{"id":42349,"date":"2025-01-23T04:12:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-23T04:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/antique-2\/harry-houdini-american-escape-artist-illusionist-and-stunt-performer\/"},"modified":"2025-01-23T04:12:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-23T04:12:26","slug":"harry-houdini-american-escape-artist-illusionist-and-stunt-performer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349","title":{"rendered":"Harry Houdini American Escape Artist, Illusionist, and Stunt Performer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/58b3000ae3df2844f576407a\/1649774368196-8ELJOLJBKZIMBT92BM1C\/1036houdini26one.jpg?format=1500w\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Straightjackets, shackles, ropes, leg irons, jail cells, and locked crates, Houdini was open to it all. And it wasn\u2019t just Houdini\u2019s love of magic driving his escapes, it was his love for the audience. He savored those moments of connection. He said it was like they were bonded by a piece of thread.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Houdini worked long hours and spent his spare money on two things: magic books and paraphernalia.  When he arrived in a new city, he wandered through old book stores adding to what has been called the largest magic library in the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">He also spent money on self-promotion. Houdini wined and dined reporters, probably bribing a few along the way. He also hired ghostwriters to spin tales of his magic feats. He even hired horror novelist H.P. Lovecraft to write stories under the Houdini name. Posters were plastered all over town in the cities he performed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">&#8220;I knew, as everyone knows, that the easiest way to attract a crowd is to let it be known that at a given time and a given place someone is going to attempt something that in the event of failure will mean sudden death. That&#8217;s what attracts us to the man who paints the flagstaff on the tall building, or to the &#8216;human fly&#8217; who scales the walls of the same building, Houdini said.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Houdini accepted almost ever challenge made of him during his lifetime asking only that he be given 24 hours to work out his escape plan. He lived on the edge realizing every challenge was potentially career-ending for him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cMy chief task has been to conquer fear, he said. \u201cThe public sees only the thrill of the accomplished trick; they have no conception of the tortuous preliminary self-training that was necessary to conquer fear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">The milk container escape act was probably one of Houdini\u2019s favorite tricks. He would climb inside a steel drum filled with water. The lid would be padlocked shut with several locks and chains, and of course, after several minutes Houdini would escape unharmed. Adding to the suspense, Houdini invited members of the audience to hold their breath along with him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cI always have on my mind the thought that next year I must do something greater, something more wonderful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Houdini was born Ehrich Weisz on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary. In 1878, his family moved to the United States settling in Appleton, Wisc. From there they relocated to New York City in 1887.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Erik and his friend Jacob started the magic act calling themselves \u201cThe Brothers Houdini.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Jacob left the act in 1893 and Harry\u2019s wife Bess joined him. They became \u201cThe Houdinis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">In a touch of final irony Harry died on Halloween in 1926 in Detroit, Mich.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">\u201cI am a great believe in mystery and magic,\u201d he said. \u201cLook at this life \u2013 all mystery and magic.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">On March 26, 2022, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.potterauctions.com\">Potter &amp; Potter<\/a> featured the Salon de Magie: The Klosterman Collection Part II on the block.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Here are some current values for Houdini items.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Harry Houdini<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Silver Print Photograph; Houdini Escape Challenge; shows him hanging upside-down at \u201cThe Times\u201d building (Seattle); with a large crowd gathered on the street; Houdini attempts to wriggle free of a straitjacket; circa 1920s; 9 \u00bd inches by 7 \u00bd inches; $4,560.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Coin Casket; Houdini\u2019s wooden casket with brass trim; four coins are placed in slots inside the box and as the lid is opened and closed repeatedly; the money vanishes one piece at a time, circa 1885; 3 inches by 3 inches; $7,200.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Photograph; Portrait; half-length; silver print; signed; circa 1915; 15 \u00bd inches by 13 inches; $7,800.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Houdini &amp; (wife) Bess Oval Pocket Mirrors; one of Houdini, the other of his wife Bess; circa 1933; 2 \u00bd inches by 2 inches; $7,800.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"white-space:pre-wrap;\">Color Lithographed Poster; half-sheet; circa 1898; 34 inches by 27 \u00bd inches; $16,800.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Straightjackets, shackles, ropes, leg irons, jail cells, and locked crates, Houdini was open to it all. And it wasn\u2019t just Houdini\u2019s love of magic driving his escapes, it was his love for the audience. He savored those moments of connection. He said it was like they were bonded by a piece of thread. Houdini worked [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42350,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12037],"tags":[204,6436,6439,5608,21950,26451,8113,2951],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-42349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antique-2","tag-american","tag-artist","tag-escape","tag-harry","tag-houdini","tag-illusionist","tag-performer","tag-stunt"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Harry Houdini American Escape Artist, Illusionist, and Stunt Performer - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Harry Houdini American Escape Artist, Illusionist, and Stunt Performer - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Straightjackets, shackles, ropes, leg irons, jail cells, and locked crates, Houdini was open to it all. And it wasn\u2019t just Houdini\u2019s love of magic driving his escapes, it was his love for the audience. He savored those moments of connection. He said it was like they were bonded by a piece of thread. Houdini worked [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-23T04:12:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1036houdini26one.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1829\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"Harry Houdini American Escape Artist, Illusionist, and Stunt Performer\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-23T04:12:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\"},\"wordCount\":627,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/1036houdini26one.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"American\",\"Artist\",\"Escape\",\"Harry\",\"houdini\",\"Illusionist\",\"Performer\",\"Stunt\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Antique\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=42349\",\"name\":\"Harry Houdini American Escape Artist, Illusionist, and Stunt Performer - 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