The real trick of it all was, I mean, the right key at the right time, but keeping it away from anyone that might see him having it. He's tempting death himself, all of his life. It was one just great big hype. But he also loved Bess, and I think, loved her, uh, passionately, romantically. It also gave him a chance to plan his escape. "In 1905, the Houdini's headed home. He swept -- Everyone met his eye at one point or another. Houdini came to town, and you knew Houdini was in town. He didnt like people at all. "Everybody understands the fear of water, the fear of being buried," says Copperfield. Minnesota Historical Society The organizers of the Worlds Fair expected the fair, the exposition, to be the great draw. DE-VAL: Houdini came to town, and you knew Houdini was in town. Despite his promise to Bess to retire, Harry, now in his 40s, could not step out of the limelight. Some students came back to see him after one of the lectures. Chris Pullman No matter how incredible it was or how impossible it seemed, he knew that if they could do it, he could do it.
Chicago Historical Society The audience just went berserk. Ann Yoost Brecke By one account, when he got the news he was performing in Copenhagen, I think, he fainted dead away. George Eastman House He struggled through his performance, then fell ill on the train to his next stop. James Dunford SILVERMAN: Hes a sort of slob. NARR: Harry addressed Bess adoringly as "Sweetie, Wifie, Mine," saying he had a "bessyful of love awaiting her." Peter Rhodes The show was made many years ago before "True-Live" TV shows were common. This was someone very wrapped up in himself. "Look at who I am, look at what I can do," is very, very much a desperate kind of thing. NARR: Houdini's show featured magic tricks, escapes and exposes of spiritualists.
John E. Allen, Inc. So hard that they ruptured his kidney. Watch 'The Truth About Houdini' on its anniversary, The Houdini Picture Corporation's last stand, The Grim Game flies high at Heritage poster auction, HARRY HOUDINI as Quentin Locke in The Master Mystery // feet, Film Treatments by Houdini Blood Brothers, LINK: New candidate for Houdini's last suspended SSJ, Los Angeles Herald December 1st 3rd 1915 Houdini and Hardeen, playing in Los Angeles, Discover HURRY HOUDINI in Detroit, July 30, LINK: What We Hide: Houdini's Final Illusion, New book! : I think Houdini was partly ashamed of his failed father. I mean, up to 100,000 people. Les merveilleux exploits de Houdini Paris (1909), 1925 radio address on spiritualism (transcript), Houdini on the Bible, Freud, spirits, and spells, Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls (1959), The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini (1993), Houdini!!! But escape was just a small part of his act. Ehrich and his father found work in a garment sweatshop. He had people that he disliked if not hated, all of his life, simply because they had slighted him. NARR:"I feel like a child who has been taken to the railroad station by mother," he wrote, "Train rushes in, mother manages to get aboard and before my very eyes away goes the train and mother on board. In the slander trial which followed, he staged one of the great escapes of his career. Appalled by the exercise and incensed over the exploitation of his grief, Harry embarked on a vigorous crusade against spiritualists, declaring, "It takes a flimflammer to catch a flimflammer." They joined in. There are many, many pictures of him visiting graves, usually the graves of other magicians. WILMETH: The whole idea of the spiritualist was to make the audience believe that they did not escape. Must find some other way of doing this." Bess collapsed, "the world will never know what I have lost," she cried. Then after he did the seance, he showed the audience, step by step, how it was done.
Hes a sort of slob.
NARR: Harry worked the press just as skillfully as he worked his locks. People would panic. Powered by, CLICK FOR ALL POSTS RELATED TO HOUDINI DOCS, CLICK FOR ALL POSTS RELATED TO REALITY TV. People were standing on the seawall. Conan Doyles wife offered to hold a sance to reunite Houdini with his mother. But Beck saw through that. Arda Collins Now, when Houdini, who many times had done this trick, went into the can and come up to the top, he then found that little space that literally saved his life many, many times, that was full of CO2 from the beer. Though he would be searched assiduously, he had ways around those searches. And for a couple of minutes, thats the way it sat while they played "Asleep in the Deep". And one way he did that with the Milk Can was to say to them, "At the moment that I put my head beneath the water, I want you all to take a deep breath and hold your breath as long as you possibly can. RANDI: Harry referred to her as a saint, as an angel. He was absolutely immense egoist.
And in a new cause -- debunking spiritualism. She was a very good caring nurturing person. Houdini grew up in a family with five boys in it. NARR: The people Houdini hated the most were the imitators who had plagued him since the beginning of his career. This was an OK documentary. He was able to get a newspaper to collaborate on a charade to get themselves publicity, which is quite an interesting achievement.
With the death of millions during World War I, a religious movement called spiritualism was flourishing. NARR: The first big job for the Brothers Houdini was on the mile long midway at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago. James Whitters Library of Congress, Rare Book Room, McManus-Young Collection NARR: Harry could only mumble, "that will do. " I think when you're a kid and you do something thats a little bit out of the ordinary, whether it be magic or escapes or something like that, that impresses people, you get that reaction, a very genuine reaction of amazement, of wonder. He then withdrew into a cabinet he called a ghost house and the audience waited. Richard Flint NARR: Harry was disappointed he and Bess were unable to have children. Houdini was really twice married. He made them feel important, I think. And you really eventually, after you get success, you really want people that you respect to respect you. And as he put down the letters to stand up, getting ready to be prepared, the student struck him in the stomach. NARR: Harry addressed Bess adoringly as "Sweetie, Wifie, Mine," saying he had a "bessyful of love awaiting her. The great magician died in Detroit on Halloween 1926 and was laid to rest in a bronze coffin that had been custom-made for one of his buried alive stunts. Every escape carried some risk, and each performance took a physical toll. Bess timed him as he stayed under for up to three minutes. I gave 5 stars since most of this showed him, real footage.
Rosebush Enterprises and Lee Jacobs Productions There was a kind of innocence of that time, before television, before big high-tech $100 million movies, that made his act a kind of a super-act. NARR: In 1918, Houdini's first attempt to break into the movies was a 15-part serial called Master Mystery. NARR: In 1925, Houdini launched a one man show on Broadway. And Id say, "Well, I dont want to." I don't know exactly how he contacted the outside but they knew it was going wrong and they hacked him out of the thing, ripped the thing apart and took him out. NARR: Even though he had promised Bess he would retire, Harry could not step out of the limelight. Not many. Houdini was out in less than a minute. On the evening of their 25th wedding anniversary, he left her a note,"We have starved and starred togetherI love you and I know you love me. He found someone to share it with the following year when he met eighteen year old Beatrice Rahner. He's tempting death himself, all of his life. He was sweating profusely. Series Designers He writes in his diaries over and over again, "This is too tough. He got aboard the ship, but -- and the thing was just about to pull out, but he insisted on running back down the gangplank and giving his mother another kiss and a big hug. SILVERMAN: They got a doctor to meet them when the train came to Detroit who urged him, you know, "Dont do the show." Your chest feels like its exploding. NARR: Houdini escaped from a roll-top desk, a huge envelope, a giant football, even a creature from the deep. At his performances, hundreds were turned away; on stage, the short, muscular star created a frenzy with his daring stunts. And he held the handcuffs triumphantly in the air, and went back into the cabinet to try again. SILVERMAN: Bess was a natural born magicians assistant, she was very petite. In 1912 Harry Houdini was lowered into New Yorks East River in a crate wrapped in chains. NARR: He created a frenzy to see his shows in Europe and America, and streets were often blocked with hundreds unable to get in.
NARRATOR: He was our greatest showman. NARR: To become a true headliner, Harry needed a gimmick. SILVERMAN: All of Houdinis escapes involved a lot of pain. Archive Photos As soon as he took a gulp of that air, it wasnt air.
RANDI: Since his father was a rabbi, a learned person, Houdini tried to become a learned person in spite of the fact that he had very little basic education. Houdini then pulled a pure Houdini stunt.
2000 All rights reserved That he would wind up so triumphant a career longing most of all to escape the escape business is still another compelling part of the story. It is likely he had been suffering from appendicitis for several days before the punch. There were a couple of tons of water in there, the lid had a couple of notches cut out of it, into which his ankles would be placed, padlocked on the end.
Then he learned that his famous Milk Can Escape was being copied and sold to imitators for $35. Publicity To us, he was a superman. SILVERMAN: The message was in English. Don B. Wilmeth DOCTOROW: He was so insanely devoted to what he was doing, so disciplined that the ultimate insanity of his life never occurred to him. People could just watch him on film. Ehrich's father was fired by his congregation for being too "old world." So hehe didnt just do an act on stage; he did it off, as well. Sync Sound There were a couple of tons of water in there, the lid had a couple of notches cut out of it, into which his ankles would be placed, padlocked on the end. The police were afraid people were going to topple in. I think Houdini appealed to the working class. There they joined Ehrich's father who had come to lead a small congregation of Jewish immigrants. He would call on volunteers from the audience to participate in a mock seance. There was always this feeling that not only would he want to escape from the freezing river, or the coffin, or the milk can, but that he had to escape from the stage as well, and be seen in the real world as a historical figure and not just a stage illusionist. The resulting media blitz was just one of the spectacles that forever established Houdini as "The Worlds Greatest Escape Artist.". NARR: The first time he used handcuffs on stage, he knew he was on to something. And certainly part of thethe interest in it has to do with some kind of masochistic pleasure. SILVERMAN: In the wonderful picture of him at about the age of 16, he has a chest full of medals, one of which he won for a cross-country race in New York. They pulled so hard that they ruptured his kidney.". He was in effect what we would call today a mother's boy. July 30: HURRY HOUDINI at Midnight Temple in Detroit. Coordinating Producer It was unbelievable. NARR: Harry cancelled his tour and, for weeks, only left the house to visit Cecilia's gravesite. SILVERMAN: Houdini grew up in a family with five boys in it. He swept -- Everyone met his eye at one point or another. RANDI: And when he finally emerged from those cuffs, they literally picked him up on their shoulders and walked around with him. He struck me as just one big muscle, with a controlled center somewhere. Without a family of her own, Bess focused her maternal instincts on Harry. He would say, "Hit me. Harry and Bess enjoyed staying in one place, after years on the road. SILVERMAN: The worst day in Houdinis life certainly was the day that his mother died. He said, "No, do it." Because people were truly entertained. All the other medals on his chest are fakes. Here I am left alone at the station."
Narration Recording But he seemed to wiggle out of it. And you see his mother, just a small figure in a huge crowd of people waving good-bye to the boat. . NARR: The participants could not understand how the bell under the table rang--without the help of spirits. Costumes But his acting skills didnt hold a candle to his talents as an escape artist, and his Hollywood career bombed. It was unbelievable. SILVERMAN: Houdini had a lifelong fascination with death. In 1918 Houdini attempted to break into the movies with a 15-part serial called "Master Mystery." And it is something that gave Harry a goal in is life, to please Cecelia, his mother. And then suddenly, at a signal, the music stopped and there he was out of breath and dripping wet, walking forward to take his bows. Dime museums would indeed advertise what's inside on the outside, so there would have been a chance to see human anomalies demonstrated or even possibly a magician on the street. Sound He really did. And I would hit him with a -- I would hurt my hand, I mean, before Id hurt him.
Not many. Robert Lund Collection
Houdini saw the potential in the actual escape. He was enacting over and over again the same impulse that brought people from foreign countries here in the first place: to escape from social hierarchy, to escape from poverty, to escape from injustice. NARR: Harry worked the press just as skillfully as he worked his locks. Pier Gustafson And I got to know him rather well and I was fascinated by him. Chas Norton Most of that was gained in the streets and on the road. NARR: He would display each challenge in front of the theater before the show to attract an audience. Harry Houdini, who had just embarked on his quest for fame.
"The climax of all my labors," he said, "is the Chinese Water Torture Cell." All rights reserved. They were so excited. Archival Footage Claudio Ragazzi This is the great period of the Broadway stage. There was a kind of innocence of that time, before television, before big high-tech $100 million movies, that made his act a kind of a super-act. Now he was Harry Houdini and carried a passport which listed Appleton, Wisconsin as his birthplace. Thats all escapology is anyway. SILVERMAN: There was a connection to the audience's sense of the modern, too. The tiles, thethe floor tiles in his bathroom said "HH." After five years on the road, Houdini, now an international celebrity, was worn down. DAVID DE-VAL, Escape Artist: And then suddenly, dripping, he would appear from the cabinet. Two minutes.
Houdini really grew to hate it. In front of four thousand spectators, Houdini appeared to be worried. He always called them "my two girls.". Emperor exponent of the art of vaudeville and the highest paying performer of his era. Susan Mottau Cinematography "Hereafter I intend to work entirely with my brain," he wrote in his diary. NARR: Houdini almost died when he was challenged by the Tetley Brewery in England to escape from a milkcan filled with beer. Now, when Houdini, who many times had done this trick, went into the can and come up to the top, he then found that little space that literally saved his life many, many times, that was full of CO2 from the beer. He went to seances in disguise confident that he was uniquely suited to expose their trickery. RANDI: The last you saw of Houdini was him hanging upside-down, looking at the audience through the glass. In 1904, he staged an event with London's biggest newspaper, The Daily Mirror. Yours till the end of the world and ever after. His pajamas said "HH." Bess timed him as he stayed under for up to three minutes. Then another student entered the dressing room. YOUNG: Really, it was weird. Historical Advisors NARR: At age thirty three, Houdini began performing dangerous water escapes outdoors to promote his vaudeville shows around the country.
Chicago Historical Society The audience just went berserk. Ann Yoost Brecke By one account, when he got the news he was performing in Copenhagen, I think, he fainted dead away. George Eastman House He struggled through his performance, then fell ill on the train to his next stop. James Dunford SILVERMAN: Hes a sort of slob. NARR: Harry addressed Bess adoringly as "Sweetie, Wifie, Mine," saying he had a "bessyful of love awaiting her." Peter Rhodes The show was made many years ago before "True-Live" TV shows were common. This was someone very wrapped up in himself. "Look at who I am, look at what I can do," is very, very much a desperate kind of thing. NARR: Houdini's show featured magic tricks, escapes and exposes of spiritualists.
John E. Allen, Inc. So hard that they ruptured his kidney. Watch 'The Truth About Houdini' on its anniversary, The Houdini Picture Corporation's last stand, The Grim Game flies high at Heritage poster auction, HARRY HOUDINI as Quentin Locke in The Master Mystery // feet, Film Treatments by Houdini Blood Brothers, LINK: New candidate for Houdini's last suspended SSJ, Los Angeles Herald December 1st 3rd 1915 Houdini and Hardeen, playing in Los Angeles, Discover HURRY HOUDINI in Detroit, July 30, LINK: What We Hide: Houdini's Final Illusion, New book! : I think Houdini was partly ashamed of his failed father. I mean, up to 100,000 people. Les merveilleux exploits de Houdini Paris (1909), 1925 radio address on spiritualism (transcript), Houdini on the Bible, Freud, spirits, and spells, Houdini The Man Who Walked Through Walls (1959), The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini (1993), Houdini!!! But escape was just a small part of his act. Ehrich and his father found work in a garment sweatshop. He had people that he disliked if not hated, all of his life, simply because they had slighted him. NARR:"I feel like a child who has been taken to the railroad station by mother," he wrote, "Train rushes in, mother manages to get aboard and before my very eyes away goes the train and mother on board. In the slander trial which followed, he staged one of the great escapes of his career. Appalled by the exercise and incensed over the exploitation of his grief, Harry embarked on a vigorous crusade against spiritualists, declaring, "It takes a flimflammer to catch a flimflammer." They joined in. There are many, many pictures of him visiting graves, usually the graves of other magicians. WILMETH: The whole idea of the spiritualist was to make the audience believe that they did not escape. Must find some other way of doing this." Bess collapsed, "the world will never know what I have lost," she cried. Then after he did the seance, he showed the audience, step by step, how it was done. Hes a sort of slob.
NARR: Harry worked the press just as skillfully as he worked his locks. People would panic. Powered by, CLICK FOR ALL POSTS RELATED TO HOUDINI DOCS, CLICK FOR ALL POSTS RELATED TO REALITY TV. People were standing on the seawall. Conan Doyles wife offered to hold a sance to reunite Houdini with his mother. But Beck saw through that. Arda Collins Now, when Houdini, who many times had done this trick, went into the can and come up to the top, he then found that little space that literally saved his life many, many times, that was full of CO2 from the beer. Though he would be searched assiduously, he had ways around those searches. And for a couple of minutes, thats the way it sat while they played "Asleep in the Deep". And one way he did that with the Milk Can was to say to them, "At the moment that I put my head beneath the water, I want you all to take a deep breath and hold your breath as long as you possibly can. RANDI: Harry referred to her as a saint, as an angel. He was absolutely immense egoist.
And in a new cause -- debunking spiritualism. She was a very good caring nurturing person. Houdini grew up in a family with five boys in it. NARR: The people Houdini hated the most were the imitators who had plagued him since the beginning of his career. This was an OK documentary. He was able to get a newspaper to collaborate on a charade to get themselves publicity, which is quite an interesting achievement.
With the death of millions during World War I, a religious movement called spiritualism was flourishing. NARR: The first big job for the Brothers Houdini was on the mile long midway at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago. James Whitters Library of Congress, Rare Book Room, McManus-Young Collection NARR: Harry could only mumble, "that will do. " I think when you're a kid and you do something thats a little bit out of the ordinary, whether it be magic or escapes or something like that, that impresses people, you get that reaction, a very genuine reaction of amazement, of wonder. He then withdrew into a cabinet he called a ghost house and the audience waited. Richard Flint NARR: Harry was disappointed he and Bess were unable to have children. Houdini was really twice married. He made them feel important, I think. And you really eventually, after you get success, you really want people that you respect to respect you. And as he put down the letters to stand up, getting ready to be prepared, the student struck him in the stomach. NARR: Harry addressed Bess adoringly as "Sweetie, Wifie, Mine," saying he had a "bessyful of love awaiting her. The great magician died in Detroit on Halloween 1926 and was laid to rest in a bronze coffin that had been custom-made for one of his buried alive stunts. Every escape carried some risk, and each performance took a physical toll. Bess timed him as he stayed under for up to three minutes. I gave 5 stars since most of this showed him, real footage.
Rosebush Enterprises and Lee Jacobs Productions There was a kind of innocence of that time, before television, before big high-tech $100 million movies, that made his act a kind of a super-act. NARR: In 1918, Houdini's first attempt to break into the movies was a 15-part serial called Master Mystery. NARR: In 1925, Houdini launched a one man show on Broadway. And Id say, "Well, I dont want to." I don't know exactly how he contacted the outside but they knew it was going wrong and they hacked him out of the thing, ripped the thing apart and took him out. NARR: Even though he had promised Bess he would retire, Harry could not step out of the limelight. Not many. Houdini was out in less than a minute. On the evening of their 25th wedding anniversary, he left her a note,"We have starved and starred togetherI love you and I know you love me. He found someone to share it with the following year when he met eighteen year old Beatrice Rahner. He's tempting death himself, all of his life. He was sweating profusely. Series Designers He writes in his diaries over and over again, "This is too tough. He got aboard the ship, but -- and the thing was just about to pull out, but he insisted on running back down the gangplank and giving his mother another kiss and a big hug. SILVERMAN: They got a doctor to meet them when the train came to Detroit who urged him, you know, "Dont do the show." Your chest feels like its exploding. NARR: Houdini escaped from a roll-top desk, a huge envelope, a giant football, even a creature from the deep. At his performances, hundreds were turned away; on stage, the short, muscular star created a frenzy with his daring stunts. And he held the handcuffs triumphantly in the air, and went back into the cabinet to try again. SILVERMAN: Bess was a natural born magicians assistant, she was very petite. In 1912 Harry Houdini was lowered into New Yorks East River in a crate wrapped in chains. NARR: He created a frenzy to see his shows in Europe and America, and streets were often blocked with hundreds unable to get in.
NARRATOR: He was our greatest showman. NARR: To become a true headliner, Harry needed a gimmick. SILVERMAN: All of Houdinis escapes involved a lot of pain. Archive Photos As soon as he took a gulp of that air, it wasnt air.
RANDI: Since his father was a rabbi, a learned person, Houdini tried to become a learned person in spite of the fact that he had very little basic education. Houdini then pulled a pure Houdini stunt.
2000 All rights reserved That he would wind up so triumphant a career longing most of all to escape the escape business is still another compelling part of the story. It is likely he had been suffering from appendicitis for several days before the punch. There were a couple of tons of water in there, the lid had a couple of notches cut out of it, into which his ankles would be placed, padlocked on the end.
Then he learned that his famous Milk Can Escape was being copied and sold to imitators for $35. Publicity To us, he was a superman. SILVERMAN: The message was in English. Don B. Wilmeth DOCTOROW: He was so insanely devoted to what he was doing, so disciplined that the ultimate insanity of his life never occurred to him. People could just watch him on film. Ehrich's father was fired by his congregation for being too "old world." So hehe didnt just do an act on stage; he did it off, as well. Sync Sound There were a couple of tons of water in there, the lid had a couple of notches cut out of it, into which his ankles would be placed, padlocked on the end. The police were afraid people were going to topple in. I think Houdini appealed to the working class. There they joined Ehrich's father who had come to lead a small congregation of Jewish immigrants. He would call on volunteers from the audience to participate in a mock seance. There was always this feeling that not only would he want to escape from the freezing river, or the coffin, or the milk can, but that he had to escape from the stage as well, and be seen in the real world as a historical figure and not just a stage illusionist. The resulting media blitz was just one of the spectacles that forever established Houdini as "The Worlds Greatest Escape Artist.". NARR: The first time he used handcuffs on stage, he knew he was on to something. And certainly part of thethe interest in it has to do with some kind of masochistic pleasure. SILVERMAN: In the wonderful picture of him at about the age of 16, he has a chest full of medals, one of which he won for a cross-country race in New York. They pulled so hard that they ruptured his kidney.". He was in effect what we would call today a mother's boy. July 30: HURRY HOUDINI at Midnight Temple in Detroit. Coordinating Producer It was unbelievable. NARR: Harry cancelled his tour and, for weeks, only left the house to visit Cecilia's gravesite. SILVERMAN: Houdini grew up in a family with five boys in it. He swept -- Everyone met his eye at one point or another. RANDI: And when he finally emerged from those cuffs, they literally picked him up on their shoulders and walked around with him. He struck me as just one big muscle, with a controlled center somewhere. Without a family of her own, Bess focused her maternal instincts on Harry. He would say, "Hit me. Harry and Bess enjoyed staying in one place, after years on the road. SILVERMAN: The worst day in Houdinis life certainly was the day that his mother died. He said, "No, do it." Because people were truly entertained. All the other medals on his chest are fakes. Here I am left alone at the station."
Narration Recording But he seemed to wiggle out of it. And you see his mother, just a small figure in a huge crowd of people waving good-bye to the boat. . NARR: The participants could not understand how the bell under the table rang--without the help of spirits. Costumes But his acting skills didnt hold a candle to his talents as an escape artist, and his Hollywood career bombed. It was unbelievable. SILVERMAN: Houdini had a lifelong fascination with death. In 1918 Houdini attempted to break into the movies with a 15-part serial called "Master Mystery." And it is something that gave Harry a goal in is life, to please Cecelia, his mother. And then suddenly, at a signal, the music stopped and there he was out of breath and dripping wet, walking forward to take his bows. Dime museums would indeed advertise what's inside on the outside, so there would have been a chance to see human anomalies demonstrated or even possibly a magician on the street. Sound He really did. And I would hit him with a -- I would hurt my hand, I mean, before Id hurt him.
Not many. Robert Lund Collection
Houdini saw the potential in the actual escape. He was enacting over and over again the same impulse that brought people from foreign countries here in the first place: to escape from social hierarchy, to escape from poverty, to escape from injustice. NARR: Harry worked the press just as skillfully as he worked his locks. Pier Gustafson And I got to know him rather well and I was fascinated by him. Chas Norton Most of that was gained in the streets and on the road. NARR: He would display each challenge in front of the theater before the show to attract an audience. Harry Houdini, who had just embarked on his quest for fame.
"The climax of all my labors," he said, "is the Chinese Water Torture Cell." All rights reserved. They were so excited. Archival Footage Claudio Ragazzi This is the great period of the Broadway stage. There was a kind of innocence of that time, before television, before big high-tech $100 million movies, that made his act a kind of a super-act. Now he was Harry Houdini and carried a passport which listed Appleton, Wisconsin as his birthplace. Thats all escapology is anyway. SILVERMAN: There was a connection to the audience's sense of the modern, too. The tiles, thethe floor tiles in his bathroom said "HH." After five years on the road, Houdini, now an international celebrity, was worn down. DAVID DE-VAL, Escape Artist: And then suddenly, dripping, he would appear from the cabinet. Two minutes.
Houdini really grew to hate it. In front of four thousand spectators, Houdini appeared to be worried. He always called them "my two girls.". Emperor exponent of the art of vaudeville and the highest paying performer of his era. Susan Mottau Cinematography "Hereafter I intend to work entirely with my brain," he wrote in his diary. NARR: Houdini almost died when he was challenged by the Tetley Brewery in England to escape from a milkcan filled with beer. Now, when Houdini, who many times had done this trick, went into the can and come up to the top, he then found that little space that literally saved his life many, many times, that was full of CO2 from the beer. He went to seances in disguise confident that he was uniquely suited to expose their trickery. RANDI: The last you saw of Houdini was him hanging upside-down, looking at the audience through the glass. In 1904, he staged an event with London's biggest newspaper, The Daily Mirror. Yours till the end of the world and ever after. His pajamas said "HH." Bess timed him as he stayed under for up to three minutes. Then another student entered the dressing room. YOUNG: Really, it was weird. Historical Advisors NARR: At age thirty three, Houdini began performing dangerous water escapes outdoors to promote his vaudeville shows around the country.