Culture Report

Fi l m S p o r t s D a n ce Ar t s Fo o d M u s i c

In the house
of Houdini
Hungarian escape artist David Merlini pays homage to the
late and great illusionist with his stunts and private museum
By Tibor Krausz, Budapest
THE ICE escape is a trademark fixture of
David Merlinis repertoire. It involves him
lying down in a sealed metal tank containing
400 gallons of water that is then fast-frozen
with liquid nitrogen to encase him in a solid
block of ice. Hes wearing a straitjacket for
good measure.
The hefty block is then raised upright
while Merlini, a seasoned Hungarian-
Italian escape artist, is trapped visibly inside
at freezing temperatures and with barely
any air to breathe. During the edge-of-your-
seat stunt, he will need to keep his compo-
sure and hold his breath for several minutes.
Using blowtorches, his assistants proceed
to melt off the outer layer of the ice before
one of them retrieves a chainsaw to cut into
the thawing block at front and back, creat-
ing crack lines. One false move and Mer-
lini would be cut up like a chunk of frozen
meat, the narrator related breathlessly at a
recent World Magic Awards event in Los
Angeles, where the magician showcased the
act, winning the Best Escape Artist prize.
Remember, hes still holding his breath.
He continues to do so, as do members of
the audience, while two of his on-stage as-
sistants set about pounding the block of ice
with a pair of sledgehammers. Should they
smash too hard, Merlini could end up with
broken bones. Finally, once his icy prison
is suitably loosened, Merlini pries it open
from the inside and out he steps, straitjacket
in hand, to cheers and applause.
Ive got so much from
Houdini. Ive made
money. Ive toured
the world. Ive made
new friends. And its
all thanks to the art of
escape
Two years ago, while performing the stunt
on live television in Italy, he did end up with
broken bones. As he stepped out of the col- David Merlini poses with a wax sculpture
lapsing block of ice, a heavy piece of it fell
on his right leg, fracturing both his tibia and
fibula. I was numb from the ice and didnt
really feel it, he recalls. He only realized his
leg was badly broken when he looked down
and saw it dangling at a crooked angle.
Undaunted, Merlini continues to per-
form the act, which he invented himself. I
think, he opines, Houdini would love my
ice escape.
The legendary Jewish-Hungarian escape
artist might also like the private museum
Merlini has created in his honor. A labor of
love, its a lavish, 2 million euro tribute to
his boyhood idol.
Housed in a repurposed ground-floor apart-
ment in a quaint two-story building in Buda-
pests historic Castle District on scenic Buda
Castle Hill, The House of Houdini opened in
June 2016. It pays homage to Harry Houdi-
ni, who was born in Budapest as Erik Weisz
in 1874 and emigrated at age four with his
family to the United States, where he would
become the American Dream personified.
Hungarian-born escape artist
of Harry Houdini inside his House of
Houdini museum in Budapest

36 THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017

 TIBOR KRAUSZ

THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017 37

Arts
His inventive death-defying exploits and
meticulously cultivated daredevil persona
turned Houdini into the king of vaudeville,
who is still widely celebrated as the greatest
illusionist who has ever lived.
Houdini was a consummate showman
who didnt flinch from resorting to hy-
perbole and legerdemain, and he remains
as popular as ever with a steady stream of
books, plays and films continuing to appear
about him.
A six-minute stunt can
cost you months of your
life. You dont sleep, you
dont drink, you dont
eat. They handcuff you.
They lock you in a box.
You need to go through
a protocol of things just
to survive
His staying power in the public imagi-
nation is really amazing, says John Cox,
a Hollywood screenwriter who is one of
the worlds leading authorities on Houdini.
Its fair to say hes even more popular to-
day than he was in his own time. I think its
because his name has come to be associated
with the miraculous. Hes become part of
popular culture.
The House of Houdini itself testifies to
the staying power of the great magician,
who has been dead for almost a century. It
seems, in parts, to be less a museum than an
elaborate shrine to Houdini. Its very name
simultaneously evokes an aura of mystery
and an air of dynastic legitimacy. It duly
provides both.
Visitors gain entry via a mock-up of an
old bank vaults steel door by answering a
puzzle beside a life-size wax sculpture of
Houdini, frozen perpetually in the act of
ridding himself of a pair of manacles. In-
side awaits Merlinis private collection of
38
Houdini memorabilia. Letters penned by
Houdini. Sepia portraits of him with his be-
loved mother, Cecilia, and his wife, Bess.
Copies of his books. Contemporary posters
publicizing Houdinis various performanc-
es. A variety of props used in Houdini,
the 2014 History Channel miniseries, which
was filmed in Budapest and stars Jew-
ish-American actor Adrien Brody, whose
mother was born in the Hungarian capital.
I believe in the energy of objects, says
Merlini, who served as a technical adviser
for the series. He helped train Brody and
design magic effects, for which he used
replicas of Houdinis stage props, including
his famed Chinese Water Torture Cell and
a brightly painted milk can that is now on
display in his museum.
I like to hold old objects, inspect them and
learn the history behind them, he elucidates,
indicating the milk can, the original of which
Houdini used in his famous milk can es-
cape, a stunt that saw him make his way out
of the water-filled can after being squeezed
and locked into it in handcuffs. Many of
Houdinis props were real works of art.
They were also ingenious. The best es-
cape stunts are meticulously designed and
choreographed with painstaking attention
to every last detail. Beyond athletic feats of
endurance and steely nerves, they require
plenty of ingenuity.
Take the straitjacket Merlini wears in his
ice escape. It seems to bind him, adding
an extra hurdle he must overcome to break
free. In fact, the padded jacket helps insu-
late him against the freezing cold within
the ice, where he needs to stay still for long
minutes.
In this, too, Houdini was a trailblazer a
restless innovator and clever inventor. He
designed new handcuffs, devised a special
diving suit that allowed its wearer to slip
out of it underwater, and invented a magi-
cians belt that rotated on ball bearings, al-
lowing him to access picks and keys stored
in its hidden compartments by manipulating
it with his elbows while his wrists were tied.
Yet, Houdini kept many of his inventions
secret. So secret, in fact, that it remains a puz-
zle how he pulled off some of his greatest il-
lusions, including The Vanishing Elephant,
THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017
in which he made a five-ton pachyderm dis-
appear in New Yorks 5,300-seat Hippodrome
Theater in 1918 right in front of a stupefied
audience. (He used a specially built jum-
bo-sized cabinet, which has since been lost.)
Unlike [those of] other magicians of his
time, Houdinis feats are still baffling and
awe-inspiring even to a modern audience,
says Cox, who lives in Los Angeles, from
where he runs Wild About Harry, a pop-
ular website devoted to the legendary illu-
sionist. We still puzzle over how he could
escape from a locked prison cell after he
has been stripped and searched. Hes con-
temporary in that way, Cox explains. His
life story continues to evolve along with his
legend. Im constantly learning new things
about him.
FOR HIS fans, even simple objects Houdi-
ni once owned are imbued with his magic.
At pride of place among the exhibits in The
House of Houdini, within a custom-made
display case with bulletproof glass and mi-
croclimate humidity control, is the Weisz
familys English-language Bible from Ap-
pleton, Wisconsin, where Eriks father re-
ceived a new posting in 1878 as the rabbi of
a Reform congregation. The book is open
to a page signed by Erik, now calling him-
self Ehrich, in his cursive handwriting. Its
flanked by certifiably authentic handcuffs
and leg irons that Houdini employed in his
high-octane acts of escapology. These items
alone cost Merlini a fortune.
I did this museum for Houdini, he ex-
plains, sitting on a period sofa in the muse-
ums parlor, which is decorated in opulent,
fin de sicle style with a proper stage on
one side where 12 in-house magicians take
turns entertaining visitors. You half expect
Houdini to materialize any minute some-
how, perhaps conjuring himself into a phys-
ical form from his life-size shadow that is
painted on a wall.
Ive got so much from him. Ive made
money. Ive toured the world. Ive made
new friends, Merlini says. And its all
thanks to the art of escape. Houdini inspired
me to have this career and showed me what
was possible.
Merlini pops into his little office. Its

located behind a movable bookcase packed
with leather-bound tomes. Perching on
the top shelf is Napoleon, a tabby tomcat
from next door that comes daily to traverse
the premises and now surveys goings-on
from above with proprietorial interest.
Momentarily, Merlini produces a small case
and clicks it open to show off its contents:
11 silver spoons. Each is bent out of shape
COURTESY OF TERRI POTOCZNA
in the middle. The set is a gift he received
from one of those friends: the Israeli spoon
bender and self-proclaimed psychic Uri
Geller, whose father was a Hungarian Jew.
One wonders what Houdini would have
made of Gellers claim that he can bend
spoons with just the power of his mind.
The great magician, who himself appeared
at times to defy the laws of nature with
THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017
David Merlini performs his ice escape
stunt, during which he is enclosed in a
block of ice
his acts, famously had it in for self-styled
psychics. He dedicated years of his life to
exposing spiritualists, mediums and other
charlatans who preyed on the gullible by
claiming to possess supernatural powers.
Forget the spoons, Merlini says, almost
apologetically. But Uri does some things
that are hard to explain, he adds.
Hes less charitable about a self-professed
magus who lives in the apartment upstairs.
From his Karma Studio, the man plies
his trade reading palms, putting on hexes,
undoing curses and communicating with
spirits. Hes a dark-haired fellow who gazes
intently in his publicity photos and shares
the customary proclivity of occultists for
crystal balls, plastic skulls and tarot cards.
Hes a bully, Merlini insists. Since
Merlini refused to sell the mans magic po-
tions in his museum and asked him to stop
parking his motorcycle outside its doors,
the magus, who is a minor celebrity in Bu-
dapest, has turned on him, warning the ma-
gician about unspecified consequences.
The self-styled magus doesnt like Houdini
and Jews much either, the magician attests.
Mockingly, Merlini has placed a period
poster of Houdini at the buildings gate so
the man has to pass it daily: in it Houdini
promises to expose fake mediums and
their methods.
ITS IRONIC, isnt it? Merlini says with
a chuckle, referring to the opening of his
tribute to Houdini, the bane of psychics,
literally right under the nose of one. Talk
about coincidence!
It hasnt been the only coincidence. Merlini,
whose mother is a Hungarian pop singer and
whose father is an Italian painter, was born in
1978 on the same date, October 31, that Hou-
dini died 52 years prior, in 1926, at age 52.
Then theres this: Houdini was born in Buda-
pest and taken to a new country, the US, at age
four; Merlini was born in Budapest and taken
to a new country, Italy, at age three. In their
new homes, both boys developed an abiding
39
Arts
passion for magic very early on.
Such coincidences can be formative, even
if you dont read too much into them. There
they may remain, stored in a vault at the
back of your mind, subconsciously guiding
your choices in life.
And so it proved with Merlini. He first
came upon these parallels between Houdi-
nis life and his own, as a budding teenage
magician in the Italian town of Turin, where
he grew up, while perusing an old, dog-
eared compendium about Houdini a copy
of which he still keeps. By then, he had
been dabbling in magic for years, practicing
sleight of hand, mastering misdirection and
building his own props.
I have constantly gone
against my better
judgment because
I wanted to prove
something, because
I wanted to follow so
much in the footsteps
of Harry Houdini
When I was four, I started collecting
padlocks and keys and doing magic tricks,
he recalls, revealing yet another similarity
to Houdini, who was forever toying with
locks, padlocks and cuffs, the better to open
them at will. Im still like that, Merlini
adds. Give me a padlock and I can play
with it for hours.
He also began performing whenever he
could. During a stay in Eilat, Israel, in 1991
with his mother, who signed on to sing at
local hotels, Merlini then 13, convinced a
manager to let him entertain the guests with
his magic tricks. He offered to pay me one
dollar for each minute of my show, Merlini
says. I used the money to buy my first real
pair of handcuffs in Jerusalem.
Barely out of high school, he returned to
Budapest to pursue the art of escapology in
his and Houdinis native land. I wanted to
become a part of Houdinis legend, Merli-
40
ni says. I wanted to reproduce some of his
stunts with some new twists.
In 1912, Houdini debuted his Under-
water Box Escape, wherein he was hand-
cuffed and locked in a wooden crate that
was then trussed and chained before being
lowered from a barge into New Yorks East
River. After two and a half minutes under-
water, Houdini popped up to the surface.
Scientific American magazine declared his
stunt one of the most remarkable tricks
ever performed.
In August 1996, Merlini, then 17, had
himself handcuffed and locked in a perfo-
rated steel box that was welded shut and
lowered by a Hungarian strongman into
the Danube from Budapests famed Chain
Bridge. He freed himself underwater and
swam to the surface. He became an instant
sensation in Hungary.
It was one of my first Houdini stunts,
Merlini says.
It wasnt his last. Several Houdini-
inspired stunts would follow.
Houdini had himself buried alive, only to
claw himself out from six feet under. Merli-
ni likewise cheated death by escaping from
a glass coffin. Houdini set himself on fire to
show he could escape being burned alive.
Merlini had himself handcuffed to the steer-
THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017
COURTESY OF SUTTON IMAGES
Merlini setsa newworld record of 21
minutes and 29 seconds for holding his
breath underwaterin Bahrain, in 2009
ing wheel of a car that was doused in gaso-
line and set alight... while being hoisted 66
feet above ground by a crane, then dropped.
He emerged unscathed from the vehicles
smoldering ruins.
On the side, he set a series of world re-
cords for holding his breath underwater in a
glass tank, achieving a stunning 21 minutes
and 29 seconds as his personal best.
In 2004, Merlini decided to raise the
stakes on Houdinis old escape from a
watery grave stunt by adding some extra
Wow! effect. This time, he had himself
embedded up to his neck in a concrete cube
weighing 3.5 tons, which was then low-
ered by a crane to the bottom of the Dan-
ube while 20,000 people watched from the
banks and 2 million more on live television.
It was dark down there. You couldnt see
a thing, he recalls. We almost drowned.
He and two scuba divers waiting underwa-
ter to secretly free him, that is.
Because of the low visibility in the murky
water, Merlini used a fishing line to reel in
his two helpers so they could get to him on

A magician entertains visitors, in front of
Houdinis shadow, inside The House of
Houdini
time without becoming disoriented. They
had only a few minutes before Merlini, who
had no access to oxygen, would drown.
Strong underwater currents caught the line,
however, making it difficult to pull. Then,
all three of them got entangled in it.
In the end Merlini managed to make it to
the surface.
THEY LIFTED me up out of the river with
a helicopter. There was champagne, fire-
works, big headlines, Merlini remembers.
But you cant imagine what the fishing line
did to my hands. They felt numb, like I had
gloves on. I still have scars on my palms
all these years later, he adds, showing off
thick bands of calloused skin. The river
was cold and polluted and I got salmonella.
I was sick for months afterwards.
Then again, Houdini never said it was
going to be easy. He trained endlessly for
years and decades, pushing himself physi-
cally ever harder to the very edge of endur-
ance and often well past it.
I have struggled with iron and steel, with
locks and chains; I have burned, drowned,
and frozen till my body has become almost
insensible to pain; I have done things which
rightly I could not do, because I said to my-
self You must; and now I am old at 36,
Houdini explained.
Merlini is 38 and clearly feels the same.
I have constantly gone against my better
judgment because I wanted to prove some-
thing, because I wanted to follow so much
in the footsteps of Harry Houdini, he says.
But, at my age, now Id never allow myself
to be encased in a large block of concrete
and sunk to the bottom of a river.
The art of escapology can serve as thrill-
ing escapism for spectators but can take its
toll on its practitioners.
A six-minute stunt can cost you months of
your life, Merlini explains. You dont sleep,
you dont drink, you dont eat. They handcuff
you. They lock you in a box. You need to go
through a protocol of things just to survive.
But hes not going to stop just yet.
I guess I have another 15 years in me,
he says. Im working on a new stunt. Its
going to be big.
What stunt? Can you keep a secret? So
can I, he quips. Out of every 10 ideas for
a new stunt, only one will work is all he
allows.
THE JERUSALEM REPORT FEBRUARY 20, 2017
COURTESY DAVID MERLINI
Hell tell you all about his museum, though.
The House of Houdini, Merlini says,
has attracted some 10,000 visitors since it
opened and hes planning to launch an adja-
cent Houdini-themed caf.
His tribute to Houdini has already helped
rekindle interest among Hungarians in the
Budapest-born grand master of magic. In
November, Houdini the Magical Musical,
a song-and-dance show with live magic
acts, debuted in Budapest, selling out all its
performances.
His museum also has put Budapest back
on the map for the legions of Houdini afi-
cionados around the world. I cant believe
its taken this long to have something in Bu-
dapest devoted to Houdini! Cox observes.
David Merlini is passionate about magic,
escapology and Houdini, as well as Houd-
inis connection to Budapest, so hes been
the perfect person to build a museum in
Houdinis true birth place.
Ultimately, though, Merlini has created
his museum for a man who will never be
able to visit it.
Im not sure what Houdini would think
of my museum, the escape artist pon-
ders. Would he like it, or would he think
I was exploiting his legend? For me, itd be
enough if he was happy with it. 
41