Harry Houdini, the remarkable illusionist who stunned international audiences with his death-defying escape act, was shackled eternally by the Grim Reaper on this Halloween in history, Oct. 31, 1926.
“As one of the outstanding personages of the American stage, [Houdini’s] popularity lasted for a quarter-century,” wrote The Los Angeles Times in its obituary of the performer, considered by many the greatest magician in history.
“Houdini counted among his audiences the royalty of Europe and Asia.”
Harry Houdini’s cause of death was peritonitis, caused by a ruptured appendix.
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But questions continue to surround the bizarre circumstances of Houdini’s death at age 52, including suggestions by some fans that the celebrated performer was murdered.
Houdini had just given a lecture at McGill University in Montreal and met with students after the appearance.
Hungarian-born American magician, escape artist and psychic debunker Harry Houdini (1874-1926) showed his handcuffs as he stood in a wooden box on a boat and prepared to be submerged, a predicament from which he would escape to the delight of onlookers, East River, July 7, 1912. (FPG/Getty Images)
The muscular magician was known to boast that his stomach was so strong that he could withstand a blow from any man.
“One student, Joselyn Gordon Whitehead, asked if he could take a punch and immediately Houdini nodded an assent,” wrote PBS News Hour in a 2019 online account of the escape artist’s death.
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“The student hit the great magician twice but before he had a chance to tighten his abdominal muscles and brace himself. The ‘hammer-like’ punches caused visible pain and Houdini stopped Whitehead in mid-blow on the third attempt to punch his gut.”
The pain only worsened as Houdini endured a 15-hour train ride to Detroit.