by Ally Chumley

Created on: August 25, 2007

Harry Houdini

The world famous escape artist and mystic, Harry Houdini was a frequent visitor to Michigan. In 1827, Houdini performed in Grand Rapids, where he excited a great deal of public attention with a hand-cuff escape staged at the town's police station. The years 1898 - 1926 saw Houdini accomplish many feats, causing his fans to reach, gasping, into their wallets. It seems Michigan just couldn't get enough of the great Houdini.

In 1906, the escape artist made a particularly dramatic leap into the icy Detroit River from the 25 meter high Belle Isle Bridge. Wearing two pairs of handcuffs, Houdini's escape delighted onlookers and firmly established him as a hit in Michigan. Houdini graced various other Michigan landmarks, including Grand Rapids' Smith's Opera House and the Empress Theatre, and Detroit's Temple, Grand and Garrick Theatres.

Houdini's most famous Michigan feat involved a straight-jacket, handcuffs, and the Grand Rapids Savings Bank. In 1916, while Houdini was suspended by his ankles from the fifth storey, a crowd of thousands were suspended by the spectacle. In one minute fifty-five seconds, the great Houdini had released himself to rapturous applause, thereby securing audiences for his Detroit tour.

Apart from just hanging around, Houdini also spent a good deal of time exposing the fraudulent activities of competitors purporting to be spirit mediums. In 1924, Houdini published his findings in a volume entitled A Magician among the Spirits.

Tragically, Harry Houdini's final connection with Michigan places him at Grace Hospital in Detroit, where he died of a burst appendix. Faithful to the end in upholding his mystical public image, his death occurred on the night of Halloween, 1926.

Sources:
Inge, M. Thomas (Editor). The Handbook of American Popular Culture. Volume 2.
Greenwood Press: New York, 1989.

WMU News, Office of University Relations, Western Michigan University.

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