Everyone has a childhood influence. Whether it's a cartoon character or the subject of a book, every child has that one figure that helped shape their character. Someone who fascinated you and helped make you the person you are today.
When I was in first grade, I had gotten in a fair amount of trouble in the school library. You weren't allowed to leave the section of kids books the teachers had deemed "reader appropriate" for our age group, but I wasn't having any of that. I wasn't interested in Ned the Snail or Spot the Puppy. I would sneak away right under my teacher's nose to go to the big kid section and root through everything from the World Book Encyclopedia to the much more controversial "Gray's Anatomy" (definitely ended up in the principal's office for that one).
It was about three or four months into the year when I was nose deep in the letter "H" of World Book. I came across a picture of man with curly hair in an old-timey straitjacket and, as cliche as that sounds, my life was forever changed.
Harry Houdini, for those who don't know, was a Jewish-American magician who was, and still is, considered the greatest escape artist of all time. From simple handcuff escapes to escaping from straitjackets suspended in mid-air.
Born the son of Hungarian immigrants, his childhood in Wisconsin was filled with poverty, struggle and innovation. He cared very deeply for his mother and took care of her throughout his life. He was fascinated with the great magician of the 1870s, Robert Houdin. From a young age he took an interest in vaudeville and magic. After a few years in the circus circuit he took to the city and made a name for himself. He married his wife Bess in 1894 and remained incredibly loyal to her until he died. If I ever have a relationship 1/10th a healthy as theirs I'd be lucky. In this photograph of him embracing his wife and mother is the written caption "my two sweethearts".
History will never forget his daring escapes. These were real feats of athleticism and wit that the world has never seen since Houdini. He would lock himself up in the most dangerous of contraptions. Handcuff makers from all around Europe would attempt to best him, and again and again he would come out on top. In one escape, he locked himself in a milk can filled with water.and barely made it out alive. Not to mention this terrifying feat known as the Chinese Water Torture trick.
He was an exceptional showman and always went the extra mile to astound audiences around the world. Those who knew him described him as person of indomitable kindness and generosity (except maybe Sir Author Conan Doyle, but we'll get to that). He toured the world doing extraordinary escapes for years, before taking on a new and innovative feats.
Houdini was the star of many silent movies and also published his fair share of books. He purchased a bi-plane in Europe and went on to become the first man to fly a plane in Australia.
However, my favorite Houdini stunt of all time wasn't a stunt at all. When his mother died of a stroke, he was shocked. The grief was monumental. This was during the height of the spiritualism movement, which heralded grand mediums and psychics who could speak to those beyond the grave. Houdini had gone to see a medium in his grief, and was shocked and appalled that the medium was a complete fraud. The idea that someone could take advantage of someone's grief was a gross concept to Houdini, and he took it to the front page.
For the next few years, Houdini devoted much of his time to not just exposing, but publicly humiliating these false mediums. This would be what ultimately puts an end to his friendship with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, famous author of the Sherlock Holmes books.
Doyle was infatuated with spiritualism, and his wife was a spirit writer. Spirit writers channel spirits from the beyond and write down what it is that they have to say. Doyle's wife agreed to do a session with Houdini, which was a complete disaster. Houdini's mother didn't speak English, and the writing from Doyle's wife was written in English. She had many false details that Houdini had intentionally implicated during the seance. Well, exposing your friend's spouse as a fraud was an easy way to end a friendship. To add insult to injury, Houdini also publicly exposed another of Doyle's medium friends, Mina Crandon, at one of her own shows. These expositions made front-page news. Houdini was brutal and ruthless in his goal to disprove mediums. He would even give mediums free tickets to his shows so that they could engage in a lively debate on stage. Much like the photo below, he would also demonstrate tactics spiritualists used to trick innocent people.
Houdini was a true showman who performed all the way up into the end. He met his untimely demise in an anticlimactic battle with appendicitis, ruptured by a punch in the stomach from a college kid who wanted to test Houdini's seemingly unfathomable strength. Against the wishes of his doctor he went on to perform a show in Detroit. He passed out after the first act, was revived and passed out again at the end of the show. Being a man of concrete strength he held on for seven days — seven more than the doctors anticipated. Houdini finally passed on Halloween 1926.
Harry Houdini fascinates me to this day. His indomitable spirit, resilience and wit had a definite effect on my character. I had lots of good fun dazzling friends with handcuff escapes (the only trick I still remember to this day) and entertaining friends with dramatic tellings of my hero's escapes. My room is still adorned with Houdini posters, books and photographs.
A year ago, I set out on a quest to finally meet my hero. My brother Daniel and I ventured into the expansive Machpelah Cemetery of Queens, New York. Most of his family, including his brother, famous magician Hardeen, are all buried together. It was humbling to finally meet my childhood hero, and I spent a couple minutes talking to him about what a great influence he was to me and how his legacy lives on in the children who are astounded by him today. It felt a little silly talking to thin air, but I'd like to think that maybe somewhere he was listening.
Here's to you, Houdini. Thank you for being my inspiration, not just in childhood, but my whole life. I can only hope I can be as tenacious, mysterious and adventurous as you were someday.
Houdini's Gravesite. Mechpelah Cemetery July 2014.
