As I discussed in a previous blog a few months ago, Harry Houdini has been a big inspiration of mine since I was young.
On top of being an amazingly talented magician, illusionist and performer, he also showed people that they could quite literally ‘break free’ (as he did regularly during his stunts) in a time of oppression.
As a little bit of a tribute, today I’m outlining three of my favourite tricks of his:
Handcuff escapes
Occasionally dubbed as the ‘King of Handcuffs’, Houdini wasn’t the first person to use them magically, but he definitely redefined how they were performed with. He was that confident in working with them that he’d sometimes have his wrists locked with four or five pairs.
Needle trick
In case you weren’t already aware, his needle trick involved swallowing 50 to 100 needles and 20 yards of thread, then bringing them all up threaded. A committee inspected his throat shortly afterwards. Read more about it here.
The brick wall
The walking through a brick wall effect was truly brilliant, as – similar to the vanishing elephant – it relied on something as simple (yet complicated) as audience deception. In knowing that the crowd’s attention would be diverted elsewhere, this particular stunt showed that he could get away with almost anything he wanted to.
As usual, if you’re hosting an event in Wakefield, Leeds or the surrounding Yorkshire area and want a magician for hire, please feel free to get in touch.
Having performed at numerous weddings, private/corporate parties and trade shows over the years, I’d love to learn more about your special occasion and how I can help it to truly stand out.
For more information on what I can do or to get a free quote, give me a call on 07838 157 044.