Harry Houdini: The Greatest Magician Ever



Posted: Friday, January 23, 2009

by Ryan Even
http://www.MasterMentalism.com

Harry Houdini is regarded by many to be the best magician ever. At the very least he has to be regarded as one of the pioneers of modern day magic. Houdini drew many people to his shows and he performed many magic tricks that to this day are still looked at with amazement.

Houdini was born in Hungary in 1874. He was given the name Elrich Weisz. When he was a child he immigrated to America with the rest of his family. Then in his late teens he began to perform up to 20 magic shows a day on Coney Island and at a variety of civic group events. When he performed magic Elrich Weisz decided to take on the name of his idol, Robert-Houdin, and add an “i" to it. The name “Harry" probably came from his nickname which was Ehrie.

Houdini was driven to be the best magician he could possibly be. He did this by not only perfecting magic tricks but by also honing his performance skills. Houdini practiced making his voice sound just right so that he could hold the attention of his audience with more than just his magic.

But Houdini’s magic was plenty to hold the attention of his audience.

Houdini quickly became the leading act on the vaudeville circuit. Houdini would go to a town and offer $100 to any person who could bring him a pair of handcuffs that he couldn’t get out of it. Houdini never had to pay the money because he was always able to escape. Of course the challenge alone drew crowds and was a great marketing gimmick to bring the crowds in to see his act.

In 1900 Houdini took a risk and went to Europe. He returned in 1905 an international star. He was already known as the greatest magician ever.

He then built on that fame in America by continuing to perform magic tricks – the best of which required him to escape from seemingly impossible situations.

Then in the fall of 1926 a host of events doomed Houdini. For too long Houdini refused to see a doctor even though he was going on next to no sleep, had broken his ankle while performing a trick, and was punched in the abdomen three times by a boxer who wanted to test whether Houdini really couldn’t be hurt above the waist and below the neck. By the time Houdini went to the hospital and was operated on – for a ruptured appendix – the damage was already too much. Houdini, the greatest magician ever, died on October 31, 1926.

Harry Houdini was a great magician. Whether he is the greatest magician ever is debatable but what isn’t debatable is the fact that Houdini was certainly one of the pioneers of modern magic.

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Criss Angel, check out
http://MasterMentalism.com
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