Henry houdini biography for kids

Harry Houdini was one of the greatest illusionists, magicians, and stunt performers in history. He was also known for his debunking of fraudulent Spiritualist mediums in the 1920s. For some time, Harry Houdini was called the “Handcuff King” due to the ease with which he escaped any restraints. It was the skill that would make him famous.

See the fact file below for more information on Harry Houdini or alternatively, you can download our 25-page Harry Houdini worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life and Career

• Harry Houdini was born on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary.
• His real name was Ehrich Weiss. In 1894, he started using the name “Harry Houdini” as a stage name. The name “Harry” came from his childhood nickname “Ehrie.” While the name “Houdini” came from one of his favorite musicians, a Frenchman with the last name Houdin. He added the “i” to “Houdin” and he had the name Harry Houdini.
• When he was four years old, his family moved to the United States. They lived in Wisconsin for a while and then moved to New York City.
• Young Harry always had an interest in magic and performing. At the age of seventeen he began doing a magic show with his brother “Dash” called “The Brothers Houdini.” Harry would spend hours working on magic tricks and practicing quick hand movements.
• While Harry and his brother were working at Coney Island, Harry met a dancer named Wilhelmina Beatrice “Bess” Rahner . They fell in love and married a year later in 1894. Bess and Har

The native form of this personal name is Weisz Erich. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

Harry Houdini (, born Erich Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871).

He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it.

In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts.

Houdini made several movies but quit acting when it failed to bring in money. He was also a keen avia

Have you ever seen or heard something that you couldn’t believe, as if it was magic? Maybe you’ve tried to learn some card tricks or other illusions to impress your family and friends. With enough practice and a convincing performance, anything is possible! 

According to the subject of this podcast, “What the eyes see and the ears hear, the mind believes.”

Our story begin is 1874 in Budapest Hungary, when Harry Houdini was born. He had six brothers and sisters. His real name was Erik Weisz. 

Erik’s family moved to the United States in 1878, and eventually settled in Wisconsin. The Houdinis were Jewish and their father was the rabbi for the local congregation. When his father lost his job, the family moved to Milwaukee, and eventually ended up in New York City. As a child, Erik took several jobs to help his family, and first showed off his skills as a trapeze artist when he was only nine years old. A trapeze artist hangs from a rope and does tricks in the air. His performing name was ‘Erik, the Prince of the Air.’

Erik was coached by the magician Joseph Rinn while he was a teenager. When he first started out, he did not have much success. He first performed in dime museums and sideshows, sometimes also performing as ‘The Wild Man’ at the circus. In the beginning he focused his show on card tricks, and he even called himself ‘The King of Cards’ for a short time. However, other professional magicians noted that Houdini lacked the grace and finesse – or style – to be a magician who was excellent at card tricks. Because of this, Houdini would start to experiment on escape acts. An example of an escape act, is when Houdini would put handcuffs on himself and then escape them before a timer ran out.

When Erik became a professional magician he started calling himself Harry Houdini, naming himself after the French magician jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. Although he claimed he took the name Harry as a tribute to another magician, the American magici