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Harry Houdini: Audiences
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It is 1926, and Harry Houdini is the most famous performer in the world. Audiences flock to watch him perform his amazing stunts. But the man behind the legend is a tortured soul, having been unable to hear his mother’s dying words.
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Harry Houdini was an amazing entertainer. He was dedicated, persistent, and determined to be world-famous. He practiced, practiced, and practiced until he got his magic tricks right. From a young boy to a grown man, he delighted his audiences.
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Houdini explained some of his tricks in books written for the magic brotherhood throughout his career. In Handcuff Secrets (1909), he revealed how many locks and handcuffs could be opened with properly applied force, others with shoestrings. Other times, he carried concealed lockpicks or keys, being able to regurgitate small keys at will. When tied down in ropes or straitjackets, he gained wiggle room by enlarging his shoulders and chest, moving his arms slightly away from his body, and then dislocating his shoulders. His straitjacket escape was originally performed behind curtains, with him popping out free at the end. However, Houdini's brother, who was ... an escape artist billing himself as Theodore Hardeen, after being accused of having someone sneak in and let him out and being challenged to escape without the curtain, discovered that audiences were more impressed and entertained when the curtains were eliminated so they could watch him struggle to get out.
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In October, Houdini was back at the Palace. This time Lewis Crossley, manager of T Gaines and Sons of Stannary Street issued Houdini with a challenge to escape from a box. The box had a separate lid, which was nailed down and then tied with ropes. The audience waited with bated breath for Houdini to perform his routine. After an agonizing 22 minutes, Houdini emerged from behind the curtain.
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Houdini's imagination knew no bounds as he planned and delivered to shock hungry audiences more and more sensational escapology feats. He went on to engineer and perform his "Milk Can Escape" in 1908 - of which he performed for the first time in St. Louis, USA, and went on the astound European audiences with. He returned to the USA to perform that year, amongst others, a manacled jump off the Harvard Bridge in Boston.
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By 1898, Houdini had come up with the Challenge Act, the act that would make him a legend. As the Handcuff King, Houdini would escape from any pair of handcuffs produced by the audience. Generally, this act was well received. By 1904, Houdini had been forced to make some modifications in the act, due to repeated attempts by various police officers that tried to spoil his routine by secretly jamming the cuffs offered.
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