Harry Houdini

Harry Houdini (1874–1926) was the most famous entertainer of his era — known worldwide for escaping from handcuffs, straitjackets, underwater boxes, and sealed containers. His feats seemed supernatural, which he deliberately cultivated, before revealing their mechanical basis to argue against genuine supernaturalism. Houdini spent the latter part of his career exposing fake mediums and spiritualists — motivated partly by grief over his mother's death and his frustration with charlatans exploiting the bereaved. He offered $10,000 (over $150,000 today) to any medium who could produce genuine supernatural phenomena under controlled conditions — no one collected. He died on Halloween 1926, ironically adding to his mystique.