The mystery of history’s most magical Jew deepens with the release of “The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America’s First Superhero” and its revelation that Harry was more than just a meshugenneh meglomaniac.

Authors William Kalush and Larry Sloman sifted through more than 700,000 pages of information about Harry to compile the book, including a diary from British secret agent William Melville, and concluded that while the magician was entertaining the masses in the 1920’s, he was also spying for the British government, infiltrating Russian anarchists and chasing American counterfeiters.

Perhaps we’ll find out in a few decades that David Blaine’s shenanigans were really just a cover for anti-terrorism activities in Manhattan?

The book also implies that Houdini’s Halloween death was actually a murder by a group of spiritual believers, whose seance shenanigans he debunked loudly. And another tidbit:
The AP article reveals Teller, the extremely quiet half of the edgy magical duo Penn & Teller, as a descendant of Houdini’s.