Read Online The Secret Life of Houdini by William Kalush, Larry Sloman - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: William Kalush, Larry Sloman
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hands were tied behind his back and then the horse’s trainer bound Houdini’s feet together under the horse’s belly.
From then on things began to go downhill fast. Houdini had specified that he wanted the most docile beast they had in the stable, but whether by accident or malicious design, the trainer had brought a frisky, young, barely broken colt. Not used to having someone tied to its back, the horse began to buck furiously. There was no danger that Houdini would be thrown by the animal, but the very real possibility existed that the creature would just drop to the ground and try to roll its burden off, which would have crushed its human cargo.
Then the horse switched tactics altogether. To the dismay of Houdini, and the assembled press and local luminaries, the colt just took off at a breakneck pace down the road. Now there was no way that Houdini could effect his escape, not until the horse had been thoroughly tired out. It wasn’t until they rode for a few more miles that Houdini was able to work at the ropes and free himself. The only problem was that nobody was there to see it—the newsmen were halfway back to their offices by then, joking about the ridiculous stunt.
Houdini had made a rare miscalculation by not trying out the escape beforehand, but he learned a valuable lesson: You don’t practice in public. Plan ahead and be prepared for all contingencies.
Houdini started the straitjacket escape in 1899 . This is a movie still taken twenty years later. From the collection of Roger Dreyer
The insane asylum patient lay still for a few seconds, his sweat pouring onto the canvas-padded floor. The only sound you could hear in the small cell was his staccato panting. If not for the fury in his eyes, you might have thought that he was finished. But he wasn’t.
Suddenly he started rolling over and over and over again, like a crazed dervish, kicking the floor as he twirled, every muscle in his body straining against the restraint. It looked like he was trying to lift his arms over his head, but it was all in vain. But still he struggled.
“It’s really much better than the restraint muffs we formerly used,” Dr. Steeves said, peering at the man through the small, barred window. “By crisscrossing the arms in front and strapping them securely in the back, the poor fellow has no chance of hurting others. Or himself. It’s really the most modern device we have. We call it the straitjacket.”
Dr. Steeves turned away from the small window.
“Now if we proceed down this corridor…”
Houdini really hadn’t heard a word the doctor said. He was still staring through that little window, entranced. Not because he was empathizing with the patient, although he had a soft spot in his heart for the weak and infirm. No, he was fascinated with the mechanics of the restraint device.
Now if he were only able to dislocate one arm at the shoulder joint, I bet that would give him enough slack to eventually get his arms free. But he’d need some solid foundation to place the elbow… .
That night Houdini hardly slept at all. During the few moments that he managed to doze off, all he dreamt of were straitjackets, maniacs, and padded cells. The rest of the time he wondered how the audience would react to seeing a man bound into a straitjacket effect his freedom.
The very next morning Houdini called Dr. Steeves and borrowed one of the canvas jackets. By the end of the week, Houdini was escaping from a straitjacket onstage.
As creative as Houdini was, he still hadn’t really learned how to sell his escapes, except for the Metamorphosis, of course. When he retreated into his ghost box, and managed to writhe and twist until he could get that infernal straitjacket off, the audience didn’t know what to think, and they certainly missed all the drama. It wasn’t until 1904 that his brother Theo hit upon the idea of performing the straitjacket escape in full view of the audience, a simple but brilliant conception
From then on things began to go downhill fast. Houdini had specified that he wanted the most docile beast they had in the stable, but whether by accident or malicious design, the trainer had brought a frisky, young, barely broken colt. Not used to having someone tied to its back, the horse began to buck furiously. There was no danger that Houdini would be thrown by the animal, but the very real possibility existed that the creature would just drop to the ground and try to roll its burden off, which would have crushed its human cargo.
Then the horse switched tactics altogether. To the dismay of Houdini, and the assembled press and local luminaries, the colt just took off at a breakneck pace down the road. Now there was no way that Houdini could effect his escape, not until the horse had been thoroughly tired out. It wasn’t until they rode for a few more miles that Houdini was able to work at the ropes and free himself. The only problem was that nobody was there to see it—the newsmen were halfway back to their offices by then, joking about the ridiculous stunt.
Houdini had made a rare miscalculation by not trying out the escape beforehand, but he learned a valuable lesson: You don’t practice in public. Plan ahead and be prepared for all contingencies.
Houdini started the straitjacket escape in 1899 . This is a movie still taken twenty years later. From the collection of Roger Dreyer
The insane asylum patient lay still for a few seconds, his sweat pouring onto the canvas-padded floor. The only sound you could hear in the small cell was his staccato panting. If not for the fury in his eyes, you might have thought that he was finished. But he wasn’t.
Suddenly he started rolling over and over and over again, like a crazed dervish, kicking the floor as he twirled, every muscle in his body straining against the restraint. It looked like he was trying to lift his arms over his head, but it was all in vain. But still he struggled.
“It’s really much better than the restraint muffs we formerly used,” Dr. Steeves said, peering at the man through the small, barred window. “By crisscrossing the arms in front and strapping them securely in the back, the poor fellow has no chance of hurting others. Or himself. It’s really the most modern device we have. We call it the straitjacket.”
Dr. Steeves turned away from the small window.
“Now if we proceed down this corridor…”
Houdini really hadn’t heard a word the doctor said. He was still staring through that little window, entranced. Not because he was empathizing with the patient, although he had a soft spot in his heart for the weak and infirm. No, he was fascinated with the mechanics of the restraint device.
Now if he were only able to dislocate one arm at the shoulder joint, I bet that would give him enough slack to eventually get his arms free. But he’d need some solid foundation to place the elbow… .
That night Houdini hardly slept at all. During the few moments that he managed to doze off, all he dreamt of were straitjackets, maniacs, and padded cells. The rest of the time he wondered how the audience would react to seeing a man bound into a straitjacket effect his freedom.
The very next morning Houdini called Dr. Steeves and borrowed one of the canvas jackets. By the end of the week, Houdini was escaping from a straitjacket onstage.
As creative as Houdini was, he still hadn’t really learned how to sell his escapes, except for the Metamorphosis, of course. When he retreated into his ghost box, and managed to writhe and twist until he could get that infernal straitjacket off, the audience didn’t know what to think, and they certainly missed all the drama. It wasn’t until 1904 that his brother Theo hit upon the idea of performing the straitjacket escape in full view of the audience, a simple but brilliant conception
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