Sunday, November 30, 2025

LINK: Hanging with Harry: Revisiting one of Houdini’s stops in Grand Rapids

Here's a nice article by Matt Jaworowski at WOOD TV about Houdini's suspended straitjacket escape in Grand Rapids on November 29, 1916. Click the headline or the image below to have a read.


While Houdini's 1916 Grand Rapids appearance is the most celebrated, the city was a regular stop during his struggling years. "The Houdinis" were very popular at Smith's Opera House and generally treated as stars. So it's fair to say Grand Rapids was one of the first cities to embrace the Handcuff King. (You can read more about Houdini's early Grand Rapids appearances in Escaping Obscurity: The Travel Diary of Harry Houdini 1897-1899.)

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1 comment:

  1. Leo HeviaDecember 1, 2025 at 6:11 PM

    Matt did a nice write up on this article! Harry tweaked the Suspended Straitjacket to the max: The Police Chief supervising the jacket strapping, and the theater house physician in attendance. Never read anything before about handcuffs being used for this stunt. I think the newspaper threw in an embellishment.

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