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Harry Houdini

Hungarian-born American illusionist, escapologist, and stunt performer (1874–1926)

  • Fame69.7
  • Momentum10.5
  • Wikipedia129.3K
Source-basedStable
Lived 1874–1926, aged 52
ActorsActor
  • Wikipedia
    85 languages
    Cross-language footprint
  • Era
    1874–1926
    Aged 52
  • Known for
    Lo and Behold: Reverie…
    2016
Summary
Updated 2026-09-07

He locked himself in milk cans full of water, dangled from skyscrapers in a straitjacket, and once kept a crowd in suspense for an hour trying to escape handcuffs built specifically to trap him. The escapes were real — and he spent the rest of his time hunting the fakes.

Biography

About

Erik Weisz left Hungary for American vaudeville, but the real break came in Europe, where he billed himself as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini and challenged police forces to lock him up. He couldn't be held. The act expanded: chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets underwater, sealed milk cans. In 1904, thousands in London watched him struggle for an hour against handcuffs commissioned by the Daily Mirror. Another stunt buried him alive; he clawed to the surface half-broken. While some thought it was all rigged, Houdini turned his fury on actual frauds — spiritualists peddling fake séanc…

Voice

In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini
said
I'm tired of fighting, Dash. I guess this thing is going to get me.
— Last words, to his brother Theo, in Grace Hospital of Detroit, Michigan (30 October 1926), quoted in Houdini, The Man Who Walked Through
Harry Houdini
said
Disloyalty in trusted servants is one of the most disheartening things that can happen to a public performer.
— Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (1920)
via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA
Deep cuts

Filmography

Low confidence
Deep cuts

TV credits

Low confidence
Deep cuts

Awards

Low confidence
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Where to find them

Platforms

By the numbers

Score breakdown

The six component signals behind the Fame score, and their ranks across the leaderboards.

Fame
Stable
69.7
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
Score components
Momentum10.5
Historical28.7
Now attention30.3
Source confidence65.0
Completeness65.0
Global rank
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Country rank
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Category rank
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Receipts

Sources