100 years after Harry Houdini's death, the escape artist still draws public interest

This year marks 100 years since the death of escape artist Harry Houdini. Both CBS News and USA Today have marked the centenary. A century on, Houdini remains a subject of public interest.

According to CBS News, Houdini died 100 years ago this week, on Halloween, 31 October, at age 52. CBS News described the date as a coincidence that did nothing to diminish his mystique. The outlet reported that he has been the subject of hundreds of books and movies.

From sideshows to sensation

CBS News reported that Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Hungary in 1874. His family moved to Wisconsin when he was four. As a teenager, he performed magic tricks in sideshows and beer halls. According to CBS News, New Yorker staff writer David Denby said Houdini took his stage name from the 19th-century French magician Houdin and added an "i".

Houdini historian Roger Dreyer said Houdini became bookable for theatres only after he introduced the Metamorphosis Trunk act, according to CBS News. In that act, he switched places with his wife, Bess, after being locked in a trunk. He became a sensation once he added handcuff escapes. Dreyer owns one of the world's largest collections of Houdini artefacts, including the trunk. Houdini later escaped from straitjackets, including while hanging from a crane, and from an upside-down water tank.

In 1904, at age 30, Houdini bought a townhouse in Harlem, New York. He lived there with Bess, his mother and his brother. In the last part of his life, he worked to expose fake spiritualist mediums, a trade that grew after World War I.

Marking the centenary

Vincent Toms, who now lives in the Harlem house and gives tours, planned to host a séance there at 1:26 p.m. on the anniversary weekend, CBS News reported. The reports do not state the exact date. CBS News quoted Toms as saying: "People, when they come to the house, you know, this is Graceland for them, for all intents and purposes." USA Today published a centenary piece featuring the magician Teller. Its content is not included in the reports reviewed by Vocemundi.

What is disputed

The usual account holds that a college student punched Houdini in the stomach backstage. CBS News reported that most experts believe the punches may have aggravated existing appendicitis. Surgeon and author Larrian Gillespie argues in a new book that he died of an intestinal blockage after an unreported surgery, likely on 30 October. The reports do not include an independent assessment of her claims.

What each side says

CBS News quoted Dreyer as saying Houdini would still be "a household name, because of what he signified: the idea of hope, escape, the power of possibility". Denby said there was "a kind of anti-authoritarian message that people liked", according to CBS News. Toms said Houdini made a pact with Bess to try to communicate after his death.

Analysis

The centenary shows how Houdini's story combines popular entertainment, immigrant history and the long debate over spiritualism. The reports reviewed by Vocemundi rely almost entirely on CBS News. They describe no official or institutional commemorations, so the scale of public observance this year is unclear. Interest may centre on private initiatives such as tours and séances, as well as on new books and media coverage. Competing accounts of his death could draw further attention. Whether they change the historical record would depend on independent review of the documents cited, which the reports do not include.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.