NEW LIGHT ON HOUDINI'S CHILDHOOD

View of Milwaukee in Houdini's day, facing south. The Weisses lived in the northwest Jewish neighborhood.

In earlier posts we recast the story of Houdini's father, Samuel Weiss, who escaped from Budapest to America to start a new life. Our original research upended much of the conventional wisdom in traditional Houdini biographies and clarified many of the contradictions that result from drawing superficial conclusions about the life of this extraordinary man.

All this led to Wisconsin, Houdini's boyhood home. We've written about his life in Appleton. We've gotten fascinated lately by the almost completely ignored years he spent in the nearby city of Milwaukee. Houdini recalled his family's transition from Appleton to Milwaukee with sorrow and bitterness:

“One morning my father awoke to find himself thrown upon the world, his long locks of hair having silvered in service, with seven children to feed, without a position, and without any visible means of support. We thereon moved to Milwaukee, where such hardships and hunger became our lot that the less said on the subject the better.” 

Yet for all that anguish, he frequently returned to Milwaukee, the city where he first saw serious magic and first performed publicly. And when he did he was consumed with nostalgia.

Old Milwaukee. Is that young Houdini leaning against a post? (Click to enlarge.)

Impoverished though they were, Harry's years in Milwaukee were absolutely essential to the formation of his skills and his character. Milwaukee is where Harry Houdini learned to survive with wit, intelligence and a strong left hook.

Houdini’s family moved to Milwaukee in November 1882, when Harry was nearly nine and still going by the name Ehrich Weiss. He and his younger brother Dash went right to work as shoeshine boys and newspaper hawkers. 

When Houdini played Milwaukee in 1916, he gave a special free show for 500 newsboys. Recalling his days as one of them, he said he "carried the first edition of the Milwaukee Journal ever printed." (That would make it November 16, 1882.) Houdini told the newsboys and reporters that he remembered his "home town" of Milwaukee as thriving - and burning.

Houdini remembered the Newhall House fire vividly - that edition of the Journal had sold out entirely! He especially loved the tale of how General and Mrs. Tom Thumb, 28-inch tall stars of the P.T. Barnum shows, were rescued by a brave firefighter who managed to get a ladder up to the flaming sixth floor and saved their lives by holding both of them under one arm and the ladder with the other. When they got down to the ground, General Tom had to rescue his wife a second time when she ran back inside to retrieve her jewels!

Adonis Ames, Houdini's acrobatics teacher & first performing partner.                                                   (allposters.com)

Hawking the Journal, Ehrich Weiss first met Herman Krause, a fellow paperboy and contortionist who went on to star in the Folies Bérgère under the name Adonis Ames. 

Ehrich and Adonis performed for free together on the Wisconsin Avenue Bridge over the Milwaukee River. They later played Jacob Litt's newly-opened dime museum at the other end of Wisconsin Avenue. 

The Wisconsin Avenue Bridge. Litt's Dime Museum was at 172 West Wisconsin Ave.

In 1885 Litt's was the place 11-year old Ehrich said he first saw the magic act that changed his life: Dr. Lynn, "The Bloodless Vivisectionist," performing "Paligenesia."

We believe Adonis Ames has escaped historical notice until now by Houdiniphiles. He's considered one of the world's all-time great contortionists. He appears to be Houdini's first performing partner and his first teacher of acrobatics - and showmanship. His signature opener was to curl up in a giant rose. At the crack of a pistol, he would emerge, unfold and cartwheel.

Plankinton House in its heyday, c. 1890

As paperboys and shoeshine boys, Ehrich and Dash had access to the lobby of the Plankinton House, the poshest hotel in town. It was not too difficult for the stealthy tricksters to make their way to the Sky Room on the top floor, steal a couple of eggs from the kitchen and cook them over a makeshift fire on the hotel roof. Harry retraced his steps for reporters years later, perhaps a bit of payback publicity to help the hotel return to better days.

Keeping up appearances at the Plankinton

By 1886, after training with Adonis, Ehrich had grown from enterprising street scamp into serious athlete. 

Teenage Houdini - still Erich Weiss

In our next post, you'll discover how Ehrich Weiss became the toughest kid in Milwaukee.

RELATED:

HOUDINI'S FATHER ESCAPES BUDAPEST






This post published February 5 in honor of my daughter, Karina. Happy Birthday, sweetheart!




(Images: Harper's Weekly, Wisconsin Historical Society, The Milwaukee Journal, allposters.com, Google Images)