4. Harry Houdini may have been a spy for the British and American governments
There is no shortage of internet sites which report Harry Houdini as having been a spy for both Scotland Yard and agencies of the US government. Houdini was among the most widely traveled celebrities in the world at the turn of the 20th century, famed for his illusions and his escapes from seemingly impossible situations. He was known to visit police departments and jails during his travels, having himself handcuffed and locked into cells, from which he would promptly escape. His visits confounded the police and generated publicity for his shows. Some claim that Houdini demonstrated to the police how he did it, which would have been out-of-character for any illusionist, but especially for him.
There is a marked shortage of evidence that Houdini worked as a spy for Scotland Yard, which in any case did little of the British intelligence work other than in Ireland and in Britain. Other sites claim Houdini was hired by agencies in the United States and elsewhere to provide training to agents in escape techniques. Once again, there is little in the way of evidence other than a speculative biography published in 2006. It based its conclusions on cryptic diary entries of Scotland Yard personnel, with references to documents received from “HH”. At best, Houdini may have passed along his observations made during his extensive travels, but evidence of his serving as a spy for any agency remains as elusive as the return of his spirit at annual Halloween seances.