A love story that lasted decades and a never-ending bag of tricks – the life of the great Harry Houdini still seems spectacular today. He was born Erik Weisz on March 24, 1974 in Budapest, then still Austria-Hungary. As a child he came to the USA with his parents and from there conquered the world.
Starting out as a trapeze artist, he later made history with cinematic magic tricks and escape shows. He made elephants disappear, apparently loosened every bond above and below the water and simply reappeared after an hour and a half under water. Some of his feats cannot be explained to this day.
Harry Houdini married his future stage assistant
At a young age he met Wilhelmine Beatrice “Bess” Rahner, an American of German descent. She became his stage assistant and accompanied him on his tours around the world. They made headlines together, but she is said to have had a hard time coping with his death in 1926.
Pictures from an intoxicating life.
Sources: , , , with information from the DPA
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
