No locks could hold him, no tomb could keep him, no audience could
resist him, he was Harry Houdini the greatest magician and escape
artist of all time, taking his audiences on a heart stopping ride with
his superhuman stunts and death defying feats. More than just a
vaudeville magician with a bag of parlor tricks, Houdini was an
outsized personality the likes of which the world had never seen.
Brashly challenging his audience to find a restraint, any restraint,
that could hold him. Nothing could hold Harry Houdini and no one knew
how he did it. Now nearly 80 years after his death a one of a kind
public auction of Houdini’s magic memorabilia offers the faithful and
the curious a glimpse of the secrets he left behind.
This special program, hosted by renowned magician Lance Burton,
explores the life and magic of the great escape artist through his most
prized possessions--the Chinese Water Torture Cell, the Milkcan, his
straitjackets and handcuffs, and lockpicks that were "key" to his
handcuff escapes--all revealed to the public for the first time.
HOUDINI also unlocks secrets of the man--brash showman, fierce
competitor, loyal son and husband. Interviews include his great-nephew
and the last surviving member of his magic troop.
This show will trace the development of entertainment magic throughout the world, from its earliest roots in religious ritual and tribal shamanism to today's international stars of Las Vegas and television.
"Nobody wants a man to fall to his death but they want to be there when it happens."
-Houdini
There is one kind of magic that put the magician in danger or appears to. This is the story of how dangerous magic has been defined by one man legacy for more than one hundred years.
Featuring Stars in BBC - Dangerous Magic:
Harry Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, Pen & Teller, David Blaine, James Randi, Robert Gallup, Mick Mangan, Todd Robbins, John Fisher, Harry Kellar, Pete McCahon, Ruth Brandon, Thomas Solomon, Alan Alan
Check out the rest of The History of Magic Series:
This show will trace the development of entertainment magic throughout the world, from its earliest roots in religious ritual and tribal shamanism to today's international stars of Las Vegas and television.
Magic is the opposite of science. Science says that matter cannot be created yet the magician goes disappearing things so easily.
This is the story of how the magician has taken the scientific advantages and use them to conjure up a new ways to make things appear and disappear.
Featuring Stars in BBC - Disappearances:
David Copperfield, Masked Magician, Val Valentino, Paul Daniels, Pen & Teller, Ali Bongo, Douglas Leferovich, Doug Henning, Franz Harary, Robert Houdin, Stodare, Maskelyne & Cooke, Dr Walford Bodie, David Devant, Mark Wilson, John Fisher, Charles Reynolds, Prof. Edwin Dawes, Jim Steinmeyer, Paul Kieve, John Gaughan, John Salisse, and more.
Check out the rest of The History of Magic Series:
This show will trace the development of entertainment magic throughout the world, from its earliest roots in religious ritual and tribal shamanism to today's international stars of Las Vegas and television.
On all form of magic, close up is the oldest, the simplest, and the purest. At its heart there is trick that hardly change for thousand of years.
Featuring Stars in BBC - Close Up Magic:
Jason Latimer, Penn and Teller, Fay Presto, Paul Zenon, Michael Ammar, Guy Hollingworth, John Fisher, Paul Daniels, Eugene Burger, Dai Vernon, Channing Pollock, Lance Burton, Bob Arno, Erdnase, Max Mallini, Pete McCahon, Slydini, David Blaine, and more.
Check out the rest of The History of Magic Series:
This footage probes the still-mysterious secrets of the world's greatest escape artist, Harry Houdini. Including the theory that Houdini came back after death.
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