Harry was obsessed with this master magician and he read everything he could get his hands on. Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 24 June 1928, page 3Įrik Weisz took the name of Harry Houdini after his hero Robert-Houdin. He ostentatiously did this when he reportedly purchased a dress made for Queen Victoria for his mother to wear. Houdini had been raised as a poor immigrant so it is not surprising that he wanted to shower his mother with the nice things in life once he had the means. His two great loves were his wife and his mother. Throughout all this, he adored his wife and remained faithful to her. She was no shrinking violet herself and the two had a lively relationship. Bess was never able to have children and spent her married life “starving and starring” with Houdini. After their marriage, she replaced his brother Dash as Houdini’s stage assistant.

Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 10 March 1912, page 25 He continued to perform in seedy beer gardens with his brother Theodore (later known as Dash Houdeen).

As early as age 9 he was performing tricks as a trapeze artist as “Erik, Prince of the Air.” He ran away from home to pursue his dreams, but was shortly after reconciled with his family.

Young Weisz was attracted to magic and performing. His family immigrated to America and became a success story. Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Austria-Hungary. Salt Lake Telegram (Salt Lake City, Utah), 16 December 1915, page 4 Even my 13-year-old daughter, peering over my shoulder as I found images for this blog article, knew who Houdini was. Houdini’s power to captivate an audience lives on. In this blog post, Duncan searches old newspapers to learn about the remarkable life of the great magician and escape artist Harry Houdini.Īs this 1915 newspaper article declared: “Everyone who reads the newspapers and magazines is familiar with the name and reputation of Houdini.” The statement was fitting then and is still fitting a hundred years later. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” and researching President Barack Obama’s ancestry. Introduction : Duncan Kuehn is a professional genealogist with over eight years of client experience.

Eric weisz