Unable to find work in Appleton, Rabbi Weiss moved the family from town to town, and, finally, to New York City. Rabbi Weiss, never comfortable with English, had continued saying prayers in German, irritating members of his congregation who already considered him too Old World. The family was reunited, but the good times didn’t last. Overjoyed, he sent for his own family, including 4-year-old Ehrich, to join him. These families promptly hired Mayer Samuel to be their rabbi. He found it in Appleton, a community so welcoming the Christian congregations helped raise money to build a temple for the Jewish families. His father, Mayer Samuel, like millions of immigrants during that era, sought a better life in America. Houdini was actually born Ehrich Weiss (also spelled Erik Weisz) on March 24 in Budapest, Hungary. Separating truth from illusion is as hard for his biographers as it was for his audiences. He wrote: “My birth occurred April 6, 1874, in the small town of Appleton in the state of Wisconsin, U.S.A.” Although many books and sites repeat this, none of it is true. All his life, Houdini, and later his widow Bess, told fibs and conflicting stories.

Or rather, after failing as a magician, he reinvented himself in a new role that made him famous: the escape artist.

The funny thing is, Houdini wasn’t really a magician. The dog gets out of the yard, or the baby out of the playpen, and someone will say: “That little Houdini!” The name still stands for “magician” the way “Fido” stands for “dog.” Even today, nearly a century after his death, we say his name.

Houdini paper magic