They performed the famous Metamorphous Illusion as the Houdini Brothers. They would mostly perform this act at Coney Island, dime museums, and also at the 1893 Chicago World's fair. Houdini would later perform this trick over 11,000 times in his career.
While performing in 1894 at Coney Island, Houdini met another performer who was named Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, also called Bess. They married just two weeks after meeting on June 22, 1894. Bess replaced Houdini's brother Theo and they became the Houdini's. They would travel together performing at fairs, Indian Reservations, Circus's, and Museums. Houdini became very involved with card tricks and was known as the "King of Cards." He also developed the "Challenge" handcuff act were he could escape from any pair of handcuffs given to him. He was then known as the "Handcuff King." He was soon escaping from numerous things such as leg irons, coffins, straightjackets, and even prison cells. Houdini's career seemed to be going nowhere, and his little money proved that.
Houdini met a man by the name of Martin Beck who ran the Orpheum circuit, the largest chain of vaudeville theaters in the country. Beck then signed the Houdini act, which brought great success to Houdini and the theaters. The only thing that the public really wanted to see was illusions and great escapes, so Houdini stopped doing little tricks and concentrated on the big things. He would even ask the police to lock him in their toughest jails and he would still escape. This brought much attention to Houdini's act and he began to make better money. In 1900 Houdini and his wife, Bess took a trip to London to perform their first ever show in Europe. There he escaped from a pair of handcuffs at England's famous Scotland Yard which brought him great publicity. He also jumped into the Seine River with handcuffs on and escaped yet again. The European people absolutely loved Houdini and he became the highest paid entertainer in Europe making over two-thousand dollars per week.
Mystery Man Five weeks had passed, and I still felt like my heart had been ripped out and stomped on redundantly. ... As he got closer, I began to see what this mystery man looked like. ... That despicable image had disappeared like a Houdini magic trick. ...
Ranging from magic to romance, mystery to life itself, the amount of themes seems almost endless. ... To generate a mystical aura for the reader, Glen David Gold puts history and fiction into a top hat and conjures a population of characters, both real and imagined, reaching from the world-renowned Houdini, to Carter's wicked nemesis, Mysterioso. ... "Carter Beats the Devil" is a must-read for all readers as well as those who don't enjoy reading as much; for Glen David Gold has enchanted his book with magic and mystery which will enthrall all eyes who gaze upon its pages, and lure th...
The original attempts at magic were fairly crude and elementary, however displayed a level of mystery and ambiguity that could beguile many humans of lesser mental standing (www.historyofmagic.com). ... It can be argued that the powers of these gods and goddesses have influenced the modern day magicians such as Harry Houdini and David Copperfield. ... The power derived from this shroud of mystery can be seen as the earliest influence for one to perform magic. ... For example, Harry Houdini is described by Kenneth Silverman as being "a confident braggart and power-hungry" ( Kenneth Silverman...
Not even his wife, Bessie, Gary's mother, knew of his real father, Houdini, and his past or his real name. ... The shadiness that Gary exhibits in terms of his personality and the violent streaks that occur without warning may have to do with the fact that his father kept most of his life to himself, and like Gary, was very much a man of mystery. ...
