Halloween is a special day for those who believe in magic. But it’s not only about witches, ghosts and goblins. It is also an important date for those who practice magic tricks that involve more ‘sleight of hand’ than ‘eye of newt’: 31 October is the anniversary of the death, 98 years ago, of Harry Houdini, arguably the most famous magician of the 20th century.
Mystery
Houdini, born Erik Weisz in Budapest, was an escapologist. In his act, like James Bond or Batman, he would release himself from any restraint or device securing him – handcuffs, a straitjacket, chains, a rope, or even a police or prison cell – without anyone seeing quite how he did it.
Houdini began his career in the United States, but he did tour the United Kingdom, and gave performances in East Anglia. Later, he also starred in a number of early silent movies. He would include clips from them in his subsequent performances and lectures.
In 1926 Houdini died in Detroit due to complications resulting from a ruptured appendix. He was 52.
Houdini and East Anglia
Houdini toured the United Kingdom on many occasions between 1900 and 1920.
A few weeks before he visited Southend on Sea in 1911, he had nearly drowned when an escape attempt went wrong at the Tetley brewery in Leeds. In Southend Hippodrome, he escaped from a packing crate which was built on stage and nailed shut. Less than a month later he would debut his most famous creation, the Water Torture Cell, in Southampton.
He returned to the UK in 1920, during what would be his final visit. He performed in various East Anglian hippodromes, of which only Great Yarmouth survives. Norwich Hippodrome is now a multi-storey car park, and Southend Hippodrome is now retail units.
Inspiration to others
Since his death, Houdini has been the subject of a number of biographies, films, and works of fiction. He also was inspirational to a number of escapologists who have gone on to find their own success. Two from East Anglia, Nick Janson and James Peters, have both now retired.
Nick Janson has the distinction of being recognised by Guinness World Records as having escaped from the most police handcuffs – over 1,680 – in his career. Janson would perform a number of escapes at county fairs and similar events, often involving being suspended from a crane. Sometimes he would hang upside down suspended from a burning rope, other times he would need to escape from a locked barrel shaped like a bomb before it dropped to the arena floor.
James Peters carved his own place in the annals of escapology by escaping from regulation straitjackets 193 times in a non-stop eight hours endurance challenge. He performed this superhuman feat in Chelmsford in 2003. His record remains unbroken to this day. Janson and Peters are among a number of performers and enthusiasts who have kept the art form going across the years.
Successful British escapologists include many world record holders. Organisations like the United Kingdom Escape Artists group seek to ensure that history is remembered and the performances of Houdini, and those that have followed him, do not fade away like a ghost on Halloween night.
