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Harry Houdini biography

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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.


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In 1923, Houdini became president of Martinka & Co., America's oldest magic company.

As president of the Society of American Magicians, Harry Houdini was a vigorous campaigner against fraudulent psychic mediums. Most notably, he debunked renowned medium Mina Crandon, better known as Margery. This act turned him against former friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who believed deeply in Spiritualism and Margery's sight.

A Mysterious Death

Though there are mixed reports as to the cause of Henry Houdini's death, it is certain that he suffered from acute appendicitis. Whether his demise was caused by a McGill University student who was testing his will by punching him in the stomach (with permission) or by poison from a band of angry Spiritualists, it is unknown. What is known is that he died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix on October 31, 1926, at the age of 52, in Detroit, Michigan.

After his death, Houdini's props and effects were used by his brother Theodore Hardeen, who eventually sold them to magician and collector Sidney H. Radner. Much of the collection could be see at the Houdini Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin, until Radner auctioned it off in 2004. Most of the prized pieces, including the Water Torture Cell, went to magician David Copperfield.

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