2007-03-30 14:47:35 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
81 years after Houdini, born Ehrich Weiss, died under mysterious circumstances, a team of anthropologists, pathologists and toxicologists are again hoping to resurrect the escapologist — this time, by disinterring his body from the Glendale cemetery where he was buried.
At a widely hyped press conference last week, Houdini’s grandnephew, George Hardeen, announced plans to exhume the body in order to determine whether his ancestor was poisoned by rivals — a theory first advanced in a 2006 biography, “The Secret Life of Houdini.” No autopsy was performed on the magician, but popular lore holds that he died from an inflamed appendix, after suffering an unexpected blow to the stomach while playfully sparring with a college student in Montreal.
“We now know that explanation is medically impossible — you can’t rupture an appendix with blunt trauma,” said Joseph Tacopina, a Manhattan lawyer, who is seeking permission from a Queens County judge this week to exhume the body. “Doctors relied on anecdotal evidence to make that determination,” he added. “But we have solid evidence showing that there was ample motive to murder Houdini.”
He died unexpectedly from conditions related to peritonitis, or inflammation caused by an infection of the digestive organs. Houdini’s death came one week after a Canadian college student named Joselyn Whitehead punched him in the stomach without warning in an apparent effort to test his claims of being able to withstand any blow to the upper body.
2007-03-30 14:54:57 · answer #1 · answered by Faye H 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Apparently there is going to be an autopsy to answer that very question. Houdini's great nephew is raising questions about his uncle's death, and seeking an analysis to determine if the magician was murdered.
The "official" cause of death was internal injuries resulting from being struck shortly before a dangerous underwater stunt.
2007-03-30 22:02:48 · answer #2 · answered by parrotjohn2001 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In a really stupid way! He was performing his act, and afterwards was talking to some college students. He challenged them to punch him as hard as they could in his stomach. He had a trick by which he could tighten his stomach muscles so they were practically impenetrable. The problem is that one of the guys he challenged punched him immediately, before he could maneuver his stomach the proper way. The punch broke one of his vital organs.
2007-03-30 21:53:53 · answer #3 · answered by holacarinados 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
The official cause of death was peritonitis caused by appendicitis.
2007-03-30 21:56:57 · answer #4 · answered by chamuka18 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He drowned
2007-03-30 23:21:46 · answer #5 · answered by havenjohnny 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
2 ppl up was right, college students killed him before he tightened his muscles.
2007-03-30 21:55:56 · answer #6 · answered by CarlosTheRed 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
it was from problems with his appendix...
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/houdini.asp
2007-03-30 21:53:48 · answer #7 · answered by Joy A 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He was poisoned.
2007-03-31 00:13:51 · answer #8 · answered by Hoss 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
he drown during a failed magic trick
2007-03-30 21:51:10 · answer #9 · answered by jcresnick 5 · 0⤊ 9⤋