Harry Houdini, the master of escape, had Jewish beginnings: he was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1874, to Rabbi Mayer Sámuel Weisz and Cecília Weisz of Budapest. The family emigrated to the United States in 1878, when his father was hired as the rabbi of Appleton Zion Reform Jewish Congregation in Appleton, Wisconsin. After a few years, Rabbi Weisz lost his job and the family relocated to New York City.

Houdini had an entrepreneurial, athletic, daring spirit from a young age. He ran cross-country and pursued magic (quite unsuccessfully at first), and later escape artistry, rising to become America’s most famous and influential magician. But for someone who built a career on illusion, and who actively cultivated his own mythology (he once told a reporter “the greatest escape I ever made was when I left Appleton, Wisconsin”), he had a sharp, rational, no-nonsense intellect. As Rachel Shteir wrote in Tablet Magazine in 2010:

Houdini found a satisfying second act: demystifying Spiritualism, a cult many Americans turned to after losing their loved ones in World War I. From being an escape artist, Houdini became an exposer of psychics whom he considered charlatans because they used trickery to pretend to commune with the dead—as opposed to merely pretending to escape. This was not just Houdini’s competitive spirit. What he did was entertainment. Spiritualism was magic in supernatural clothing.

In 1922, Arthur Conan Doyle invited his old friend to a séance hosted by his second wife, who supposedly made contact with Houdini’s beloved late mother, Cecilia. While communicating with Cecilia, Lady Doyle drew a cross; then, she transcribed an emotional letter to Houdini. Instead of convincing Houdini, the séance outraged him. He would later point out in public the unlikeliness of his mother, a Jew and a rabbi’s wife, drawing a cross—or communicating in English since she never spoke it in real life. Conan Doyle explained that his wife drew a cross whenever she channeled any spirit and that in the beyond, “Hebrew” was translated into English. The fact that Houdini’s mother spoke not Hebrew but German ended the men’s friendship.

Houdini died tragically at the age of 52, after injuries sustained by an ill-timed blow to his abdomen. But his roster of achievements was extensive: illusionist, aviator, film star, producer, author of several books about magic. He was the proto-21st century celebrity, adept at cultivating his brand across multiple platforms. (Imagine what he would have done with Instagram!) In many ways, notes Jon Reiss, Houdini “represents an archetype not only of the hardworking immigrant, but of the hard working immigrant Jew. Houdini, like so many Jews who came after him and rose to fame, embodied the notion of the underdog, and dedicated himself to his craft.”

Here he is performing a rope escape in under 30 seconds. Almost 100 years later, it’s still mesmerizing:

(Image: Harry Houdini with his mother and his wife, Bess, in 1907. Credit: Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections)

Related: Houdini Reappears At The Jewish Museum

The post Harry Houdini, Master of Escape, Born 140 Years Ago Today appeared first on Jewcy.

For a young person watching an old Charlie Chaplain movie, it might take a bit of explanation for them to truly understand why Chaplain was such a groundbreaking figure and what he meant to the American cultural landscape.  For Harry Houdini on the other hand, an explanation probably isn’t necessary.  Watching somebody shackled at their hands and feet being dropped off a bridge and then surfacing unencumbered within seconds, lets just say it hold up.  What might actually require a bit of explaining, is what Houdini represented to the America of the late 19^th, early 20^th. To truly understand what Houdini meant to his craft, the world at large, and the American Jewish legacy, The Jewish Museum’s Houdini exhibit is an absolute must see.

The first feature of the exhibit depicts one of Houdini’s most famous tricks: the straitjacket escape.  Photos and video of Houdini display the feat is in its quick and striking glory.  Although not Houdini’s earliest trick, the straightjacket is prominently displayed right off the bat, it seems, as a metaphor for Harry Houdini’s embodiment of the immigrant experience, a first glimpse at the overall thesis of the exhibit.

Moving on, we see a timeline biography of Houdini (born Erik Weisz): baby photos, his rabbi father’s Hebrew bible, and a travel diary and newspaper clippings are included in the glass-enclosed timeline.  It’s explained that few artists ever depicted Harry Houdini and therefore most of the images of him come from photos by newspaper photographers. As a result, all the photographs of Houdini originate from early 20^th century newspapers, giving the entire exhibit this distinct sepia-tone, vintage aesthetic.  The exhibit continues displaying a multitude of original tickets and flyers from actual magic shows.

As you proceed through the museum, the sheer impressiveness of Houdini’s feats increase with each step.  Displayed in the second room are actual sewing needles from a trick in which Houdini swallowed a number of needles and then thread, only to regurgitate them a moment later with each needle perfectly threaded.   One of Houdini’s most famous tricks, was the “Milk Can Escape,” in which Houdini, naked and handcuffed was submerged in a milk can filled with water.  In describing this trick, the museum also details Houdini’s knack for showmanship.  Like a master architect, Houdini would plan each trick so as to shock and crowd as much as possible.  For instance: during the milk can trick, a large man brandishing an axe would stand beside the can.  Once Houdini had been inside the can for long enough that the crowd would begin to worry, the man would ready the axe about to chop open the can in order to free Houdini before he suffocated.  Just as the man would pull back to swing the axe, Houdini would emerge safely as the crowd sighed in collective relief.  Displayed in the center of the exhibit’s main room was a huge milk can actually used by Houdini for the escape.

One of Houdini’s nicknames was, “The Handcuff King,” for his ability to escape any set of handcuffs.  The exhibit explains that a very young Eric Weisz apprenticed for a locksmith in order to help out his struggling family, but spent a lot of his time tinkering with the locks on his own.  Afterwards, his mother’s attempts to lock up the sweets in the house so that he wouldn’t eat them all became futile.

The reminder of the exhibit is rich with artifacts and memorabilia that explore Houdini’s fame: films depicting his life, Houdini inspired art and videos of modern magicians who pay tribute to him.  The exhibit does a wonderful job reminding the visitor of how fame worked in a time before the internet or television.  The American zeitgeist was very much the result of a mindset of strangers in a strange land.  Houdini represented that zeitgeist.  He was an immigrant whose parents didn’t even speak English, and, inspired by the world around him, he strove to work harder than anyone else.  This is what people once respected in their celebrities.  The spin that the Jewish Museum subtly puts on this picture is that Houdini further represents an archetype not only of the hardworking immigrant, but of the hard working immigrant Jew.  Houdini, like so many Jews who came after him and rose to fame, embodied the notion of the underdog, and dedicated himself to his craft.  For anyone looking for a reminder of what can of dedication and hard work can bring, or for any Jew looking for a reminder of what our ancestors have accomplished, the Houdini Exhibit will serve to reinforce a sense of pride and perseverance for a long time to come.

The Houdini Exhibit will run thru March 27th at The Jewish Museum (1109 5th Ave. @92nd St)

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