![]() During his lifetime, no one figured out how he escaped from that can. Houdini stepped out from behind the still padlocked can two minutes later. A lid was padlocked onto the container with Houdini inside, and a cabinet was wheeled behind the can to hide it from view. However, people started to imitate him, and in January of 1908, wearing a blue bathing suit with his hands cuffed in front of him, he climbed into a large, water-filled can on stage. ![]() He managed to free himself from a number of restraints, including handcuffs, chains, straitjackets, and jails. His break finally came in 1899, when he started to focus on escape acts and was booked on the vaudeville circuit. Houdini began performing escapes and magic tricks for vaudeville shows in the 1890s, although he was unsuccessful at first, focusing on traditional card tricks. However, he did claim that he took the name “Harry” after another magician he admired, Harry Kellar. He and his brother Theo started to develop an interest in magic, and Houdini chose his stage name, using the last name of his idol, the French magician Robert Houdin, plus the letter “i” and the Americanized version of his nickname, Ehrie. He first appeared on stated on October 28, 1883, performing a trapeze act as “Ehrich, the Prince of the Air.” He ran away at 12, and then returned to his family after a year, finding a variety of jobs to help support his family. When Houdini was eight, his family moved to Milwaukee, and Houdini sold newspapers and shined shoes to help support them. Houdini was born Ehrich Weiss in 1874 in Budapest to Jewish parents.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |