On this day in 1926, legendary magician Harry Houdini passed away at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. After being punched unexpectedly in the stomach while unbraced during a Montreal stop on his tour, Houdini performed in Detroit with a high fever. The blows led to or worsened appendicitis, and Houdini died at age 52 on Halloween. His last words were reportedly, "I'm tired of fighting..."
TRANSCRIPT
Today, an enduring name in escapism and debunking fraud passed away at Detroit’s Grace Hospital. Harry Houdini. While on tour in Montreal, relaxing after having a broken foot, a zealous man named Jocelyn Gordon Whitehead asked Houdini if it was true he could withstand stomach punches, and began to punch the magician in the abdomen while he was reclining, and not braced for the impacts. Houdini thought he would recover and continued on with the tour to Detroit’s Garrick Theater even performing with a temperature of 104 degrees. Sadly, the pain from the punches either caused or distracted Houdini from appendicitis. The still famous magician expired reportedly with the final words “I'm tired of fighting... I do not want to fight anymore...” Houdini passed age 52 on Halloween day of 1926 in Detroit, Michigan.