

Hyman also had an interest in magic, and the two began performing together, calling themselves "Brothers Houdini," after the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin. In New York, Ehrich worked as an electric driller, messenger, newsboy, tie-lining cutter, and magician called "Eric the Great." He met Jacob Hyman at the H. The family had since moved to New York City in the hopes that Mayer Weiss would find a better occupation there. In 1886, at the age of twelve, Ehrich ran away from home, claiming that wanderlust took hold of him, but returned home to his family a few months later. Even at an early age he was drawn to performing, and made his debut in a neighborhood circus at the age of nine as a trapeze artist and contortionist, calling himself "The Prince of the Air." Partly due to his father's inability to secure a stable source of income, Houdini was forced to work from an early age to help the family make ends meet.
