Throughout his life, this person deliberately exposed himself to mortal danger. And although in fact he was very afraid of death, and most of all he was afraid of the fact that his name might someday be forgotten. The biggest fear never materialized. He remains the most famous American illusionist and magician today.
From the age of ten, Harry performed card tricks in entertainment establishments. At eleven, due to the financial difficulties of the family, he dropped out of school and went to work as an assistant to a blacksmith. It was during this period of his life that the future world famous illusionist was seriously carried away by the circus. At first he acted as a gymnast in a nomadic circus, but dreamed of becoming a magician.
At first, the young magician performed at fairs and museums. They paid little for these performances, and they had to repeat the same program many times. Each time Houdini came up with new tricks, which he diligently practiced to make the performance go flawlessly. Sometimes, due to a lack of funds, he had to not eat for several days, his fingers ceased to obey, but the magician each time completed the performance without a single mistake.
The first stunt that brought Houdini incredible fame was the performance "Metamorphosis". His wife was the assistant during the execution. During the trick, the assistant closed Houdini in the chest, stood on top of him herself, raised the curtain in front of her, and in a matter of seconds the magician himself appeared in her place. The audience raged at this spectacle.
Illusionist Harry Houdini.
Houdini came up with his next trick quite by accident, when his friend, who was a police officer, handcuffed him, for fun. Harry was incredibly plastic, so he managed to free himself from them. So he began to show the trick with handcuffs to the public, each time making it harder for himself. He was hung with chains, which sometimes weighed 60 kilograms, and it took only a few minutes for Houdini to get rid of all this.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Harry toured Russia. There he showed an unforgettable trick with the escape from the Butyrka prison. He was shackled and handcuffed, placed in a criminals transport cage and locked up on death row. After 40 minutes, the great illusionist got out of there. This was another sensation.
Harry Houdini during his trick.
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Houdini was so caught up in the sensation of fame that he decided to make the liberation trick even more difficult. The next time he was lowered in a box closed with locks into a pond. The water quickly filled the box, so Houdini had little time. Then he was seriously scared for his life. He managed to free himself in time. Harry was scared, but he didn't even think about stopping at achievements and repeated such tricks over and over again. The desire for fame was stronger than the fear of death.
None of the rivals could repeat the tricks of the great master, and the public demanded to reveal the secret of his tricks. In response, Houdini promised that all secrets would be revealed on the day he turns 100, and politely asked everyone to wait. He claimed that he laid out all the secrets of his tricks on paper and put them in an envelope, which will be opened in 1974.
Harry was the first master of illusion to have his own show on Broadway. It was called that - "Houdini" - and had incredible success. He entertained the audience with his stunts until he was 52. The death he feared so much met him on October 31, 1926.
Houdini's lifelong dream came true - his name is known to everyone to this day, and no one has revealed the secrets, there are only certain guesses about performing super-complicated tricks. On the day of his 100th anniversary, the coveted envelope, in which the master promised to reveal secrets, was publicly opened, but the envelope contained only a stack of blank paper, and on each sheet was printed the only inscription - "Master Houdini".
