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After a dismal entrance into the world of
show business, Jack left the show. Houdini's younger brother
Theo took his place for a while. They now were known as Harry
and Theo Houdini. The two performed a small magic show in some
of the local dime museums and developed an illusion which change
the course or their careers. The trick was called the "Metamorphosis."
This mystery was a twist on a trick developed a few years
earlier by a British magician. In it Harry Houdini's wrists were
tied together and he was bound inside of a cloth bag. After
which, he was placed into a steamer trunk and a screen cabinet
was held up in front of the trunk. Theo would stand on top of
the trunk and within less than a minute the two would change
places. This inventive trick was well received by a few
newspaper critics. No doubt the idea for his famous "escape
act" started to from the positive reaction to this trick. A
few good reviews led to a booking for the "Brothers Houdini"
into the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. So began the pioneering
stage of Houdini's career.
It wasn't until after his brother had left
the act and was replaced by Harry's new bride, Bess, that
Houdini first developed his most successful marketing tool. It
was known as the "Challenge Handcuff Act." This was
new ground in entertainment. It was 1898 when Houdini first
challenged an audience to bring their own handcuffs and he would
be able to free himself. Other magicians had performed handcuff
escapes. Houdini, however, was the first to challenge to escape
from anyone's. Then on January 5th or 1899, his story made the
front page of the Chicago Journal, and the publicity king was
born.
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Harry Houdini - The Handcuff King
According to the story a reporter had been at
the Police headquarters when Houdini began to boast that he
could escape from any of their official manacles. The officers
quickly and efficiently applied the handcuffs, almost as quickly
and efficiently Houdini removed them.
Challenges and publicity stunts began to pay
off. A theatrical agent named Martin Beck recognized the
potential of Houdini, the handcuff king and booked him into the
Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska at sixty dollars a week. This
was four times the amount that Houdini had ever made.
It was Beck that really launched Houdini's
career. He insisted that Houdini replace all the magic in the
opening of his act with escapes. That way Houdini would not be
in competition with any of the outstanding magicians.
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Houdini was in demand and had virtually no
competition. He could be booked at any theater, because he was
appearing as an "escape artist" not as a magician.
Within the year his salary jumped to one hundred and twenty
dollars per week. It look as if there was no stopping him until
he played the San Francisco Orpheum. During his run, the
Examiner ran a half-page feature exposing how he accomplished
his handcuff escapes. The contended that there was nothing
difficult to it at all, suggesting that he simply used an extra
key.
The article didn't have the intended effect.
Instead of ruining Houdini, it only bolstered the ticket sales.
To capitalize on the events Houdini often did, he challenged the
San Francisco Police department to use any of their devices to
restrain him. They accepted the challenge and Houdini was on the
front pages. To make it more intriguing and newsworthy, Houdini
invented the "naked test" where he was stripped and
searched before he was manacled. This would prevent any key from
being hidden away. Not only that but the Houdini realized that
the "sexual" aspect of his own naked body would sell
tickets. The gutsy showman prevailed. He escaped from each of
the police department devices at police headquarters, with the
presence of a reporter from the Examiner. The Examiner ran
another half-page story, complete with sexy pictures, only this
time they retracted their first story and commended the escape
artist. Houdini's performance salary was again increased.
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