Harry Houdini was a famous movie star. He stared at Mary Pickford and Charlie Chaplin. For nearly 20 years, Houdini frequently appeared in newspapers with incredible escapes from being chained to being confined in a box to being placed in water. He also surprised people by walking through walls and making an elephant disappear. On the 80th year of his death on October 31, 1926, it was made into a book called "The Secret Life of Harry Houdini, The Making of America's First Superhero," by William Kalush and Larry Sloman. Ever the illusionist, Houdini made everyone believe in his professional years that he was born in Appleton on April 6, 1874, but in reality he was born on March 24, 1874 in Budapest, Hungary, and became a U.S. citizen. His father was a lawyer then when they moved to America he became a teacher. William Kalush, himself a magician, said it took him and Sloman, an author, two years to research and write the book. They were able to find "circumstantial evidence" that Houdini had spied for the United States and England in the early 20th century. Houdini's father had a first cousin who was a famous magician in Europe, so he got into magic early. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay He realized that his name, Erik Weisz at birth, had changed to Ehrich Weiss due to immigration to the United States, plus he lacked acting skills. He became Harry Houdini, changing his last name to Houdini in honor of Robert Houdin, the pioneering French magician. “Houdini initially succeeded as a fraudulent spiritualist,” Kalush said. “But he realized that he was not honoring the oath made to his (deceased) father. He took care of his mother with his money, but he did not feel well. He has renounced spiritualism; he would rather fail than take this so-called dirty money. " When traveling with a circus, Houdini thought of a way to attract people. He visited police stations challenging them to remove the handcuffs they had on. He disappeared from a metal box that also emerged in the water a few minutes later without handcuffs. “Surprises Investigators,” was the headline in a Chicago newspaper. His first film was shot in France in 1902. He photographed his own stunts, but only began writing film scripts in 1916. Between 1919 and 1923, Houdini appeared in films and shows such as "The Great Mystery", "The Grim Game ", "The Island of Mystery" and "The Man from the Beyond". “The films extended his fame,” Kalush said, “but when his first film came out, his fame transcended that of an ordinary formal entertainer in the culture.” Houdini was a leader everyone wanted to follow. It was obvious that women would fall in love with him since he is so famous. “He had what women wanted.” He had what women wanted: He had power and didn't have to obey everyone else's rules," Kalush said. "He was an attractive man." He also had a "strange relationship" with his wife, Bess. They married young age, and Bess wanted not only to get married but to be his partner, so she assisted him on stage and helped him in his stunts. As he got more popular and made a lot of money, he often went on tour and that could have been his chance to meet all the women he wanted In 1916, Houdini was interested in Charmian London, the widow of author Jack London our expert writers. Get a custom essay They made secret meeting places to talk on the telephone, and she called him in her diary "Magical Lover". They continued to exchange letters until 1924, when she stopped.