to contact him, kept the public interested in the legendary Houdini.