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Quick Facts
- NAME: Harry Houdini
- OCCUPATION: Magician
- BIRTH DATE: March 24, 1874
- DEATH DATE: October 31, 1926
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Budapest, Hungary
- PLACE OF DEATH: Detroit, Michigan
- Full Name: Erik Weisz
- Nickname: "Ehrie"
- AKA: Harry Houdini
- Nickname: "Harry Handcuff Houdini"
- AKA: Ehrich Weiss
Best Known For
Harry Houdini's grand illusions and daring, spectacular escape acts made him one of the most famous magicians of all time.
Videos see all videos
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Harry Houdini - Death (2:19)
Harry Houdini - Water Torture Escapes
Get an inside look at Harry Houdini's many attempts and successes at one of his signature acts, the water torture escape.
Harry Houdini - Straight Jacket Escapes
Get an inside look at Harry Houdini's many attempts and successes at one of his signature acts, the straightjacket escape.
Harry Houdini - Reaching Out From Beyond
Prior to his death, Harry Houdini gave his wife a keyword that he would use to contact her if he could reach out from beyond the grave.
Harry Houdini - Death
After two students take up Houdini on one of his famous boasts of strength, Houdini accepts a challenge that will ultimately take his life.
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Play NowHarry Houdini. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:03, May 24, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056.
Harry Houdini. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056 [Accessed 24 May 2013].
"Harry Houdini." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 24 2013, 12:03 http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056.
"Harry Houdini," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056 [accessed May 24, 2013].
"Harry Houdini," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056 (accessed May 24, 2013).
Harry Houdini [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 24] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056.
Harry Houdini, http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056 (last visited May 24, 2013).
Harry Houdini. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/harry-houdini-40056. Accessed May 24, 2013.
Synopsis
Born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, young Harry Houdini moved with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. Fascinated with magic, he began performing and drew attention for his daring feats of escape. In 1893, he married Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, who became his onstage partner as well. Houdini continued performing escape acts until his death, on October 31, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan.
Quotes
"I am a great admirer of mystery and magic. Look at this life—all mystery and magic."
"No performer should attempt to bite off red-hot iron unless he has a good set of teeth."
"Look at love. How could we ever keep love a-burning day after day if it wasn't that we, and they, surrounded it with magic tricks..."
Early Life
Magician, escape artist. Born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. One of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Erich moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. When he was 13, Erich 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. It was there that he became interested in trapeze arts.
In 1894, Erich 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. Though his magic met with little success, he soon drew attention for his feats of escape using handcuffs. In 1893, he married fellow performer Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, who would serve as Houdini's lifelong stage assistant.
Commercial Success
In 1899, Houdini's act caught the attention of Martin Beck, an entertainment manager who soon got him booked at some of the best vaudeville venues in the country, followed by a tour of Europe. Houdini's feats would involve the local police, who would strip search him, place him in shackles, and lock him in their jails. The show was a huge sensation, and he soon became the highest-paid performer in American vaudeville.
Houdini continued his act in the United States in the early 1900s, constantly upping the ante from handcuffs and straightjackets to locked, water-filled tanks and nailed packing crates. In 1912, his act reached its pinnacle, the Chinese Water Torture Cell, which would be the hallmark of his career. In it, Houdini was suspended by his feet and lowered upside-down in a locked glass cabinet filled with water, requiring him to hold his breath for more than three minutes to escape. The performance was so daring and such a crowd-pleaser that it remained in his act until his death in 1926.
Exploits Outside of Magic
Houdini's wealth allowed him to indulge in other passions, such as aviation and film. He purchased his first plane in 1909 and became the first person to man a controlled power flight over Australia in 1910. He also launched a movie career, releasing his first film in 1901, Merveilleux Exploits du Célébre Houdini Paris, which documented his escapes. He starred in several subsequent films, including The Master Mystery, The Grim Game and Terror Island. In New York, he started his own production company, Houdini Picture Corporation, and a film lab called The Film Development Corporation, but neither was a success.
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