Plaque: Hippodrome - Harry Houdini
Erection date: 3/10/2013
Inscription
Escape artist, Harry Houdini, appeared here February to April 1904, with the Mirror handcuff challenge.
The Hippodrome Theatre
"My brain is the key that sets me free"
The plaque refers to the London Daily Mirror newspaper which challenged Houdini to escape from special handcuffs. On 17 March 1904 during a matinee performance Houdini took the challenge and, apparently, struggled for an hour to escape. He succeeded but there is debate still about whether the Mirror colluded in the trick.
Site: Hippodrome performers (4 memorials)
WC2, Cranbourn Street, Hippodrome casino
Left to right down the plaques are: Forsyth, Davis, Garland, Houdini, which we think is the sequence of erection.
