Alot of people say Houdini does magic. Has Houdini done any magic? Because all I know Houdini's ever done are escapes.

King of Cards, well that explains it

Houdini was famouse for his escapes, however, he was also a very accomplished stage and close up magician. Ever seen David Copperfield's Cacoon? that is a varition of Houdini's metamorphisis

Houdini was a decent magician. He wasn't nearly as influential to close up magic as , say, a Dai Vernon, but he could hold his own.. Much of the stories I've read about Houdini have him being mostly a gimmick magician, so his sleights were somewhat less worked. I mean, he did get fooled by a double backed card once.

what were the stories you heard? because houdini started out as a sleight of hand magician then did stage, so I know he was good at sleighst

just coz he uses gimmickes doesent mean he isnt a good magician

it doesent matter if a magician uses gimmicks or not if he is successfull in the art he is a magician

The stories I heard were basically all about houdini. I read everything I could find on him as a kid.. and later. He was a great showman.. but technically, he was lacking. His skill was in the showmanship and in the escapes. Most of his shows were done in two parts.. the magic.. (which was lackluster, and received negative reviews..) and the escape (which did not). Later on, he'd add in lectures about how he debunked some seance or the other...

In one case, the gimmick was supposed to be a mechanical flower like appuratus that did not go off as planned. He responded by calling the equipment "shoddily built german parts", even though it was largely his fault for not activating it correctly.

Houdini was a good at performing his magic but he was never exceptional. His escapes were what made him the legend he is. How did he die again? I'm not sure if it was becasue of his appendix or becasue of a blow to the stomach.

Houdini was often criticized by others, about his technical skills as a Magician. However, consider this...If you were to ask people to name a famous Magician, almost always Houdini's name would be on their list.
On the other hand, if you asked the same group of people to name the most famous Escape Artist of all time...well, Houdini's name might be on their list. Quite possibly, they might even draw a blank as to answering about Escape Artists. I believe that Houdini and his recognition is seeded in Magic, by Media exposure...(his life, his death, seances to contact him) just to name a few. So, if Houdini's name is respected by the General Public, then he truly was a great Magician.

I know he used to imitate seances using gimmicks and such

yes he did seances claiming he was better than all of the mediums at the time