Re: Houdini on the FAQ

[chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (Chris Williams)]

>Hi!
>
>> Re: Your new information on Houdini in the FAQ - Houdini's real 
(birth)
>> name was Erich Weiss.  His stage name is an homage to the great French
>> 19th century illusionist Robert-Houdin.
>
> So Houdini doesn't really have a first name. Only a real name, >which 
then doesn't really have to do anything with the name Houdini. >Hmmm... I 
think I'll reformulate the paragraph without using his > inexistant first 
name.

   No, the stage name of Eric Weiss was Harry Houdini. That's how
he was known to the public. But he was known as Eric to his wife
and mother, and "Eric Weiss" is on his gravestone. The "Harry"
was (I believe) based on a popular hero of a series of boy's
books that young Eric Weiss read.

   "Houdini" was based on the practice of making up Italian sounding
stage names at the time. Well, at least it sounded Italian to a
second generation Jewish German-American.

                          Chris Williams of
                             Chris'n'Vickie of Chicago
                               chrisw@fciad2.bsd.uchicago.edu (his)
                                 vickie@njin.rutgers.edu      (hers)