He was also a keen aviator and aimed to become the first man to fly a powered aircraft in Australia. Houdini made several movies but quit acting when it failed to bring in money.

He was also quick to sue anyone who imitated his escape stunts. As President of the Society of American Magicians, he was keen to uphold professional standards and expose fraudulent artists. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's Daily Mirror, keeping them in suspense for an hour. 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. He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as 'Harry ' Handcuff' Houdini' on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up.

His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). Harry Houdini ( / h uː ˈ d iː n i/, born Erich Weisz Ma– October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts.

Harry houdini chains