Houdini in Chains Promo Photo

More about Harry Houdini

Born Ehrich Weisz in Budapest, Harry Houdini was a Jewish immigrant to the United States. His first escape was with his family, when he was four, fleeing anti-Semitism in Central Europe and settling in Appleton, Wisconsin.

The young Weisz quickly found the bright lights of the stage more appealing than the dim synagogue of his father's rabbinic profession.

After running away to join the circus, he made his debut as trapeze artist "Ehrich, Prince of the Air" at age nine. The metaphor of escape is essential to Houdini's phenomenal success: resisting the title of magician, he favored "escape artist." At the height of his fame, Harry Houdini was a living icon.

A rare photo of Houdini, Bess and his Mother

A rare photo of the three of them. Houdini gave Bess a secret code word, that only she knew. If he could reach her from "the other side" she could verify it was actually Houdini by hearing that code word. That never did happen.

Houdini’s Water Torture Cell

Houdini died of peritonitis from a ruptured appendix at 1:26 p.m. in room 401at Detroit's Grace Hospital on October 31, aged 52.

Tony Curtis portrayed him in the movie Houdini (1953) and it was inaccurately portrayed that Houdini died while in his Water Torture Cell illusion.

The Chinese Water Torture Cell" or "The Water Torture Cell", Houdini always referred to it as "the Upside Down" or "USD". The first public performance of the USD was at the Circus Busch in Berlin, on September 21, 1912. Houdini continued to perform the escape until his death in 1926.

He could easily hold his breath for over two minutes and this illusion was one of his featured pieces in his theatrical show.