houidini

[bobtheduck]

did he ever fail an escape?

[Ember]

Yes, it killed him

[Ember]

Sorry wrong information, that was the Houdini film starring Tony Curtis when he died in the water tank, It is believed that he died when a student punched him in the abdomen and it is said he died from a ruptured appendix, but that again may by a myth, not everyone concurs with this.

[norfolk boy]

When he was buried six foot under!

[bernardo]

I have heard the "punched in the stomach" story many times over the years, so I would be surprised if it were only an urban myth. AFAIK, he was approached after a show by a student who wanted him to demonstrate his strength, but who started punching him before he had a chance to tense up in preparation.

[Houdi]

He died from diffuse peritonitis - you can check his death certificate. He did receive a blow to his abdomen shortly before his death but it is unlikely that this actually caused him to die. He would have been suffering from peritonitis before he was punched. He did have a bad experience with being buried alive. He became very famous for a stunt that Blaine imitated years later in which he was buried in a box. Before Houdini tried that, he experimented with simply sitting in a hole in the ground and being covered with earth. He underestimated how difficult it would be to push back through the earth. Also, he was overcome by fumes while escaping from a tank full of beer during a promotional stunt.