Disputed death certificate, backstage blow: 100 years later, Houdini’s mystery endures

A Name and a Rising Act

Houdini took his stage name from French magician Houdin, whom he admired, adding an “i.” He first gained attention through escapes, including switching places with his new wife, Bess, after being locked in a trunk. Handcuff escapes brought wider fame. Denby described Houdini emerging from shackles after specialists challenged him with complicated locks, saying there was no record of him failing.

Escapes That Risked Death

Houdini expanded his performances from escaping trunks and handcuffs to straitjackets, including one suspended from a crane, and a live water tank entered upside down. Denby said audiences waited behind a closed curtain, unsure whether Houdini was drowning.

In 1904, when he was 30, Houdini bought a Harlem townhouse and moved in with Bess, his mother and his brother. Vincent Toms now lives there and gives tours, describing the house as a destination for Houdini fans.

Séances and a Death Disputed

After World War I, spiritualist mediums drew people hoping to contact loved ones who had died in the war. Houdini later held séances with Bess; Toms said the couple had agreed he would try to communicate after death, and séances took place annually for 10 years.

The common account of Houdini’s death centers on college students backstage. Dreyer said one asked whether Houdini could withstand a blow to the stomach, then struck him repeatedly before he could brace himself.

Gillespie’s book, “Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice,” offers a different account. She questioned the death certificate and said documents could support October 30 as the date of death rather than October 31; the article presents this as a disputed claim.

A Lasting Public Image

Houdini died at 52, but his escapes and the unanswered questions around his death have sustained public interest. Denby called him a symbol of liberation from death and imprisonment. Dreyer said Houdini would still be a household name today, citing what he represented: hope, escape and possibility, including an immigrant’s journey from poverty to stardom and fortune.