March 24 marks the 137th anniversary of the birth of the famous illusionist Harry Houdini. Until now, experts cannot give a clear explanation of all his tricks - for example, how the magician managed to free himself from the strongest fetters and chains or pass through walls. There is even a hypothesis that he was helped in this … magic art!
Even the circumstances of Houdini's birth are shrouded in some mystery. It is reliably known that Erich Weiss (this is the real name of the illusionist) was born in 1874 and was the son of a Hungarian rabbi. But, according to some sources, his place of birth is the American town of Appleton, Wisconsin, and according to others, it is a ghetto in Budapest, from where the family emigrated to the United States soon after the boy was born.
In 1888, the Weiss moved to New York. Since the family was poor and with many children, Eric had to start earning his living early. At first, the teenager sold newspapers, then he was hired as a tie cutter at the “G. Richters Suns . Here Eric has a new friend named Jack Hayman, who taught him card tricks. Weiss became fascinated with the magician's craft, and soon he and Jack Hayman changed their occupation.
Two youngsters began to perform at cheap eateries with primitive tricks. At the same time, Eric took on the stage name Harry Houdini. He borrowed the name from the then famous fakir Harry Kelly, and the surname from the illusionist Robert-Houdin, whose book he once read.
In 1891, Harry began performing in tandem with his brother Theo. The posters advertised them as the Houdini brothers.
Getting rid of the handcuffs was Harry Houdini's signature move. No matter how complex the model of handcuffs was put on the magician, he always got rid of them. He also managed to free himself from a suspended sack and from locked rooms. And once, in front of the audience, he made a live elephant disappear!
However, although Harry and Theo accepted all invitations to perform, their earnings were not very high. In addition, in 1892, their father Robbie Weiss died, and the family's financial affairs deteriorated significantly.
As an adult, Harry was able to earn more. He was now invited by the owners of famous circuses and booths. But in 1899 he quarreled with the editor of a newspaper that advertised him, and after that his career in America began to decline. In 1900, Houdini decided to leave for Europe.
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The illusionist was right: in Europe he was expected to be wildly successful. He began to complicate his tricks. So, once on a tour in Dresden, Harry jumped into the river in front of the public, hung with handcuffs, shackles and chains, and emerged back out of the water already free of the fetters. In 1903, he visited Russia, where he managed to free himself from a steel-lined van intended to transport political prisoners to Siberia.
Houdini's tricks in opening handcuffs, locks and bolts were explained by the fact that he always had keys, master keys and other tools that could easily open any lock. For example, during a trick to break into a safe, a friend, while shaking hands, quietly passed him a special file.
But it was not always possible to give an explanation for the miracles performed by Houdini. So, one day he got out of the nailed and sealed coffin. AND
in September 1913 in Nuremberg, he showed a room with a water torture chamber. At first Houdini hung there upside down in front of the audience, then the curtain was closed, and a few minutes later a magician came out of the booth alive and unharmed, from whom water was flowing … The mechanism of this trick is still unknown.
And in 1914 Houdini began to show the trick of "passing" through the walls. Many did not doubt that this was magic. But some argued that in fact the illusionist simply crawls into the hatch under the stage, covered with a carpet, and comes out from there on the other side of the wall …
Houdini's death looks as strange and mysterious as his whole life. One of the versions is as follows. During the next tour, a student entered the artist's dressing room. The young man said that he wanted to check if it was true that Houdini could withstand very strong blows to the stomach and not feel anything. And, not allowing the magician to recover, hit him hard a couple of times in the stomach … Houdini suffered a ruptured appendix from the blows, and a few days later, on the very eve of Halloween - October 31, 1926 - he died in Detroit from purulent appendicitis.
According to another version, there was no student murderer, but appendicitis did take place. And finally, according to the third - Houdini was poisoned by one of the competitors! This was allegedly shown by an exhumation carried out many years later. By the way, Houdini was buried in the same bronze coffin that he used for his tricks. The secret of many of his "magic" tricks has not yet been revealed.
Irina Shlionskaya