HTA-0599: Harry Houdini — The Greatest Magician

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Summary

Henry explores the legacy of Harry Houdini, perhaps the most famous magician who ever lived.

Full Transcript

00:00
There has never been and maybe never will be a magician quite as famous as Harry Houdini.

00:06
He didn't exactly create the craft of magic.

00:09
In fact, he followed in many great footsteps.

00:11
But he certainly created some amazing scenes, some amazing acts.

00:16
He was fearless.

00:18
He was in remarkable condition.

00:20
He was smart as the Dickens.

00:22
And he was surely one of the most interesting people on earth.

00:26
We can't meet him in person, but we can find out all about him at a new exhibition that has just opened at the Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco.

00:35
It's called Houdini Art and Magic.

00:37
And we have with us the director of the museum, Connie Wolfe.

00:40
Thank you for joining us.

00:42
Connie, his name was Eric Weish.

00:45
He was Jewish and he was born in Budapest.

00:48
How did he get to be Harry Houdini?

00:50
Well, you know, he's the son of a rabbi.

00:52
His father came over here.

00:53
His family came over here when he was four years old.

00:55
And they lived in Wisconsin, moved to New York, and it was an incredible journey of him trying to shed his immigrant lifestyle to become a well-known American figure.

01:10
And he just defied every stereotype that could have been imagined, and he created a whole new life and a whole new world.

01:17
And what I find fascinating is that he died 85 years ago, but his name is as fresh as it was yesterday.

01:24
Well, because over a period of many years, a couple of decades really, he was everywhere.

01:31
And literally, he'd go all over the country doing these incredible acts.

01:34
Were there tricks?

01:35
We've got some video of him doing these hanging acts where they'd yank him up by his feet.

01:39
And he did it here in San Francisco, even.

01:42
Was there a trick to this, or was he just incredibly strong and agile?

01:46
He was incredibly strong and agile.

01:48
He ran 10 miles a day.

01:50
He was in impeccable physical condition.

01:53
He could do anything.

01:54
And this is what he just loved to do is to be a spectacle for everybody.

01:58
He loved living on that border between life and death.

02:02
And who wouldn't love looking at somebody struggling to survive?

02:07
Which he literally was.

02:08
Which he was.

02:09
And so he was even here in San Francisco.

02:12
And he always stood in front of a news building.

02:16
And he was on 3rd and Market.

02:18
30,000 people watching him.

02:20
It's just an incredible story.

02:22
The exhibition is called Houdini Art and Magic through January 16th at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, thejcm.org.

02:31
And they've got props, they've got handcuffs, they've got pictures, they've got videos.

02:35
We might just want to mention, though, that he also became a big movie star.

02:40
This is an example of just one of the movies that he was in.

02:43
No, this is an example of several of the movies that he was in.

02:47
And not only was he a remarkable magician, but he was also a huge star, a romantic star.

02:55
He even got the girl in the very end.

02:59
Watch this.

03:01
Harry, you're magic.

03:04
We'll be right back with more on Cron 4 News weekend.