When he was nine, friend in the neighborhood organized a children’s circus. They charged five cent. Ehrich’s mother made him a costume, and he performed on the trapeze. He called himself “Eric, Prince of the Air” and his best trick was to pick up pins with his teeth. He also performed as a contortionist. This early training on the trapeze and as contortionist was useful for him later in life and helped for the kinds of tricks that made him famous.