Much of the collection was on loan from Sidney Radner, 84, who acquired the valuable items from Houdini's brother in the 1930s. The first exhibit included a large collection of handcuffs, leg irons, straitjackets and other items Houdini used in his shows.
He later lived in Milwaukee and in New York. Houdini," the display will be more biographical than the previous exhibit and will feature the major periods of his life: his early years in Wisconsin, his transformation from a struggling magician to a superstar escape artist and his efforts to expose spiritualists.Įhrich Weiss, who took the stage name of Houdini, moved to Appleton from Hungary as a toddler. The Houdini Historical Center opened its original exhibit in 1989 and closed it on Halloween 2002 to renovate and install the 1,700-square-foot display on the second floor of the museum. Plus, there will be a spoiler alert at the exhibit in case visitors would rather not know how it's done.
They'll say, "I wish I didn't know how this was done,' " said Ron Fable, a Milwaukee magician and escape artist who performed Houdini's upside down straitjacket escape at the dedication of a Houdini statue in Appleton in 1985.īut Louagie said the answer to the "Metamorphosis" trick can be found in books _ she learned about it at the local library _ so it's not like it's a closely guarded secret. "I think people are going to be disappointed. They say everyone who goes to a magic show knows it's not really magic _ a woman isn't sawed in half and a rabbit isn't living in the magician's top hat. The issue has been hotly debated by magicians and Houdini experts who wish the Houdini Historical Center would keep its trap shut. "By telling people how this trick works, we're giving people a deeper meaning of Houdini." Part of the story of Houdini is telling the story of being a magician," curator Kimberly Louagie said.
"It's tantamount to someone coming on Saturday morning kids TV and saying, "Guess what? There's no Santa Claus,' " said illusionist David Seebach, who has performed the "Metamorphosis" effect for years at Milwaukee's Summerfest and State Fair.īut the curator of the Houdini Historical Center said the exhibit, which opens June 2, will feature more interactive displays and help visitors better understand the escape artist who died of a ruptured appendix on Halloween 1926.
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