The Biography of Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini: His Story and Greatest Magic Tricks
Nearly a century after his death, his name is still remembered. If a dog escapes from the yard or a child gets out of their playpen, someone will say, "He's a little Houdini!"... The name is still synonymous with "magician," just as "Fido" is synonymous with "dog."
What's curious, however, is that Houdini wasn't really a magician, or rather, he reinvented himself in a new role that made him famous: that of an escape artist.
Houdini: His Family Origins
He wrote: "I was born on April 6, 1874, in the small town of Appleton, Wisconsin, USA." Although many books and websites report this, it's not true. Throughout his life, Houdini, and then his widow Bess, told lies and conflicting stories. It's difficult for his biographers, as it was for his audience, to separate truth from illusion. In reality, Houdini, whose real name was Ehrich Weiss (also spelled Erik Weisz), was born on March 24 in Budapest, Hungary.
His father, Mayer Samuel, like millions of immigrants of that era, was seeking a better life in America. He found it in Appleton, a community so welcoming that Christian congregations raised funds to build a synagogue for Jewish families, who immediately appointed Mayer Samuel as rabbi. Delighted, he brought his family, including 4-year-old Ehrich, to join him.
The family was reunited, but the good times didn't last.
Rabbi Weiss, who was never comfortable with English, continued to recite prayers in German. This obviously irritated members of his congregation who already considered him too old-fashioned. So they dismissed him.
Unable to find work in Appleton, Rabbi Weiss moved his family from town to town, eventually settling in New York, but there too, no one wanted a rabbi who didn't speak English. Before he died, he made Ehrich promise to always take care of his mother, and Houdini kept his promise. He wrote: "I loved two women in my life." His mother and his wife.
Struggling to make ends meet in an East Side apartment, the family of a respected clergyman found themselves in a humiliating situation. Ehrich worked hard and painstakingly cutting fabrics in a sweatshop, but he vented his frustration by playing sports: his toned and muscular physique was perfect for boxing, swimming, and running, and he excelled in all three.
The Beginning of the Houdini Brothers
When teenage Ehrich and his friend Jacob read the memoirs of the great French illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, they decided that magic would be their future. In homage to their idol, they called themselves the Houdini Brothers. Their show wasn't very impressive, but they had a good illusion act called Metamorphosis: Jacob and a few audience volunteers would tie Ehrich up and lock him in a trunk; the curtain would close for a moment, and when it reopened, Ehrich was free. Then, the volunteers would open the trunk and find Jacob, tied up like a turkey.
The audience was intrigued by "Metamorphosis," but not by the other tricks, and Jacob, discouraged by the lack of success, left the act. Ehrich, now calling himself Harry Houdini, found a replacement and married her. Bess Rahner was Catholic, but Harry's mother liked her and approved of the union. Bess became his partner on stage and in life. Barely five feet tall, she was the ideal size to get in and out of a trunk and, being so small, she made her husband appear taller.
After spending years performing with his wife Bess in circuses, traveling medical shows, and dime museums (the least prestigious sectors of the entertainment world), Houdini began to amaze vaudeville crowds by escaping from handcuffs.
Perseverance, Hard Work, Talent… and Global Success
For five long years, "the" Houdinis performed in small towns, circuses, and even breweries. Harry worked obsessively to perfect and improve his act and added two escape tricks: from handcuffs (locks had fascinated him since childhood) and from a straitjacket.
The latter was dangerous, as the vigorous contortions required to get out left Harry covered in bruises and blood. However, neither of these effects impressed the audience, who thought the restraints were rigged. Anyone else would have given up and taken a "reasonable" job. Not Harry. In small towns, he would advertise by challenging the local police to hold him.
In the book Spellbinder: The Life of Harry Houdini, Tom Lalicki recounts what happened next. "In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, police and reporters handcuffed Houdini with six pairs of handcuffs and locked him in a room. He managed to free himself in 18 seconds." The feat made local headlines, but no more.
The Consecration
Finally, all of Harry and Bess's hopes, hard work, and perseverance paid off. Martin Beck ran the Orpheum vaudeville circuit, which controlled theaters from Chicago to California. He told Harry that he had seen his show and, frankly, it was mediocre, but he liked Metamorphosis and the handcuffs.
They could build a new, more interesting show around that, provided Harry gave up his mediocre sleight of hand and card tricks. This proposal "changed the course of my entire life." Suddenly moving from breweries to the elegant Orpheum circuit unleashed all of Harry's prodigious energy and ambition.
Biographer Kenneth Silverman writes: "In fourteen dizzying months, he became a star of American entertainment."
Another story goes that he performed in a vaudeville show where the headliner was a female star. Upset by negative press reviews, the woman abandoned the tour, leaving him the lead role.
Did Harry invent these stories? It's very likely. By 1899, Houdini was a true vaudeville star. He earned $250 a week, nearly half the annual income of an average American. Bess and his mother lived in luxury, but Houdini was accused of hiding handcuff keys on him.
Houdini Took the Show to a Higher Level
At that time, unlike today, nudity was prohibited in popular culture; women's dresses brushed the floor to prevent ankles from being seen. Houdini wrote: "I can do the trick even naked."
He presented it at a San Francisco police station and repeated it across the country. In Kansas City, a St. Louis newspaper reported: "He performed before the police in a costume so succinct that he had nowhere to hide keys or wires." Provocative, yet tasteful, photos of the chained magician, wearing little more than his Adam's costume, spread his fame everywhere.
He added new illusions to his act. Such as swallowing a handful of needles and then pulling them out of his mouth threaded on a string. In 1918, he even made an elephant disappear on stage at the New York Hippodrome.
Today's magicians know only some of Houdini's feats; others are completely unknown to them. Many would certainly have been impossible without his strength and athleticism. Not to mention, of course, his ability to hold his breath underwater.
For Eternity…
Over the following years, Houdini published books. He also appeared in films and spoke out against the fake spiritualism that was becoming fashionable. The artist debunked fake séances and psychics who claimed to communicate with the dead. He performed for free in hospitals, nursing homes, and orphanages. He even designed a show for the blind.
In 1917, he patriotically volunteered for the army. Rejected because he was too old (he was 43), he sold Liberty Bonds, bonds issued by the US Treasury to finance World War I. And... magically produced real gold coins on stage which he offered to soldiers!
Harry passed away in 1926, on Halloween, and was buried alongside his beloved mother.