Harry Houdini

Some people would choose a celebrity or athlete for their hero, but I choose an uncommon person, someone no one would probably choose. He is a hero to me and to other people who believe in the impossible and who believe that dreams, no matter how difficult, can come true. He was the greatest magician in the world. His name was Harry Houdini.

Many people don't know this, but the so-called "Harry Houdini" led a secret life. He was one person no one would expect to be famous until he became a well-known magician and his true life was discovered and shown to the world. He real name was Ehrich Weiss. He was born on March 24, 1874, in Budapest. But he often claimed to be born in Appleton, Wisconsin, under the name Houdini. It seemed like he was hiding something or was ashamed of where he came from, but he really just wanted to fit into the normal life, or what he thought he was normal. Once Houdini said, "The greatest escape I ever made was when I left Wisconsin."

Over the years, Houdini became so confident in escaping traps that he began offering a reward to anyone who could successfully restrain him, first in handcuffs and later in a variety of traps. Houdini escaped not only handcuffs but also leg irons, jail and prison cells, straightjackets, packing crates, a giant football, an iron broiler, the underwater coffin (which he stayed in for an hour), a giant paper bag (without tearing the paper, and the famous Water Torture Cell. You can see why he's considered a famous escape artist. Many of his escapes Houdini would do in full view of his audience to insure that no false rumors of he being a "fake" would be mentioned. Houdini would even do escapes at a police station with newspaper reporters assuring the truthfulness.

Houdini was known as the "Master Of Mystery." I think it's self-explanatory. Though he had magic smarts, he didn't have much of an educational background. He ran away from home after his 12th birthday. He wanted to see the world. He wrote a postcard to his family saying, "I'm heading for Galveston, Texas. Be back in a year". He never got to Texas, though. He got onto a railcar and it was the wrong car. He was heading to Kansas City! His only education from there was in the circus as a trapeze artist.

On October 22, 1926, Houdini was in performing in Montreal at the Princess Theater. Before the show, Harry was in his dressing room laying on the couch. While relaxing backstage, a young athlete from McGill University asked Houdini if he really could withstand punches to the stomach, as he had heard. Houdini said yes and would prove it to the boy. But before he could tighten his stomach, the student started punching Houdini. Harry didn't realize it, but his appendix had ruptured. After Houdini performed in Montreal, he headed to Detroit. He did only one performance there and then collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Harry Houdini did not die in a stunt, nor did he drown, as most people believe. The greatest magician of all time died on October 31, 1926, of peritonitis. He was only 52 years old at the time. He was an imaginable man and he was admired for that. Harry Houdini not only earned a place in history, but also a place in the dictionary as well. Forever in the hearts of his fellow magicians. R.I.P