Harry Houdini

English I Honors, 2nd
Assignment (ORP 2)
17 November, 2011
Harry Houdini

Ehrich Weiss or Harry Houdini was born to Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss and his wife Cecelia on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary which is located in Europe. Ehrich is one of the six children that survived two other siblings died at an early age. As a child Erich always told any reporter that his father was a famous lawyer and Jewish teacher. His father left his family in 1876 and moved to Appleton, Wisconsin to become and engineer. In 1878 the rest of the Weiss family moved to Appleton, Wisconsin when they arrived his father told the family about him leading a small congregation. At the age of twelve Ehrich ran away an hopped on a freight train and nobody knew where he had gone but while he was gone his father moved to New York to become a Rabbi. Mayer was unsuccessful at it just like he was in Appleton. While in New York Mayer found and loved a new necktie-cutting factory an Ehrich joined him in 1887.
After a couple years of saving every penny they could they were able to send the rest of the family to Manhattan in a little apartment. In 1891 Ehrich and a friend named Jacob Hyman team up in a magic act and call themselves the “Brothers Houdini” later Ehrich starts calling himself Harry and decides to change his name to Harry Houdini.   In 1893 Jacob leaves “The Brothers Houdini” and is replaced by Harrys 18 year old wife Bess. In 1900 Harry was nickname “King of Handcuffs”   he then moves to England an performs one of his most embarrassing acts naked in from of hundreds of German police men and surprisingly escapes in 6 terrifying minutes. In 1904 Houdini performs his legendary "Mirror Cuff" escape at the London Hippodrome. The cuffs made by a blacksmith took five years to build. The cuffs featured an impossible pick set of Bramah locks. The challenge was huge for Harry and in the news. After an hour-long struggle Harry sets himself free from the cuffs and is picked up carried away in... [continues]

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