Harry Houdini introduced his famous milk can trick in 1908. His real name was Joseph Frank Keaton, if you're curious. Joe started calling him Buster, and the nickname stuck. Houdini remarked, "That was a real buster!" In those days, according to Keaton, buster meant a spill or a fall that had the potential to really hurt someone. The story Buster tells (though some believe it's a myth) is that one day, when he was only about 6 months old, he took a tumble down a flight of stairs while he was under his dad's watch, but came out of it completely unscathed. According to legend, Harry Houdini also named Buster Keaton, although inadvertently.Īlong with Houdini, Buster's dad, Joe, was the co-owner of a traveling show called the Mohawk Indian Medicine Company. His last name, however, was definitely a tribute to French illusionist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. He likely took the first part of his stage name from his childhood nickname, "Ehrie," although some sources say that his first name was a tribute to magician Harry Kellar. Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss. Read on for some interesting facts about Harry Houdini. And with performances that spectacular, it shouldn’t come as a shock that his life was just as fascinating. Whether he was escaping from a straitjacket while suspended from a crane above the streets or getting out of his famed “Chinese water torture cell” with just moments of air to spare, Houdini had a habit of leaving everyone in awe. The famed magician captured the imagination of the world with his death-defying stunts and performances, many of which still baffle modern magicians. Harry Houdini died on October 31, 1926.Though Harry Houdini died nearly a century ago, his mystique has never faded. When he finally went to a hospital he found out that he had peritonitis a fatal disease caused by the appendix bursting. Harry did not go to a hospital and continued doing shows. Harry started to get out of his chair but the boxer punched him three times before he could tighten his stomach muscles. One was a boxer and asked if Houdini could actually withstand ant blow to the stomach. On October 23rd, 1926 after a show he met with two university students. By the time he returned to America in 1905 he was an international celebrity. This stunt increased his fame and sold out bookings followed all over Europe. Harry managed to get a place in a London theater but his breakthrough came when he broke free from the Scotland Yard after being wrapped around a pillar and handcuffed. In 1900 he arrived in London with no bookings and very little money. Although he was a headliner in the vaudeville circuit Harry was not happy with the low level of his fame and decided to take his act to England. Althougth no one ever claimed the money the inventor of the mirror handcuff came close. He offered anyone $100 dollars if they could make a pair of handcuffs that he could not get out of. Harry became an expert on handcuffs and asked the police in each town they visited Harry challenged the police to handcuff him but he always escaped. They got married in 1894 and remained devoted companions for the rest of their lives. While performing in Coney Island Harry met Bess, a singer and dancer. Harry became interested in magic and started performing when he was 17 and travelled with his brother Theo as The Houdini Brothers. His first appearance in front of an audience was when he was nine doing a routine on a trapeze. They didn’t have much money so Ehrich had to shine shoes and sell newspapers to support the family. The family moved to Milwaukee when Ehrich was eight. Houdini’s mother said that he learned as a child how to open locks to get at the pies and cookies she had baked although this might not be true. After his first wife died in childbirth he moved his family to America in 1876 hoping for a better life in the new world. Harry Houdini was born as Ehrich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. Harry Houdini was magician and escape artist that lived in the 1920’s and was famous for his amazing and daring escapes.
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