The Final Escape He Never Made

Name: The Final Escape He Never Made
Genre: Documentary

Houdini dies in Detroit, leaving witnesses, collectors, and contradictory records to determine what remains after the performer is gone.

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Transcript

Houdini died in Detroit, Michigan, on October 31st, 1926.
A Library of Congress record identifies the location of Houdini's death.
His death was attributed to peritonitis resulting from a ruptured appendix.
Another supplied account records only the year: Houdini died in 1926.
On October 31st, 1926, his death ended decades of escape performances.
His notable escapes had started in the 1890s and continued until his death.
In 1895, Houdini began handcuff escape publicity stunts at police stations across the Northeast.
Houdini earned the nickname The King of Handcuffs.
On July 16th, 1914, Houdini escaped from a shackled box thrown into water.
15,000 people watched Houdini escape from a shackled box thrown into water.
Houdini was an illusionist and stunt performer known for death-defying tricks and escape acts.
After the performer was gone, the story moved from stages into collections. Morris Nathan Young had met Houdini when Young was 17.
The teenager demonstrated that he could make his body rigid for Houdini.
Young's personal connection linked Houdini's performances to the collections that followed.
In 1955, Young and a friend gave 20,000 magic publications and apparatus to the Library of Congress.
Houdini's papers were later gifted to the University of Texas in 1969.

After Houdini's death, the next escape depended on whether Morris Young could save a mountain of magic papers from vanishing.

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