topic Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die? in TV and Movies

Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

depglass — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 21:57:13 GMT

I only got to watch the first night. Since it will be eons before I get to the second half, how does he die eventually, doing a stunt or peacefully in bed?

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

mewsmomtoo — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:02:04 GMT

Neither, he died in the hospital from peritonitis. The story is that he was challenged by a young man regarding his ability to absorb blows to the body. He accepted the challenge, but before he could ready himself for the punches, the young man pounded him in the abdomen.

I think it was the same night (maybe the next?) and he was trying to perform , but couldn't. He went to the hospital where they said he had a ruptured appendix. It is thought it was ruptured when the young man hit him.

That's the basics of it, I don't know what they showed in the movie and there is still some mystery about his death (some suspect his wife had some involvement). If you can find it, the show, Brad Meltzer's Decoded, on History Channel, did a really interesting episode about Houdini's death.

Hope this helps a little.

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

depglass — Tue, 09 Sep 2014 23:41:38 GMT

Yes, it does, thanks for taking the time to type that answer.

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

chickenbutt — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 00:00:21 GMT

That is basically how they showed it in the movie. It seemed that he had been doing it for a while and this guy comes up to him, seemingly with a score to settle, and sucker-punched him.

It seemed that the punch was the proximate cause of his death, so I was left wondering if that guy faced any charges.

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

wildcat fan — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 01:30:37 GMT

There are different reports about the cause of Houdini's death. I've read that he died from acute appendicitis; however, some say that this was a condition that he had before getting punched in the stomach, and the punch aggravated it. Houdini refused to seek medical treatment, and some think his appendix would have ruptured even without the blows. There's a book that was published a few years ago about The Man Who Killed Houdini. He wasn't arrested, but had a difficult life and died of malnutrition.

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

chickenbutt — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 16:56:02 GMT

Thanks for that interesting information, Wildcat Fan!

Re: Looking for a spoiler, how did Houdini die?

Jackielee — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 03:22:09 GMT

And he died in Detroit (my hometown) on Halloween.