Editing Harry Houdini (section)

==Death==
Houdini died on October 31, 1926 at the age of 52 from [[peritonitis]] (swelling of the abdomen), possibly related to [[appendicitis]] and possibly related to punches to his abdomen he had received about a week and a half earlier.[[File:Harry Houdini and his wife.jpg|thumb|upright|Houdini and his wife [[Bess Houdini|Bess]]]]

Witnesses to an incident at Houdini's dressing room in the Princess Theatre in [[Montreal]] on October 22, 1926, speculated that Houdini's death was caused by Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead (1895–1954), who repeatedly struck Houdini's abdomen.<ref name=Snopes>{{cite web| last=Mikkelson| first=Barbara and David P.| date=September 2, 2014| title=Punched Out| url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/houdini.asp| website=[[Snopes.com]]}}</ref>

The accounts of the witnesses, students named Jacques Price and Sam Smilovitz (sometimes called Jack Price and Sam Smiley), generally corroborated each other. Price said that Whitehead asked Houdini "if he believed in the miracles of the Bible" and "whether it was true that punches in the stomach did not hurt him". Houdini offered a casual reply that his stomach could endure a lot. Whitehead then delivered "some very hammer-like blows below the belt". Houdini was reclining on a couch at the time, having broken his ankle while performing several days earlier. Price said that Houdini winced at each blow and stopped Whitehead suddenly in the midst of a punch, gesturing that he had had enough, and adding that he had had no opportunity to prepare himself against the blows, as he did not expect Whitehead to strike him so suddenly and forcefully. Had his ankle not been broken, he would have risen from the couch into a better position to brace himself.<ref name=Snopes/><ref>{{cite book| title=Edge of the Unknown| last=Conan Doyle| first=Arthur| url=https://www.amazon.com/Edge-Sir-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/B00AZSCMA8/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1447096312&sr=1-1&keywords=edge+of+the+unknown&pebp=1447096314933&perid=0P11K5GHK33608SN7VBH#reader_B00AZSCMA8| year=1930| publisher=Lulu.com| isbn=978-1409235149}}</ref>

Throughout the evening, Houdini performed in great pain. He had [[insomnia]] and remained in constant pain for the next two days, but did not seek medical help. When he finally saw a doctor, he was found to have a fever of {{convert|102|°F|°C|abbr=on}} and acute appendicitis, and was advised to have immediate surgery. He ignored the advice and decided to go on with the show.<ref name="autogenerated3">{{cite book| title=The Man Who Killed Houdini| first=Don| last=Bell| publisher=[[Véhicule Press]]| date= 2005| isbn=978-1550651874}}</ref><ref name=Benoit>{{cite book| last=Benoit| first=Tod| title=Where Are They Buried? How Did They Die?| date=May 2003| publisher=[[Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers]]| isbn=978-0739465585| page=469}}</ref> When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan, on October 24, 1926, for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of {{convert|104|F|C}}. Despite the diagnosis, Houdini took the stage. He was reported to have passed out during the show, but was revived and continued. Afterwards, he was hospitalized at Detroit's [[Sinai-Grace Hospital#History|Grace Hospital]] where he died from peritonitis on October 31, aged 52.<ref name=Snopes/>

It is unknown if the blunt trauma Houdini sustained contributed to his eventual death.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Naumann |first1=David N |last2=Barker |first2=Tom |date=March 15, 2023 |title=Traumatic appendicitis is probably not real: an illustrative analysis of coincidental occurrences in nature |journal=Trauma Surgery & Acute Care Open |language=en |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=e001093 |doi=10.1136/tsaco-2023-001093 |issn=2397-5776 |pmc=10030918 |pmid=36967864}}</ref><ref name=Snopes/> Although rare, acute appendicitis which follows after direct abdominal trauma has been observed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Toumi |first1=Zaher |last2=Chan |first2=Anthony |last3=Hadfield |first3=Matthew B |last4=Hulton |first4=Neil R |date=September 2010 |title=Systematic review of blunt abdominal trauma as a cause of acute appendicitis |journal=The Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England |language=en |volume=92 |issue=6 |pages=477–482 |doi=10.1308/003588410X12664192075936 |issn=0035-8843 |pmc=3182788 |pmid=20513274}}</ref> One theory suggests that Houdini was unaware that he was suffering from appendicitis, and he might have taken his abdominal pain more seriously had he not coincidentally received blows to the abdomen.<ref name=Snopes/> According to Adam Begley, it is more likely that Houdini was suffering the effects of appendicitis prior to the punch, and his reluctance to seek medical care delayed potential treatment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Begley |first=Adam |title=Houdini: The Elusive American |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=9780300230796 |location=New Haven and London |pages=173–183}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Begley |first=Adam |date=March 11, 2020 |title=Did Houdini Really Die after Being Sucker Punched? |url=https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2020/03/11/did-houdini-really-die-after-being-sucker-punched/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240113094355/https://yalebooks.yale.edu/2020/03/11/did-houdini-really-die-after-being-sucker-punched/ |archive-date=January 13, 2024 |access-date=September 29, 2024 |website=Yale University Press}}</ref> 

After taking statements from Price and Smilovitz, Houdini's insurance company concluded that the death was due to the dressing-room incident and paid [[double indemnity]].<ref name="autogenerated3" />