Rechtop staan houdini biography and pictures

Houdini also appeared in several early movies and made many early airplane flights. He made the first successful airplane flight in Australia , on 18 March , in Victoria. Houdini died in Detroit , Michigan , on October 31, Two weeks before his death, a college student approached Houdini and asked him if he could withstand a punch in the stomach, a challenge which Houdini often took, and the former punched him several times.

Some speculate that it was caused by a ruptured appendix from that incident. Contents move to sidebar hide. Page Talk. Read Change Change source View history. One of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Weisz moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. When he was 13, Weisz moved with his father to New York City, taking on odd jobs and living in a boarding house before the rest of the family joined them.

It was there that he became interested in trapeze arts. Though his magic met with little success, he soon drew attention for his feats of escape using handcuffs. In , he married fellow performer Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, who would serve as Houdini's lifelong stage assistant under the name Beatrice "Bess" Houdini. In , Houdini's act caught the attention of Martin Beck, an entertainment manager who soon got him booked at some of the best vaudeville venues in the country, followed by a tour of Europe.

Houdini's feats would involve the local police, who would strip search him, place him in shackles and lock him in their jails. The show was a huge sensation, and he soon became the highest-paid performer in American vaudeville. Houdini continued his act in the United States in the early s, constantly upping the ante from handcuffs and straightjackets to locked, water-filled tanks and nailed packing crates.

He was able to escape because of both his uncanny strength and his equally uncanny ability to pick locks. In , Harry Houdini hired H. Lovecraft and his friend C. The article does not survive. Lovecraft's detailed synopsis for Cancer does survive, as do three chapters of the treatise written by Eddy. Houdini's death derailed the plans, as his widow did not wish to pursue the project.

Unlike the image of the classic magician, Houdini was short and stocky and typically appeared on stage in a long frock coat and tie. Most biographers give his height as 5 feet 5 inches 1. Houdini was also said to be slightly bow-legged , which aided in his ability to gain slack during his rope escapes. In the biography Houdini!!! They stressed his smallness — "somewhat undersized" — and angular, vivid features: "He is smooth-shaven with a keen, sharp-chinned, sharp-cheekboned face, bright blue eyes and thick, curly, black hair.

It communicated to audiences at once warm amiability, pleasure in performing, and, more subtly, imperious self-assurance. Several reporters tried to capture the charming effect, describing him as "happy-looking", "pleasant-faced", "good natured at all times", "the young Hungarian magician with the pleasant smile and easy confidence".

Houdini made the only known recordings of his voice on Edison wax cylinders on October 29, , in Flatbush, New York. On them, Houdini practices several different introductory speeches for his famous Chinese Water Torture Cell. He also invites his sister, Gladys, to recite a poem. Houdini then recites the same poem in German. The six wax cylinders were discovered in the collection of magician John Mulholland after his death in They are part of the David Copperfield collection.

In September , Houdini was summoned by the German police prior to his first performance in the country who suspected his act was fake. Subsequently in Berlin, he was stripped naked and forced to perform an escape routine in front of policemen. Houdini was tightly restrained with "thumbscrews, finger locks, and five different hand and elbow irons".

He was able to escape in 6 minutes, and later used the stunt in advertising. Subsequently in , a newspaper in Cologne accused him of attempting to bribe a police officer in order to rig an escape attempt, and paying a civilian police employee to aid him with another performance. Houdini sued the newspaper and the police officer for slander.

As part of the trial, Houdini was asked to open without the aid of tools one of the police officer's handcrafted locks, for which the officer had said that Houdini had tried to bribe him. Houdini was able to do so, and won the case. Houdini became an active Freemason and was a member of St. Cecile Lodge No. A plaque affixed to the building by the Historical Landmark Preservation Center reads, "The magician lived here from to collecting illusions, theatrical memorabilia, and books on psychic phenomena and magic.

In , Houdini moved to Los Angeles to film. Walker, who owned both sides of the street, and , the latter address having a pool where Houdini practiced his water escapes. In , he registered for selective service as Harry Handcuff Houdini. Houdini died on October 31, at the age of 52 from peritonitis swelling of the abdomen , possibly related to appendicitis and possibly related to punches to his abdomen he had received about a week and a half earlier.

Witnesses to an incident at Houdini's dressing room in the Princess Theatre in Montreal on October 22, , speculated that Houdini's death was caused by Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead — , who repeatedly struck Houdini's abdomen. The accounts of the witnesses, students named Jacques Price and Sam Smilovitz sometimes called Jack Price and Sam Smiley , generally corroborated each other.

Price said that Whitehead asked Houdini "if he believed in the miracles of the Bible" and "whether it was true that punches in the stomach did not hurt him". Houdini offered a casual reply that his stomach could endure a lot. Whitehead then delivered "some very hammer-like blows below the belt". Houdini was reclining on a couch at the time, having broken his ankle while performing several days earlier.

Price said that Houdini winced at each blow and stopped Whitehead suddenly in the midst of a punch, gesturing that he had had enough, and adding that he had had no opportunity to prepare himself against the blows, as he did not expect Whitehead to strike him so suddenly and forcefully. Had his ankle not been broken, he would have risen from the couch into a better position to brace himself.

Throughout the evening, Houdini performed in great pain. He had insomnia and remained in constant pain for the next two days, but did not seek medical help. He ignored the advice and decided to go on with the show. Despite the diagnosis, Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show, but was revived and continued.

Afterwards, he was hospitalized at Detroit's Grace Hospital where he died from peritonitis on October 31, aged It is unlikely that the dressing room incident caused Houdini's eventual death, since the effects of sustaining blunt trauma alongside appendicitis is debated in medical literature. After taking statements from Price and Smilovitz, Houdini's insurance company concluded that the death was due to the dressing-room incident and paid double indemnity.

Houdini's funeral was held on November 4, , in New York, with more than 2, mourners in attendance. A statuary bust was added to the exedra in , a rarity, because graven images are forbidden in Jewish cemeteries. In , the bust was destroyed by vandals. Temporary busts were placed at the grave until when a group from the Houdini Museum in Scranton , Pennsylvania, placed a permanent bust with the permission of Houdini's family and of the cemetery.

The Society of American Magicians took responsibility for the upkeep of the site, as Houdini had willed a large sum of money to the organization he had grown from one club to 5,—6, dues-paying membership worldwide. The payment of upkeep was abandoned by the society's dean George Schindler , who said "Houdini paid for perpetual care, but there's nobody at the cemetery to provide it", adding that the operator of the cemetery, David Jacobson, "sends us a bill for upkeep every year but we never pay it because he never provides any care.

Machpelah Cemetery operator Jacobson said that they "never paid the cemetery for any restoration of the Houdini family plot in my tenure since ", claiming that the money came from the cemetery's dwindling funds. The granite monuments of Houdini's sister, Gladys, and brother, Leopold were also destroyed by vandals. She had expressed a wish to be buried next to her husband, but instead was interred 35 miles due north at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Westchester County, New York , as her Catholic family refused to allow her to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

On March 22, , Houdini's great-nephew the grandson of his brother Theo George Hardeen announced that the courts would be asked to allow exhumation of Houdini's body to investigate the possibility of Houdini being murdered by spiritualists, as suggested in the biography The Secret Life of Houdini. Instead, the Post reported, it was orchestrated by the book's authors William Kalush and Larry Sloman , who had hired the public relations firm Dan Klores Communications to promote the book.

In , it was revealed the parties involved had not filed legal papers to perform an exhumation. Houdini's brother, Theodore Hardeen , who returned to performing after Houdini's death, inherited his brother's effects and props. Houdini's will stipulated that all the effects should be "burned and destroyed" upon Hardeen's death. Hardeen sold much of the collection to magician and Houdini enthusiast Sidney Hollis Radner during the s, including the water torture cell.

In , a fire destroyed the museum. The water torture cell's metal frame remained, and it was restored by illusion builder John Gaughan. Radner loaned the bulk of his collection for archiving to the Outagamie Museum in Appleton, Wisconsin , but reclaimed it in and auctioned it in Las Vegas, on October 30, Houdini was a "formidable collector", and bequeathed many of his holdings and paper archives on magic and spiritualism to the Library of Congress , which became the basis for the Houdini collection in cyberspace.

Rechtop staan houdini biography and pictures

In , the bulk of Houdini's collection of American and British theatrical material, along with a significant portion of his business and personal papers, and some of his collections of other magicians were sold to pay off estate debts to theatre magnate Messmore Kendall. The extensive Houdini collection includes a first edition of Reginald Scot 's Discoverie of Witchcraft and David Garrick 's travel diary to Paris from In October , in conjunction with the 90th anniversary of the death of Houdini, the Ransom Center embarked on a major re-cataloging of the Houdini collection to make it more visible and accessible to researchers.

A large portion of Houdini's estate holdings and memorabilia was willed to his fellow magician and friend John Mulholland — In , illusionist and television performer David Copperfield purchased all of Mulholland's Houdini holdings from Mulholland's estate. These are now archived and preserved in Copperfield's warehouse at his headquarters in Las Vegas.

It contains the world's largest collection of Houdini memorabilia and preserves approximately 80, items of memorabilia of Houdini and other magicians, including Houdini's stage props and material, his rebuilt water torture cabinet and his metamorphosis trunk. It is not open to the public, but tours are available by invitation to magicians, scholars, researchers, journalists and serious collectors.

The Houdini Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania, bills itself as "the only building in the world entirely dedicated to Houdini". It is open to the public year-round by reservation. It includes Houdini films, a guided tour about Houdini's life and a stage magic show. Magicians Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz opened the facility in It claims to house the largest collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe.

The museum contains several hundred pieces of ephemera, most of which belonged to Harry Houdini. Houdini published numerous books during his career some of which were written by his good friend Walter B. Gibson , the creator of The Shadow [ ]. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version.

In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. Hungarian-American escapologist and stuntperson. For other uses, see Houdini disambiguation. The native form of this personal name is Weisz Erik. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals. Budapest , Kingdom of Hungary , Austria-Hungary. Detroit, Michigan , U.

Illusionist escapologist stunt performer. Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner. Early life [ edit ]. Magic career [ edit ]. Notable escapes [ edit ]. Daily Mirror challenge [ edit ]. Milk Can Escape [ edit ]. Chinese water torture cell [ edit ]. Main article: Chinese Water Torture Cell. Suspended straitjacket escape [ edit ]. Overboard box escape [ edit ].

Buried alive stunt [ edit ]. Film career [ edit ]. Aviator [ edit ]. Australian flights [ edit ]. March 18, [ edit ]. March 20, [ edit ]. March 21, [ edit ]. After Australia [ edit ]. Debunking spiritualists [ edit ]. Appearance and voice recordings [ edit ]. Harry Houdini's voice. Problems playing this file? See media help. Legal issues [ edit ].

Personal life [ edit ]. Death [ edit ]. Houdini grave site [ edit ]. Proposed exhumation [ edit ]. Legacy [ edit ]. Publications [ edit ]. Filmography [ edit ]. Posters [ edit ]. See also [ edit ]. References [ edit ]. Born Erik Weisz in Hungary, known as Harry Houdini, was one of the most famous magicians and entertainers in history. Immigrating to the United States with his family as a child, he later adopted the stage name Harry Houdini.

Houdini's career took off after he began performing daring escape acts and illusionary feats, earning him the nickname "The Handcuff King" and "The World's Greatest Escape Artist". Throughout his career, he challenged authorities to restrain him with increasingly complex devices, seemingly impossible situations, such as straitjackets, handcuffs, and even underwater restraints — always managing to break free.

Houdini performing his handcuff escape. The day when Harry Houdini almost died during handcuff stunt in Blackburn. Not only was Houdini the highest-paid performer in the United States during his era, but he also delved into various other pursuits. He ventured into silent film acting, authored books, harbored a fascination with aviation, served as the president of the Society of American Magicians, and notably, was a skeptic of mediums and an active debunker of spiritualists.

Our fundraising call for Houdini birthplace memorial in Budapest. We aim to install a memorial plaque at the downtown Budapest building where Houdini was born, commemorating one of the greatest illusionists in history. The design and size of the plaque will be determined by the funds raised; should the collected amount fall short, we'll opt for a smaller, but equally meaningful plaque.

After our campaign our fundraisers will be displayed on this website. Houdini was not only a renowned illusionist, but also a passionate advocate for the art of magic. Houdini performing the suspended straight jacket escape. High-quality magic tools with one-of-a-kind integrations. Houdini was born as Erik Weisz to a Jewish family, he was one of seven children.

The Weisz family moved with the 4 year old Erik from the old continent to America, landed on July 3, , for a better life. The family changed their name to the German spelling Weiss, and Erik became Ehrich. Facing severe financial difficulties, the family's children took on employment to contribute to the family's upkeep. Houdini himself engaged in various odd jobs such as selling newspapers, shining shoes, and running errands.