Harry Houdini escaping a straitjacket while suspended upside down in Manhattan (Broadway and 46th Street, New York: 1907).Image credit: Ephemeral New York – When Houdini hung upside-down over Broadway
Harry Houdini on liberation « Entersection Says:. I love the part in the novel ‘Ragtime’ when Houdini is hanging upside down and sees a guy in a window giving him the finger. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Ĥ Responses to “When Houdini hung upside-down over Broadway” You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. This entry was posted on Maat 6:41 am and is filed under Cemeteries, Midtown, Music, art, theater, Queens. Learn more about Houdini’s life and legacy here.Tags: Ehrich Weiss, escapologist, Harry Houdini, magician, upside-down straitjacket stunt Houdini’s memory lives on in his impressive showmanship and clever magic tricks, emulated by magicians across the globe today. The magician used this as a promotional tool, as thousands could watch him be hoisted by a crane hanging upside down in a straight jacket before making his glorious escape. Houdini retired the handcuff trick in 1908, but continued to force himself into difficult and unique scenarios-including a “suspended straitjacket” escape. By 1907, his wealth and fame had grown enough to allow him to add new escape acts to his shows. Houdini’s ability to free himself from handcuffs earned him the nickname “The Handcuff King.”Īs time went on, Houdini began to up the ante of his tricks by performing handcuff escapes underwater. His career took off, and soon he was touring the top vaudeville theaters in America. He took several jobs, making his public début as a nine-year-old trapeze artist and calling himself "Ehrich, the Prince of the Air".Įventually, he started experimenting with escape acts, where he would be forced to free himself from a seemingly impossible situation in front of an audience. Around that time, Houdini was already working (even though he was just nine years old!). In 1887, Houdini’s father moved his family to New York City, where they lived in a boarding house on East 79th Street. After immigrating to the United States in the late 1800s, his family struggled to find work and uprooted their lives several times in the process. Yet, Houdini’s beginnings were far less glamorous. This famous magician once said: “my brain is the key that sets my mind free.” Houdini was the most famous magician in his lifetime, and arguably the most well-known magician in history. Harry "Handcuff" Houdini died on October 31, 1926. 
Revered for incredible illusionary acts and daring escape stunts, he awed the world by escaping from handcuffs and straight jackets, being buried alive, and much more. Photo credit: public domain.īorn as Eric Weisz in Hungary in 1874, Harry Houdini is widely known as the father of modern magic.
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