Harry Houdini

Bernard Shaw once said that as one of the three most famous figures in the history of the world - real or fictional, Houdini Dini enjoys the same fame as Jesus Christ and Sherlock Holmes.

This Houdini is the legendary Harry Houdini. He is not only a magician, but also a writer, supernatural exposer, pilot, and movie star. "Houdini was a great egotist, a genius who tolerated no dissent, a courageous adventurer, a writer, a collector, a super circus owner, a man of unfettered blockbuster energy, and an intriguing human being. , a performer with a strong ambition to get ahead, a person who is devoted to his family, a speaking artist, and a person who dares to face any challenge. His reputation is not limited to the stage, but he uses his quarter. Century time is active on the stage, entertaining people as a 'miracle worker'."

He is short in stature, less than 1.7 meters tall, and often wears shoes with lifting heels. With his huge head, short legs and small feet, he looked like a veritable boxer on stage. What impressed people most in life was his military uniform. One observer once regarded him as "an enlarged, idolized bust of Roman apologists and generals." He has an average appearance, with curly black hair.

His stage pronunciation is accentuated, enunciating almost every syllable, with a slight German accent. His manner was crude, bordering on strange, and had none of the elegance of other magicians. His famous saying is "This, sooner or later, will disappear."

As a magician, his name has become synonymous with escape. His ability to escape seemingly inescapable situations and his ability to dramatize the entire performance have made him a contemporary legend. The mythical legends surrounding him await people to examine and explore. Truth is often stranger than fiction.

Houdini was born on March 24, 1874, whose real name was Erich Weiss. Although he claimed throughout his life that he was born in the United States, the truth was that he was born in Budapest, Hungary. Houdini had four brothers and one sister, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was four years old. Houdini's childhood was very poor. Like other brothers, Houdini began working to support his family at the age of eight. He sold newspapers and worked as a shoe shine boy. Houdini left home to live independently when he was 12 years old, but Houdini's affection for his mother was indeed very deep. The young Houdini wandered around the United States for nearly a year, sending as much money home as he could.

When he was 13 years old, he came to New York and joined his father. Later, the whole family moved to New York. There was always conflict in the Houdini family. The wife of one of his brothers married another brother just two weeks after divorcing her husband. Houdini, a Jew, married Bass, a Catholic singer and dancer, which caused great conflicts within the family. Even his wish to be buried with his wife after death could not be realized.

Like most immigrants of the time, he was uneducated as a child. But Houdini had the qualities of an athlete, winning awards in swimming and track and field. This laid the foundation for his escape technique. At the same time, he is extremely ambitious and full of desire for success.

Houdini became interested in magic after watching the performance of touring magician Lynn. Houdini entered the magic industry at the age of 17. Houdini loved reading and had an important influence on him. Two books, one an introduction to the tricks of pseudo-psychics and the other an autobiography of Robert Houdini.

Houdini's name comes from this internationally renowned master of magic. He hoped that he could reach the heights of his mentor in some aspects. He initially formed the Houdini Brothers with magic enthusiast Jack Herman, whose original show was Escape from a Wicker Box. Houdini's brother Cido later replaced Herman.

One of Houdini's most successful performances was to swallow a dozen needles and threads, and then spit out the needles threaded on the threads. This performance established his life closely related to magic.

Houdini first saw the straitjacket in 1896 when he was visiting a friend who was a doctor in a mental hospital in Canada. He then began to use the clothing to perform escape tricks. He hung himself upside down, head down, a few yards from the ground, restrained by a straitjacket, and then performed escape tricks.

He expanded the setting of escape shows, sometimes escaping from prison; sometimes locking himself in a box, throwing the box into the river, and escaping; sometimes escaping from a canvas or paper bag, of course Make sure the bag is not damaged. Houdini is best known for making his stage performances deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Several of his famous performances include escaping from a water prison, a milk jug, and escaping from being buried alive.

In 1898, Houdini began his handcuff performance. He asked the audience to provide handcuffs, cuffed himself, and then took off the handcuffs himself.

At the age of 26, Houdini toured Europe as the "Handcuff King". He caused a sensation in London from the beginning and stayed in Europe for the next five years. There were too many performances, so he recalled his brother Cido, whose stage name was Harding. Many people imitated Houdini's performances, which pushed him to continue to innovate and create newer, more difficult, and more dangerous shows.

He invented the underwater escape show. He was also the first person to perform a large-scale stage magic show at that time. Once he turned an elephant into nothing on the stage. Houdini had enough strength and flexibility to use it freely in his magic performances. He spent a lot of time studying and practicing. To perform underwater escapes, he practiced holding his breath in a bathtub for four minutes.

Houdini's greatest contribution was the invention and improvement of a series of important magic performances. He also once opened a magic shop in New York. At that time, he signed autographs with enthusiastic magic fans in Venasi all day long. Book sales. He also served as president of the American Society of Magicians from 1923 to 1924.

In 1919, he founded the Houdini Film Company and became a film producer, actor and stuntman. On March 1, 1921, he also received a patent for a diving suit.

Houdini always emphasized that his magic was achieved through normal means and that he did not possess any supernatural abilities.

As a master of magic, there are many legends surrounding the death of Harry Houdini. One of the most common misinformation stems from the movie "Houdini" starring Tony Curtis. In the movie, Houdini dies during a magic trick while escaping from a Chinese-style water prison, which he failed to escape this time. Another misinformation is that Houdini died from a blow to the stomach. Houdini was known to be in great physical shape, being able to withstand blows to his stomach while tensing his muscles. While performing in Canada he was challenged by a student to prove his ability by stabbing himself. But the student didn't give Houdini enough time to prepare.

But in fact, regardless of whether the blow punctured his appendix, it was not the cause of his appendix inflammation. The real cause was bacterial infection.

According to the Houdini Historical Center in Wisconsin, USA, Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 in Detroit. The official cause of death was peritonitis caused by appendicitis.

At that time, Houdini was on a tour in the United States. Both he and his wife felt stomach discomfort, but because Houdini was starring, he refused to see a doctor for fear of delaying the performance. It is speculated that he was probably in the early stages of appendicitis at the time, and his stubbornness led to his death.

Because he was always tired, he kept getting into accidents, first spraining his ankle while being carried to the water cell in Albany, but he endured the pain and continued to perform. A few days later in Canada, he was stabbed in the stomach by the student. Houdini eventually collapsed on stage in Detroit and was hospitalized with peritonitis. Houdini's wife, Beth, was admitted to the same hospital for stomach treatment and visited her husband every day in a wheelchair. Houdini passed away on October 31. His last words were "I'm tired of fighting."

Houdini left his wife $500,000. He left his repertoire, equipment, and magic secrets to his brother Harding. His will required Harding to burn the equipment upon his death. Fortunately for historians, Harding did not do this and sold the show, keeping the equipment and tools.

It is also worth mentioning that in the summer of 1926, a few months before his death, Houdini heard that a magician sealed himself in a box and stayed underwater for nearly an hour and survived. came out. Houdini bought a copper coffin, locked himself in it, and sunk the box at the bottom of a hotel swimming pool. An hour and a half later, the box was opened, and he stood in front of everyone unscathed with a smile.

He took the coffin with him on tour in the United States, displayed it in the lobby of the theater, and planned to use it in a performance. He also taught his wife how to use it, joking to her that she could use it if something happened to him on tour. It turned out that it was this coffin that carried Houdini's body back to New York.

"The magic never ends", these are the words Houdini used to say at the end of his performances.