APīy the time he was 11 years old, Ehrich Weiss was famous for unlocking the door of every store in his town over the course of one night. He escaped from strait-jackets while encased in sealed boxes he released himself from seemingly impossible knots while hanging upside-down in tanks of water.A portrait of legendary illusionist Harry Houdini hangs in the 'Houdini Room' at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, Friday, Oct.

His act was mainly getting out of handcuffs, but as his fame spread, his ambition grew. He first worked in fairgrounds and music halls.

He was an ‘illusionist’, not a latter day Merlin. He was far too egotistical for that.Įhrich wanted everyone to know that his ‘magic tricks’ were masterly thought out logical exercises masked in over-the-top performances. Even in later years, when he was president of the Society of American Magicians, he could be offended by anyone suggesting that he was a ‘magician’, that he was aided by some supernatural agency. His father was a rabbi, but Ehrich had no intention of following in his footsteps.Īs a child he astounded family and friends with his ability to pick locks, escape from knotted ropes, and twist his body into contorted shapes to fit into tiny spaces. His parents brought him to Appleton as an infant, where the spelling of his name changed to Ehrich Weiss. Ehrich Weiss? You probably know him better as Harry Houdini.ĭespite his later claims to have been born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Erik Weisz (as he was originally) entered the world in Budapest in Hungary on 24 March 1874. Even the great escapologist Ehrich Weiss couldn’t avoid its clutches.

Ehrich weiss