Don’t come to Canada if you’re a world-famous illusionist.
NO ESCAPE
The master magician was performing in October 1926 at The Princess Theatre in Montreal. Upon the invitation of the dean of the faculty of psychology of McGill University, Houdini came to talk to the students. By most accounts, Houdini was asked by a group of students if he could take a blow to the gut and not feel the pain at all. Houdini said of course, although he usually had to prepare his muscles to take the punch. But one student didn’t give him a chance. The student, J. Gordon Whitehead, hauled into the magician without warning. Strong and about six-foot tall, Whitehead delivered some powerful blows. He socked the escape artist about four times, right in the belly, before Houdini asked the student to stop. Houdini appeared to be in great pain but went on to give his performances, despite great discomfort.
LAST EXIT
Leaving Montreal by train shortly after the incident, Houdini arrived in Detroit feeling ill. He continued to give performance there with 104-degree temperature. He went to see a doctor who diagnosed him with acute appendicitis. The doctor removed the appendix the next day. Houdini stayed in the hospital a few days and appeared to be getting better. But Houdini had peritonitis, a potentially lethal inflammation of the tissue that lines the abdomen, and his health then took a sudden turn for the worse. On October 31, 1926, Houdini died at age 52. His last words were, “I am weaker. I guess I have lost the fight.” His appendix must have ruptured somewhere between Montreal and Detroit—possibly near St. Thomas, Ontario. For a long time, people suspected that the McGill student’s punches were to blame. Ruth Brandon, the author of The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini, writes that most now believe that Whitehead’s punches could not have caused Houdini’s death. The hit could have affected the intestine, but not the appendix. Brandon believes that the magician already had appendicitis before he arrived in Montreal. No charges of wrongdoing were ever brought against Whitehead.
Play ball: The oldest baseball diamond is in London, Ontario, dating to 1877.