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Harry Houdini ()
Few performers have ever captured the public imagination like Harry Houdini. From his breakthrough in to his death in , Houdini was one of the world's most popular entertainers, a true star of stage and screen. Time and again, his escapes from seemingly impossible predicaments thrilled audiences, who found in him a metaphor for their own lives, an affirmation of the human capacity to overcome adversity. Escapism in both senses of the word. But while nearly everyone is familiar with Houdini's stage persona, his little-known personal life is equally revealing. Taken as a whole, the public and private views make "The Elusive American" a uniquely powerful window on his times.
His love of America was such that he always claimed Appleton, Wisconsin, as his birthplace. But the man known as Houdini was actually born Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary. He would not arrive in Wisconsin until four years later, when he, his mother Cecelia, and four brothers joined his father, who had become rabbi of a small Reform congregation there. Although an educated man, Herman
Houdini, Harry ()
Harry Houdini ()—The Great Houdini— is a name that will forever define the term "escape artist." As the Budapest-born, American-bred performer would so often proclaim, "No prison can hold me; no hand or leg irons or steel locks can shackle me. No ropes or chains can keep me from my freedom."
No one before or since has so completely defined the art of escape as Harry Houdini, magician, actor, and stage personality. Old film footage and still photos recall Houdini as generations remember him— suspended upside-down high over the heads of the crowd, escaping from a straitjacket; plunging, manacled, into an icy river, only to reappear miraculously moments later; performing his signature Chinese Water Torture Cell illusion, in which audiences were invited to hold their breath along with Houdini as he made his escape from yet another watery coffin.
But there was a world of difference between what turn-of-the-century audiences saw, and what they thought they saw. Much of Houdini's escapes relied as much on myth and misdirection as they did on the magician's genuine physical and mental prowess. Likewise, Houdini made myth of his own life, elaborating details w
Harry Houdini
()
Who Was Harry Houdini?
Fascinated with magic from a young age, Harry Houdini began performing and drew attention for his daring feats of escape. In , he married Wilhelmina Rahner, who became his onstage partner as well. Houdini continued performing escape acts until his death, on October 31, , in Detroit, Michigan.
Early Life
Houdini was born Erich Weisz on March 24, , in Budapest, Hungary. One of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Weisz moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. When he was 13, Weisz 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 , Weisz 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. (Although he later wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin, a study that set out to debunk Houdin’s skill.) Though his magic met with little success, he soo
| Harry Houdini | |
Harry Houdini became world-renowned for his stunts and feats of escapology even more so than his magical illusions. | |
| Born | March 24, Budapest, Hungary |
|---|---|
| Died | October 31, Detroit, Michigan, USA |
| Occupation | magician, escapologist, stunt performer, actor, historian, pilot. |
Harry Houdini (March 24, – October 31, ), was a magician, escape artist, and daredevil who captivated much of the Western world with his exploits in the first quarter of the twentieth century. He amazed and excited crowds with his death defying escapes. He wore shackles and handcuffs and ordered his assistants to lock him in trunks or submerge him underwater. Houdini became world famous by traveling across America and the world thrilling his fans. In performing his escapes and feats of physical and psychological endurance, Houdini pushed his mind and his body to extremes, proving himself to be an athlete as well as a magician. He was able to control the mind-body dynamic to extraordinary lengths. He also believed in the reality of the after-life and thus of a spiritual dimension to human existence. He achieved such fame for his exploits that the name "Houdini" rema
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