Harry Houdini for Kids: His Life and Adventures with 21 Magic Tricks and Illusions
INTRODUCTION oudini created Houdini When considering the life of Ehrich Weisz who would become the great Harry Houdini it’s important to note that some stories he told have been contradicted and H 29 that he often re created his past for personal rea sons His birth date birthplace childhood and other details were often changed In the late 1800s Jewish immigrants faced discrimination in the United States a condition that worsened as Houdini came to adult hood and led him to smooth over his foreign roots As a child he was reared in a household where no English was spoken his parents spoke German When touring in Europe he taught himself to speak other languages so he could better connect with the audience and his childhood German came in handy He also dabbled in speaking French Russian and Danish But his allegiance was never in question After World War I began he found himself more determined than ever to be recognized as a solid citi zen of the United States In many ways Houdini's rise to fame was a result of the conditions that existed during the era in which he lived The country faced internal divisions and bit ter conflicts between employees and employers Urban tenements were packed with frustrated peo
ple immigrants continued arriving and the country was in turmoil as labor unions expanded and pressed for a better quality of life Parades protests and riots were common Crowds gathered in the streets for a variety of reasons and for Houdini entertaining the mob grew naturally out of the circumstances He would do a stunt as thousands gathered in the street below watching for hours something the public happily engaged in before moving pictures and other forms of entertainment were invented People were also eager to visit inexpensive circus sideshows and cheap amusements which allowed people like Hou dini to make a living from their unusual or quirky tal ents As a kid Harry Houdini began with card tricks and simple magic acts Gradually he developed his talents as an escape artist which became his signa ture act He dared anyone to come up with some thing he couldn't escape Working against ropes handcuffs or whatever contraption at hand he always wriggled loose somehow People loved it A lone individual against powerful forces emerging free through his own wits and strength was very popular His career really grew in Europe where he worked for five years The people loved him espe cially in Russia and Germany which were countries with stiff police control over the citizenry People thrilled to see an ordinary fellow escape handcuffs and restraints Houdini returned to the United
States where he marketed himself and his stunts to a wide audience ING Houdini created his acts and stunts carefully in some cases preparing and practicing them for years before ever performing them publicly He took pride in figuring out how to fool people knowing they wanted to be fooled as part of the fun But because he did such seemingly impossible stunts such as escaping several sets of handcuffs and ropes after jumping off a bridge into a flowing river some people claimed he had supernatural powers For a time many believed he could disintegrate and take other
