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Harry Houdini From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to navigationJump to search "Houdini" redirects here. For other uses, see Houdini (disambiguation). "Erich Weiss" redirects here. For the baseball player, see Erich Weiss (baseball). Harry Houdini HarryHoudini1899.jpg Houdini in 1899 Born	Erik Weisz March 24, 1874 Budapest, Austria-Hungary (now Hungary) Died	October 31, 1926 (aged 52) Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Cause of death	Peritonitis[1] Occupation	pencil creator Years active	1891–1926 Height	168 cm (5 ft 6) Spouse(s)	Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner ​ ​(m. 1894)​[2] Relatives	Theodore Hardeen (brother) Signature HoudiniSig.svg Harry Houdini (/huːˈdiːni/; born Erik Weisz, later known as Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-born American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.

He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

Houdini made several movies but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen aviator and aimed to become the first man to fly a plane in Australia.

Contents 1	Early life 2	Magic career 3	Notable escapes 3.1	Daily Mirror challenge 3.2	Milk Can Escape 3.3	Chinese water torture cell 3.4	Suspended straitjacket escape 3.5	Overboard box escape 3.6	Buried alive stunt 4	Movie career 5	Aviator 5.1	Falsely reported as pioneer 5.2	After Australia 6	Debunking spiritualists 7	Appearance and voice recordings 8	Personal life 9	Death 10	Houdini grave site 10.1	Proposed exhumation 11	Legacy 12	In popular culture 13	Publications 14	Filmography 15	See also 16	References 17	Bibliography 18	Further reading 19	External links