![]() The dress Houdini had purchased for her was said to have been designed for Queen Victoria before her death. It is true that Houdini brought his mother to Europe and gave her a lavish "royal" reception with relatives in Budapest. (Read: Orson Welles remembers Houdini.)ĭid Houdini give his mother a royal reception in Budapest? ![]() Houdini toured Russia in 1903 and Rasputin did not meet the Russian Royal Family until 1905. And while Houdini did perform for the Russian Royal Family, the idea that Rasputin was among the gathering is not possible. It also tends to change from teller to teller, one of whom was Orson Welles, a great teller of tall tales. Like the hole in the ice, this story comes from Houdini's time, but no verifiable source (such as a newspaper account) has ever surfaced to prove that it actually happened. (Read: Experts weigh-in on 'Secret Life' spy revelation.)ĭid Houdini ring the bells of the Kremlin? Of all the fictionalizations in the Houdini miniseries, this is by far the worst, and trying to work this fiction into the story is one of the reasons the movie so badly mangles the facts of his early career. In fact, MI5 didn't even exist during Houdini's first tour of Europe. While he might have communicated with William Melville of Scotland Yard about what he was observing in Germany and Russia (and even the "evidence" for this is paper thin), to show him working as a full blown spy and using his magic act as "cover" is ludicrous. He even penned a book on the subject in 1906 called The Right Way To Do Wrong. Houdini was friendly with law enforcement and took great interest in the methods and practices of criminals and con-men. (Read: The Chinese Water Torture Cell at 100.) This "magical" spin on the Water Torture Cell was first performed by Doug Henning in 1975. Also, the idea that Houdini would be revealed as one of his own axe-wielding assistants at the end is not accurate. The USD, as Houdini called it, was the culmination of many escapes that came before it (including the Milk Can) and first performed in Germany in 1912. The Water Torture Cell was not Houdini's first major stage escape and certainly not invented in 1900 as shown in the miniseries. Was the Water Torture Cell Houdini's first major stage escape? Houdini did not really become a star in America until his return in 1905. There he captured the imagination of Europe. Houdini's fame came only after he was discovered by manager Martin Beck and traveled to England in 1900. The idea that Houdini was "the most famous man in America" by the turn of the century is wildly incorrect. in the late 1890s, but they did not bring him recognition beyond that city. Houdini performed handcuff and jail escapes in various cities across the U.S. (Read: Freaks of Octoberfest.)ĭid Houdini achieve fame after escaping from a "Johnson County" jail in 1896? Houdini quit the Wild Man when he got hit in the eye with a piece of meat thrown into his cage by Clint Newton, ringmaster of the Welsh Bros. Harry and Bess took on many side jobs during their travels with the circus. circus, it had nothing whatsoever to do with his magic or escape act. While Houdini did briefly appear as "Projea The Wild Man of Mexico" in the Welsh Bros. Besides, aren't brothels their own entertainment? (Read: Memories of "Dime Museum Harry".)ĭid Houdini perform escapes as The Wild Man from Borneo? While Harry and Bess performed in Dime Museums, Beer Halls, Circuses, and traveling Burlesque shows, there is no record of them ever performing in a brothel. Houdini worked to perfect his challenge handcuff act over several years, and may have gotten the idea from an Australian magician named Lewis Paul. (Read: Homeless Houdini.)ĭid Houdini create the challenge handcuff escape act in a brothel? However, it is true that his interest in magic was inspired by the autobiography of Robert-Houdin, and that he took his name from the famous French conjurer. This is a fiction seemingly lifted from a 1987 Disney movie called Young Harry Houdini. While it's true that Ehrich Weiss (the miniseries misspells it as Erich - grrrr) ran away from home when he was 12, he did not work with a traveling magician. (Read: Who was Houdini's father? New insights.)ĭid Houdini run away from home and work with a traveling magician? Some biographers doubt it as being too far fetched, but duels in Hungary were not unusual in the 1870s. The story of him having to flee Budapest after killing a man in a duel was told by all the Weiss children. It is true that Rabbi Weiss lost his job in Appleton for being too "old world" (he didn't speak English), and this plunged the family into poverty. Any suggestion of "daddy issues" is purely speculative. Houdini spoke very highly of his father and honored him his entire life.
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