Here’s magician and master of escape Harry Houdini performing his upside-down straitjacket stunt on Broadway and 46th Street in 1907. It only took two minutes for Houdini to get out of the straitjacket once he was suspended in mid-air.
Escapologist—now that’s a great professional title.
Houdini died in 1926 from a ruptured appendix; the story goes that after giving a lecture, he let a college student punch him in the stomach to see if he could withstand the blows. He couldn’t.
He’s buried in Machpelah Cemetery in Queens. The New York Times‘ City Room blog has more on Houdini’s unkempt grave.
Tags: Ehrich Weiss, escapologist, Harry Houdini, magician, upside-down straitjacket stunt
March 15, 2009 at 11:57 am |
I love the part in the novel ‘Ragtime’ when Houdini is hanging upside down and sees a guy in a window giving him the finger. What a laugh!
March 16, 2009 at 4:58 am |
I never saw that. Nice historical footnote!
August 25, 2010 at 11:16 am |
[...] Harry Houdini escaping a straitjacket while suspended upside down in Manhattan (Broadway and 46th Street, New York: 1907).Image credit: Ephemeral New York – When Houdini hung upside-down over Broadway [...]