Web Page No 2706

25th July 2020

1st Picture. David Bergalss

2nd Picture. In Brighton 1957

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 3rd Picture. With Ruth his wife

4th Picture. Marvins Magic Set

David Berglas MBE (born 30 July 1926)

There was a time in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s that Davis Berglas the magician and mentalist was for ever on our screens. His secret technique of locating a particular card within a pack has been described as the Holy Grail of card magic. He was one of the first magicians to appear on UK television.

He was educated in several different European countries being of the German-Jewish faith he had escaped to Britain from Germany, aged 11. At 16 he wanted to become a Spitfire pilot. He lied about his age and managed to join the RAF. When his true age was discovered he was not allowed to complete his training.

Still keen to be part of the war, he discovered that the American Army was urgently looking for suitable recruits for an important role in the denazification of Germany. The requirements were quite stringent. They had to have some previous military training, and to be able to pass strict physical and mental tests. Most importantly they had to speak two languages besides English, one of which had to be fluent German. The required minimum age was 21. He explained that he was only 19 but could meet all the other qualifications. He was accepted into the Intelligence Service of the US Army, serving an 'adventure filled' 18 months at the end of WWII. He then attended Bradford Technical College to study textiles with a view of joining his family business based in Wyke.

He first became interested in magic in 1947, through a chance meeting with magician Ken Brooke. Magic became an all-absorbing hobby for five years, during which time he studied psychotherapy, specialising in medical hypnosis. Although never performing as a stage hypnotist, his demonstrations gave him the experience of standing in front an audience and handling volunteers on stage. This gave him the confidence when he became a professional magician in 1952, working nightclubs and then in 1953 appearing at the Windmill Theatre, performing 6 times a day, 6 days a week, for 6 weeks. This was followed by an extensive tour of all the leading variety theatres and night clubs.

He devised numerous unique and entertaining sales presentations and product launches for household name brands. His specialised seminars included personal development, motivation, and memory systems.

David Berglas is the father of Marvin Berglas of Marvin's Magic, the world's largest supplier of professional magic sets. He is also uncle of South African cartoonist Zapiro.

In the 1950s, he had created what is now referred to as the "Holy Grail" of card magic, known as "The Berglas Effect",in which a magician appears to allow someone to freely name any playing card and freely select any position in a deck ("any card at any number"), and the specified card is found at the specified position in a random deck. The effect was first named "The Berglas Effect" by Jon Racherbaumer in his 1984 book At The Table.

The British Magical Society is the oldest magic club in the UK. It presents 'The David Berglas Trophy' annually (since 1988) to leading British magicians.

In 1999 he established a non-profit organisation called the Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic (FP-AM). The Foundation presents "The David Berglas International Magic Award" annually at the International Magic Convention in London. In 2008 the award went to to Uri Geller (Israel), to David Copperfield (USA) in 20090 to Juan Tamariz (Spain) in 2010 to Derren Brown (UK) in 2011 to Jeff McBride (USA) in 202 and in 2013 Lu Chen (Taiwan)David . In 2014 the award was given to Berglas himself. The Award Committee had led him to believe that the award was being presented to Dynamo. Dynamo presented the award to him but used sleight-of-hand to change the engraved plaque on the award to Berglas' name.

He has been involved with numerous major films, acting as a creative consultant and technical advisor

He actually first became a household name in Britain through his regular performances on BBC radio, an unusual role for a magician. He conducted what he called "Nationwide Psychological Experiments", involving millions of listeners in their homes. This part of the show required listeners to write in to confirm their reaction. To this day the BBC's archives have recorded this as being the largest collection of fan mail ever received. During the show's run it was not unusual for him to receive 3000 – 4000 postcards or letters per week.

His weekly broadcasts included sensational stunts, including hanging a box over Regent Street, London for a whole week. It had been officially sealed by the Diplomatic Corps of the Admiralty, and when opened, it contained the passport of a randomly selected member of the studio audience, sitting in the Playhouse Theatre by the Embankment. The passport had disappeared just moments before.

He appeared on radio, on and off, for about 17 years and when commercial radio first started he had a regular phone-in programme, late at night on LBC which started in 1973.

He was one of the first magicians to appear on British television with his own show Meet David Berglas in 1954, which regularly attracted audiences of over 19 million viewers. Numerous other television series followed and were highly acclaimed in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Germany. Commercial television started in the UK in September 1955 and the first ever series was presented by Berglas on Associated Rediffusion called Focus on Hocus.

In the 1970s he presented a one-hour television special from Las Vegas and in the UK he caused a sensation with his Channel 4 series The Mind of David Berglas (1985–1986) where he interviewed and entertained celebrity guests including Omar Sharif, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Peter Cook, Graham Chapman and Max Bygraves.

In 1967, after his popular Dutch television series 'OPUS 13', he was named "Television Personality of the Year", the first time it had ever been awarded to a foreign celebrity. In 1979 he was voted "King Rat" of the Grand Order of Water Rats, the world's leading show business charity organisation. He is a past President of The Magic Circle (1989–1998). On Christmas Day 1991 he was surprised by Michael Aspel when he became the subject of television's This Is Your Life.

The Magic Circle presented him with the coveted "Gold Medal" in the 2000 (which at the time had only been presented six times before, since 1926). In 1995 he received The "Maskelyne Award" for outstanding contribution to British magic and in October 2011, received The Magic Circle's highest international award, The David Devant.

He has also been honoured internationally including the "Gold Plaque" in Sweden, 1980 and the prestigious gold "Grolla" in Italy, 2008. The Academy of Magical Arts, Hollywood, awarded him a "Special Fellowship" in 2000, and the "Masters Fellowship" in 2004. In 2008 he was bestowed the "Griffin Award" and named "Grand Master of Mystery" by PSYCRETS (The British Society of Mystery Entertainers). He was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Session Convention in Gloucester, January 2011. At the Edinburgh International Magic Festival in 2013, he was the recipient of The Great Lafayette Award. In 2014, he was awarded The International Magic Award, at the International Magic Convention, London 

He received an MBE in the 2019 New Year Honours List.

He has been married to Ruth Shiell since October 5, 1956. They have three children.

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Peter

grseditor@gmail.com

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News and Views:

On this day 25^th July 1960;1965

On 25/07/1960 the number one single was Please Don't Tease - Cliff Richard & the Shadows and the number one album was South Pacific Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Rawhide (ITV) and the box office smash was Psycho. A pound of today's money was worth £13.68 and Tottenham Hotspur were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Plastic carrier bags introduced.

On 25/07/1961 the number one single was You Don't Know - Helen Shapiro and the number one album was Black & White Minstrel Show - George Mitchell Minstrels. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was One Hundred and One Dalmations. A pound of today's money was worth £13.25 and Ipswich were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Berlin Wall erected.

On 25/07/1962 the number one single was I Remember You - Frank Ifield and the number one album was West Side Story Soundtrack. The top rated TV show was Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was Lawrence of Arabia. A pound of today's money was worth £12.89 and Everton were on the way to becoming the Season's Division

On 25/07/1963 the number one single was Sweets For My Sweet - Searchers and the number one album was Please Please Me - The Beatles. The top rated TV show was Coro nation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Great Escape. A pound of today's money was worth £12.64 and Liverpool were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.

On 25/07/1964 the number one single was Do Wah Diddy Diddy - Manfred Mann and the number one album was A Hard Day's Night - Beatles. The top rated TV show was Conservative Party Political Broadcast (all channels) and the box office smash was Dr Strangelove. A pound of today's money was worth £12.24 and Manchester United were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions.The big news story of the day was Portabl e TVs launched.

On 25/07/1965 the number one single was Help - The Beatles and the number one album was Liverpool. The top rated TV show was "Coronation Street (Granada) and the box office smash was The Sound of Music. A pound of today's money was worth £not very interesting and 11.69 were on the way to becoming the Season's Division 1 champions. The big news story of the day was Riviera Police (AR)".