![]() Gordon Whitehead, the McGill student who supposedly delivered the potentially fatal gut punches in Houdini’s Montreal dressing room. ![]() ![]() “If someone were hell-bent on poisoning Houdini, it wouldn’t have been very difficult,” they conclude.Ĭonsiderable debate has also focused on J. “If one were to suspect Houdini a victim of foul play,” they write, “then the section of organized crime that was composed of fraudulent spirit mediums must be considered likely suspects.” Kalush and Sloman argue that the Spiritualists had a history of poisoning their enemies, and they note that no autopsy was ever performed to confirm that Houdini’s death was actually caused by appendicitis. He proceeded to struggle through his routine before collapsing immediately after the final curtain.Ĭould Houdini’s meddling have gotten him killed? In their 2006 biography The Secret Life of Houdini, authors William Kalush and Larry Sloman contend that the magician’s death may have been a carefully planned assassination by members of the Spiritualist community. A doctor suspected appendicitis and instructed Houdini to go to a hospital, but the performer insisted on taking the stage for his opening night show at the Garrick Theater. The magician developed severe abdominal pain, cold sweats and fatigue, and his temperature rose to 104 degrees. His condition only worsened the next day, when he boarded an overnight train to Detroit for a new run of performances. Houdini brushed off the incident at the time, but that same evening, he began to complain of discomfort and stomach cramps. Houdini was still reclined on the couch and had no time to prepare for the punches, which appeared to leave him in considerable pain. According to witness Sam Smilovitz, when Houdini said the rumors were true, Whitehead abruptly delivered “four or five terribly forcible, deliberate, well-directed blows” to his stomach. Gordon Whitehead arrived and asked Houdini if it was true that he could resist hard punches to his abdomen-a claim the magician had supposedly made in public. The magician’s sore ankle was still bothering him, so he plopped down on a couch while the group chatted. Just a few days later on October 22, he invited some McGill students to visit him in his dressing room at the Princess Theater. There are so many tales of badass Houdini exploits, you should just read them for yourselves. Keep in mind, Houdini was a tough cookie - you shouldn’t try any of his feats of endurance or pissy note writing.Against doctors’ orders, Houdini continued his tour and traveled to Montreal, where he gave a lecture at McGill University. ![]() If he was going to chase down so-called mystics and expose them as frauds, he canceled shows, wrangeld a panel of scientists, and debunked you with fury. Harry "Badass" Houdini was not a guy to half-ass things. Some of the most awesome Houdini facts center on his search for truth in everything he did. There are hella crazy Houdini stories in this buckwild world of ours some revolve around weird concepts for illusions, others involve him pissing his friends off. Madman Harry Houdini buried himself multiple times, even though he almost killed himself on his first attempt, and was the first person to fly over Australian soil (as the pilot, not a passenger). Born Erik Weisz in Hungary, Houdini made a career out of doing weird sh*t and getting paid for it (before people knew that was a thing you could do). Decades after Harry Houdini's death, magic fans and plebs alike are fascinated by the life of one of the world's great entertainers.
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