Fifty move distance houdini biography
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Harry Houdini
Hungarian-American escapologist and stuntperson
"Houdini" redirects here. For other uses, see Houdini (disambiguation).
The native form eller gestalt of this personal name is Weisz Erik. This article uses Western name beställning when mentioning individuals.
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionaly as Harry Houdini (hoo-DEE-nee), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and trick performer noted for his escape acts.[3]
Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets beneath water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.
In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in
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Houdini (chess)
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Harry Houdini jumping off the Portland Bridge on June 10, 1908. Contributed / South Portland Historical Society
One of the greatest showmen on earth was Harry Houdini, who often performed in ports of call, including Portland in 1908.
Born in 1874 in Budapest, Houdini’s birth name was Ehrich Weiss. He came to America with his family in 1876 and endured a challenging childhood, setting out at age 17 with his brother to perform magic acts as the Houdini Brothers. They would perform anywhere they could get people to pay them – in bars, at fraternal meetings and going on the road with traveling circuses while developing a specialty in escape acts. They later went their own ways and Houdini’s wife, Bess, became his assistant in his act. As other magicians began emulating some of Houdini’s escape acts, he continued to push the limit with escapes of ever-increasing difficulty.
By 1908, he had developed and performed a new act – he would be handcuffed and/or bound in chains and would