The Inseide Dope
On Sunday I came across an article on Jean Robert-Houdin. How appropriate for Christmas, I thought. Though I doubt you ever heard of him, his last name resembles one you know, and for good reason: Houdini (birth name Erik Weisz) took his stage name as an homage to Robert-Houdin. So who was he? Robert-Houdin is considered the father of modern conjuring. A 19th century French magician, he radicalized how magicians performed, as well as how they were perceived. Before him, magicians were street and festival performers, and were viewed as tricksters at best, mountebanks at worst, and low lifes any which way.