![]() ![]() It was a massively hyped event and it almost seemed to defeat Houdini as it took him over an hour to escape. The Daily Mirror Challenge: In 1904, the London-based paper The Daily Mirror challenged Houdini to escape special handcuffs that Nathaniel Hart, a locksmith, had spent 5 years working on. ![]() The Milk Can Escape was one of Houdini’s most famous acts (Library of Congress / Public Domain ) He also claimed that the Harry part of his name came from his admiration of Harry Kellar, but it may have also stemmed from his nickname as a child: “Ehri”. He had believed that by adding the “i” to the end of the name, he was indicating that he was “like” Robert-Houdin. Shot To Fame! Rossa Matilda Richter, The First Human Cannonball.History of Magic from Dark Art to Pop Entertainment.Harry had read his autobiography the year before. He began calling himself Harry Houdini after the French magician Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Weisz became a professional magician in 1891, while still a teenager. Along with this talent, he also showed that he had a penchant for running, becoming a champion cross-country runner in his time in New York. In 1887, Erik along with his father moved to New York City where he worked many jobs including his public debt as a trapeze artist at just age nine. They moved to Milwaukee and fell into poverty. Life was not easy however and by 1882, the Weisz family fell on hard times. Harry Houdini became known for his escape acts (Unknown Author / Public Domain ) His father was Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weisz, and his mother was Cecilia Steiner. Early YearsĮrik Weisz was born in Hungary in Budapest to a strictly Jewish family. He tried his hand at aviation, but it is as a escape artist that he will be forever remembered. Through his success, Harry Houdini became President of the Society of American Magicians and also became an actor, only to quit when it became less profitable than his escapes. Later he would include chains, ropes, and straitjackets in his act. His success here would lead him to travel Europe challenging various police forces to lock him up. Harry Houdini first attracted attention in the United States when performing in the vaudeville, a theatrical genre of variety entertainment. The name itself came from his spiritual and magic idol, Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin, who lived between 18. Houdini became most famous for his escape acts. A Hungarian American, he is best known for being an escape artist, magic user, and stunt performer. Although unlikely that after all these decades Houdini’s spirit will be breaking free of his final coffin, it’s a compelling place of powerful history that still has a magic draw reverberating long after that fatal punch.Erik Weisz, better known as Harry Houdini, was born on March 24th, 1874. While you are not advised to try to visit the cemetery today, perhaps stop by at the dawn of November when across the world people are visiting friends and family’s tombs for All Soul’s Day and Day of the Dead celebrations. One of the replacement busts from 1976, part of a long series of theft and destruction, is currently on loan from the society to the Houdini Museum in the Fantasma Magic shop near Penn Station. This week, the New York Daily News reported that the Houdini Museum in Scranton was joining forces with the society to help raise funds this is the same museum that in 2011 covertly replaced the then-missing bust of Houdini without permission from the cemetery or the society. There is an uneasy relationship between the society and the cemetery, one that’s being evoked this year in an attempt to give the gravesite much-needed restoration, including repairs to the mosaic of the society emblem below his bust. Map of Houdini’s grave (screenshot by the author, click here for Google Maps & to view larger)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |