Isn’t there suposed to an “i” at the end of this guys last name?
Eric Weiss took the stage name "Harry Houdini" in honor of the then far more famous French magician Robert-Houdin.
I took a look around the net, and a copy of his celebrated Memoirs of Robert-Houdin seems to be available at http://www.bibliophile.net/.
Like you, the name struck me, and I wonder if the M. Houdin mentioned in the article is related to Robert-Houdin.