Harry Houdini a boarding house on East 79th Street. He was joined by the rest of the family once Rabbi Weiss found permanent housing. As a child, Ehrich Weiss took several jobs, making his public début as a 9-year-old trapeze artist, calling himself "Ehrich, the Prince of the Air". He was also a champion cross country runner in his youth. When Weiss became a professional magician he began calling himself "Harry Houdini", after the French magician Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, after reading Robert-Houdin's autobiography in 1890. Weiss incorrectly believed that an "i" at the end of a name meant "like" in French. In
Moses Ehrich Moses Ehrich Moses Ehrich (fl. 1850-1875) was an American businessman and underworld figure known as Old Unger who served as a fence to burglars, thieves and shoplifters from his Eldridge Street store throughout the mid to late 19th century. He was indicted four or five times on charges of receiving stolen goods during the administration of A. Oakley Hall, but always escaped conviction. Ehrich was represented by Hall in later years. In 1875, Ehrich was indicted for his involvement in the infamous Adams Express safe robbery and was accused of receiving stolen bonds and an uncut diamond valued at $800.