Harry Houdini, Superstar
Last Thursday, March 24, marked the 137th birthday of Harry Houdini, the legendary escape artist.
Houdini, who was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, moved with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin when he was 4. In Appleton, his father served as Rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation.
Harry began his professional career at the age of 17, doing magic shows before civic groups, in music halls, at circus sideshows and at Coney Island. He soon gained notoriety for his escape acts, in which he was able to escape from handcuffs, shackles, chains and straitjackets.
In 1893, while performing at Coney Island with his brother Dash, Harry met fellow performer Wilhelmina (Bess) Rahner, whom he married. Bess replaced Dash in the act and for the rest of Houdini's performing career she would work as his stage assistant.
Houdini's "big break" came in 1899 when he met manager Martin Beck. Impressed by Harry's handcuffs act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts and booked him on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. Within months, he was performing at the top vaudeville houses in the country. In 1900, he toured Europe. While working at the Alhambra Theater in London, he visited Scotland Yard and gave a demonstration of escape from handcuffs, baffling the police. The ensuing publicity led to his being booked at the Alhambra for six months and he became known as "The Handcuff King." He toured England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Russia and in each city he challenged the police to restrain him with shackles and lock him in their jails; he always escaped.
Perhaps Houdini's most well-known stunt was the Chinese Water Torture Cell, introduced in 1912. In this act he would escape from a locked, glass and steel cabinet filled to the top with water, while suspended upside down and shackled. The escape required that he hold his breath for more than three minutes. This act was so popular that he performed it for the rest of his career.
He was the consummate showman and self-promoter, expert at generating publicity and drawing huge crowds to his performances. For many years, he was the highest paid performer in vaudeville and is considered to be America's first celebrity. If he were performing today, he would be known as a "superstar."
Houdini died of a ruptured appendix in 1926. There is speculation that his death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen in order to test Houdini's claim that he was able to withstand any blow above the waist without injury. Apparently, Houdini was suffering from appendicitis at the time but refused medical treatment. Most likely, his appendix would have burst on its own without Whitehead's blows.
More than 2,000 mourners attended his funeral in New York. He was buried in the Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, with the crest of the Society of American Magicians inscribed on his gravestone. To this day, the Society holds a broken wand ceremony at his gravesite on the anniversary of his death.
To the best of anyone's knowledge, Houdini has, so far, been unable to escape from this grave.
A footnote: just last week, on March 20, Dorothy Young, the last living member of Houdini's troupe, died in Tinton Falls, NJ at the age of 103.
Houdini, who was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary, moved with his family to Appleton, Wisconsin when he was 4. In Appleton, his father served as Rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation.
Harry began his professional career at the age of 17, doing magic shows before civic groups, in music halls, at circus sideshows and at Coney Island. He soon gained notoriety for his escape acts, in which he was able to escape from handcuffs, shackles, chains and straitjackets.
In 1893, while performing at Coney Island with his brother Dash, Harry met fellow performer Wilhelmina (Bess) Rahner, whom he married. Bess replaced Dash in the act and for the rest of Houdini's performing career she would work as his stage assistant.
Houdini's "big break" came in 1899 when he met manager Martin Beck. Impressed by Harry's handcuffs act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts and booked him on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit. Within months, he was performing at the top vaudeville houses in the country. In 1900, he toured Europe. While working at the Alhambra Theater in London, he visited Scotland Yard and gave a demonstration of escape from handcuffs, baffling the police. The ensuing publicity led to his being booked at the Alhambra for six months and he became known as "The Handcuff King." He toured England, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Russia and in each city he challenged the police to restrain him with shackles and lock him in their jails; he always escaped.
Perhaps Houdini's most well-known stunt was the Chinese Water Torture Cell, introduced in 1912. In this act he would escape from a locked, glass and steel cabinet filled to the top with water, while suspended upside down and shackled. The escape required that he hold his breath for more than three minutes. This act was so popular that he performed it for the rest of his career.
He was the consummate showman and self-promoter, expert at generating publicity and drawing huge crowds to his performances. For many years, he was the highest paid performer in vaudeville and is considered to be America's first celebrity. If he were performing today, he would be known as a "superstar."
Houdini died of a ruptured appendix in 1926. There is speculation that his death was caused by a McGill University student, J. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini's abdomen in order to test Houdini's claim that he was able to withstand any blow above the waist without injury. Apparently, Houdini was suffering from appendicitis at the time but refused medical treatment. Most likely, his appendix would have burst on its own without Whitehead's blows.
More than 2,000 mourners attended his funeral in New York. He was buried in the Machpelah Cemetery in Glendale, Queens, with the crest of the Society of American Magicians inscribed on his gravestone. To this day, the Society holds a broken wand ceremony at his gravesite on the anniversary of his death.
To the best of anyone's knowledge, Houdini has, so far, been unable to escape from this grave.
A footnote: just last week, on March 20, Dorothy Young, the last living member of Houdini's troupe, died in Tinton Falls, NJ at the age of 103.
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Clever, clever line, "To the best of anyone's knowledge..." ;D I thoroughly enjoyed reading this capture of Houdini's life...captivating, Yes?
Emily Hill