The Wizard of Escapology

Thomas “Tommy” Middleton (b.1901-1965)

Following the death of Harry Houdini in 1926 , Thomas restyled himself as INO, The Wizard of Escapology and claimed himself to be England’s only Escapologist. Up to this point the term escapologist was not common coinage. Practitioners , including Houdini himself , tended to refer to themselves as Escape Artists. The first act to refer to himself as an escapologist seems to have been the Australian , Murray , although some texts say that Houdini did come up with the term in an earlier interview.

Whatever the truth is , in 1927 , with Houdini no longer in the picture , and Murray a newcomer to British audiences , it seemed a safe and bold step for INO to declare his USP and England’s only Escapologist. Not only that , but he embarked on a whistlestop tour of British theatres during late 1927 and 1928 , often hot on the heels of Murray with a range of illusions and escape challenges , including the upside down strait jacket escape , which Houdini had popularised.