Harry Houdini
The Great Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was born on March 12, 1874 in Budpest, Hungary, with the name of Ehrich Weisz. He was one of six children and the son of Rabbi Mayer Weisz and his second wife, Cecilia Steiner. In 1876, Mayer Weisz immigrated to the United States with the dream of a better life. He found work as a rabbi and changed his last name to Weiss. In 1876, the remainder of the family joined him in the United States.
The family moved to Milwaukee when Ehrich was eight years old. During his early years, Ehrich sold newspapers and shined shoes to help support the family. On October 28, 1883, nine year old Ehrich made his first appearance on stage, performing a trapeze act. He billed himself, "Ehrich, the Prince of the Air." At 12, Ehrich hopped a freight car and ran away from home. A year later her returned to New York and continued to help support his family by working as a messenger, necktie cutter, and photography assistant. Nothing is known of his year away from his family.
About this time, Ehrich and his brother Theo began to pursue an interest in magic. As a stage name, Ehrich Weiss became Harry Houdini by adding an ìiî to the last name of his idol, French magician Robert Houdin. Harry is simply an Americanized version of his nickname, Ehrie. At 17, Ehrich, now known as Harry Houdini, left his family to pursue his magic career. By the age of twenty, Harry had been performing small acts throughout New York. He soon married and joined a circus where he began to develop and perfect his escape tricks.
Through the years, Houdini gained fame after repeatedly escaping from police handcuffs and jails. Harry was even given certificates from various wardens for escaping from their prisons. After making his name in America, Harry toured Europe, where he expanded his repertoire by escaping from straitjackets and coffins. Eventually, Harry was able to accomplish his dream of having a full show dedicated to his magic.
In his later years, Harry took his talent to the film arena, where he both acted and started his own film laboratory called The Film Development Corporation. Years later, Harry would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In addition, Harry showed interest in the field of aviation and was the first person to ever fly over Australian soil.
In the 1920s, Harry became interested in the occult, specifically in debunking mediums and psychics. His training in magic helped him expose frauds that scientists and academics could not. He chronicled his time investigating the occult in his book, A Magician Among the Spirits.
In 1926 Houdini died as a result of a ruptured appendix, after suffering a blow to the abdomen by university student J. Gordon Whitehead. Houdini refused to seek medical help and continued to travel, eventually succumbing to periotonitis on October 24, 1926 at the age of 52.
profile
Born Erik Weisz
March 24, 1874
Budapest, Hungary Died October 31, 1926 (aged 52)
Detroit, Michigan Occupation magician, escapologist, stunt performer, actor, historian, film producer, pilot and debunker
occupation
Houdini's Movie Career
A Scene From Haldane and the Secret Service
Houdini made his first movie for the French movie company, Pathé in 1901. Titled Merveilleux Exploits du Célébre Houdini à Paris, it was used to showcase Houdini's famous escapes, including his straitjacket escape. Houdini returned to film in 1916 when he served as a special-effects consultant on the Pathé thriller, The Mysteries of Myra. While his magic career soared, Houdini signed a contract with B.F. Rolfe of Octagon Films, in 1918, to star in a movie serial called The Master Mystery. Harry signed on to portray Quentin Locke, an undercover artist for the Justice Department, who uses his expertise as an escape artist to solve crimes. During this serial, Houdini’s character would be buried alive, tied to the bottom of an elevator shaft, suspended over boiling acid and strapped to an electric chair. The film was a success and Harry made his first Hollywood feature film, The Grim Game, in 1919. While filming an aerial stunt for The Grim Game, two biplanes collided in mid-air with a stuntman doubling as Houdini dangling by a rope from one of the planes. Publicity promoted this "caught on film" moment, claiming it was Houdini himself dangling from the plane.
His second film, Terror Island, was made soon after the first. Harry became confident in his movie making abilities and he formed Houdini Picture Corporation where he wrote, produced and starred in movies such as The Man From Beyond and Haldane of the Secret Service. He also started up his own film laboratory business called The Film Development Corporation using a new process for developing motion picture film. Houdini’s brother, Hardeen, left his own career as a magician and escape artist to run the company. Neither Houdini's acting career nor FDC found success, and he gave up on the movie business in 1923, noting "the profits are too meager.” However, years later, Houdini did receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
By 2007, only The Man From Beyond had been commercially released on DVD with incomplete versions of The Master Mystery and Terror Island released by private collectors on VHS. Complete 35 mm prints of Haldane of the Secret Service and The Grim Game exist only in private collections. In April 2008, Kino International released a DVD box set of Houdini's surviving silent movies and five minutes of The Grim Game. The set also includes newsreel footage of Houdini's escapes from 1907 to 1923.
