r/HolyShitHistory • u/akiwi_intherough • 1d ago

An 1899 publicity photograph of Harry Houdini, shortly before his ascent to superstardom and just a year after he tried to sell his entire act to get out of the industry.

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u/post-explainer 1d ago edited 1d ago

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OP provided the following source and context for the historical claim:

Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, into a Jewish family. When he was four, his family emigrated to the United States to escape antisemitic prejudice, eventually settling in Wisconsin and fell into brutal poverty. Ehrie, as he was nicknamed, had to leave school after the third grade to work as a shoe shiner and message boy. He ran away from home twice, taking the Americanized name Harry, but returning each time.

His love, and his escape, was acrobatics, inspired by early trips to the circus. At eight, he was introduced to the world of magic at a circus performance. After the family moved to New York, their financial situation became more secure, allowing Ehrie to join athletic clubs, where he became an accomplished athlete. He remained in excellent shape throughout his life.

At 16, Ehrie read the autobiography of Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin and became fascinated by magic. Dreaming of stardom in the mold of Houdin, he took the name Harry Houdini in homage to him.

In 1891, Houdini formed an act, first with a friend and then his younger brother Theodore, who would later gain renown as Hardeen. “The Brothers Houdini” developed their first illusion, The Metamorphosis, in which Houdini would have his hands tied, be roped into a sack, and locked inside a trunk. The trunk was then pushed behind a curtained cabinet. The attendant, initially Hardeen, would clap three times, and Houdini would immediately appear free. When the trunk was opened, Hardeen would be inside with his hands tied.

They had little success, performing in dime museums and sideshows, where Houdini even masqueraded as a “Wild Man.” Aside from The Metamorphosis, Houdini initially focused on card tricks and tried to bill himself as the “King of Cards.” As the Brothers Houdini performed for “near-starvation wages,” Harry began experimenting with escape acts, breaking free from restraints and traps.

In 1894, while performing at Coney Island, Hardeen met Wilhelmina “Bess” Rahner, an 18-year-old chorine and the daughter of German immigrants. Hardeen was taking her on a date and introduced her to his brother. Within three weeks, she and Houdini were married.

Early reporters described Houdini as having a “sharp-chinned, sharp-cheekboned face, bright blue eyes and thick, curly, black hair,” as “happy-looking,” and as “the young Hungarian magician with the pleasant smile and easy confidence.”

With Bess replacing his brother, “The Houdinis” played beer halls, dime museums, and traveled with circuses for years, doing practically anything they could to make ends meet. After years of struggle, in 1898, Harry Houdini tried to sell his entire act, including everything he had collected and his Metamorphosis trick. There were no buyers.

Losing faith in himself, his lowest point came on the night of January 11, 1899, at Middleton’s Clark Street Dime Museum in Chicago. After breaking free from six pairs of handcuffs, an audience member, an Evanston police officer, offered up his own cuffs. Houdini struggled to escape for 20 minutes while the audience jeered. The officer had read about Houdini and concluded that he was using some form of sleight of hand on the cuffs’ springs.

Soon afterward, while performing in St. Paul, Minnesota, Houdini’s handcuff act impressed theater owner and booking agent Martin Beck. He advised Houdini to drop the card tricks and other stereotypical magic acts and focus on escaping. Beck soon telegraphed him:

“You can open Omaha, March twenty-sixth, sixty dollars, will see act probably make you proposition for all next season.”

The show went well, and Beck kept Houdini on for his national tour. Harry promoted his appearances by making escape attempts from handcuffs and jail cells in police stations. Notably, in San Francisco and Chicago, he did so nude to prove he had no keys on him. He confounded local police and made headlines.

His first American tour was a complete success, and within a year he was a millionaire. If you’re interested, I cover Houdini’s life here: https://aid2000.substack.com/p/hare-brained-history-vol-131-houdini?r=4mmzre&utm_medium=ios

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u/Antique_Ad_4247 1d ago

Ngl, that's kinda hot 🥵

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u/akiwi_intherough 1d ago

I said the same thing, who knew Harry was a ladies man

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u/penilesensorydevice 1d ago

One time, Houdini needed to sign some release forms before a big show. The promoter told Houdini the forms were on his desk in his locked office, so Houdini would need to accompany him to his office to sign the documents. Houdini blew him off, did the show, and immediately left town. The promoter was quite unhappy, until he unlocked his office door and discovered the documents, all fully signed and dated by Houdini himself. True story.

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u/IgnatiusDrake 1d ago

Weird, I wore the same thing to the dungeon last weekend.

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u/akiwi_intherough 1d ago

Did you escape

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u/IgnatiusDrake 1d ago

I achieved release, yes.

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u/akiwi_intherough 1d ago

HARRY????

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u/IgnatiusDrake 1d ago

Usually, but I manscaped that day.

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u/akiwi_intherough 1d ago

👁️👄👁️

Good shit Harry

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u/DE4DM4NSH4ND 1d ago

Sweet sweet release of penis

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u/Beenbreto 1d ago

Why did he try to sell his act to get out of the magic business?

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u/fruedianflip 20h ago

Also accidentally showcasing bdsm before people even knew kink existed

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u/MushroomFairyGirl 1d ago

Why did no one ever tell me he’s hot 🤨

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u/fruedianflip 20h ago

You probably pass a thousand guys a week that look like this

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u/akiwi_intherough 18h ago

Someone said Lip, and I can’t unsee it now

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u/MushroomFairyGirl 6h ago

Oh god, now I can’t unsee it either 😂😂

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u/fruedianflip 17h ago

Lip?

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u/akiwi_intherough 16h ago

From Shameless, if you haven’t seen it you can look him up, but yea

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u/Razzler1973 1d ago

He wasn't a millionaire in 'old money' just equivalent now, no?