houdini famous tricks.pdf

8/10/2019 HOUDINI FAMOUS TRICKS.pdf

1/10

Do you know Harry Houdini was called the

Handcuff King? In this report you will learn all

about him. You will learn about his childhood,

how he got his name, the feats he performed, his

death, how he became famous, and his unique

abilities.


2/10

Houdinis Childhood

Do you know who Harry Houdinis family

was? Harry Houdini was born as Erik Weisz on

March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary.

Houdinis father was Rabbi Mayer Samuel

Weiss. Houdinis moms name was Cecelia. He

was one of seven children. His siblings names

were Herman M., Nathan J., Gottfried William,

Theodore, Leopold D., and Carrie Gladys.

In Hungary, Houdinis family was poor, so

they decided to move to New York when he was

four years old. When they came to the United

States on July 3 rd, 1878, the family changed their

surname from Weisz to Weiss and Eriks name

to Ehrich.


3/10

How Houdini Got His Name

Do you wonder how Harry Houdini got his

name? Harry Houdini got his name from reading

Jean Eugene Robert-Houdins autobiography. A

friend told him that in French that if you add an

I to the end of a name it means like that

person. He admired him, so he added an I to

the last of Robert-Houdins last name. He had

been nicknamed Ehrie or Harry as a kid, so he

became Harry Houdini.


4/10

Small Time to Big Time to Big Time

Do you ever wonder how Harry Houdini

became famous? In 1893 Harry Houdini met

manger Martin Beck in rural Woodstock,

Illinois. Impressed by Houdinis handcuffs act,

Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts,

and booked him on the vaudeville circuit. In

months, Houdini was performing at the top

Vaudeville theaters.

In 1916, Houdini opened a business called the

film development corporation in west Hoboken,

New Jersey.


5/10

Here are some of Harry Houdinis most

Famous Escapes

It seemed impossible to escape but Harry

Houdini always did it.

The Milk Can Escape

Harry Houdinis hands were hand cuffed, putover sized milk can that was filled with water

the lid was put on it was locked with six locks

the keys were put at the foot lights, a man stood

by with an ax just in case he could not escape.

The Suspended Straitjacket

One day on a hot morning 90 years ago

30,000 people watched as San Francisco police

tied Harry Houdinis feet were tied together put

in a straight jacket and hung up side down by his


6/10

ankles on a pulley rigged from the 7 th story of

the Hearst building. He was 49 years old.

The Chinese Water Torture Cell

First Houdinis feet were locked in stocks. He

was lowered into the water torture chamber

over-flowing with water. The stocks are locked

onto the cell. The water torture cell is a large

wood box with a glass panel in the front so the

audience could watch Harry Houdini struggle to

escape. The curtain was shut to hide the escape.

A metal cage was lowered into the cell to

prevent Houdini from turning. The cage bars

also protected Harry Houdini if the glass broke.

(There was a way for his assistants to break in

and save him if something went wrong.)


7/10

Death of Harry Houdini

It did not seem as if anything could kill Harry

Houdini. While having an art student draw him

in his changing room before a performance, a

college student named Whitehead came in and

asked him if it was true that he could withstand

any blow to the stomach. Houdini replied,

Yes. He was hit three times in the

stomachbefore Houdini could tighten up his

stomach muscles to avoid injury. Whitehead

continued hitting Houdini several more times,

the pain showed on his face. His appendix burst

from the hits from Whitehead.

Houdini could not displease his audience, so

he preformed that night and four more times in


8/10

the next few days. He refused medical treatment,

then passed out on his last performance and was

rushed to the hospital. While dying he said to his

wife, Bess, Rosabelle believe. That meant in

his afterlife, if a spiritualist said those words to

his wife, she would know it was Houdini trying

to contact her.

On October 31 st, 1928 Houdini died of

peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at 1:26 PM

in room 401 at Detroit Grace Hospital. He was

fifty-two years old.


9/10

Unique Abilities of Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini had many unmatched talents.

Houdini had absolute control of his muscles. He

could pick up a coin with his palm and he could

use his throat muscles. To pull off some escapes

he would hide a small key in his throat, since he

was able to regurgitate small keys. Houdini

could hold his breath for an incredibly long time.

He did one escape where it seemed as if hed

held his breath for over an hour. When Houdini

would perform a straightjacket escape he would

expand his chest when the straight jacket was

put on, and when he was taking it off he would

make his chest smaller. He would dislocate his

shoulder to allow his arm over his head to take

off the straight jacket.


10/10

Conclusion

Harry Houdini was a fascinating performer

who influenced the world of magic. People still

talk and wonder about how a century later.

houdini famous tricks.pdf

Documents