Editing Harry Houdini (section)

==Magic career==
When Weisz became a professional [[magic (illusion)|magician]] he began calling himself "Harry Houdini", after the French magician [[Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin]], after reading Robert-Houdin's [[autobiography]] in 1890. Weisz incorrectly believed that an ''i'' at the end of a name meant "like" in French. However, "i" at the end of the name means "of or from" in Hungarian. In later life, Houdini claimed that the first part of his new name, Harry, was an homage to American magician [[Harry Kellar]], whom he also admired, though it was likely adapted from "Ehri", a nickname for "Ehrich", which is how he was known to his family.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://taramarion.vpweb.com/upload/Harry%20Houdini.pdf|title=Harry Houdini|publisher=American Decades|date=December 16, 1998|access-date=February 4, 2016|archive-date=November 9, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109085403/http://taramarion.vpweb.com/upload/Harry%20Houdini.pdf|url-status=dead}} Also at [http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?zid=2a3b8a0573f3c6eeab667966408317da&action=2&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CK1602000557&userGroupName=tlc199095657&jsid=8d70ce38fc654bb5c3842e043b6782b7 Biography In Context].</ref>

When he was a teenager, Houdini was coached by the magician [[Joseph Rinn]] at the Pastime Athletic Club.<ref name="Loxton 2013">{{cite web|last=Loxton|first=Daniel|author-link=Daniel Loxton|title=The Remarkable Mr. Rinn| date=January 30, 2013 |url=http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/13-01-30/#feature | work=[[Skeptic (U.S. magazine)|Skeptic Magazine]] | access-date=January 16, 2016 }}</ref>

[[File:Harry Houdini-sitting.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Houdini, c. 1900]]
Houdini began his magic career in 1891, but had little success.<ref>{{cite web| last=Rocha| first=Guy| title=MYTH No. 56 – No Disappearing Act for Harry Houdini at Piper's Opera House| url=http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=728&Itemid=418| publisher=Nevada State Library and Archives| access-date=March 24, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722132236/http://nsla.nevadaculture.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=728&Itemid=418| archive-date=July 22, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref> He appeared in a tent act with strongman [[Emil Jarrow]].<ref>Immerso, Michael. (2002). ''Coney Island: The People's Playground''. Rutgers University Press. p. 114. {{ISBN|978-0813531380}}</ref> He performed in [[dime museum]]s and sideshows, and even doubled as "The Wild Man" at a circus. Houdini focused initially on traditional card tricks. At one point, he billed himself as the "King of Cards".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.houdini.org/houdinimagic.html|title=Harry Houdini: Famous magician, master of escapes, Houdini metamorphosis|publisher=Houdini Magic|access-date=February 4, 2016|archive-date=May 5, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230505113735/https://www.houdini.org/houdinimagic.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some – but not all – professional magicians would come to regard Houdini as a competent but not particularly skilled sleight-of-hand artist, lacking the grace and finesse required to achieve excellence in that craft.<ref>[http://www.houdinifile.com/2014/04/houdini-king-of-cards.html Houdini, King of Cards] The Houdini Files.</ref><ref name=Johnson2005>{{cite book
|last = Johnson| first = Karl| title = The Magician and the Cardsharp| url = https://archive.org/details/magiciancardshar00karl
|url-access = registration| year = 2005}}</ref> He soon began experimenting with [[escapology|escape acts]].{{citation needed |date=January 2020}}
[[File:HarryHoudini1899.jpg|thumb|Houdini in a publicity shoot wearing chains and padlocks, 1899]]
In the early 1890s, Houdini was performing with his brother "[[Theodore Hardeen|Dash]]" (Theodore) as "The Brothers Houdini".<ref name="randi">{{Cite book |last=Randi |first=James |title=Conjuring |date=1992 |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=0-312-08634-2 |location=New York |oclc=26162991|author-link=James Randi}}</ref>{{rp|160}} The brothers performed at the [[World's Columbian Exposition|Chicago World's Fair]] in 1893 before returning to New York City and working at Huber's Dime Museum for "near-starvation wages".<ref name="randi" />{{rp|160}} In 1894, Houdini met a fellow performer, [[Bess Houdini|Wilhelmina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner]]. Bess was initially courted by Dash, but she and Houdini married, with Bess replacing Dash in the act, which became known as "The Houdinis". For the rest of Houdini's performing career, Bess worked as his stage assistant.
[[File:Signed drawing of Harry Houdini by Manuel Rosenberg 1927.jpg|thumb|Signed drawing by [[Manuel Rosenberg]] 1927]]

Houdini's big break came in 1899 when he met manager [[Martin Beck (vaudeville)|Martin Beck]] in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]]. Impressed by Houdini's [[handcuffs]] act, Beck advised him to concentrate on escape acts and booked him on the [[Orpheum Circuit|Orpheum]] [[vaudeville]] circuit. Within months, he was performing at the top vaudeville houses in the country. In 1900, Beck arranged for Houdini to tour Europe. After some days of unsuccessful interviews in London, Houdini's British agent [[Harry Day (politician)|Harry Day]] helped him to get an interview with C. Dundas Slater, then manager of the [[Alhambra Theatre]]. He was introduced to [[William Melville]] and gave a demonstration of escape from handcuffs at [[Scotland Yard]].<ref>[[William Lindsay Gresham|Gresham, William Lindsay]]. (1959). ''Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls''. Holt. pp. 82–83</ref> He succeeded in baffling the police so effectively that he was booked at the Alhambra for six months. His show was an immediate hit and his salary rose to $300 a week ({{Inflation|US|300|1900|fmt=eq}}).<ref>Price, David. (1985). ''Magic: A Pictorial History of Conjurers in the Theater''. Cornwall Books. p. 191. {{ISBN|0845347381}}</ref>

[[File:Weiss with mother and wife.jpg|thumb|"My Two Sweethearts"{{snd}}Houdini with his mother and wife, {{circa}} 1907]]
Between 1900 and 1920 he appeared in theatres all over Great Britain performing escape acts, illusions, card tricks and outdoor stunts, becoming one of the world's highest paid entertainers.<ref>Tait, Derek. (2017). ''The Great Houdini: His British Tours'' (Kindle Edition). Pen & Sword Books Ltd. Chapter One {{ISBN|978-1473867949}}</ref> He also toured the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Russia and became widely known as "The Handcuff King". In each city, Houdini challenged local police to restrain him with [[shackle]]s and lock him in their jails. In many of these challenge escapes, he was first [[strip search|stripped nude and searched]]. In [[Moscow]], he escaped from a [[Siberia]]n prison transport van,<ref name="randi" />{{rp|163}} claiming that, had he been unable to free himself, he would have had to travel to Siberia, where the only key was kept.

In [[Cologne]], Houdini sued a police officer, Werner Graff, who alleged that he made his escapes via [[bribery]].<ref>Silverman, p. 81.</ref> Houdini won the case when he opened the judge's safe (he later said the judge had forgotten to lock it). With his new-found wealth, Houdini purchased a dress said to have been made for [[Queen Victoria]]. He then arranged a grand reception where he presented his mother in the dress to all their relatives. Houdini said it was the happiest day of his life. In 1904, Houdini returned to the U.S. and purchased a house for $25,000 ({{Inflation|US|25000|1904|fmt=eq}}), a [[brownstone]] at 278&nbsp;W. 113th Street in [[Harlem]], New York City.<ref>Silverman, p. 109.</ref>

While on tour in Europe in 1902, Houdini visited [[Blois]] with the aim of meeting the widow of Emile Houdin, the son of [[Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin]], for an interview and permission to visit his grave. He did not receive permission but still visited the grave.<ref name="Steinmeyer 152-153">[[Jim Steinmeyer|Steinmeyer, Jim]]. (2004). ''Hiding The Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible''. Da Capo Press. pp. 152–153. {{ISBN|0786714018}}</ref> Houdini believed that he had been treated unfairly and later wrote a negative account of the incident in his magazine, claiming he was "treated most discourteously by Madame W. Emile Robert-Houdin".<ref name="Steinmeyer 152-153"/> In 1906, he sent a letter to the French magazine ''L'Illusionniste'' stating: "You will certainly enjoy the article on Robert Houdin I am about to publish in my magazine. Yes, my dear friend, I think I can finally demolish your idol, who has so long been placed on a pedestal that he did not deserve."<ref>Jones, Graham Matthew. (2007). ''Trades of the Trick: Conjuring Culture in Modern France''. New York University. pp. 96–98</ref>

In 1906, Houdini created his own publication, the ''Conjurers' Monthly Magazine''.<ref>[[William Lindsay Gresham|Gresham, William Lindsay]] (1959). ''Houdini: The Man Who Walked Through Walls''. Holt. p. 136</ref> It was a competitor to ''[[The Sphinx: An Independent Magazine for Magicians|The Sphinx]]'', but was short-lived and only two volumes were released until August 1908. Magic historian [[Jim Steinmeyer]] has noted that "Houdini couldn't resist using the journal for his own crusades, attacking his rivals, praising his own appearances, and subtly rewriting history to favor his view of magic."<ref>[[Jim Steinmeyer|Steinmeyer, Jim]]. (2006). ''The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, Aka Chung Ling Soo, the Marvelous Chinese Conjurer''. Da Capo Press. p. 291. {{ISBN|078671770X}}</ref>

[[File:Harry Houdini jumps from Harvard Bridge, Boston, Massachusetts, 1908 - John H. Thurston, stereopticons LCCN2015650990 - restoration.jpg|thumb|250px|Harry Houdini before he jumped off the [[Harvard Bridge]] in [[Boston]] in 1908]]
From 1907 and throughout the 1910s, Houdini performed with great success in the United States. He freed himself from jails, handcuffs, chains, ropes, and [[straitjacket]]s, often while hanging from a rope in sight of street audiences. Because of imitators, Houdini put his "handcuff act" behind him on January 25, 1908, and began escaping from a locked, water-filled milk can. The possibility of failure and death thrilled his audiences. Houdini also expanded his repertoire with his escape challenge act, in which he invited the public to devise contraptions to hold him. These included nailed packing crates (sometimes lowered into water), riveted boilers, wet sheets, [[mail bag]]s,<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m_-UQ8pUg_4C&q=Houdini+Mailbag+escape&pg=PA39 |first1=J. C. |last1=Cannell |title=The Secrets of Houdini |pages=36–41 |location=New York |publisher=Dover Publications |year=1973| access-date=August 17, 2012 |isbn=978-0486229133}}</ref> and even the belly of a [[Whale#In myth, literature and art|whale]] that had washed ashore in Boston. Brewers in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], and other cities challenged Houdini to escape from a barrel after they filled it with beer.<ref>{{cite web |title=Houdini's escapes and magic – Houdini's unique challenges in Scranton, PA. during the vaudeville era |url=http://www.houdini.org/challeng.html |access-date=September 29, 2014 |archive-date=August 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820063500/http://houdini.org/challeng.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many of these challenges were arranged with local merchants in one of the first uses of mass [[tie-in]] [[marketing]]. Rather than promote the idea that he was assisted by spirits, as did the [[Davenport Brothers]] and others, Houdini's advertisements showed him making his escapes via [[Teleportation|dematerializing]], although Houdini himself never claimed to have supernatural powers.<ref name="secret">{{cite book |last1=Kalush |first1=William |first2=Larry |last2=Sloman |year= 2006 |title=The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |isbn=978-0743272070 |url=https://archive.org/details/secretlifeofhoud00kalu |access-date=November 9, 2015}}</ref>

After much research, Houdini wrote a collection of articles on the history of magic, which were expanded into ''[[The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin]]'' published in 1908. In this book he attacked his former idol Robert-Houdin as a liar and a fraud for having claimed the invention of automata and effects such as [[Aerial suspension (illusion)|aerial suspension]], which had been in existence for many years.<ref>[[Jim Steinmeyer|Steinmeyer, Jim]]. (2004). ''Hiding The Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible''. Da Capo Press. pp. 154–155. {{ISBN|0786714018}} "He decided to portray Robert-Houdin as a liar and thief who was completely incompetent as a magician. Houdini had developed a hatred for his spiritual father. In 1908 his collection of articles was gathered together, expanded and sold to a London publisher. By comparing the original articles with the finished book, it's clear that Houdini employed a ghost writer to polish the language and clarify his points. Other surviving manuscripts from Houdini demonstrate that most of Houdini's writing depended on ghostwriters. The theme of his book on Robert-Houdin was sharpened to a razor's edge, and was now titled ''The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin''."</ref><ref>Goto-Jones, Chris. (2016). ''Conjuring Asia''. Cambridge University Press. p. 193. {{ISBN|978-1107076594}}</ref> Many of the allegations in the book were dismissed by magicians and researchers who defended Robert-Houdin. Magician [[Jean Hugard]] would later write a full rebuttal to Houdini's book.<ref>Inge, M. Thomas; Hall, Dennis. (2002). ''The Greenwood Guide to American Popular Culture, Volume 3''. Greenwood Press. p. 1037. {{ISBN|978-0313323690}} "Stung by the refusal of the widow of Robert-Houdin's son Emile to receive him in 1901, Houdini launched a literary vendetta against his former hero in the form of a book, ''The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin'', published seven years later. While the book did not achieve its aim, it remains of considerable historical interest as the first sustained attempt to mine Houdini's large and growing collection for historical information. Its errors and oversights became the subject of two extensive rebuttals. The first was Maurice Sardina's ''Les Erreurs de Harry Houdini'', translated and edited by Victor Farelli as ''Where Houdini Was Wrong''. The second was Jean Hugard's ''Houdini's "Unmasking": Fact vs Fiction''.</ref><ref>[[Jim Steinmeyer|Steinmeyer, Jim]]. (2004). ''Hiding The Elephant: How Magicians Invented the Impossible''. Da Capo Press. p. 156. {{ISBN|0786714018}} "A number of researchers and authors have dismissed his claims and defended Robert-Houdin's reputation."</ref><ref>Jones, Graham M. (2011). ''Trade of the Tricks: Inside the Magician's Craft''. University of California Press. p. 208. {{ISBN|978-0520270466}} "The publication ultimately did more to tarnish Houdini's reputation than to refute Robert-Houdin's claims to originality and distinction especially in France, where magicians rallied to defend their spiritual progenitor against aspersions cast by an American parvenu."</ref>

[[File:Houdini challenge.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Poster promoting Houdini taking up the challenge of escaping an "extra strong and large traveling basket"]]
Houdini introduced the [[Chinese Water Torture Cell]] at the Circus Busch in [[Berlin]], [[Germany]], on September 21, 1912.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mastronet.com/index.cfm?action=DisplayContent&ContentName=Lot%20Information&LotIndex=78310 |title=1912 Harry Houdini 'Water Torture Cell' Presentation Piece from Circus Busch Containing the Original Concept Art for the Performance's Famous Poster |access-date=May 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220050429/http://www.mastronet.com/index.cfm?action=DisplayContent&ContentName=Lot%20Information&LotIndex=78310 |archive-date=December 20, 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He was suspended upside-down in a locked glass-and-steel cabinet full to overflowing with water, holding his breath for more than three minutes. He would go on performing this escape for the rest of his life.

During his career, Houdini explained some of his tricks in books written for the magic brotherhood. In ''Handcuff Secrets'' (1909), he revealed how many locks and handcuffs could be opened with properly applied force, others with shoestrings. Other times, he carried concealed [[lock picking|lockpicks]] or keys. When tied down in ropes or [[straitjacket]]s, he gained wiggle room by enlarging his shoulders and chest, moving his arms slightly away from his [[Human body|body]].<ref name="secret"/>

[[File:Houdini-Elephant.jpg|thumb|right|Houdini and Jennie, the Vanishing Elephant, January 7, 1918]]
[[File:Houdini in Handcuffs, 1918.JPG|thumb|upright|Houdini in handcuffs, 1918]]
His straitjacket escape was originally performed behind curtains, with him popping out free at the end. Houdini's brother (who was also an escape artist, billing himself as [[Theodore Hardeen]]) discovered that audiences were more impressed when the curtains were eliminated so they could watch him struggle to get out. On more than one occasion, they both performed straitjacket escapes while dangling upside-down from the roof of a building in the same city.<ref name="secret"/>

For most of his career, Houdini was a headline act in [[vaudeville]]. For many years, he was the highest-paid performer in American vaudeville. One of Houdini's most notable non-escape stage illusions was performed at the [[New York Hippodrome]], when he vanished a full-grown elephant from the stage.<ref>[http://www.thegreatharryhoudini.com/vanishingelephant.html "The Vanishing Elephant"]. Retrieved June 30, 2016.</ref> He had purchased this trick from the magician [[Charles Morritt]].<ref>[[Milbourne Christopher|Christopher, Milbourne]]. (1990 edition, originally published in 1962). ''Magic: A Picture History''. Dover Publications. p. 160. {{ISBN|0486263738}} "Morritt invented a 'Disappearing Donkey'. When he expanded the idea so that an elephant could be whisked away in a box, Houdini bought the full rights to the spectacular illusion."</ref><ref>Silverman, p. 224.</ref> In 1923, Houdini became president of [[Martinka (company)|Martinka & Co.]], America's oldest magic company. The business is still in operation today.

He also served as president of the [[Society of American Magicians]] ({{aka}} S.A.M.) from 1917 until his death in 1926. Founded on May 10, 1902, in the back room of Martinka's magic shop in New York, the Society expanded under the leadership of Harry Houdini during his term as national president from 1917 to 1926. Houdini was magic's greatest visionary: He sought to create a large, unified national network of professional and amateur magicians. Wherever he traveled, he gave a lengthy formal address to the local magic club, made speeches, and usually threw a banquet for the members at his own expense. He said "The Magicians Clubs as a rule are small: they are weak ... but if we were amalgamated into one big body the society would be stronger, and it would mean making the small clubs powerful and worthwhile. Members would find a welcome wherever they happened to be and, conversely, the safeguard of a city-to-city hotline to track exposers and other undesirables".

For most of 1916, while on his vaudeville tour, Houdini had been recruiting{{snd}}at his own expense{{snd}}local magic clubs to join the S.A.M. in an effort to revitalize what he felt was a weak organization. Houdini persuaded groups in Buffalo, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City to join. As had happened in London, he persuaded magicians to join. The Buffalo club joined as the first branch, (later assembly) of the Society. Chicago Assembly No. 3 was, as the name implies, the third regional club to be established by the S.A.M., whose assemblies now number in the hundreds. In 1917, he signed Assembly Number Three's charter into existence, and that charter and this club continue to provide Chicago magicians with a connection to each other and to their past. Houdini dined with, addressed, and got pledges from similar clubs in Detroit, Rochester, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Cincinnati and elsewhere. This was the biggest movement ever in the history of magic. In places where no clubs existed, he rounded up individual magicians, introduced them to each other, and urged them into the fold.

By the end of 1916, magicians' clubs in San Francisco and other cities that Houdini had not visited were offering to become assemblies. He had created the richest and longest-surviving organization of magicians in the world. It now embraces almost 6,000 dues-paying members and almost 300 assemblies worldwide. In July 1926, Houdini was elected for the ninth successive time President of the Society of American Magicians. Every other president has only served for one year. He also was President of the Magicians' Club of London.<ref name="Houdini!">{{cite book |first=Kenneth |last=Silverman |title=Houdini! The Career of Ehrich Weiss: American Self-Liberator, Europe's Eclipsing Sensation, World's Handcuff King & Prison Breaker |year=1996 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0060169787 |page=[https://archive.org/details/houdinicareerofe00silv/page/544 544] |url=https://archive.org/details/houdinicareerofe00silv/page/544 }}</ref>

In the final years of his life (1925/26), Houdini launched his own full-evening show, which he billed as "Three Shows in One: Magic, Escapes, and Fraud Mediums Exposed".<ref>{{cite web |title=Houdini: A Biography |work=Wild About Harry |url=http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/p/houdini-biography.html |author=John Cox |year=2017 |orig-year=2011 |access-date=February 10, 2017}}</ref>