Harry Houdini Biography Essay Example

The early 1900s marked the age for many economic and political views. This time was also the beginning of the entertainment revolution. In the United States, films were created but with no sound and people were impressed. Once a man of the name Harry Houdini came along it expanded entertainment extremely. Houdini would use ideas of magic to trick a person's eye through his mysterious ways around magic. Through his life, he earned his legacy as one of the greatest magicians that ever lived. 

Erik Weisz, who was known by many as Harry Houdini was born on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary by a Jewish family. Later into his life, he was thirty-four years old and had worked for countless hours in the show business for fifteen years. He had toured all over the United States performing circus stunts, vaudeville houses, and packed theatres everywhere. When he first started getting into these acts, he trained fat monkeys and fat ladies. Later in his years, he would travel to Europe and began his start as an escape artist.

Houdini would always try to challenge the ultimate reality of death, by risking it over and over again. He would always say that he wants to give the public a real thrill, but he always knew that the possibility of an accident or a clumsy assistant was tangible enough. Houdini would go way farther than any other magician in his time, by jumping off bridges and being locked inboxes.

Houdini’s success in Europe was huge, it paved the way for great things when he finally would return to America. He had also been away for five years, and other magicians would be performing his acts as if they had been creating those by themselves. Harry then would be daring enough to come up with petrifying and new escapes to beat all his imitators behind. One of his very first ideas was to add an element of danger and surprise to his act by jumping off a bridge when he was handcuffed and chained up. This stunt was tremendously dangerous, but it entertained the public. Houdini would train himself to be able to function in cold waters to be comfortable and hold his breath for a long period. As he would prepare for his magic acts and stunts, he would enter his bath at freezing temperatures. His training would also contain fitness and increase his lung capacity. He was then able to hold his breath for a shocking three minutes. These stunts were not fun for Houdini, but they were a surefire hit for the public. He would constantly make challenges, by freezing himself from mailbags and piano crates. 

It was January 27, 1908, at the Columbia Theatre in St. Louis, Harry was about to perform his debut at a theatrical performance. This great mastermind was about to step inside of an oversized milk can. This act was the most popular act he had ever done and it was called the “Milk Can Escape”. The can have been poked, prodded, and turned upside down to prove that there was no hole beneath the stage. As he walked out, he was handcuffed with his hands in front of him. As he entered the water-filled can the lid was attached and locked from the outside with the six padlocks. Time ticked away as the crowd waited for Houdini to drown. Minutes later, a soaked and dripping Harry Houdini emerged from behind the cabinet. The can was still superbly padlocked and no one still to this day can ever manage how he had escaped. 

The ways Houdini put his time and effort into magic are very incredible. Many people do not understand how he singly changed magic as a whole. When Houdini would go out and perform his escapes, he would love to surprise the audience. Magic to this day is still built off the mysterious ways his escapes were created. Houdini did not promote the idea that events in his magic were supernatural, but he assured the public that there was no supernatural involved.

Houdini's formal education was slightly not understood because he had taught himself the immense work. He had a great love for books and research and once built a personal library. He had read and constructed his own performances by himself and used his own personal assistant to help him perform them. These acts required very critical thinking and if one part got put down wrong it could be serious and lead to even death. In 1924, Houdini wrote the novel A Magician Among Spirits, which sought to show Spiritualism as a fraud. He would show how his magic would disprove Spiritualism. His acts were considered a very lazy manner so that the public could see his tricks used. Since to Houdini, Spiritualism was a form of magic, lost its credibility and the world would laugh at it. 

Houdini died on October 31, 1926, on Halloween, as a result of an unfortunate accident. Three students before his death visited him after a performance. One student, a tall, strong young man, with the name of Gordon J. Whitehead, asked Harry if it was true that he was always in good shape and if that he could take a blow to the stomach without any injuries being concluded. He then responded saying it was true. Then the student asked if he could punch him and Houdini absentmindedly agreed. As he began to stand up, the student very quickly gave three hard blows to Houdini's abdomen before he could have a chance to tighten his muscles. Although he felt the pain, he didn't realize that the blows of the punches ruptured his appendix. An infection then set it, and ten days later he was dead at the age of 52.

Throughout his lifetime, Harry Houdini was much more than just an entertainer and a very good magician. There was a saying that was “To pull a Houdini”, which meant that someone had made an escape as Harry would do. Harry spent his life-risking it and challenging very hard obstacles to entertain the public. It changed the perception of magic and broadened its entertainment resources. Even though some acts were mortal and dangerous, his accomplishments were undoubtedly the best anyone will ever see or hear about in the United States and the world.