12 1)Sailing back to America, Houdini amazed former President Theodore Roosevelt with a spiritualist trick on board ship. (Timeline 1912) In 1915, at a performance at the Los Angeles Orpheum, Houdini argued with celebrated world heavyweight boxing champ Jess Willard, who had refused his invitation to join the committee on stage. After Willard insulted him, Khan 6Houdini won the crowd with his comeback, "I will be Harry Houdini when you are not the heavyweight champion of the world."In 1917, Houdini lured master magician Harry Kellar out of retirement to perform in a benefit at the New York Hippodrome for the families of the men killed when a German U-boat sank the transport "Antilles." In the longest run of his career Houdini stared in the patriotic extravaganza "Cheer Up" at the New York Hippodrome. The highlights of his act were the vanishing elephant trick and an indoor version of his underwater box escape. (Timeline 1912)Houdini made his first movie "The Master Mystery." Although he was a horrible actor, audiences were thrilled by his stunts and he became an even bigger international star. The next year, a dictionary released the word houdinize, which means to vanish or escape. (Timeline 1912) A while later, Houdini formed his own production company, the Houdini Picture Corporation. Houdini started writing "The Man from Beyond," which would premiere in 1922. In 1926, after a long time out of the spotlight, Houdini creates a play, which was shown on Broadway at the end of the year. The name of the play “Houdini” was the longest show he had ever done.On August 5th, Houdini Khan 7outdid the Egyptian fakir Rahman Bey by staying submerged in an airtight bronze coffin for one hour and thirty minutes. Houdini responded to charges that the coffin was rigged by saying, "there is no invention to it, there is no trick, there is no fake; you simply lie down in a coffin and breathe quietly." (Timeline 1912 1)Later that year, the lega...
