Randolph had an inventive mind and often used to suggest illusions and escapes for Houdini to perform.

He became an amateur escapologist himself, using the stage name The Great Randini.Īfter their first meeting, the two corresponded.

He was not only great fan of Houdini’s, he emulated him. It’s thought that Randolph was only eight years old when he had first seen Houdini perform. When Houdini was performing in Sheffield, he met a teenage boy who was a huge fan. This often took place in city streets to drum up attention for his theatre performances. He was encased in a regulation straitjacket. In this act, Houdini was suspended upside down and hoisted into the air, usually by a crane. It was when he was performing in Yorkshire that one of his greatest stunts was created – the famous straitjacket escape. Houdini was born in Budapest – the family later moved to the United States – but he often performed in the British Isles. One of the great Harry Houdini’s most impressive escape acts was born Sheffield, Yorkshire.

Houdini straitjacket escape