Eric Weiss, better known throughout the world as Harry Houdini, the genius of liberation and the king of illusions, was sitting this March evening in his mansion in Brooklyn. It seemed like Christmas carols were being played just yesterday, and in a couple of days he would be celebrating his ninety-five year anniversary. Time began to fly at an insane speed. They say that the faster it flows through you, the closer the end of the path.
Fate was kind to him. His show thundered all over the world. Passionate about the mastery of illusion, Eric honed his abilities to perfection. And when, with age, he could no longer, and did not want to, participate in tricks himself, he began to invest in young and gifted magicians. He took them under his wing, offered to perform under his own brand. Not one has refused yet. Take this little boy David Kotkin. Amazingly talented. Will go far. And Copperfield picked up a pseudonym for him.
Thanks to his instinct, Weiss immediately realized what a tremendous opportunity television brings. This invention significantly increased the popularity and income. Now, in old age, you can safely write books without worrying about a piece of bread. Even the circus du Soleil could not compete with the greatest magician, as his contemporaries dubbed him.
But everything could have turned out differently, in that distant one thousand nine hundred and twenty-six. When, after the performance, these strange students approached him, supposedly fans. Only now fans will not thresh with all their dope into the solar plexus without warning. So much so that the insides burst. Only by some miracle did he manage to tighten the abdominal muscles. Which, thank God, was really iron.
Or maybe old Doyle was right when he insisted that Eric had psychic abilities? The old man chuckled at his own thoughts. Arthur - a brilliant mind, the creator of Holmes, became a completely gullible child when it came to mysticism. Although Houdini himself spent enough energy to expose the scammers.
Magician and sorcerer. This is what the fans called him. People are strange creatures, ready to believe in any nonsense, just not in their own strengths and capabilities. Everything he achieved, all these incredible stunts were the result of hard work, ingenious technical solutions and perfect control of his own body.
Was he afraid of death? Not. All my life I was balancing on the edge, striving to reach new heights. And while there are still forces and ideas, he will try to give this world as much as possible.
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Harry Houdini was born: March 24, 1874. Died: October 31, 1926. At the age of 52.
On October 29, 1926, in Canada, after performing in the artist's dressing room, three local students entered and asked if it was true that he could withstand any blows to the stomach. Houdini nodded absently. And then, without warning, one of the visitors, Gordon Whitehead, a college boxing champion, punched him three times in the stomach. From surprise, the illusionist did not have time to tighten the muscles of the press. And two days later, the bursting appendix led to the development of purulent peritonitis.
In the photo, Harry Houdini with his wife and mother.