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Harry Houdini: Escapes
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Harry Houdini was the most influential magician of the 20th century. His specialty was escapes: slipping out of ropes, chains and handcuffs while locked in trunks and milk cans or submerged underwater. (He once jumped into San Francisco Bay while handcuffed and shackled to a ball and chain.) In an era before TV, Houdini became world famous by barnstorming across America and around the globe. His skills and showmanship made the single name "Houdini" synonymous with entertaining magic; he is often credited with influencing later magicians from David Copperfield to David Blaine. He died in 1926, reportedly due to peritonitis after his appendix ruptured; the legend that he died during a failed escape is untrue. He was buried without an autopsy, and in 2007 a plan by family members to exhume his body moved forward, in an effort to solve the longstanding mystery of what caused his death.
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Harry Houdini, the great escape artist, was born Erich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary, on this date in 1874 (though at one time he claimed to have been born in Wisconsin on April 6). Famous for his ability to escape from locks, ropes, chains, straitjackets, and all manner of closed containers, Houdini often debunked the claims of spiritualists, psychics and mediums. Houdini left his very expansive library of magic to the Library of Congress.
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Born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Harry Houdini remains to this day the most famous escape artist of all time. His real name was Ehrich Weiss, and as a teenager, he briefly began doing card magic as “Eric the Great.” He changed his name to “Houdini” after reading “The Memoirs of Robert-Houdin” which was the autobiography of the greatest magician of the day. Houdini hoped to some day be like Robert-Houdin who performed for kings and queens and was one of the first magicians to be extravagantly successful. In listening to the recordings below, you’ll hear of many of the remarkable stunts pulled by Houdini, his exposure of psychics, and his wife’s quest to communicate with him after his death!
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"Harry Houdini" (born Erich Weiss in Budapest) is best known as a legendary magician and escape artist, but early on in his career he appeared in a few silent action-adventure films from the late 1910s through the early '20s. He even produced a few of these films, such as "The Man from Beyond" (1922). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
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Harry Houdini was a skilled escape artist. He was born in Budapest, Hungary, on March 24, 1874. His family came to America and settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. His real name was Ehrich Weiss. He had three sisters and three brothers.
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Harry Houdini was certainly one of the greatest entertainers the world has ever known. His showmanship and technical virtuosity amazed and delighted huge crowds the world over. But, for that matter, the same could be said of Le Petomane. What made Houdini immortal were his efforts to save the public from their own gullibility, and his genius at self-promotion. Maybe ... because death-defying escapes are generally more compelling than your typical fartathon.
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