The Great Houdini Trivia Quiz

Answer: Budapest, Hungary

Erik Weisz was born on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. He was four years old when he travelled with his mother, Cecilia, and three older brothers, Herman, Nathan, and William, to join his father, Rabbi Mayer Samuel Weiss, in Appleton, Wisconsin. (Their surname was altered from Weisz to Weiss, and Erik's name was changed to Ehrich, by Customs when they entered the United States.) Houdini's younger brothers, Theodore and Leopold, were born in Wisconsin.

His only sister, Gladys, was born in New York City.

The Houdini Historical Center, home of many of Houdini's papers and exhibits, is located in Appleton, Wisconsin, and is open to the public.

Answer: Worked in a necktie factory

Harry (as Ehrich was now called) was twelve when he quit school to help support his large family. When his father went to New York City to find work, Harry went with him, and they both took jobs in a necktie factory. In New York City, Harry began practicing magic, and when he was seventeen, he quit his job and formed the magic team Brothers Houdini with his friend, Jack Hayman. (Please note: some sources list his surname as Hyman.)

Answer: 20 years old

In 1892, the Brothers Houdini went out on the road, but by 1894, Jack Hayman tired of the constant travel and was briefly replaced by Houdini's younger brother, Theo, who was soon replaced by the eighteen-year old Brooklyn girl Houdini married on June 22, 1894, Wilhemina Beatrice "Bess" Rahner. Bess and Houdini were happily married until his death in 1926. Houdini's first major piece of magic was Metamorphosis, an illusion in which he and Bess switched places.

Answer: Sealed hamper filled with venomous snakes

Houdini's early years on the vaudeville circuit where lean ones for him and Bess. In 1899, Houdini came to the attention of Martin Beck, who booked acts for the Orpheum Theater circuit, who advised Houdini to concentrate on his escapes. In 1899, Houdini was billed as the "King of Handcuffs," and in 1900, Houdini became the biggest draw on the European circuit.

His exploits in such cities as London and Moscow were carried in newspapers throughout the United States, which ensured his popularity when he returned home.

Some escape artists did perform escapes that involved the use of wild animals, but Houdini never did. He thought they were too dangerous.

Answer: No

Houdini loved to tell of how he once was handcuffed and shackled and then dropped into the river through a hole cut in the ice. In the story, Houdini almost drowned when he drifted with the current and could not find the escape hole. It is a wonderful story, but according to Houdini biographer, Milbourne Christopher (author of "Houdini: The Untold Story" and "Houdini: A Pictorial Life") there is no evidence that it ever happened.

In fact, as Houdini repeated the story over time, the places and dates in which it happened kept changing.

This does not mean that Houdini did not perform some very spectacular and dangerous escapes, both from rivers and suspended high above the ground, but this one is just part of the legend that was (and is) the Great Houdini.

Answer: Water Torture Cell

The Water Torture Cell was a watertight wooden cabinet, lined with metal, with a glass front. Houdini's feet were locked into stocks on the top of the cabinet, and he was lowered head first into the cabinet, which was then filled with water. The curtain was pulled to shield the cabinet from the audience's view and a two-minute countdown started. Houdini's assistant stood by with an axe--just in case. Just when the audience was in a frenzy, and the assistant nervously began eyeing the curtain, a dripping wet Houdini, always the master showman, emerged and took his bow.

Answer: True

Houdini, like most people living when aviation was in its infancy, was fascinated with the possibilities of flight. At first, he dreamed of making a spectacular midair escape after parachuting from a plane, but when that could not be worked out, Houdini bought a Voisin biplane and learned to fly.

In 1909, he had his plane dismantled and crated and took it on the ship with him when he left for his Australian tour. On Mar. 16, 1910, Houdini, flying solo, made the first successful airplane flight in Australia, at Diggers Rest near Melbourne.

Answer: Elephant

Houdini debuted his Vanishing Elephant illusion at New York City's Hippodrome on Jan. 7, 1918. The act was such a hit that it ran for nineteen weeks and returned later that year for another run. The illusion was purchased by Houdini from British master of illusion, Charles Morritt.

Answer: No

Spiritualism was in its heyday in the early 1920s, and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Lady Doyle believed it was possible to receive messages from the other side by the use of a medium or by automatic writing. After the death of his mother, Houdini consulted several mediums in the slim hope of communicating with her again.

He became bitter when he realized they were all nothing more than charlatans, and most were not even good fakes. Doyle and Houdini were friends, and Lady Doyle offered to try to communicate with Mrs. Weiss by using automatic writing.

She did receive several pages of words that she truly believed were from Mrs. Weiss. The message was in English, but Mrs. Weiss could only read and write German, so Houdini did not believe it was from his mother. Houdini began a campaign of debunking mediums and his public criticism of Sir Arthur Doyle's wholehearted belief in Spiritualism led to the severing of the friendship between these two remarkable men.

Answer: It was the name of a French magician that he admired.

When Harry Weiss was a young teenager, he read the "Memoirs of Robert-Houdin," and was fascinated with the exploits of the famous French magician. Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin (1805-1871). Robert-Houdin is called the father of modern magic, because instead of the elaborate robes other magicians performed in, he presented his act in ordinary evening dress. Perhaps Robert-Houdin's most famous act was called "Second Sight" in which Robert-Houdin, in the audience, held up objects for his son on stage to identify. Surprisingly, the man who so inspired Houdini when he was a teenager, later became the object of his ridicule in Houdini's 1908 book, "The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin."

Answer: Safety Last

Houdini's silent acting career began in 1918 in an adventure serial called "The Master Mystery." He also made a few silent films during the early 1920s, which like "The Master Mystery" had fantastic plots which allowed him to perform all manners of escapes. "The Grim Game" (through chance and not plan) featured the screen's first midair collision of two airplanes. "Safety Last" (1923) is a hilarious silent film that starred Harold Lloyd and Mildred Davies.

Answer: Tony Curtis

Tony Curtis, who played Houdini in the movie, was 5 feet 9 inches tall, and Houdini was 5 feet 2 inches tall. Houdini always performed his prison cell break escapes in the nude, while in the movie Houdini was fully clothed, which is not surprising for a film made in 1953. Like many biographical movies of its time, "Houdini" was an idealistic view of the great performer and his life, but it was still a very entertaining and enjoyable movie.

Answer: None

Houdini and his wife, Bess, were childless, but no matter how hectic his tour schedule, Houdini always found time to visit hospitals and perform for ill children. One favorite trick was to materialize a black rabbit instead of a white one.

Answer: October 31, 1926

Houdini died on October 31, 1926, in Detroit, Michigan. On October 22, 1926, Houdini was resting backstage in Montreal, Canada, when a college student asked Houdini if he really could be hit in his midsection without it doing him any harm. When Houdini said it was true, the student hit him three times in the abdomen before Houdini could tighten his stomach muscles. What part, if any, this played in Houdini's death from peritonitis four days after surgery to remove his ruptured appendix, is still being debated.

At the time of his death, Houdini had just begun touring with his most magnificent show ever, which included escapes (including his famous Water Cell Torture), magic, and illusions.

Answer: Yes

A 37-cent Houdini stamp was issued by the United States Postal Service on July 3, 2002. Houdini always said the world would forget him as an escape artist but remember him for his aviation feats, but it is his spectacular escapes and magic that keeps Houdini's memory alive. Thank you for taking my quiz on the Great Houdini.