He likely took the first part of his stage name from his childhood nickname, 'Ehrie,' although some sources say that his first name was a tribute to magician Harry Kellar. Harry Houdini's real name was Ehrich Weiss. Read on for some interesting facts about Harry Houdini. And with performances that spectacular, it shouldn’t come as a shock that his life was just as fascinating. Whether he was escaping from a straitjacket while suspended from a crane above the streets or getting out of his famed “Chinese water torture cell” with just moments of air to spare, Houdini had a habit of leaving everyone in awe. The famed magician captured the imagination of the world with his death-defying stunts and performances, many of which still baffle modern magicians. Overall, I think we should tip our hats to production designer Arwel Jones for giving us a pretty darn good USD! Looking forward to what else Houdini & Doyle has to offer when the series premiers next week on FOX.Though Harry Houdini died nearly a century ago, his mystique has never faded. And, yes, there's the ever present giant clock.

As discussed here, the attractive and put-upon Florrie is fictional. The bathing suit Weston is wearing is what Houdini would sometimes wear during outdoor underwater escapes (on stage he wore a one piece). The posters on stage are based on real Houdini posters. In this regard, the admittedly fictional Houdini & Doyle restores some welcome reality. This 'twist' was created by Doug Henning in 1975, but recent Houdini biopics have seized on it as the way to conclude the escape. As I noted in my episode one review, they resist having Houdini appear as his own axe-wielding assistant at the end. So how does this depiction compare to others? Not bad! The cell is pretty good reproduction of Houdini's real cell, notably the stocks, although it is much larger and has a glass back, which Houdini's cell did not have. Derek Tait in Houdini The British Tours shows Houdini performing at the Palace Theatre in Manchester (Oxford Street) in 1913. However, it could not have been '100 years to the day' as some publicly has stated. The production filmed this scene last year at the Palace Theatre in Manchester, where the real Houdini performed the same feat.

Harry houdini water torture cell escape