1. ORIGIN
Houdini with his mother and his wife
His family who was Jewish, emigrated to the United States, when he was only four year old.
They lived in Wisconsin, and later in New York. Little Erich had not got an easy childhood, not
even a formal education and the difficulties were habitual in his family. Some people say that
at the age of eleven, he worked liked locksmith's beginner and it is known that he passed for
some circus as a contortionist, in addition to be a messenger and doing some number at the
spectacles of extravagant. One if his four brothers, Hardeen, sometimes helped him in his first
magic presentations at the age of fifteen. He read and learned everything what could on this
matter; in fact, the stage name he took was a homage to the mythical Robert-Houdin,
considered to the be the “father of magic”.
EFFECTS (TRICKS)
One of the classic leakages that collaborate with Houdini is “the metarmorphosis”. The
illusionist was tied and introduced inside a sack, and turn in insude a trunk; all this was tied
and fastened with padlocks. Then an assistant was rising on the trunk, a curtain was rose and
3, 2, 1... to the following moment the curtain was going down showing Houdini liberated in the
place that the assistant was occupying. Then the trunk was opened and all the ropes of the
sack were coming untied to show to the assistant inside the box. They had exchanged or
transformed both with the best art of the magic.
2. TRANSFORMATION
Harry Houdini in 1899
The Houdini' skills to be liberated of ties with ropes, with padloscks and other complicated
situations was loving by the audience. He did a long trip for four years to Europe, harvesting
big successes and incresing his own legend. What Houdini usually did, was to present himself
in a city before the chief of the local police, or n the prison, along with a group of journalists.
He proposed his challenge, which was published n the newspapers and commented all around
the city. Then the magician was shut up, tied or chained. When he managed to be liberatedm
his exploit was obtaining new promotion in the press. One of the mosy serious accidents he
suffered, that almost cost him the lifem was on having tried to escape of a big beer jerry can.
Houdini is considered as the best escapist of all the times.
TECHNIQUE
Although his secrets remained well kept, it is believed for the books he published, that in
general, realized his prowesses without help of persons related to him, principally concealing
picklocks, keys and other hardware in the orifices of his body, for example swallowing the keys
and regurgitating them.
3. TRAINING
Houdini being prepared for one of its tricks of escapism.
Other of his most grand numbers was the Chamber of Torture China (1912) an enormous
“aquarium” where mouth was plunged, hung below by the feet, and from which he escaped
after a few endless minuted. The last thing that the spectators saw, before a curtain covered
him, was the Houdini's terrified face, plungedm striking the crystal.
OTHER LOVE
Harry Houdini with Charles Chaplin in 1919
Houdini shot some action films as main actor, but his career in this sense was not so
remarkable. He also tried to be a businessman on the cinema business. He wrote some books
describing his work and he completed an the most immense personal library about magic of
all the times.
4. HOUDINI AND THE AVIATION
Altough he was a great magician, his hobby for the airplanes was known when he flied to
Australia, when he was the first man to fly there.
DEATH
The daybreak of the day 31st October 1926, Houdini died at the age of 52. Doctors emitted a
report indicating that the cause of the death was peritonitis.
The burial was done few days later, where a crowd of two thousand people came.
HOUDINI'S CODE
Harry Houdini' Star at the Theatre Orpheum, Tennesse.
