Do you believe in magic? Yes, that’s great. No? Why? It seems like you’ve found the loopholes of the tricks performed by the so-called stage and street magicians. We bet you did believe in magic while you were still in school. No 90s kid could deny of owning the magical pencil of “Shaka Laka Boom Boom” hoping one day it will eventually come true and you could get anything that you wish for. Growing up we realised that it was all fiction and there is no such thing as a magic wand. Speaking of the magic wand, we all wished to board the Hogwarts express. To experience the fascinating world of Harry Potter was in the bucket list of every Potter-head. Alas, we grew up.

During our childhood, we all had our favourite magicians, be it P.C. Sarkar, Dynamo, Chris Angel, or David Blaine. These individuals changed how we used to see and experience the magic. Being a street magician felt to be the most stirring thing ever. You would go down the street, meet new people, amaze them with a little trick or two, watch people react to him and walk away as nothing happened. What a life that would have been, right? Technically, magic is categorized separately from religion and science. It is an art that involves the subgenres of stage magic, close magic and illusion. It is performed by artists or as we know as magicians using natural means that leave the audiences baffled. To our surprise, magic is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.

One of the greatest magician that the world has ever witnessed was Harry Houdini. Harry was an American magician and a stunt performer born on 24th March 1874 in a Jewish family. During his teenage days, he was trained and mentored by the magician Joseph Rinn. His thrilling acts made him famous, especially his sensational escape acts. Escape acts are the ones where one needs to escape from traps or other restraints. Harry started off with his magic career in 1891 with a little success. In his starting days, he concentrated on just the card tricks. He then performed in sideshows and dime museums. He became so proficient with the cards, that he himself as the “King of “Cards. While some of the other magicians agreed to his statement but as per some he needed more finesse and lacked skilled sleight of hands. Consequently, he started experimenting with escape acts. While performing with his brother Theodore aka Dash, he met Bess. Later in 1894, Harry got married to Bess.

Harry Houdini has always destined for something big and sooner his big breakthrough came in 1899 when he met Martin (his manager). Martin was so amazed by Harry’s mindboggling acts that he insisted him on concentrating only on the escape acts. Shortly, Martin booked Harry on the Orpheum Circuit. In 1900, Harry flew to Europe for shows. However, the first few interviews didn’t make an impact. He managed to fool the cops around by escaping the handcuffs. This incident led to an increase in Harry’ pay to $300 per week and the show became an instant success.

In the next succeeding years, he toured countries like Germany, Scotland, England, Russia and France. He would challenge the resident cops of each city to handcuff and put him in jail. In most of the challenges, he managed to escape. Performing in different parts of the world fetched him fame and money. Later, he returned to America and purchase a house in New York.

His most notable escapes count the following:

Mirror Challenge: A local newspaper challenged Harry to escape from handcuffs that took five years to make. To which, Harry accepted the challenge and over 4,000 gathered to witness this. It took Harry 70 minutes from the start of the act, he showed up free. The crowd cheered. As per Harry, this is one of the most difficult escapes of his career.

Milk Can Escape: This act was brought forward by Harry as one of his original acts. In a large oversized milk can filled with water, Harry is sealed and handcuffed inside. He escaped this too. However, he presented this act as a part of his regular acts for only four years.

Chinese Water Torture Cell: In this act, Harry was lowered upside down in a tank filled with water, and his feet were locked. The tank was made up of metal cell and see-through glass front. Harry was slowly lowered into the tank or the torture cell and Harry would then try to make an escape. He kept on performing this act till his death in 1926.

Buried Alive: This act almost cost Harry his life. Harry was buried, without any casket, in a pit of that was six feet deep. Shortly, he became tired and freaked out while trying to make his way to the surface. When his hand lastly crossed the surface, he felt comatose and had to be drawn out from the grave by his crew members. As per Harry, this challenge was "very dangerous" and that "the weight of the earth is killing”.

Like every other successful being, Harry also produced and starred in several TV shows and feature films. Merveilleux Exploits du Celebre Houdini à Paris (Marvellous Exploits of the Famous Houdini in Paris), The Mysteries of Myra, The Mystery Master, The Grim Game, The Terror Island, The Man from Beyond (1921) and Haldane of the Secret Service. In 1923, Harry gave up on luck with movies as the profits were too less. Well, can’t say if the profits were really less or he failed to make it big in this industry.

In the year 1926, Harry lost his life due to the ruptured appendix at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. He aged 52 at that time and his last words were “I am tired of fighting”. More than 2,000 New Yorkers marked their attendance at his funeral. What good 52 years he had and his contribution to the magic and entertainment industry was unparalleled. We’re yet to be part of any such other illusionist as great as Harry Houdini. Here are some unknown facts about Harry:

• Harry copyrighted the act “Houdini Upside Down” wherein he is lowered in a water tank.
• Harry listed his name as Harry Handcuff Houdini while registering for the military service in 1918.
• He was an athlete. He practised gymnastics, boxing and was a cross country runner as well.
• Harry frequently escaped the prison cells.
• Harry is buried in Queens, New York while his wife is buried in Westchester which is 10 miles away because she was not Jewish.
• His biggest trick–literally–was vanishing Jennie away. Jennie was a five-ton elephant.
• He once filed a case against a policeman in Germany who claimed that Harry depended on bribes for his prison escapes.
• The American Government honoured Harry by featuring him on a commemorative stamp.
• He was an author as well and wrote many books during his lifetime.
• In 1902, he founded a magician’s club “Society of American Magicians”.
• He owned a private Voisin aircraft.