Houdini’s Secret
from Guideposts, August 1996

Many years ago, while traveling with Houdini as his stage assistant, I learned the secrets of his magic. I know how he was able to escape from handcuffs and straitjackets. I was sworn to secrecy by his lawyers, and I respect that confidence to this day. But no one ever asked me not to reveal the most important thing Houdini taught me.

I was 17 years old, and we were on our way by train to the opening show in Hartford, Connecticut, my first appearance onstage. I was excited but nervous.

To pass the time, Houdini told me all about his childhood in Appleton, Wisconsin. We both grew up relying on the strong faith of our fathers, his a rabbi and mine a Methodist clergyman. Houdini’s family was poor, but no matter how bleak things looked, his father always assured them, “God will provide.”

One day there was no food in the house, so Houdini, actually young Eric Weiss age 10, went into town, put his hat on the pavement and performed some magic tricks. When his hat was half full of coins from amazed passersby, he ran home.

Just before he went inside, he hid the coins in his dark, wavy hair, the cuffs of his pants, and up his sleeves. Finally, he stepped in the door and said, “Mom, shake me.”

Preoccupied by the family’s troubles, Houdini’s mother didn’t feel like playing her son’s game. But when he insisted, she shook him, and all the coins fell to the floor. She looked at him, astonished.

“So it’s true,” Houdini explained to me on the train, “God does provide. But it’s also true that God helps those who help themselves.”

I’ve always thought that was part of the true secret of Houdini’s success.

— Dorothy Young,
Ocean Grove, NJ