Milwaukee: The Tipping Point in Harry Houdini’s Life

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Harry Houdini, who was famous 100+ years ago, is still talked about today. He spent four years living in Milwaukee where he delivered the Daily Journal and learned how to hold his breath in the Milwaukee River. He was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary but maintained that Appleton, WI was his birthplace. When Houdini was four years old, his family escaped (no pun intended) and moved to Appleton. His father, Mayer Samuel Weisz, was appointed Rabbi at Zion Reform Congregation. At this time, the family changed the spelling of their last name to Weiss. Erik changed his name to Erich.

The Milwaukee Connection

The family enjoyed four years living in Appleton until Houdini’s father was fired from the congregation. Mayer spoke Yiddish and many people in the congregation had a difficult time understanding him. Plus, for unknown reasons, there was tension between Mayer and one other Rabbi. The family then moved to Milwaukee in 1882 when Erich was nine years old. Mayer had difficulties finding a good job in Milwaukee. Erich dropped out of school to help his parents and siblings survive by selling and delivering newspapers and shining shoes. In 1882 he delivered papers for The Milwaukee Daily Journal and claimed to have sold the first edition of the paper when it began publishing. When asked about living in Milwaukee, Houdini was quoted as saying, “One morning my father awoke to find himself thrown upon the world, his long locks of hair having silvered in service, with seven children to feed, without a position, and without any visible means of support. We thereon moved to Milwaukee where such hardships and hunger became our lot that the less said on the subject the better.” Due to these hardships, Houdini rarely spoke of his life in Milwaukee.

The First Escape

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At age 12, Houdini ran away from home to Delavan where he stayed with family. Delavan interested him because it was a “Circus Town,” like Baraboo and Evansville. Two years later he returned to his family in Milwaukee and resided at several addresses from 1882 to 1887. None of the addresses exist today. Although life in Milwaukee was challenging for the family, Houdini learned to survive with wit, intelligence, and a strong left hook. He learned to swim with the current in the Milwaukee River and practiced holding his breath for long periods of time. Years later, when living in New York, he practiced breath control in his bathtub.

“Dime Museum Harry”

Milwaukee is where Houdini became a first-class athlete. He competed in the largest bike race in America, the Waukesha Road Race. Since he was poor at the time, chances are he borrowed his messenger boy bike (the main messenger office is believed to be where the Swingin’ Door Exchange on East Michigan Street is located today). Milwaukee was the first city in the country to use bicycle messengers. To stay in shape, he would run from his home on the Northwest Side, to Water Street to the Kirby House Hotel at the corner of Mason Street.

In the basement of the Kirby House Hotel, there was a gym and pool where he competed in swimming, track and became an unbeatable prizefighter. He started performing at Dime Museums and got a nickname of “Dime Museum Harry,” which he disliked. It was at the lower level of live entertainment.

Magical Identity and Career

The first shows he performed at were at Jacob Litt’s Dime Museum on Wisconsin Avenue, and he later performed at the Majestic Theater at 219 W. Wisconsin Avenue (now the Majestic Loft Apartments). In 1890 he took his stage name after reading the autobiography of French magician Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin. He mistakenly thought an “i” at the end of a name meant “like” in French. In 1887 Houdini and his father moved to New York to start his career in show business. He met his wife who later became his performing partner. New York City became their permanent home.

Houdini returned to Milwaukee frequently to perform between 1896 and 1923. He performed escaping from handcuffs at a police station and his milk can escape where he would be locked inside an oversize galvanized milk can filled with water. Eventually he escaped while concealed inside a curtained cabinet. Members of the audience were invited to hold their breath along with him while he was inside the can. Aside from performing, Houdini also lectured at Marquette University.

A Fatal Trick

Unfortunately, his life came to an end when he was 52 years old. He was giving a lecture on fraudulent spirit mediums at a university in Canada. While having his portrait painted in his dressing room a student by the name of Whitehead came in the room. The student was a huge follower and supporter of the spirit medium movement and Houdini was not. The spirit medium racket was a big deal back then because so many young soldiers were killed in World War I. Mediums preyed upon the grieving families, using magician methods. This disgusted Houdini.

Whitehead “had it in” for Houdini. When he asked Houdini, “I heard that you are able to absorb a powerful blow to your abdomen” (a strongman stunt Houdini been doing since he was boxer in Milwaukee), Houdini replied “Yes, I can do that” and without any warning Whitehead unleashed vicious punches. Observers had to break up the confrontation. Houdini shrugged Whitehead off as some “psycho” but didn’t realize his appendix burst.

What is left out in most history books is that Whitehead actually punched Houdini with intent. It was reported as an accident which, in fact it was not. Houdini went on to Detroit to perform and collapsed. He died several days later on Oct. 31, 1926.

The young Houdini grew up very fast while living in Milwaukee. By the time he was 15 he was a boxer, a newsboy, bicycle messenger, magician and trapeze artist. Interestingly, many of the stories and folklore about Houdini blur the real history, some of it made up by Houdini himself.

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The Jewish Museum Milwaukee mounted an extensive retrospective on Houdini's Milwaukee connections, reviewed in the Shepherd Express: https://shepherdexpress.com/culture/visual-art/jewish-museum-milwaukee-houdini/