Houdini was friends with renowned Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Over the next 20 years, his escapes would amaze audiences and confound critics. He continued touring throughout the country, performing in many American towns and cities, including Scranton. By the time he returned to the States, Houdini had become a legend. His performances propelled Houdini and his great escapes to international acclaim, allowing him to continuously tour Europe for five years. His big break came in the form of an invitation to join the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit in 1899, giving him an opportunity to perform in the national spotlight. By 17, Houdini had already begun performing magic professionally.Īs the great escape artist, handcuffs were generally child's play to Houdini. By age 12, Houdini had performed his first great escape when he ran away from home and hopped a train car bound for Galveston, Texas. At age nine, Houdini began performing as a trapeze artist, a gig that would eventually introduce him to professional magicians and spark his own interest in magic. Born in Budapest, Hungary, raised in Appleton, Wisconsin, and starting his career in New York City, he was always on the move. Harry Houdini, born Eric Weisz, master magician, escapologist, and skeptic, is a world-renowned legend of magic. It seems everyone wants to take a glimpse into the life of one of America’s most mysterious men. Alakazam! The line for admission stretches around and behind the building. New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio-the license plates show visitors coming from far and wide. Despite its modest appearance, the parking lot along the side of the building is filled to capacity. The signs beckon visitors to step in and disappear into a world of mystery, intrigue, and magic. It’s easy to miss the small, unassuming converted home with two signs painted on its blue stucco exterior. Passing along North Main Ave through the Green Ridge neighborhood of Scranton in Lackawanna County, there are children riding bicycles, lawns being cut, and neighbors chatting on the street-a portrait of the average American neighborhood. Artists include Matthew Barney, Whitney Bedford, Joe Coleman, Petah Coyne, Bruce Cratsley, Jane Hammond, Tim Lee, Vik Muniz, Ikuo Nakamura, Raymond Pettibon, Sara Greenberger Rafferty, Allen Ruppersberg, Christopher Wool, Carol Yeh, and local Bay Area artist Deborah Oropallo.This Scranton house has been the home of the Harry Houdini Museum since 1988.Ĭlick to see any picture in a larger size. He also endowed common items with magical qualities: trunks, crates, and milk cans, which had significance to other immigrants and the American middle class of the era.Īlongside Houdini’s cultural artifacts, the exhibition seamlessly blends art by 26 contemporary artists who have been inspired the magician, his tools of the trade, and themes of metamorphosis and escape. He would perform his stunts and feats of strength in common areas of metropolitan cities such as his multiple appearances in San Francisco suspending himself from the Hearst Building at Third and Market or diving into the cold waters of the bay at Aquatic Park. The exhibition also illustrates how his humble origins gave him a unique advantage to appeal to his audience. I can still hear our blessed mother weep in supplication. It grieves me more now - than it did then. An open passage tells of Houdini’s homecoming in 1916 to New York City, and his personal reflection about the moment he was there last to attend the funeral of his father: “I was 18 years of age - and now being 42 I could re-live through the whole scene. The materials anchor Houdini’s larger than life career with a foundational understanding of his origins as a Hungarian Jewish immigrant, son of a Rabbi born Ehrich Weiss by historic photographs and personal effects such as his two private diaries never before shown publicly. The Contemporary Jewish Museum presents the first major art museum exhibition to examine Houdini’s life, legend and pervading cultural influence in “Harry Houdini: Art and Magic.” Organized by The Jewish Museum, New York, the exhibition begins Octountil Janupresenting more than 160 various objects that illustrate the kaleidoscope of Harry Houdini’s colorful life, career and influence: theater ephemera and posters, the magician’s props, and archival and silent films.