The Last Tour
Program, 1925
Photograph of Houdini Souvenir Program
Photograph of Harry Houdini in chains,
ca. 1899
Photograph of Houdini performing
the Giant Milk Can Escape,
ca. 1908
|
In 1925, Harry Houdini summarized a lifetime of legendary magic
into a full evening show that featured classic deceptions, escapes,
and exposures of fraudulent spiritualism. The two-year season promised
by this program ended abruptly when Houdini died on October 31,
1926. Born Eric Weisz in Budapest, Houdini had been king of handcuffs,
leg-irons, and chains. In 1908, he presented himself as master of
the Giant Milk Can Escape, and he introduced the Water Torture Cell
in 1913. Always inventing new acts, Houdini presented the largest
illusion of his time when, in 1918, he vanished Jennie the "10,000
pound elephant" on the stage of the New York Hippodrome.
Additional Views:
|