11 February 2012, 10:29 am
Harry Houdini could have been described as a living legend. From his breakthrough in 1899 to his death in 1926, Houdini was one of the world’s most popular entertainers. Not only did he forever change the world of magic tricks, he was the first pilot to ever fly to Australia. I will tell you more about Houdini. Houdini first started his career as a card magician, being known as the “King of Cards.” However he soon began to experiment with escape acts. In 1899 he met his manager, Martin Beck, who immediately encouraged him to concentrate on escapology. Houdini soon made it big on the Orpheum vaudeville circuit and in 1900 he set off to tour Europe. His reputation rapidly grew and he soon earned himself a new nickname, the “Handcuff King.” However his escapes became more elaborate as competition from imitators grew and audiences for his original acts grew smaller. Harry Houdini was a huge escape artist. One of his most famous acts was his “Water Torture Cell.” First introduced in 1912, Houdini was lowered upside down into a tank of water whilst his feet were fastened with stocks. The stocks were locked to the top of the cell which also had a glass front so audiences could clearly see Houdini as he was lowered in. The escape took place behind a curtain. Exactly how he escaped is still a mystery to this day. Another one of his great escapes was the Underwater Crate Escape. It was first performed in 1912 in New York’s East River. Houdini was encased in a crate with handcuffs and leg-irons. The crate was nailed shut, roped tight and then lowered into the water and sunk (hundreds of pounds of lead weighed it down). Houdini escaped after fifty-seven seconds. When the crate was raised, it was found to still be intact with the cuffs inside. Houdini went on to perform this escape many times and on occasions performed it on stage using a large water tank. The British newspaper, The Daily Mirror, issued a challenge to Houdini in 1904. He had to escape from a specially crafted handcuff that had taken a locksmith, Nathaniel Hart, five years to make. Thousands came to see the escape that went on for over an hour. At one point his wife came on the stage to give him a kiss, it is thought she passed on the key to the handcuff by doing so. After seventy minutes in total, Houdini finally escaped. He later acknowledged that it was the most difficult escape of his career. But Houdini’s most risky escape was his “Buried Alive” act. Houdini's first performance of this escape nearly ended in serious injury, or maybe even his death. In 1917 he was buried in a pit six feet deep. There was no box or crate to place him in for protection. The weight of the soil was almost too much for Houdini and he passed out with exhaustion trying to dig his way out just as his hand broke the surface. He was pulled to safety by assistants. The second version was an endurance test. In 1926 Houdini remained in a sealed casket at the bottom of a swimming pool for an hour and a half. The third and final version was due to see Houdini being strapped in a straitjacket, sealed in a casket and buried in sand. It is unclear whether he actually performed the escape in public. Posters advertising the escape exist but on October 31st, 1926, Houdini died from a ruptured appendix, probably before he had chance to demonstrate the escape. One hundred years ago, Harry Houdini became the first man to fly to Australia. He bought a French Voisin biplane for $5,000 (about $20,000 present time) and hired a full-time mechanic, Antonio Brassac. He crashed once and then made his first successful flight on November 26th in Hamburg, Germany. The following year Houdini toured Australia. After making three flights and completing his tour, Houdini put his plane in storage in England. He said he would use it to fly from city to city but in fact Houdini never flew his plane again. Ironically he stated, “People will eventually forget me as a magician but they will never forget me as an aviator.” The ironic part is that it is completely the opposite today as many know who he was as a magician but a lot don’t know he flew a plane as well. Harry Houdini died in 1926 due to a ruptured appendix at age 52. But he is still the world’s greatest magician today, inspiring people everywhere to do magic and changing the world forever. This is why he deserves to be in the Omega Wax Museum opening next year. He deserves to be next to the other people who have changed society for better or for worse. He was truly a living legend. This review was to be 3 pages long (which it is) and isn't about his life but about his contributions to society.... Read More »
Share on del.icio.us
Share on digg
Share on Technorati
Share on reddit
Share on Yahoo!
Share on Facebook