ARLINGTON, Va. - TelAve -- by Ed Lengel for David Bruce Smith's Grateful American Book Prize

The Death of Harry Houdini, October 1926

Harry Houdini, one of the best-known celebrities in the first quarter of the twentieth century, was also controversial. Born Erik Weisz in Budapest, in 1874, in what was then Austria-Hungary, he left Europe at the age of four with his Jewish parents to flee antisemitism; his father was a rabbi. As a teenager in 1880s New York City, he changed his name to Harry Houdini and commenced his career as an illusionist/ magician. Eventually, he specialized in escape acts, donned complex sets of manacles and other restraints—in boxes; the underground, and underwater; seeking freedom—and even—risking his life. Houdini honed his skills, worked hard to expose fraud, and emerged a leading debunker of spiritualist charades that were popular.

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His fame ramped up in the 1920s, but well-publicized challenges to entrap him, or disprove his claims, turned him into a target. After an October 1926, performance in Montreal, a gang of students accosted him in his dressing room, demanded to know if he believed in Biblical miracles, and—whether he was strong enough to withstand punches in his stomach. One of them slugged Houdini repeatedly; soon after the attack, Houdini experienced severe abdominal pain; a few days later, he was hospitalized with acute appendicitis and died in Detroit on Halloween. Now, a century later, Houdini's legacy remains potent, and so do the ethical standards he put in place—all are enforced by professional performance artists, and the Society of Magicians.

For more information, the Grateful American Book Prize recommends Joe Posnanski's The Life and Afterlife of Harry Houdini (2019).

History Matters is a feature courtesy of the Grateful American Book Prize. For more book recommendations and information about the annual award, visit https://gratefulamericanbookprize.org/.

The 2026 Grateful American Book Prize winner will be announced in October.