Houdini :: History

Houdini Kendall, Lace Houdini Master of Escape Philadelphia: Macrae Smith Company, 1960, 187 pages. "Ladies and gentlemen, you can see there isn't anything up my sleeve."1 Erich Weiss states at the beginning of the book. Even as a child Erich Weiss, a.k.a. Harry Houdini, knows that his goal in life is to become a world famous illusionist. It was difficult for Erich's family being pilgrims from Europe. His father worked hard, but being from Germany and not knowing English made it difficult. "Promise me you will always look after your mother and see to it that she is never in want."2 Erich promises his father that he will look after his mother and other brothers. At the age of thirteen he decides to leave and join the circus. He journeys to Texas performing small, road-side shows on the way, but only gets half-way when he turns around. Erich realizes it's not his time. At the age of fifteen he moves with his family to New York. That is when he acquires his name, Harry Houdini. He dubs himself Houdini after the famous French magician Robert Houdin. In one of his small shows in New York he spills acid on the audience member's dress. Little did he know how much that would change his life. He offer to have his mother make a new dress for Miss Beatrice "Bess" Rahner. It was love at first sight. He and Bess are married at Coney Island the day he gives her the new dress. Often when I here of Houdini I think, and even have been told, that he died in an escape accident. That is not only untrue it is nowhere near his true means of death. During a performance one night he broke an ankle. That is when it all started. He began feeling worse everyday. He had stomach pains. He waited to late. He had a ruptured appendix and gangrene had set in. The doctors told him that he would not survive more that twelve hours. However he fought for seven days. He died at the age of fifty-two on October 31, 1926, Halloween. This book was like a time machine in that it let me see into the past. I not only got to live along with Mr. Harry Houdini, I got to visit the places he did through the words of Lace Kendall. The place I enjoyed most was New York City.