![]() When Houdini arrived at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan on October 24, 1926, for what would be his last performance, he had a fever of 104☏ (40☌). Although in serious pain, Houdini continued to travel without seeking medical attention. ![]() His appendix would likely have burst on its own without the trauma. He had apparently been suffering from appendicitis for several days prior and yet refused medical treatment. Houdini reportedly stated that if he had time to prepare himself properly he would have been in a better position to take the blows. Whitehead reportedly continued hitting Houdini several more times and Houdini acted as though he were in some pain. In this instance, he was hit three times before Houdini could tighten up his stomach muscles to avoid serious injury. When Whitehead came in and asked if it was true that Houdini could take any blow to the stomach, Houdini replied groggily in the affirmative. Houdini was reclining on his couch after his performance, having an art student sketch him. The following is Price’s description of events: The eyewitnesses, students named Jacques Price and Sam Smilovitz (sometimes called Jack Price and Sam Smiley), proffered accounts of the incident that generally corroborated one another. Gordon Whitehead, who delivered multiple blows to Houdini’s abdomen to test Houdini’s claim that he was able to take any blow to the body above the waist without injury. Eyewitnesses to an incident in Montreal gave rise to speculation that Houdini’s death was caused by a McGill University student, J. His widow declared the experiment a failure before her death in 1943.Harry Houdini died of peritonitis, secondary to a ruptured appendix. Houdini and his wife, however, agreed to conduct an experiment in spiritualism: the first to die was to try to communicate with the survivor. He wrote Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (1920) and A Magician Among the Spirits (1924). He argued that they were charlatans who produced all of their effects through natural means and various tricks. In his later years Houdini campaigned against mind readers, mediums, and others who claimed supernatural powers. He exhibited his skills in many motion pictures from 1916 to 1923. Houdini’s uncanny escape abilities depended partly on his great physical strength and agility and partly on his extraordinary skill at manipulating locks. These demonstrations were typically watched by many thousands of people. In another outdoor exhibition he allowed himself to be suspended, head down, about 75 feet (23 metres) above ground and then freed himself from a straitjacket. The box was submerged from a boat, to which he returned after freeing himself underwater. In a typical act he was shackled with chains and placed in a box that was locked, roped, and weighted. From about 1900 Houdini began to earn an international reputation for his daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes, and handcuffs and from various locked containers ranging from milk cans to coffins to prison cells. In 1894 he was married to Wilhelmina Rahner, who thereafter as Beatrice Houdini served as his stage assistant. He became a trapeze performer in circuses at an early age, and, after settling in New York City in 1882, he performed in vaudeville shows there without much success. Houdini was the son of a rabbi who emigrated from Hungary to the United States and settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. SpaceNext50 Britannica presents SpaceNext50, From the race to the Moon to space stewardship, we explore a wide range of subjects that feed our curiosity about space!.Learn about the major environmental problems facing our planet and what can be done about them! Saving Earth Britannica Presents Earth’s To-Do List for the 21st Century.Britannica Beyond We’ve created a new place where questions are at the center of learning. ![]()
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