How did the great illusionist Harry Houdini die? Houdini personal biography.

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Already in 1878, the Weiss family successfully immigrated to the United States. It was there that Eric began to introduce himself to others by the American name Harry. And the future magician adopted his new surname on the advice of his partner Jake Hyman, a big fan of the illusionist Robert-Houdin. During his life, Houdini also used other pseudonyms: Eric the Great, King of the Cards and Eric the Prince of Air.

WITH early childhood Houdini admired and carefully watched the work of magicians and magicians, and he performed his first independent act at the age of 9. The boy hung upside down on the rope and pulled pins out of his eyelashes. One wrong move and he would lose an eye. Houdini received 35 cents for his act that evening. Then he performed on the trapeze, and once performed the number “Savage”. He was locked in a cage, where he, wearing the skin of a lion, gnawed raw meat with his teeth.

Houdini was not capricious and worked hard in any role. But then he seriously took up the craft of a mechanic. For what? To comprehend all the intricacies of constructing any types of locks. It was these skills that allowed Houdini to become the world's most famous escape artist ( circus artist demonstrating the ability to free oneself from chains, ropes, etc.). There is evidence that Houdini once managed to escape from the stomach of a whale.

It's no secret that early stage During his career, Houdini became interested in all aspects of death, as it attracted the attention of the public. Harry bought one of the first electric chairs in the United States designed for executing criminals, using it in his shows. And after the death of his beloved mother, Harry became seriously involved in spiritualism, although he himself often exposed spiritualists as swindlers and swindlers, making money from the feelings and grief of people.

Houdini never tired of revealing the cheap tricks of spiritualists, proving to the public their commercialism and deceit. Although we note that the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle, firmly believed that Houdini himself could maintain a living connection with the world of the dead and communicate with their souls.

One day Houdini met the beautiful Mademoiselle Bess Razner. The affair lasted only two weeks. Then it happened modest wedding, and the couple never separated for more than a day. It is interesting that throughout their lives the couple addressed each other only as “Mrs. Houdini” and “Mr. Houdini.” It is worth recognizing that their feelings were sincere and deep. Harry wrote letters to his Bess while she was in the next room. Bess became the maestro's permanent assistant on stage. The couple often argued, then Houdini left the house and walked along the street. Upon his return, he would throw his hat into Bess's room; if the hat flew back into the hallway, it meant that Bess was still angry. After Houdini's death, Bess fell into a deep depression and visited spiritualists weekly, hoping to hear from Harry.

Unfortunately, this loving and devoted couple never had any children. There are many different rumors about this. Most likely, the reason lies in Harry's brother Leopold Weiss, who was considered one of the first and foremost radiologists in New York. The fact is that Harry often and voluntarily acted as a guinea pig in Leopold's experiments. Apparently, these experiments made the maestro infertile. However, the couple’s desire to have children of their own was so great that the couple came up with an imaginary son, who was named Meer Samuel. According to the Houdini spouses, he should have become the future president of the United States.

In 1909, Harry Houdini became seriously interested in aviation. He studied flying in Germany and, having received a pilot’s certificate, began teaching piloting to German cadets. When did the first one begin? World War, Houdini bitterly regretted that he himself taught enemy pilots to fly. By the way, he became one of the first pilots to cross the whole of Australia in an airplane alone.

Now let's return to the American claim that Harry Houdini was born in the USA. This “duck” was noticed by Houdini himself at one time. He truly loved the States and was a passionate patriot of his new homeland. In his biography, he indicated the city of Appleton (Wisconsin) as his place of birth. In 1917, Houdini applied to enlist in a volunteer detachment for the war in Europe.

Fortunately, he was not taken due to his age. Then he went to Europe at his own expense, where he performed for free in front of American soldiers. His signature number on that tour was “Money from Nowhere.” Harry caught dollars in the air and distributed them to the soldiers. It later turned out that Houdini distributed 7 thousand dollars from his own pocket to the American soldiers, deciding to sweeten the lives of the military at least in this way. But this is not leavened patriotism, but sincere.

At the same time, Houdini was an extremely demanding boss towards his assistants and long-legged assistants. One of the duties of the assistants was to put extremely curious spectators to sleep with chloroform, who managed to get behind the scenes and find out the secrets of Houdini's tricks. For loyalty and reliability, Houdini forced his workers to write an oath of loyalty and concealment of the secrets of all the maestro’s tricks.

Some of Houdini's performances were extremely dangerous for his life. Therefore, he had to keep himself in amazing physical shape and complete spiritual balance. Houdini's house had a special deep bathtub where Harry practiced holding his breath. In addition, on all his voyages the maestro took the vat in which he trained. Houdini held his breath underwater for three minutes even at 45 years old!

In every free minute, Houdini repeated and perfected tricks with playing cards and every day he untied at least a hundred rope knots with his toes. Everyone who personally knew Harry Houdini agreed that he was the clearest example of a perfectionist (a person striving for perfection in everything). Even in his youth, he learned to use his left arm and leg no worse than his right. And this can only be achieved through tireless work and training.

Contemporaries considered Harry Houdini a superman, although in those days this word (superman) was used extremely rarely and cautiously. But all the new tricks and unprecedented performances of the magician and sorcerer did not allow us to treat him differently. No one could believe that Mr. Houdini would ever die. But on Halloween night 1926 (October 31), Harry Houdini passed away. It was impossible to come up with a more mysterious date of death.

Mr. Houdini died of peritonitis, which was the consequence of an acute attack of appendicitis. More than two thousand people and about two hundred circus performers and magicians came to the funeral of the world's best magician and magician. They broke a symbolic magic wand over Houdini's grave, which then became a tradition at the funerals of magicians and circus performers.

Houdini was buried next to his parents. Letters from his mother were placed under the pillow in the maestro’s coffin. Harry bequeathed almost all of his belongings and property to his brother Theo, but demanded that after his brother’s death, all paraphernalia of his circus activities be destroyed. Houdini left five thousand valuable and rare books for the public library of the US Congress.

Harry Houdini (English Harry Houdini, real name and surname Erich Weiss; English Erich Weiss or Ehrich Weisz; March 24, 1874, Budapest, Austro-Hungarian Empire - October 31, 1926, New York) - American illusionist, famous for exposing charlatans and complex stunts with escapes and releases.

According to documents, the future magician was born in Budapest into a rabbinical family, although Houdini himself claimed that his place of birth was American state Wisconsin. His parents emigrated to the United States on July 3, 1878, when Erich was four years old. The family initially settled in the town of Appleton (Wisconsin), where his father Meer Samuel Weiss (1829-1892) received the post of rabbi of the Reform synagogue Zion Reform Jewish Congregation (Reform Jewish community of Zion). In 1887, Houdini and his father moved to New York, where they were soon joined by the artist’s mother Cecilia (Cilya) Steiner (1841-1913) and six of his brothers and sisters.

Harry performed card tricks publicly in entertainment venues from the age of 10. In 1892 he adopted the pseudonym Houdini, in honor of the French magician Robert-Houdin (Houdin). Later, the name Harry was added to the surname in honor of Harry Kellar, although according to the testimony of relatives, already in childhood, friends called him Ehrie or Harry. Initially he toured the USA with his brother. IN early career Houdini's performances were dominated by self-release from handcuffs and from water tanks. For advertising purposes, he practiced spectacular stunts that could be witnessed by entire crowds of onlookers. So, one day he was suspended in a bag from the cornice of a skyscraper, but successfully freed himself. Another time he walked through a brick wall in front of many spectators. In 1903, he was thrown from a bridge into the Thames, handcuffed and shackled with a 30-pound ball, but surfaced a few minutes later, waving the handcuffs.

During a tour of Europe and Russia in 1900, Houdini amazed London with “The Disappearance of the Living Elephant,” which he re-enacted at the New York Hippodrome in 1918. He toured Russia again in 1908, demonstrating self-liberation from death row at Butyrskaya prison and the Peter and Paul Fortress. This is how the authors of the book “From Ancient Magicians to Modern Illusionists” describe this trick: “Locked in a prison cell, dressed in prison clothes, he came out two minutes later, opened the doors of neighboring cells and, for fun, switched places of prisoners. Then he entered the dressing room and, fifteen minutes after being locked, appeared in the guardroom dressed in his suit.”

As he grew older, Houdini's stunts became more and more difficult. Even after successful performances, he ended up in the hospital more than once. Since 1910, he began acting in films. In the same year, he staged a number to free himself from the muzzle of a cannon just seconds before the fuse went off. Interested in aviation, he purchased an airplane and made the first ever flight over Australia. He also became close to former president Theodore Roosevelt. There were rumors that Houdini was connected with American intelligence services and Scotland Yard.

In the last decade of his career, Houdini published a number of books that revealed the secrets of his craft. He was seriously concerned that, under the influence of spiritualism, which was popular in those years, many illusionists began to disguise their tricks with the appearance of communication with otherworldly forces. Accompanied by a plainclothes constable, Houdini began to attend seances incognito in order to expose charlatans, and was noticeably successful in this. The consequence was a break with an old comrade, Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a staunch supporter of spiritualism and revered Houdini as a very powerful medium.

The circumstances of Houdini's death are shrouded in mystery. It is believed that while on tour in Montreal, he was relaxing in his dressing room when he was suddenly attacked by a local student and struck several times in the stomach. The offender was confident that the famous magician could withstand any pain. Nine days later, Houdini died of peritonitis. He left his wife a secret code, without which his “true” spirit would not have been able to contact the living during table-turning sessions. This was done so that charlatans would not arrange sessions of communication with the spirit of Houdini - “the thunderstorm of spiritualists.”

Famous for exposing charlatans and complex escape and liberation tricks.

Biography

According to documents, the future magician was born in Budapest into a rabbinical family, although Houdini himself claimed that his birthplace was the American state of Wisconsin. His parents immigrated to the United States on July 3, 1878, when Erich was four years old. The family initially settled in the town of Appleton (Wisconsin), where his father Meer Samuel Weiss (1829-1892) received the post of rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation synagogue ( Reform Jewish Community of Zion). In the year Houdini and his father moved to New York, where they were soon joined by the artist’s mother Cecilia Steiner (1841-1913) and six of his brothers and sisters.

Harry performed card tricks publicly in entertainment venues from the age of 10. In 1892 he adopted the pseudonym Houdini, in honor of the French magician Robert-Houdin. Later, the name Harry was added to the surname in honor of Harry Kellar, although according to the testimony of relatives, already in childhood, friends called him Ehrie or Harry. Initially he toured the USA with his brother. Houdini's early career was dominated by acts of freeing himself from handcuffs and water tanks. For advertising purposes, he practiced spectacular stunts that could be witnessed by entire crowds of onlookers. So, one day he was suspended in a bag from the cornice of a skyscraper, but successfully freed himself. Another time he walked through a brick wall in front of many spectators. In 1903, he was thrown from a bridge into the Thames, handcuffed and shackled with a 30-pound ball, but surfaced a few minutes later, waving the handcuffs.

Harry Houdini before performing the self-release trick, 1899

Houdini with his mother Cecilia Steiner and wife Bass (Elizabeth) in 1907

1919 poster announcing a film starring Houdini

In the last decade of his career, Houdini published a number of books that revealed the secrets of his craft. He was seriously concerned that, under the influence of spiritualism, which was popular in those years, many illusionists began to disguise their tricks with the appearance of communication with otherworldly forces. Accompanied by a constable dressed in civilian clothes, Houdini began to attend seances incognito in order to expose charlatans, and was noticeably successful in this. The consequence was a break with an old comrade, Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a staunch supporter of spiritualism and revered Houdini as a very powerful medium.

The circumstances of Houdini's death are shrouded in mystery. While on tour in Montreal, he was relaxing in his dressing room when three students walked in, one of whom was a college boxing champion. He asked Mr. Houdini if he could really take several hard blows to the stomach without feeling anything. Houdini, lost in thought, nodded, and the student suddenly struck the magician two or three times. Houdini barely stopped him: “Wait, I need to get ready,” after which he tensed his abs - “Here, now you can hit.” The student hit him a couple of times and felt Houdini’s iron abdominal press on himself. When the students left, Houdini only rubbed the place that had been bruised from the first unexpected blows.

For several days, Houdini, as always, did not pay attention to the pain, but these blows provoked a rupture of the appendix, as a result of which peritonitis developed. In 1926, there were no antibiotics, and it was possible to survive only by miracle, but Houdini again amazed everyone: the fans rejoiced - here he is Houdini, the conqueror of death, who does not obey earthly laws. However, nine days later, on October 31, 1926, on the eve of Halloween, Harry Houdini died in Detroit. He left his wife a secret code, without which his “true” spirit would not have been able to contact the living during table-turning sessions. This was done so that charlatans would not arrange sessions of communication with the spirit of Houdini - “the thunderstorm of spiritualists.”

Various episodes of Houdini's life have been filmed more than once. In 1999, a musical was staged based on his biography, and in 2007 the film “Deadly Number” was released on US screens, in which the role of Houdini was played by Australian Guy Pearce, and the role of his passion was played by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Sources

A. A. Vadimov, M. A. Trivas. From the magicians of ancient times to the illusionists of our days. Moscow, 1979.

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Myths and illusions surrounded Harry Houdini, the famous illusionist, famous for his complex escape tricks. various types imprisonment for almost his entire life. Legends surround his untimely death on October 31, 1926, right on Halloween. Official reason The death of the master is a complication after appendicitis, but many suspect that the death of the great wizard was either premeditated or caused by negligence.

Risk and glory

For more than thirty years, Houdini has kept audiences around the world breathless with his unique tricks and superhuman endurance. The famous illusionist has leaped from high bridges while shackled, freed himself from tightly sealed water-filled milk cans, and "escaped" from some of the world's most heavily guarded prison cells, including Crosses. Despite the fact that Houdini was primarily an illusionist, his tricks were extremely risky and more than once resulted in injuries. In 1915, the master almost suffocated while trying to get out of the grave.

Unexpected death

Houdini built his career on his ability to survive almost impossible scenarios, which only added to the mystery of his unexpected death in 1926. At the age of 52, the illusionist ended his performance in Detroit on October 24. After the curtain fell, the master lost consciousness and was sent to the hospital with acute appendicitis. Houdini died in hospital a week after the operation from peritonitis, as a result of a ruptured appendix. His obituary expressed the shock and surprise of the public, fans and loved ones at the death of a man who daily teased death with his ability to avoid its scythe.

Black line

The strange series of events leading up to Harry Houdini's death began a few weeks before Halloween 1926. During his performance in Albani on October 11, Houdini hit his foot on heavy metal equipment and suffered a fractured left ankle. The master did not consult a doctor and instead continued his tour, going to Montreal.

In Montreal, Houdini gave a lecture at McGill University, where he invited several students to his performance on October 22. Students came to the dressing room to chat with the illusionist before the performance. During the conversation, Houdini, still suffering from a swollen ankle, sat on the sofa. One of the students, Gordon Whitehead, asked the master if it was true that he could withstand blows of enormous force - words that Houdini himself repeated more than once to the public.

According to witnesses, after Houdini confirmed his words with a nod, Whitehead delivered several strong blows to the stomach without warning the master. Houdini asked him to stop and give him time to prepare. After the illusionist stood up and tensed his abs, the student struck him several more blows. Despite the fact that the first unexpected blows caused visible pain to Houdini, he did not cancel his performances.

Last performance

After performing in Montreal, Houdini began to suffer from discomfort and stomach cramps. On the train, on the way to Detroit for the next performance, Houdini's condition worsened significantly. He began to complain of severe pain, and the master’s temperature rose to 40 degrees. The doctor who examined Gudni on the train suggested appendicitis and advised him to go straight to the hospital, but he did not want to postpone the performance. He completed all the planned stunts and lost consciousness after the curtain fell.

Official reason

The performance on October 24 in Detroit turned out to be the last in the career of the great and legendary Harry Houdini. That same night he was taken to the hospital, where he was operated on. Doctors successfully removed the appendix, but it turned out that its contents had already significantly poisoned internal organs. Despite the prognosis of his imminent death, Houdini clung to life for a week and died on October 31 in the company of his wife Bess and his two brothers.

Houdini's official cause of death was listed as peritonitis caused by a ruptured appendix. At the time, doctors were confident that the condition had developed due to blows inflicted by Gordon Whitehead. Such cases of “traumatic appendicitis” are extremely rare, but in 1926 the diagnosis was confirmed without hesitation. The insurance company even had to pay Houdini's wife twice the compensation in case of accidental death.

Rumors and legends

Houdini was buried in a cemetery in Queens on November 4, 1926, but rumors of his unexpected death continued to spread throughout towns and villages. Many assumed that the death of the master was connected with his revealing actions against pseudo-mediums, psychics and other adherents of spiritism.

When the trend grew and attracted illusionists who began to hide their tricks under the influence of otherworldly forces for the sake of money, Houdini began an active denunciation campaign, which greatly angered the so-called mediums.

The Great Whistleblower

Could feuding with popular mediums and psychics have led to the deliberate murder of Harry Houdini? In 2006, William Kalush and Larry Sloman published a biography of the master entitled “The Secret Life of Houdini.” One of the ideas developed in the book was the possibility that the death of the illusionist and activist was the result of a poisoning ordered by a guild of psychics working in Washington. Four days before his hospitalization, the illusionist spoke before Congress, insisting that the huge number of mediums' salons operating in the center of the capital be closed and that the charlatans be arrested and punished. In addition, the mediums not only belonged to a kind of organized crime group, but were also famous for the fact that many of their enemies promptly died from poisoning.

Accident

Many also still blame Gordon Whitehead, a student at McGill University, for his unexpected blows causing a ruptured appendix that led to peritonitis. In addition, there is an opinion that the student could be associated with mediums or be a contract killer. However, this idea has no basis. The fact is that Houdini really had an “iron” press and several blows to the stomach could not cause death. But the student had no way of knowing about appendicitis. The only possibility of Whitehead's involvement in the death of the illusionist is causing harm through negligence.

Houdini session

The absolute truth about the death of the escape artist will most likely never emerge. Today, most historians and biographers of the great master consider rumors of premeditated murder to be nothing more than unfounded speculation. Consensus has not been reached regarding the unfortunate involvement of the student who carried out the blows in the death. There is a possibility that traumatic appendicitis was indeed the correct diagnosis and the cause of Harry Houdini’s death, or perhaps the blows only forced the master to pay attention to the condition that had previously tormented him. In any case, when he turned to doctors for help, it was no longer possible to save him.

It is curious that during his active struggle against pseudo-mediums, Houdini often joked with his wife Bess, promising that after death he would do everything possible to contact her. For ten years, the widow organized annual seances on Halloween, the day of the great wizard's death, but his spirit never showed up. Today, the “Houdini session” has become a Halloween tradition for fans of the great master of illusions.

1919 poster announcing a film starring Houdini

In the last decade of his career, Houdini published a number of books that revealed the secrets of his craft. He was seriously concerned that, under the influence of spiritualism, which was popular in those years, many illusionists began to disguise their tricks with the appearance of communication with otherworldly forces. Accompanied by a constable dressed in civilian clothes, Houdini began to attend seances incognito in order to expose charlatans, and was noticeably successful in this. The consequence was a break with an old comrade, Arthur Conan Doyle, who was a staunch supporter of spiritualism and revered Houdini as a very powerful medium.

Interesting fact It is also that Houdini underwent Masonic initiation in the New York lodge on July 17, 1923. St. Cecile"No. 568. Very quickly (July 31, 1923) he was initiated into the degree of journeyman, and on August 21 of the same year he became a Master Mason.

Literature

Vadimov A. A., Trivas M. A. From magicians of antiquity to illusionists of our days. - M., 1979.
Doctorow E. L. Ragtime. Novel. / Translation from English Vasily Aksenov, 1975.

In English

Houdini's Escapes and Magic by Walter B. Gibson, Prepared from Houdini's private notebooks Blue Ribbon Books, Inc., 1930. Reveals some of Houdini's magic and escape methods (also released in two separate volumes: Houdini's Magic and Houdini's Escapes).
The Secrets of Houdini by J.C. Cannell, Hutchinson & Co., London, 1931. Reveals some of Houdini's escape methods.
Houdini and Conan Doyle: The Story of a Strange Friendship by Bernard M. L. Ernst, Albert & Charles Boni, Inc., NY, 1932.
Sixty Years of Psychical Research by Joseph F. Rinn, Truth Seeker Co., 1950, Rinn was a long time close friend of Houdini. Contains detailed information about the last Houdini message (there are 3) and its disclosure.
Houdini's Fabulous Magic by Walter B. Gibson and Morris N. Young Chilton, NY, 1960. Excellent reference for Houdini’s escapes and some methods (includes the Water Torture Cell).
The Houdini Birth Research Committee's Report, Magico Magazine (reprint of report by The Society of American Magicians), 1972. Concludes Houdini was born March 24, 1874, in Budapest.
Mediums, Mystics and the Occult by Milbourne Christopher, Thomas T. Crowell Co., 1975, pp. 122-145, Arthur Ford-Messages from the Dead,
Arthur Ford: The Man Who Talked with the Dead by Allen Spraggett with William V. Rauscher, 1973, pp. 152-165, Chapter 7, The Houdini Affair contains detailed information about the Houdini messages and their disclosure.
Houdini: Escape into Legend, The Early Years: 1862-1900 by Manny Weltman, Finders/Seekers Enterprises, Los Angeles, 1993. Examination of Houdini’s childhood and early career.
Houdini Comes To America by Ronald J. Hilgert, The Houdini Historical Center, 1996. Documents the Weiss family’s immigration to the United States on July 3, 1878 (when Ehrich was 4).
Houdini Unlocked by Patrick Culliton, Two volume box set: The Tao of Houdini and The Secret Confessions of Houdini, Kieran Press, 1997.
The Houdini Code Mystery: A Spirit Secret Solved by William V. Rauscher, Magic Words, 2000.
Final Session. The Strange Friendship Between Houdini and Conan Doyle by Massimo Polidoro, Prometheus Books, 2001.
The Man Who Killed Houdini by Don Bell, Vehicle Press, 2004. Investigates J. Gordon Whitehead and the events surrounding Houdini’s death.
Disappearing Tricks: Silent Film, Houdini, and the New Magic of the Twentieth Century by Matthew Solomon, University of Illinois Press, 2010. Contains new information about Houdini’s early movie career.
Houdini Art and Magic by Brooke Kamin Rapaport, Jewish Museum, 2010. Essays on Houdini’s life and work are accompanied by interviews with novelist E.L. Doctorow, Teller, Kenneth Silverman, and more.
Houdini The Key by Patrick Culliton, Kieran Press, 2010. Reveals the authentic working methods of many of Houdini effects, including the Milk Can and Water Torture Cell. Limited to 278 copies.