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Born
I was born on March 24th 1874 in Budpest, Hungary. My real name wasnt Harry Houdini, it was Ehrich Weisz but you will learn more about how i got that name later. I was one of six children to Mayer Weisz and Cecilia Steiner. -
First appearance
I was nine when i made my first appearance on stage in October. I did a trapeaze act. I called myself: Ehrich, the Prince of the Air. When i was 12 i ran away from home, but i came back a year later. Nothing is known about the year away from my family. -
Magic
I began my magic career sometime in 1891 with my brother, Theodore. I named myself partially after my biggest influence, French magician Jean Eugene-Robert Houdin. I put an i at the end of his last name to get Houini and i used the first name of Harry Kellar(whom i also admired) to get Harry Houdini.
As far as magic tricks went, i was big on card tricks. I was called the King of Cards, but i soon started experimenting in escape acts. -
the Houdinis
While i was busy preforming with Dash Theodore) i met fellow preformer, Bess Rahner. A year later i married Bess and repalced Dash with Bess as my stage assistant. We became known as the Houdinis. -
Big break
My big break came in 1899 when i met a guy in Woodstock, IL. His name was Martin Beck. He was impressed by my handcuff escape acts that he booked me a tour in Europe in 1900. -
The Handcuff King
As i toured Europe, i became widely known as the Handcuff King. For my shows, i would challenge the police to handcuff me and put me in a jail cell. Usually, i would be stripped searched first. These preformances brought me new-found wealth. -
Escape
From 1907 - 1910 i started to escape from more than just handcuffs. I found myself escaping from jails, handcuffs, chains, ropes and even straightjackets, often while hanging from a rope. Soon i left the handcuffs behind and started escaping from things like a locked, water filled milk can. -
Chinese Water Torture Cell
This was one of my most famous escape tricks. Many rumors go around that this was the trick that led me to my death but no, thats not true. In this trick i was suspended into a locked glass and steel cabinet full to overflowing with water. This required me to hold my breath for 3 minutes. (Note: the average person can hold their breath for 30 - 40 seconds). -
Buried Alive
I had three verisons of my Buried Alive trick, but the one that im gonna tell you about is the one that almost cost me my life. The first verison of this Buried Alive trick happened in Santa Anna, CA. I was buried in a pit of earth six feet deep. No casket. No Box. No Nothing. Just me. I became so exhausted trying to dig myself out, when i finally reached the surface i fell unconcious. -
Death
On October 22nd 1926 two students from McGill University came in and asked me if i really could withstand any blow to my abdomen. I said yes. Not giving me time to brace myself, one of the students, J Gordan Whitehead, hit me four times in my abdomen. The rest of night, i preformed in great pain and when i tried to sleep, i couldnt. The pain was so terrible. When Bess finally got me to seek medical attention the doctor told me my fever was at 102 degrees and i had acute appendicitis. -
Death (continued)
I was told to not to preform the next day, but i didnt listen. Maybe i would've lived longer. Anyway, i went on to pre form that night on October 24th, which would be my last preformance, I passed out during the show but was revived and finished preforming. After the show i was hospitalized. I died from peritonitis from a ruptured appendix on Halloween 1926. During my last days i tried to stay opptimistic ,but my last words were "Im tired of fighting." -
Handcuff Secrets
In My book Handcuff Secrets I tell how many handcuffs can be opened with applied force or shoestrings. Also, i was able to regurgitate keys on command and when tied down in ropes or in a straightjacket i would just gain wiggle room by moving my arms slightly away from body, dislocating both my shoulders.
