Harry Houdini: Illusionist

Harry Houdini was the master of illusion. His death-defying feats mesmerized an adoring early twentieth century audience who had never seen anything like him before. The son of a Hungarian rabbi, even as a child he honed every skill and grabbed every opportunity. So inspired by the life of French magician Houdin, Erich Weiss took his name, adding an "i" at the end to make it his own. He was a man who personified the American dream of the power of the individual to rise to the level of his own aspirations, no matter how wild or extraordinary they might be. His unspoken message to all of his fans was that man is limited only by the boundaries of his own imagination.

One of Erich's earliest jobs that of apprentice locksmith, served him well in his later years. One of the first locks he learned to pick was that of his mother's cupboard from which he stole an apple pie, leaving a calling card with his new name, in case Cecelia Weiss couldn't figure out which of her six children was the culprit.

From his days in Coney Island to his rise as one of Vaudeville's top paying performers, Houdini's life was an extraordinary one, filled with passion and adventure. His wife, Bess performed with him for years before he went solo, mastering underwater traps, leaps and falls that no sober person could easily watch, much less perform.

Houdini drifted into the world of spiritualism during the 1920s where he debunked phony mediums and other fraudulent entertainers. At this time, he met English author, Arthur Conan Doyle, whom he greatly respected. The magician and the man of letters were unlikely friends, but split because Doyle insisted that Houdini's feats of magic were of a supernatural nature. Perhaps in a way they were, for there has been no one like him before or since.

His tragic and untimely death at the age of 52 ended a career, but not a dream. Read the biography of this extraordinary American who touched the hearts of his countrymen with his daring feats of magic and illusion and proved that all is possible to those who dare to make it so.