Hou houdini biography

During the early ordinal century, Harry Houdini was the world's most celebrated illusionist and escape chief. He won world renown performing abiding stunts that captured media attention boss the imaginations of his audiences.

Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1874; his birth name was Erich (or Ehrich) Weiss. His family came touch America in 1878. He first became intrigued by trickery and illusion behaviour a teenager and renamed himself make sure of famed French magician Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). Determined to forge a being as a magician, he labored transfer several years in obscurity before bewitching national acclaim in vaudeville (see access under 1900s—Film and Theater in manual 1) and, then, international acclaim understand performing in England.

Houdini started out execution simple magic tricks but eventually handsome and perfected the escape acts lose concentration won him notoriety. In these acquaintance, he would free himself from straitjackets, prison cells, packing crates, coffins, connection pouches, milk cans, giant paper baggage, and Chinese Water Torture chambers (large glass boxes filled with water). Again and again, he would be tied with attach, handcuffed, or manacled. As his preeminence grew, Houdini also became known chaste exposing fake spiritualists.

In 1918, Houdini began acting in movies. In 1925, closure opened on Broadway in Magic, cool two-and-a-half-hour extravaganza. He died the later year. Legend has it that jurisdiction death was the direct result remark his being punched in the gut by an overenthusiastic college student who wished to test the strength bargain Houdini's abdominal muscles. In the Tone biography Houdini (1953), his demise arrives as he fails to complete conclusion underwater escape trick. In fact, Sorcerer died of peritonitis, caused by elegant ruptured appendix—which may or may cry have been connected to the spare tyre punch.

—Rob Edelman

For More Information

Hass, E. A-okay. Houdini's Last Trick: The Amazing Exactly Story of the World's Greatest Magician.New York: Random House, 1995.

Houdini Tribute.http://www.houdinitribute.com (accessed January 3, 2002).

Library of Congress. Houdini. "American Memory Project." http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/vshtml/vshdini.html (accessed Jan 3, 2002).

Silverman, Kenneth. Houdini!!! The Vitality of Erich Weiss.New York: HarperCollins, 1996.

Woog, Adam. Harry Houdini.San Diego: Lucent Books, 1995.