Harry Houdini Harry Houdini Harry Houdini (; born Erik Weisz, later Ehrich Weiss or Harry Weiss; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-born American illusionist and stunt performer, noted for his sensational escape acts. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the US and then as "Harry Handcuff Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904,
Melvyn Weiss and U.S. Attorney called the support for Weiss "unprecedented." Weiss was sentenced to 30 months of incarceration on Monday June 2, 2008. He served half of his sentence at the minimum security Federal Correctional Institution in Morgantown, West Virginia, with the remainder served under home confinement. Weiss died on February 2, 2018, at his home in Boca Raton, Florida. He had been suffering from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Melvyn Weiss Melvyn I. Weiss (August 1, 1935 – February 2, 2018) was an American attorney who co-founded the well-known plaintiff class action law firm Milberg Weiss. Born in The Bronx, Weiss