![]() ![]() Before Samuel Weiss died at the age of 63, he called his son to his bedside and made Erich swear that he would always provide for his mother. To his parents, though, he was always Erich. Performing for the most part in dime museums, on platforms next to snake charmers, fire-eaters and human oddities, they traveled as far west as Chicago, where the “Brothers Houdini” did quite well during the 1893 World’s Fair.įriends knew Houdini as “Ehrie”, so the transition of his first name to “Harry” was almost inevitable. Theodore Weiss, Erich’s young brother, eagerly took his place. Discouraged when agents refused to book them for longer runs, Hyman quit and went back to the necktie factory. He took the name of Houdini, which was based on the name of Robert Houdin, and he and Hyman broke in their new act playing single-night dates wherever they could find a booking. ![]() He left his first steady job and, assisted by his friend and fellow factory worker Jacob Hyman, he began appearing in New York beer halls and theaters. Erich was working at a necktie factory on lower Broadway but more than anything he wanted to become a professional magician. Magic was just one of Erich’s many interests until he read the memoirs of the famous French magician, Robert Houdin. Erich worked his way east and joined his father and between the two of them, they saved enough money to bring Erich’s mother and the other children to Manhattan. Rabbi Samuel Weiss left for New York a short time later, feeling that a teacher of religion could do better in a city with a larger Jewish population. Many aspects of Houdini's life remain a mystery today (which is likely how he wanted it) and he had been credited with the famous line about his biography: "When the legend is greater than the truth - print the legend!"Īt the age of 12, Erich ran away from home, hoping to contribute more to his impoverished parents than he could make shining shoes and selling newspapers. If this part of the story is true, it was a skill that served him well later in life. Legend has it that young Erich was apprenticed to a locksmith, where he learned to assemble and take apart locks with his eyes closed. Later, his father, Rabbi Meyer Samuel Weiss, moved the family to Milwaukee and he took over a Jewish congregation there. Houdini was born in Budapest, Hungary on Mabut grew up as Erich Weiss in the small Wisconsin town of Appleton. The question remains as to whether or not he actually succeeded… Before his death, Houdini stated that should it be possible to contact the living from the other side, he would do so. This was when he turned to exposing them, still searching for the truth. In fact, he had gone to them in an attempt to try and contact his dead mother, but found that the mediums he met were often frauds. ![]() Unlike these groups, Houdini did not start out attacking fake mediums because he did not believe in the supernatural. Today, many skeptic organizations have claimed Houdini as one of their own, but this is far from the truth. In this, modern information about Houdini tends to be skewed. In addition to his fantastic escapes and stunts, he was also well known in the 1920s for his debunking of fraudulent Spiritualist mediums. Harry Houdini is still considered today as one of the greatest illusionists and magicians in history.
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