Many times he would challenge the police to lock him up however they could on the street, then he’d jump in a nearby river and emerge totally free. Houdini’s signature stunt was escaping handcuffs. When he burst from his coffin minutes later he would regurgitate the needles, threaded with the cotton! No Handcuffs Could Hold Him In one trick, he swallowed needles and thread and then had himself buried alive on stage. He became obsessed with tricks, performing them in both closed theaters and as open publicity stunts. Known to shrug off straitjackets, slip out of handcuffs, and wriggle out of ropes, Houdini began his journey of facing mortal danger head-on while wondering how he could make the task harder.Īs Houdini’s name and prowess grew, so too did his arsenal of illusions. Houdini may not have had the card skills to impress fellow tradesmen, but his talent for escape seemed unparalleled. Known as the “King of Cards” for a short while, fellow magicians saw Houdini as a man with some skill, but nothing that truly impressed them. Tried of imitators stealing his act he moved on to more daring escapes by 1908.A child immigrant from Hungary, the man who would become known as Harry Houdini got his start in the entertainment world in 1891 traveling with a circus of strongmen. Many tried to imitate his mind-shattering escapes but none could match him. Dabbling in card tricks and other classic magic, Houdini finally found his niche in handcuff escapes. He took his brother to their magic act on the streets. His first name developed naturally as a family nickname. The young Weiss fell in love with the mystique of the French magician and adopted his last name, adding a simple I at the end. When he was 13 his interest in magic arose when he and his brother Theo read the memoirs of magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin’. The troubled Weiss ran away from home at the age of 12, living in shelters and on the street, but returned the next year to continue supporting his family. A dazzling trapeze act wowed the audience and a legend was born. Working his way into the showcase with his charm and integrity. By the age of 9, he made his first public appearance as “ Ehric, Prince of The Air” in a visiting traveling circus. He would often trick passerby’s with the classic three-cup trick, earning himself and his family a few extra dollars. It was here, on the streets, that he developed his dazzling showmanship and learned the art of working for a crowd. He often shined shoes and sold newspapers. Leaving school in the 3rd grade, he worked several odd jobs as a young boy to help make ends meet. They settled down in Appleton, Wisconsin, and had an early interest in sports and athlete endeavors. His family immigrated to the United States in 1878, likely escaping anti-semitism that was rampant in Eastern Europe at the time. Born Ehrich Weiss, he was one of seven children born to Jewish Rabbi Dr. Harry Houdini was born on April 6th, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. A true magician never reveals his secrets, but US Ghost Adventures attempts to decode them in the pages below. It is a tradition that is still carried on today by magicians world round. Unwilling to let the love of her life go, or was it Houdini who was unable to let his spotlight fade? Either way, his legacy lived on through these simple words. He left a code with Bess, “Rossabelle Believe” and for the next ten years, she held a seance on the anniversary of his death. Houdini, a staunch disbeliever of such things in his later days, became fodder with his passing on Halloween of 1926. She was convinced that love could survive in the afterlife and that there indeed was an afterlife to believe in. This was the intention of an experiment, one performed for a decade by Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, better known as Bess Houdini, the loving wife of the great magician Harry Houdini. An undying bond that extends into the afterlife. But what if they do not hold? Not due to unfaithfulness but exactly the opposite. One of faithfulness, dedication, and loyalty.
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