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Bess was initially courted by Dash, but she and Houdini married, with Bess replacing Dash in the act, which became known as 'The Houdinis'. In 1894, while performing with his brother ' Dash' (Theodore) at Coney Island as 'The Brothers Houdini', Houdini met a fellow performer, Wilhelmina Beatrice 'Bess' Rahner. He soon began experimenting with escape acts.

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Some – but not all – professional magicians would come to regard Houdini as a competent but not particularly skilled sleight-of-hand artist, lacking the grace and finesse required to achieve excellence in that craft. At one point, he billed himself as the 'King of Cards'. Houdini focused initially on traditional card tricks. He performed in dime museums and sideshows, and even doubled as 'The Wild Man' at a circus. He appeared in a tent act with strongman Emil Jarrow. Houdini began his magic career in 1891, but had little success. When he was a teenager, Houdini was coached by the magician Joseph Rinn at the Pastime Athletic Club. In later life, Houdini claimed that the first part of his new name, Harry, was an homage to American magician Harry Kellar, whom he also admired, though it was likely adapted from 'Ehri', a nickname for 'Ehrich', which is how he was known to his family. Weiss incorrectly believed that an i at the end of a name meant 'like' in French. When Weiss became a professional magician he began calling himself 'Harry Houdini', after the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, after reading Robert-Houdin's autobiography in 1890. He was also a champion cross country runner in his youth. As a child, Ehrich Weiss took several jobs, making his public début as a nine-year-old trapeze artist, calling himself 'Ehrich, the Prince of the Air'.

He was joined by the rest of the family once rabbi Weiss found permanent housing. In 1887, Rabbi Weiss moved with Ehrich to New York City, where they lived in a boarding house on East 79th Street. Losing his job at Zion in 1882, Rabbi Weiss and family moved to Milwaukee and fell into dire poverty. On June 6, 1882, Rabbi Weiss became an American citizen. The family lived in Appleton, Wisconsin, where his father served as rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation.Īccording to the 1880 census, the family lived on Appleton Street in an area that is now known as Houdini Plaza. The family changed their name to the German spelling Weiss, and Erik became Ehrich. Weisz arrived in the United States on July 3, 1878, on the SS Fresia with his mother (who was pregnant) and his four brothers. (1879–1962) and Carrie Gladys (1882–1959), who was left almost blind after a childhood accident. (1863–1885), who was Houdini's half-brother by Rabbi Weisz's first marriage Nathan J. Houdini was one of seven children: Herman M. His parents were Rabbi Mayer Sámuel Weisz (1829–1892) and Cecília Steiner (1841–1913). Įrik Weisz was born in Budapest, Kingdom of Hungary to a Jewish family. He was also a keen aviator and aimed to become the first man to fly a powered aircraft in Australia. Houdini made several movies but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. He 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. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). Harry Houdini ( / h uː ˈ d iː n i/, born Erik Weisz Ma– October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.