Who Is Harry Houdini An Illusionist

Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American stunt performer and illusionist. But he is most famously known for his extreme escape acts. During his life, Harry Houdini has made outstanding contributions as an escape artist, a magician, and an exposure of fake spirit mediums. Professionals but also the general population consider Harry the greatest escape artist of all time. Harry often said that nothing can hold him back, not prisons, locks, shackles, ropes or chains could stop him.

A boy named Erik Weisz was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary to parents: Mayer Samuel Weisz and Cecilia Weisz. Erik was one of seven children and the son of a poor rabbi. In 1876, Mayer Weisz decide to move his family to the United States in hopes of a better
life. The family name was changed to Weiss and Erik’s name was changed to Ehrich. The family settled down in Milwaukee. When Ehrich was a little boy, he saw a great magician, Robert Houdin, make an entire army disappear. From that moment on, Ehrich decided he wanted to devote his studies towards the art of magic. Performing small magic acts on stage, he called himself, “Ehrich, the Prince of the Air.” At the age of 12 Ehrich ran away from home by boarding a freight train. He returned to his family a year later. Nothing is known about what happened during his year away from his family.
Once he had established his interest in magic, he told his friend, Jacob Hyman, about his passion.
Hyman told him, that in the French language, if you add an "i" to something it means "like". So Ehrich decided he wanted to make his stage name Houdini, after Robert Houdin, and that he did. Theo, Ehrich's brother, told Erich that he should change his name to what his friends called him, Ehrich had several names that progressed and changed as he made friends in America. Ehrie then Erie, then to Harry. Later in life Harry admitted that the name harry came partially from Harry Kellar, a great magician whom he also admired. So Ehrich Weiss, the son of an poverty stricken, immigrant rabbi, became Harry Houdini. Theo also had an interest in magic. At age 17, Harry left his family behind to pursue a career of magic. By the time he was twenty years old he had performed tons of small magic acts throughout New York. Harry married a woman named Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner and joined a circus where he learned and perfected escape acts. Bess worked with Harry as his stage assistant from then on. Harry slowly became famous. He would challenge the local police in different locations to put handcuffs on him or put him in jail so he could impress people with his escape skills. He was given many certificates from wardens for escaping so well. He eventually got to have a full show dedicated to his
magic.
Harry’s magic career really took off when he met a manager named Martin Beck.
Beck told him he should focus on only doing escape acts. Although Harry was good at many things he dedicated his life to performing escape acts, as Beck told him do so. And he loved it! With Becks help Harry started performing at the top vaudeville houses in America. After becoming relatively famous in America, Harry toured Europe where he developed new escape acts like escaping from straight jackets and coffins. The first couple days proved to be unsuccessful but eventually Harry gained the population’s interest and was soon know as “The Handcuff King”. After this Harry didn’t just tour Europe, he went all around and showed off his skills at many different locations. Impressing each one more than the last. Although some people were out to get Harry, such as Werner Graff, who said he escaped in his acts by bribing people. But there were several others who said untruthful things about Harry to ruin his reputation. Back in the United States, for quite a few years things were going terrific for Harry. He escaped from all kinds of things from ropes to jail cells to straightjackets, and everything in between. As the years went on Harry’s acts slowly became more risky. But this excited the audience. Harry used this excitement to his advantage by challenging them to build anything they thought he couldn’t escape from. Once he even had to escape from the belly of a whale! Most escapes Harry did, such as
the Water Torture Cell, became routine acts that he performed for the rest of his life. Harry soon became the highest paid performer in American Vaudeville. He united magicians all over America. Towards the end of his life Harry acquired his own full-evening show. This included three different sections: Magic, Escapes, and Fraud Mediums Exposed
In 1902, Harry sought to create a large, unified national network of all kinds of magicians. And so, in the back room of a magic shop, Harry created The Society of American Magicians. Harry was of course the national president of this club. Harry would travel to various locations encouraging magic, making speeches and throwing banquets, to try to get more members for The Society. He knew that there weren’t many magicians and when he did find some they were poor and unsupported. S.A.M club (The Society of American Magicians) helped this problem by uniting magicians and revitalizing old tricks. This helped magician all over America connect with each other.
Harry got into the film industry by making short films mainly centered around his acts. In 1901, Harry released his first film called “Merveilleux Exploits du Célébra Houdini Paris” Eventually he made five major silent films such as; “The Master Mystery”, “The Grim Game” and “Terror Island”. For his work Harry was given a Hollywood Walk of Fame Star. Harry tried to start his own production company and a film lab but both were unsuccessful.
Harry’s career brought fourth lots of unforgettable escape acts. The kind of acts that people will likely never forget. His death defying acts were something only someone with a death wish would do. Some of these acts include; The Mirror Challenge, The Chinese Torture Cell and, his very famous, Buried Alive Stunt.
The Mirror Challenge took place in 1904. A man named Nathan Hart, a very good locksmith, worked on creating a special pair of handcuffs for five years that Harry would be challenged to get out of. Houdini accepted this challenge. More than 4,000 people came to watch the event take place. They eagerly waited as he stood in his “ghost house” (that is a screen that conceals the method of escaping). Sometime during the act Harry’s wife appeared on stage and gave him a kiss. This caused some people to believe that Bess had the key concealed within her mouth but, it has been suggested that this isn’t likely as the key was 6-inches long. It took Harry an hour and ten minutes but Houdini emerged from his ghost house handcuff free. The audience cheered and Harry broke down crying saying that was the most difficult escape of his life.
In 1911, Harry first performed a new act he called “Houdini Upside Down” or “Challenged”. In this act Harry would hang upside down in a aquarium like tank of water with his feet locked in stocks. It was extremely dangerous. His first performance was not public and was only in front of one person. This was so he could copyright the act. The call could hold up too 250 gallons of water It also cost over $10,000 and weighted around three-quarters of a ton not including when it was filled with water. Harry’s first public performance was on September 21, 1912. The act was a huge hit and he continued to do it until the day he died. After his death Harry’s broth Theodore inherited the Water Torture Cell.
In 1915, Harry performed his first buried alive stunt in California. He was shackled down in a six feet deep hole then buried. This stunt just about killed Harry. He eventually emerged from the ground but had to have help getting out in his near break-down condition. He fell unconscious as soon as he got out. His second buried alive stunts involved Harry being lowered into a swimming pool incased in a sealed coffin for 90 minutes. He survived by breathing in controlled air. His third act consisted of him being strapped in a straight jacked locked into a coffin and then put in a box. Assistants were to then fill the box with sand. However, it was never confirmed whether Harry had really done this act before he died.