The main secrets of Harry Houdini's tricks. The incident that paved the way to the big stage
Harry Houdini before performing the self-release trick. 1899 Photo: wikipedia
On August 26, 1907, world-famous illusionist Harry Houdini was chained and thrown into the water. After 57 seconds, to the stormy applause of the audience, he floated to the surface, already freed from his shackles and completely unharmed. We decided to talk about the best tricks that Houdini performed.
CAME OUT FROM THE HIGHLY DANGEROUS BOX
CAME OUT FROM A TIGHTLY CLOSED IRON BOX
Breaking free from an iron box is a first-class trick! A box made of thick sheet iron was shown to the audience: it had no secrets. As soon as Houdini climbed into the box, the audience covered it with a lid. The magician pushed bolts from the inside through the holes, and spectators screwed nuts onto them from the outside and inserted studs for security. The liberation from the box itself took place behind a screen. To the surprise of the audience, Houdini quickly appeared from behind it, and the bolts, nuts and studs remained in place.
GOT OUT OF THE MILK CAN
A large milk can with a wide neck, filled to the top with water, was brought onto the stage. Male spectators test him with their canes. Yes, there is clearly no second bottom here, and the entire can is really filled with water. Houdini comes out and gets his head into the can. The water it displaces pours over the edge. The can lid is closed with several locks. However, if any of the incredulous spectators wants to lock the lid on their own, specially brought from home, then please do so. While the spectators return to their seats, Houdini's nimble assistants set up a screen around the can. The orchestra plays a march, and a minute later a wet Houdini reappears on stage. The public is delighted, but those who locked the castle are perplexed: how does he manage to do this? The secret was in the double walls of the can. The space between the walls was filled with water, and the lid had air valves that allowed Harry to breathe.
CHINESE WATER TORTURE
The previous trick seemed too simple for Houdini. And he closed this number, coming up with another, much more complex one instead. This spectacular trick looked like this: A huge cube with glass walls and bars was installed on the stage. There was water inside the cube. Harry's legs were chained, his hands were cuffed, and he was hung upside down over a cube. Then slowly - very slowly! - they lowered him into the water until Houdini was immersed in it up to his chest. Then they covered him with a cape, and when a few minutes later it was torn off, Harry was free. The first version of the trick seemed too simple to Harry. And then he complicated it - Houdini was first placed in a narrow cage made of metal rods, in which he could not turn, and then in this cage he was immersed in a cube filled with water.
Surprisingly, this cube did not have double walls. Viewers could see Harry's head was underwater, with air bubbles coming out of his mouth and his hair flying in the water. This trick was called “Chinese water torture” and was very similar to a real instrument of torture used by the Chinese in ancient times.
DECIDED TO SWIM UNDER THE ICE
Having once arrived in Detroit, Houdini, as a “trivial warm-up” before the start of a circus tour, decided to jump from a bridge into the river with shackles and handcuffs on his hands and feet. The river was already covered in ice, and an ice hole was specially made for Houdini. After three minutes, the police present decided that the end had come for him. At the same time, some of the spectators took off their hats as a sign of mourning, and journalists hurried to their editorial offices to write notes about the death of the famous artist. However, Houdini emerged from the hole exactly 10 minutes later, which in itself was incredible.
As he later said, he dealt with the handcuffs very quickly, but a strong current carried him away, and he could not find the hole under the water. He knew that his assistant remained on the bridge for insurance, but how could he help? Houdini realized that he was dying. Luckily for him, a thin layer of air, a few millimeters, remained between the water and the ice, which allowed him to breathe through his nose. But he not only suffocated, he froze, because all this happened in icy water. Slowly, pressing his nose to the ice, he moved against the current when he noticed something dark and writhing. It was a rope lowered into the hole by an assistant.
There has long been an unwritten rule among illusionists: never reveal the secrets of tricks to the audience. In 2004, an exhibition was held at the Museum of Appleton (Wisconsin), where everyone was told the secrets of creating magic tricks by the great Harry Houdini. Illusionists from all over the world were outraged by this beyond belief. David Copperfield, like most of his colleagues, decided to boycott the exhibition, calling it a direct violation of the “magical protocol.” Many claimed that they still use Houdini's tricks in their performances.
Almost 90 years have passed since the death of the great illusionist and master of disappearances. Contrary to all claims, in reality few modern magicians turn to his outdated techniques when creating their own show numbers. Moreover, the secrets of Harry Houdini were revealed several decades before the exhibition was held at the Appleton Museum, which caused a great stir among curious visitors and dissatisfied illusionists. Not even a year had passed since Houdini’s death when his team began to reveal the secrets of the magician, who became famous throughout the world, left and right.
This article provides a list of Harry Houdini's greatest secrets. For those who do not want to know them, it is not at all necessary to read what is written below.
1. "Radio 1950"
"Radio 1950" is a trick that Harry Houdini developed for his evening performances shortly before his own death.
According to Dorothy Young, Houdini's assistant, the trick began with the great magician demonstrating to the audience big table, covered with a tablecloth, the edges of which did not reach the floor by a couple of tens of centimeters. After this, his assistants placed a huge radio on the table (about two meters long, almost a meter high and the same width). On the front panel of the radio, among other things, there were double doors. Having opened them, Houdini showed the audience that there was nothing else inside except coils, transformers and vacuum tubes.
Then he closed the doors and began tuning the radio. “And now,” said the announcer’s voice, “Dorothy Young will perform the Charleston dance for you.” At that moment it opened top panel radio, and from there a beautiful young assistant would appear, jump onto the stage and break into an energetic dance.
“There’s a different girl on every radio wave,” said Houdini. “No, gentlemen, this is not for sale.”
Secret:
The whole secret lay in the table, the design of which suggested the presence of two rectangular tabletops. The top tabletop had a small secret door that opened outward.
When Houdini's assistants brought the radio onto the stage, Dorothy Young was already inside it. As soon as it was on the table, the girl opened the secret door, hid between two tabletops and waited for the great magician to convince the audience that there was no one inside the radio. When Houdini was supposedly searching the right wave, Young moved back to the radio.
In the photo above you can see Houdini's younger brother, Theodore Hardin, performing the "1950 Radio" trick with his assistant Gladys Hardin.
2. "Metamorphosis"
"Metamorphosis" is the trick with which Harry Houdini began his career as an illusionist in 1894. He performed it together with his wife Bessie. The trick caused a real sensation among the audience. It was thanks to “Metamorphosis” that the Welsh Brothers Circus noticed Houdini and invited him on tour in 1895.
The trick was quite difficult to perform. Houdini's hands were tied behind his back, a thick bag was put on him, a rope was wrapped around him, and he was placed in a large wooden box, which was closed with several locks and hidden behind a thin curtain. Houdini's wife also disappeared behind her. She clapped her hands loudly three times, after which the curtain was pulled aside and Houdini appeared in front of the audience. Bessie was no longer behind her. She ended up in a bag inside a locked box where her husband had previously been sitting.
Secret:
The secret to the Metamorphosis trick is surprisingly simple: solid practice. Harry Houdini was an expert in ropes and knots. He managed to free his hands even before his head disappeared into the bag, along the upper edge of which there were small holes that made it possible to loosen and tighten the rope from the inside.
While Bessie was locking the box, Houdini managed to get out of the bag. When the curtain closed, he climbed out of the box through back panel and started clapping his hands. At this time, Bessie was doing exactly the opposite. After the third clap, Houdini opened the curtain...
It took Harry and Bessie three seconds to change places. This is incredible!
3. "Liberation from a straitjacket in limbo"
Houdini's younger brother, Theodore Hardin, was also a famous illusionist. The most popular trick in his arsenal was the release from the straitjacket, which, as a rule, took place behind the screen. One day the audience asked him to perform this trick in front of their eyes; he gladly complied with their request, for which he subsequently received the highest praise and a loud standing ovation. Houdini, having learned about this, decided to surpass his own brother in any way and developed the trick “Escape from a Straitjacket in Limbo,” which he often performed before his evening performances in order to attract more people.
Secret:
The secret of this trick was revealed in the book “Freedom from Handcuffs” (1910), written by Houdini himself. It consisted in small tricks that he used great illusionist when putting on a straitjacket.
When the straitjacket was on Houdini's body, he crossed his arms over his chest (with his right always on top of his left) and tried not to let the sleeves be pulled too tight. As soon as the moment came for tying the straitjacket, the illusionist took a deep breath, thereby loosening the fabric and leaving a decent gap in front.
After Houdini found himself suspended in the air, he, with some effort, first freed left hand, and then the right one, throwing it over the head. He could easily do the latter thanks to the fact that he was hanging upside down.
It initially took Houdini at least half an hour to free himself from the straitjacket, and he suffered a dislocated shoulder more than once. Subsequently he managed to reduce given time up to three minutes.
4. Ancient Indian trick with needles
Harry Houdini first performed this trick in 1899. Since then it has become the highlight of his performances.
Before performing the trick, the great illusionist invited one of the spectators to examine his mouth and carefully examine his equipment - 50-100 pieces of needles and a thread 18 meters long. Then he swallowed these objects in front of everyone and washed them down with water. A few seconds later, a “chain” of the same needles appeared from his mouth, but only already strung on a thread.
Secret:
The secret of the needle trick was revealed three years after Harry Houdini's death.
Before the start of the performance, the illusionist placed between his cheek and teeth a small square piece of thick cardboard, on which a “chain” of needles strung on a thread was carefully wound. They were separated from each other by small knots.
When Houdini showed the viewer his mouth, he, as if by chance, covered with one of his fingers the place where the needle “chain” was located.
Then the illusionist took ordinary needles and thread, put them on his tongue and pretended to swallow everything along with water. In fact, he carefully spat these objects into a glass, which still had some water left (which made them seem invisible), and quickly gave it to his assistant, after which he began to carefully remove the hidden “chain” of needles from his mouth.
5. "Passing Through a Brick Wall"
Houdini performed this trick only a few times throughout his career. He caused a real sensation among fans of the legendary illusionist.
While Houdini entertained the audience with his tricks, the masons were busy building a wall about three meters high and wide on the stage. It was located perpendicular to the hall, which allowed the audience to see both sides of it. The wall was built on a huge muslin carpet to eliminate the possibility of a secret door. When the masons finished their work, Houdini invited the audience to test the strength of the wall by hitting it with a hammer.
Once everyone had returned to their seats, the great illusionist took up a position on one side of the wall. The next moment, two assistants with screens on wheels appeared on the stage. For just a few seconds they blocked the view of both sides of the wall, after which they immediately left. The audience gasped in surprise when they saw that Houdini was already standing on the opposite side of the wall.
Secret:
The secret is simple: carpet. Beneath it was an elongated, narrow, V-shaped opening running under the wall.
Houdini also performed the trick of walking through a brick wall in another variation. This time there was not a carpet under the wall, but a solid sheet of glass, which really made it impossible to use a secret door or hole. However, Houdini still found a way that helped him “go through the wall.”
After several assistants appeared on the stage with a mobile screen and covered one side of the wall, Houdini quickly changed into the same work clothes that they were wearing, and, going around the wall from the back, went with them behind the other screen. Once the second side of the wall was hidden from prying eyes, he put his suit back on and waited for the assistants to remove the screens. Meanwhile, behind the first screen she waved to the spectators mechanical arm, making them think Houdini is still there. When the assistants removed the screens, the hall exploded with thunderous applause, because the great illusionist somehow “magically” managed to pass through the stone wall.
6. "Freedom from Handcuffs"
Harry Houdini unfoundedly claimed that he was able to free himself from any handcuffs that spectators or representatives of the local police provided him with. The "Freedom from Handcuffs" stunt impressed theater manager Martin Beck, who in 1899 invited Houdini to perform on the stage of the Orpheum variety show.
Secret:
Houdini possessed encyclopedic knowledge about locks and handcuffs. He could determine at a glance which key he needed to open a particular lock. At first, the illusionist skillfully hid miniature keys and master keys on his body, and then invented a special belt made of flexible steel, which rotated (on ball bearings) in a circle with a slight movement of the elbow. It had several compartments, inside of which there were various keys and master keys.
In 1902, Houdini discovered that some handcuffs could be opened without a key at all. It was enough just to knock them on a hard surface.
Sometimes Houdini had to deal with non-standard handcuffs that only had one key to fit. In such cases, the illusionist asked to give him a couple of minutes to check how the key worked. While he was fiddling with the handcuffs, his assistant was looking for a similar one behind the scenes. appearance key. Houdini returned the fake key, which was quietly handed to him by an assistant, to the owner of the handcuffs, and kept the real one for himself.
Throughout his career, Houdini had to deal with “stubborn” handcuffs twice. The first time this happened was during his performance in Blackburn (England). The future writer William Hodgson so skillfully handcuffed the illusionist that he was able to free himself from them only after an hour and forty minutes. After this, he was left with bloody scars on his hands.
The second incident took place in London, where Houdini was challenged by one of the reporters from The Daily Mirror newspaper. He prepared for the meeting with the illusionist in advance.
The reporter found the best blacksmith in the country who spent five years making handcuffs that could not be opened. with a foreign key or open with master keys. It took Houdini one hour and ten minutes to free himself from them. Many believed that this trick was planned by the illusionist in advance.
7. "Liberation from the Milk Can"
This was one of the easiest and most exciting tricks in Houdini's arsenal. He first performed it in 1901.
It all started with Houdini inviting the audience to carefully examine the milk can and test its strength by kicking it several times. The height of the can was about one meter. On top it was tightly covered with a lid, secured by six fasteners with holes for padlocks. While Houdini was changing into a bathing suit backstage, the audience was filling a can with water. Then the illusionist returned and, with a smile, asked the audience how long they could hold their breath, and plunged headlong into the milk can, displacing excess water. Before the lid was fully secured and secured with locks that spectators sometimes brought with them, Houdini had already been underwater for at least 60 seconds. Afterwards, the can disappeared behind a movable screen, which was removed after a couple of minutes, and Houdini appeared before the audience in a bathing suit, wet and out of breath. At the same time, the locks on the lid of the milk can remained intact.
Secret:
The secret of the trick was revealed by a friend of Houdini several years after his death. In fact top part the milk can was not soldered to the cylindrical body, which from the outside, thanks to cunning camouflage, seemed solid. It was attached to it using special rivets located inside, so spectators would not be able to remove it, even with special efforts.
8. "Liberation from a box underwater"
The great illusionist first performed this trick in 1912 on one of the barges in the East River (New York).
Houdini was handcuffed and placed in a small wooden box, which was nailed shut, wrapped in iron chains with a lock, and submerged in water. After two and a half minutes, viewers could see how the legendary illusionist appeared on the surface not far from that place. All the newspapers the next day wrote that “it was the most amazing trick Harry Houdini ever performed.”
Secret:
The secret of this trick, of course, lay in the design of the wooden box. First, there were small holes made in it to allow Houdini to breathe while he waited for the box to be nailed shut, wrapped in chains, and lowered into the water. Secondly, on one of the sides of the box, the two bottom boards were not nailed to the sheathing; they were attached to it with a latch.
Houdini managed to remove the handcuffs even before the box began to be wrapped in iron chains. As soon as the box was in the water, it opened the latch and floated to the surface.
One day, while performing a trick, Houdini decided not to open the “secret door” made of boards until the wooden box sank to the bottom of the river. However, it turned out that it fell to the bottom on the side where there were two loose boards. The exit from the box was blocked. With some effort, Houdini was still able to get out of the trap. From then on, he decided not to take any more risks and opened the latch before the box could reach the bottom.
9. "The Disappearance of the Elephant"
Harry Houdini performed this trick only once in his entire career - on January 7, 1918 at the Hippodrome Theater in New York, on the largest stage in the world. “The Vanishing of the Elephant” became the second most famous trick of the legendary illusionist, losing first place to the number called “Chinese Water Torture Chamber.” Houdini led the elephant into a large box, and a moment later the animal disappeared, and with it the solution to the trick.
The box where Houdini put the elephant was lost, and since this trick was performed only once, the secret it concealed was known only to a select few. For years it was believed that the solution to the “Disappearance of the Elephant” was forever lost to history...
Secret:
So, let's start with the Hippodrome scene. The theater itself has long been gone, however, judging by the surviving photographs, it had about 5,700 seats, which were located in three semicircular tiers. The audience could not clearly see the box and the elephant, which were located far from the edge of the stage.
According to one version, the box was an ordinary frame, similar to a cage. Hidden in the front of it was a roll of fabric identical to that used to make the stage curtain. At a certain moment, Houdini fired a pistol. When the spectators closed their eyes for a moment in fear, he quickly lowered the camouflage cloth, which hid the elephant and made everyone think that the animal had really disappeared.
There is also another version that explains the essence of the “Disappearance of the Elephant” trick. According to it, the box in which Houdini led the elephant moved on wheels, was oblong in shape, had double doors with a round hole in the middle (providing limited lighting inside the box) on one side and a huge curtain on the other. After the elephant and Houdini were in the box, the curtain came down and the assistants began to slowly rotate it in a circle. Meanwhile, the illusionist brought the animal closer to the back wall of the box, which he then covered with a black cloth. When Houdini raised the curtain, he again began to rotate the supposedly empty box so that no one in the hall would have the opportunity to see its darkened interior.
10. "Chinese water torture chamber"
Houdini made the Chinese water torture chamber to order for 10 thousand dollars. He subsequently filed a patent for it.
The camera looked like an oblong aquarium turned on its side. Its frame was made of mahogany and nickel-plated steel, and small parts were made of brass. The camera had following parameters: width – 67 centimeters, height – 1.5 meters, weight – 3000 kilograms and volume – 950 liters. Its front panel was made of tempered glass 1.5 centimeters thick. The great illusionist always carried with him spare camera- in case something happens to the first one.
The trick began with Houdini placing a camera in the place that any person in the audience pointed to. Then he asked the same spectator to carefully examine the chamber and stated that he would give him one thousand dollars if he could prove the presence of any holes or special devices for breathing in the chamber.
Then the illusionist lay down on his back, and the assistants began to put wooden stocks on his feet. After this, he was hung upside down and in this position lowered into a tank of water. Pads in in this case acted as a lid, which was secured with four bolts and secured with padlocks.
When everything was ready, a curtain was lowered in front of the chamber, behind which one of Houdini’s assistants remained with an ax in his hands, ready at any moment to break the glass of the tank if something did not go according to plan. The orchestra began to play music. After just a couple of minutes, the curtain rose, and Houdini appeared before the audience next to the camera, the lid and locks of which remained untouched.
Secret:
Two things played a key role here. First, the pads were designed in such a way that when Houdini was immersed in the tank, some of the water was forced out of it, leaving a small air pocket under the lid.
Secondly, after Houdini's assistants lowered the locks, the slots between the wooden boards that wrapped around the illusionist's ankles became slightly wider. When the curtain fell, Houdini forced his legs out of the stocks, pulled them to his chest and turned his body over. Now his head was near the lid, and he could breathe calmly.
The lid with the pads was made in such a way that it could be easily opened from the inside. It took Houdini literally a couple of minutes to get out of the cell.
According to one urban legend, Houdini drowned while performing the Chinese Water Torture Chamber stunt. However, this is not true. He died in his hospital bed from an infection caused by perforated appendicitis.
Material prepared by Rosemarina - based on website material
"In 1908, Houdini came up with new trick, which enjoyed enormous popularity and increased Harry's fame as the number one magician. We're talking about the milk can release trick.
Before the trick began, workers carried a standard 80-liter milk can filled with water (sometimes milk) onto the stage. Harry was handcuffed. Then he stood with his feet inside the can and... sat down, hiding his head in this metal milk flask. In this case, some of the water naturally spilled onto the floor.
The lid of the can was screwed and locked. Then Bess (wife - Note by I.L. Vikentyev) she threw an opaque cape over the can (sometimes she shielded it from the view of the audience with a small screen - the focus changed over time). After a couple of minutes the cape was pulled off. And next to the can a smiling Houdini appeared, holding open handcuffs in his hands! Houdini performed this trick for four years in a row. By 1912, he was already hiding not in a metal can, but in a forged box - the box visually looked smaller than a cylindrical flask.
The secret was in the double walls of the can. The space between the walls was filled with water, and the lid had air valves that allowed Harry to breathe. After Houdini, this trick was performed by his brother Theodore. Sometimes modern illusionists demonstrate the same trick - despite the fact that the secret of this trick is known, it looks amazing when performed by a professional.
By 1912, Houdini suddenly discovered that the milk flask trick was being performed by all and sundry. There was controversy surrounding the super popular figure Harry great amount imitators rushing to make a career out of Houdini's fame. And Harry closed this number, coming up with another, much more complex one instead.
This spectacular trick looked like this: A huge cube with glass walls and bars was installed on the stage. There was water inside the cube. Harry's legs were chained, his hands were cuffed, and he was hung upside down over a cube. Then slowly - very slowly! - they lowered him into the water until Houdini was immersed in it up to his chest. Then they covered him with a cape, and when a few minutes later they tore it off, Harry was free... The first version of the trick seemed too simple to Harry. And then he complicated it - Houdini was first placed in a narrow cage made of metal rods, in which he could not turn, and then in this cage he was immersed in a cube filled with water.
Surprisingly, this cube did not have double walls. Viewers could see Harry's head was underwater, with air bubbles coming out of his mouth and his hair flying in the water. This trick was called “Chinese water torture” and was very similar to a real instrument of torture used by the Chinese in ancient times.
The secret of this Houdini trick still remains unsolved.
[....] Oddly enough, but the magician Houdini, the very essence of whose profession is based on the witty deception of the viewer, in life was an absolutely straightforward person with a heightened sense of truth. And it is not just words! Houdini got terribly annoyed when fellow illusionists began to talk about their connections with otherworldly forces, about black and white magic, about dialogues with aliens. Harry stated that all tricks are nothing more than the result of hard training and careful development of the trick.
In his books, he never ceased to reveal the secrets of the most popular tricks. Colleagues accused Houdini that revealed secrets were depriving them of a piece of bread, to which Harry said - come up with new tricks, like I come up with them... And again he was right. Endless marking time, the use of the same techniques reduce the profession of an illusionist to the level of a primitive farce. What would happen if competitors in sports did not strive to improve their records? What would be left of the sport itself?
And, in the end, they believed Houdini. In 1917, Harry became head of the Society of American Magicians. And he served as chairman until his death in 1926, becoming the highest paid illusionist in America (and the world in general) in the early 1900s. In 1917, Houdini also became the most respected professional in his field. Is this not an example of what talent, backed by hard work, can achieve?”
Nadezhdin N.Ya., Harry Houdini: “Just a Magician”, M., “Major”, 2010, p. 114. 116 and 128.
Perhaps every magic fan has heard at least once about Harry Houdini, who is one of the most famous magicians and illusionists in the world. modern history. We have collected little-known and very Interesting Facts about a young magician from Budapest who has taken the entertainment world by storm.
1. Eric Weiss
His real name is Harry Houdini - Eric Weiss.
It is believed that Houdini came up with his stage name based on his childhood nickname "Eri" (in English, it sounds like Harry).
2. “Oh my God, what a fall!”
“My, what a buster!” Buster Keaton.
He gave a pseudonym not only to himself, but also to the famous comedian Buster Keaton. Harry, who was a friend of the Keaton family, once saw 6-month-old Joseph slide down the stairs and remarked: “My, what a buster!” (Oh my God, what a fall!). The nickname clearly stuck.
3. "Moscow Escape"
"Moscow Escape" by Harry Houdini.
In Moscow, he once escaped from a prison van. At the same time, Houdini stated that if he could not free himself, he would have to travel all the way to Siberia, because the key was taken there.
4. “Opened” judge’s safe
Harry Houdini "opened" the judge's safe.
Houdini once sued a police officer in the German city of Cologne. The reason was that the police officer accused Harry of making all his escapes by bribing people. Harry won his case when he opened the safe in front of the judges (he later admitted that the judge forgot to lock it).
5. Trail running
Harry Houdini loved cross-country running.
While in school, one of Harry Houdini's favorite hobbies was cross-country running. In fact, he was really good at this activity.
6. Rabbi's son
Harry Houdini is the son of a rabbi.
Harry was born in Budapest into a Jewish family (his father was a rabbi). However, later (as an adult) he became a Freemason.
7. “Spellcasters Monthly”
Harry Houdini's magical magazine, Spellcaster's Monthly.
In 1906, Houdini began publishing his own magic magazine, Spellcaster's Monthly. He quickly lost interest in this idea, but managed to criticize his competitors in the magazine and praise his own performances.
8. Signature trick
Harry Houdini's signature trick "Getting rid of the handcuffs."
Although Houdini became famous for his "Getting Out of Handcuffs" stunt, he later abandoned the activity. The reason was that too many people tried to imitate him.
9. "Escape from the Underwater Torture Chamber"
Harry Houdini trick "Escape from the underwater torture chamber"
He came up with a trick with a Chinese underwater torture chamber. In this stunt, he escaped from a sealed chamber filled with water while suspended upside down from the ceiling.
10. Beer Challenge
"Beer Challenge" - marketing from Harry Houdini.
Sometimes his escapes were marketing stunts. Brewers in Scranton, Pennsylvania gave Houdini a fun challenge to see if he could free himself from a barrel after it was filled with beer.
11. "Secrets of the Handcuffs"
Harry Houdini's book "Secrets of Handcuffs"
Harry once explained that many locks and handcuffs can be opened with minimal force applied correctly, or with even the simplest tool such as shoelaces. In his book "Secrets of the Handcuffs" (1909), Harry admitted that he carried master keys and keys with him.
12. "San Diego Theater"
Poster for the New Year's performance of the San Diego Theater
For many years, Harry Houdini was the highest paid actor at the San Diego Playhouse. In fact, performing in vaudeville was his main job.
13. "Society of American Magicians"
Harry Houdini is the president of the Society of American Magicians.
Houdini, acting as president of the Society of American Magicians, sought to create a large international network to help prevent theft. Thanks to Harry Houdini, the organization was transformed into richest enterprise. By the way, the “Society of American Magicians”, created by Harry Houdini, operates successfully to this day.
14. Aviator
Aviation career of Harry Houdini.
Houdini had a relatively successful aviation career and even (almost) became the first person to fly an airplane in Australia. Although almost all the press claimed that Harry was the first, it later turned out that Londoner Colin Defrise had pulled it off about a year earlier.
15. Exposure of mediums and psychics
The last Harry Houdini show.
One of his favorite pastimes was exposing mediums and psychics. Actually, last show Houdini's title was "Three Shows in One: Magic, Escapes and Means to Con."
BONUS
August 26, 1907 famous illusionist Harry Houdini once again shocked the audience: chained in chains, he was thrown into the water, and he was able to get out in 57 seconds! These were Houdini's signature tricks: getting out of locked boxes underwater and a Chinese water torture chamber, walking through brick walls, freeing himself from a straitjacket while suspended, leaving a locked prison cell while handcuffed, etc. About the exposure of many of his his followers have repeatedly stated secrets, but are all of Houdini’s secrets really revealed or is this just another hoax?
Harry Houdini's real name is Eric Weiss. He claimed to be born in the United States, but in fact he was born in Hungary, the son of a rabbi, and his family immigrated to the United States when he was 4 years old. From his youth, he was fascinated by complex mechanisms and the design of locks, for which he could easily select master keys. At age 11, he left school and entered a metal shop where he honed his skills to the point of mastery.
One of the first numbers in his arsenal was “Liberation from Shackles.” He became famous thanks to a successful publicity stunt: he came to the Chicago police chief and declared that he could get out of a locked prison cell in handcuffs. The illusionist performed this trick in front of reporters in a matter of minutes. Later he repeated the same trick in the main prisons of Europe and the USA, as well as in the Butyrka prison and the Peter and Paul Fortress during a tour in Russia in 1903.
Most of Houdini's tricks were truly craftsmanship: he knew everything there was to know about locks, keys, and handcuffs. Some handcuffs could be opened even without a key or a wire loop - it was enough to knock them on a hard surface. During a preliminary visit to the prison, Houdini's wife distracted the attention of the police, while the magician examined the locks on the cell doors in order to then pick up a miniature master key for them. He either hid it in his mouth or received it from his wife during a farewell handshake or a kiss “for good luck” before a dangerous trick.
Houdini skillfully handled his muscles: when he was chained or put in a straitjacket, he tensed the muscles and then relaxed them, as a result of which gaps formed, and freeing his hands became a matter of technique. Sometimes he had to move bones in the joints. He got out of the milk can thanks to the fact that the locks, which were impossible to open from the outside, were easily pushed out from the inside along with the lid. Just like one of the sides of the box in which the illusionist was lowered under water: the 2 bottom boards were not nailed down and could be moved aside.
However, sometimes Houdini not only demonstrated his skill, but also resorted to various tricks. For example, during the trick with the disappearance of an elephant in the circus, an optical illusion was used: the elephant was covered with a white blanket - and it disappeared. In fact, under the white there was another cover - made of black velvet, identical to the back curtains on the stage. Against a black background, the box with a black blanket was invisible. The appearance of the assistant from a huge radio box is also a simple trick: the radio stood on a table with a double tabletop, inside which the girl was hiding. When Houdini tuned the radio to the “right wave,” a “dream girl” appeared from the box.
Passing through a brick wall was also just a clever trick: on stage, right on the carpet, workers were erecting a 3-meter wall in front of the audience. Houdini invited people from the audience to verify its strength. The wall stood perpendicular to the audience, the illusionist entered from one side, then the curtain was lowered for a minute, and when it was raised, the magician was already on the other side of the wall. The solution was that under the carpet there was a narrow hole passing under the wall.
The great magician never revealed his secrets. He once promised to do this in his will, with the condition that it would be opened and made public on the day of his centenary. In 1974, there was a stir: everyone was waiting for the promised confessions, but it turned out that Houdini had again fooled the public: there were no revelations. Journalists called it “the latest trick of a brilliant hoaxer.” And the illusionist explained his main secret as follows: “In all cases, the main thing for me is to overcome fear, ... the main thing is to maintain absolute calm and self-control. In this case, you have to act almost with lightning speed and with the greatest precision. If you succumb to panic even for a second, death will become inevitable.”
Harry Houdini, despite the “miracles” that he demonstrated, did not believe in spiritualism and exposed the tricks of mediums, which is why he quarreled with his friend Arthur Conan Doyle: