Harry Houdini A Life of Magic, Deception, Mystery and Action

by Larry Bounds

Houdini Timeline

1874 Born as Ehrich Weiss in Budapest, Hungary

1878 Family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin

1888 Adopted the name Houdini

1894 Married Bess and toured magic act in tent shows

1900 Gained fame with escape act across Europe

1906 Staged prison break for publicity in Washington, D.C.

1910 First successful aviator to fly above Australia

1918 Began movie career

1924 Exposed fake mediums for Scientific American

1926 Died in Detroit, Michigan, on tour to bring their own cuffs, ropes, and locks, and he offered a prize to anyone who could restrain him in a way that prevented his escape. No one ever succeeded in holding “The Great Houdini” the “King of Handcuffs.”

Numerous tours of Europe made Houdini an international celebrity. He escaped from a prison cell at Scotland Yard after being stripped naked and medically examined. He proved he was not guilty of false advertising of his amazing skills in a German court by escaping from within the judge’s own locked safe. He became the world’s most celebrated magical entertainer. While touring France in 1909, Houdini saw the flight of a pioneering aircraft. Fascinated, he became a pilot and even bought a custom-made aircraft of his own. He emblazoned the wings with his name and became the first successful pilot to fly above Australia, a feat which he recorded for history on film.

Only recently, evidence has emerged suggesting that part of Houdini’s rise to international stardom was secretly supported by American and British spy masters. Houdini, a native German speaker and skilled aviator, had carte blanc access to German military posts and airfields in the days leading up to the First World War. The evidence is intriguing, but Houdini never admitted to being a secret agent. Of course, a successful spy never would.

After World War I, Houdini tackled the movie business. In 1918, he became an action, adventure film star in a 15-episode serial The Master Mystery. Each episode ended with Houdini in an impossibly dangerous dilemma, and each episode began featuring his perilous escape. From 1919 to 1923 he starred in four feature films. One of his films even included the first humanoid, killer robot ever presented in the movies. Houdini’s movie star recognition can still be seen, memorialized on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. By the way, in the early 1920s, Houdini’s most enthusiastic fan mail came from his many adoring admirers in Japan!

Following the loss of millions of lives in WWI and the pandemic of 1918-1919, there arose a passionate interest in Spiritualism. Particularly attractive was the promise of possibly contacting the suddenly departed. To meet this demand, charlatans began numerous scams to separate the grieving from their money.

Houdini, whose mother’s death had always haunted him, sought out people who promised contact with the spirits. But as a master magician, he immediately saw through their deceptions. Outraged, as time after time he saw the bereaved deceived, Houdini began a campaign of exposing the frauds. He testified before Congress and he wrote the books Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (1920) and A Magician Among the Spirits (1924). But most of all, in a series of incredible disguises he attended seances in every city his show toured and then exposed the names and details of the scammers from the stage each night.

Houdini received countless death threats from the con men and women who marketed deceptions as divinity. But Houdini continued his crusade against their dishonesty until his death on Halloween in 1926.

Houdini had promised his wife that if there was a way to return to the land of the living he would, but he never did - though now, nearly a hundred years after his death, Houdini’s name lives on as that of the world’s greatest magician.

Daytime Programs

Adult Program: Houdini’s Scrapbook: A Life of Illusion

Wednesday, July 12, 2023 at 10 a.m.

Loudonville Public Library/Golden Center

Larry Bounds presents a PowerPoint-guided tour of the life of Houdini focused on his greatest challenges and how he overcame them. With images of Houdini’s childhood family, Larry shares the story of the family’s difficult immigrant struggles in America. We view his rise from a boardwalk sideshow to become the greatest headliner in top-tier theaters around the world. The presentation describes his life-risking publicity stunts as well as his successes as a pioneering aviator, film star, and activist who exposed charlatans and scammers.

Youth Program: The Magical World of Harry Houdini

Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 2:30 p.m.

Salvation Army Kroc Center

Larry Bounds has been performing magic shows professionally since he was hired to do so by the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Corporation for their museums in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in 1973. This is his fiftieth year of presenting fun-filled magic shows with lots of audience participation for groups young and old. In conjunction with his Harry Houdini presentation, he combines the tricks with stories of the famed magician. Houdini was best known for his dangerous escapes, but he loved entertaining children and frequently visited hospitals to entertain the kids.

About Larry Bounds

Larry Bounds has performed on the Chautauqua stage since 2002. He has portrayed Einstein, Churchill, Disney, and Cronkite, among others, but recreating Houdini holds a special place in his heart. Since 1973 Larry has worked as a professional magician, including 8 years appearing with Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Gatlinburg and Myrtle Beach and 3 years as a theme park magician in Kentucky. Over the years he has presented thousands of public, private, and corporate magic shows.

Larry is also a well-respected, South Carolina teacher with a Master’s degree in education from The University of Tennessee, a National Board Certification, and 35 years of classroom teaching experience. He has recently retired from teaching but serves on several community boards and is an active member of Piedmont Area Mensa.

OPENING ACT: AUSTIN WALKIN’ CANE

Austin Walkin’ Cane is a blues singer, songwriter, and slide guitar impresario who performs both acoustic and electric guitar mediums. He has toured internationally and crossed the USA, most notably from New Orleans to Juneau, Alaska with only a guitar and suitcase in hand. His voice and original compositions recall Delta Blues, Chicago Blues, and Bourbon Street Jazz. walkincane.com

Houdini Bibliography

Christopher, Milbourne. Houdini The Untold Story. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1969.

Christopher, Milbourne. Houdini A Pictorial Life. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1976.

Cox, John. Wild about Harry. (Website) 2002-2021. https://www. wildabouthoudini.com/

Houdini, Harry. Miracle Mongers and their Methods. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1921.

Houdini, Harry. A Magician Among the Spirits. New York: Harpers & Brothers, 1924.

Kalush, William and Larry Sloman. The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Super Hero. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2006.

The Master Mystery. (Film) Directed by Burton King. B.A.Rolfe Productions, Octagon Films, 1918.

Rapaport, Brooke Kamin. Houdini Art and Magic. New York: The Jewish Museum, 2010.

Silverman, Kenneth. Houdini!!! The Career of Ehrich Weiss. New York: Perennial, 1997.

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