David Berglas (30 July 1926 – 3 November 2023) was a German-born British magician and

mentalist Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Mentalists perform a theatrical act that includes special effects that may appear to employ ps ...

. His secret technique of locating a particular card within a pack (the Berglas Effect) has been described as the Holy Grail of card magic. He was one of the first magicians to appear on UK television.

Personal life

Berglas was educated in several different European countries. He was Jewish, and escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany, aged 11. 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 Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

of Germany. 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. Berglas 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 World War II. He then attended

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

Technical College to study textiles with a view of joining his family business based in Wyke, a village in Bradford. Berglas first became interested in magic in 1947, through a chance meeting with magician Ken Brooke. Magic became an all-absorbing hobby for about five years, during which time he studied psychotherapy, specialising in medical hypnosis. Berglas died on 3 November 2023 in London, at the age of 97.

Career

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. It was first awarded to the organisers of the convention, The MacMillan family, then in 2008 to

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(Israel), in 2009 to

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(USA), in 2010 to

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(Spain), in 2011 to

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(UK) in 2012 to Jeff McBride (USA), and in 2013 Lu Chen (Taiwan) was the recipient. In 2014 the award was given to Berglas himself. The Award Committee had led Berglas to believe that the award was being presented to

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, who after receiving it used sleight-of-hand to change the engraved name on the award to Berglas's and presented it to him instead. The British Magical Society is the oldest magic club in the UK. It has awarded "The David Berglas Trophy" annually since 1988 to leading British magicians. On 14 May 2018, journalist, magician and TV producer Martin T. Hart met David Berglas over five years to film and then publish ''The David Berglas Scrapbooks'', which can be viewed on Berglas's YouTube channel or website. The videos document his life and career in his own words, with previously unseen footage and photos.

Berglas Effect

In the 1950s, Berglas 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''.

Film

Berglas was involved with films, acting as a creative consultant and technical advisor, including: * The 1967 version of '' ''Casino Royale'''', with

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and

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. *

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's '' ''Barry Lyndon'''' with

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in 1975 * Albert R. Broccoli's '' ''Octopussy'''' with

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in 1981 *

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's '' ''Willow'''' with

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in 1988 *

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's '' ''Batman'''' with

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in 1989

Radio

Berglas 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 reactions. 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 sound 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 (London Broadcasting Company), which started in 1973.

Television

Berglas was one of the first magicians to appear on British television with his own show. ''Meet David Berglas'' in 1954. 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 presented his

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

series ''The Mind of David Berglas'' (1985–1986) where he interviewed and entertained celebrity guests including

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and

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Books

In 1967, he released his best-selling Dutch book ''David Berglas onthult...bijna alles'' (David Berglas reveals...nearly everything), published by H.J.W. Becht's Uitgeversmaatschappij N.V. and in 1988 ''A Question of Memory'' (with Guy Lyon Playfair), published by Jonathan Cape Ltd. (). He has written a number of articles and lecture notes for the magical fraternity, including ''The David Berglas File No.1'' (1976) and the now out of print ''The Mind and Magic of David Berglas'' – As Revealed to David Britland, 2002, published by Jim Steinmeyer through Hahne Publications. In 2011, he released a book with Richard J. Kaufman entitled ''The Berglas Effects''. This is the book named after his "Any Card at Any Number" plot. The book has a foreword by

and an afterword by

Max Maven Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, a ...

, contains 3 DVDs and also includes a pair of 3D glasses. In 2012 he provided both a contribution and foreword to the PSYCRETS book ''Liber Mentis'' (). A mysterium of effects essays and routines, edited and authored by Steve Drury. That year, Berglas provided the foreword to ''Dunninger Knows'', by Joe Atmore

Honours

*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. *President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians (British Ring) 1976/1977. *He has appeared on the covers of leading magic magazines including ''The Linking Ring'' (1977), ''Abra'' (1992), ''Magic'' (1998), '' The Genii'' (2007), and ''The Magic Circular'' (1957, 1975, 1989, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2006). *In 1979, he was voted "King Rat" of the

Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...

, the world's leading show business charity organisation. *He was a past President of The Magic Circle (1989–1998) * The Magic Circle presented him with the coveted "Gold Medal" in the year 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 had also been honoured internationally including the "Gold Plaque" in Sweden, 1980 and the prestigious gold "Grolla" in Italy, 2008. *The

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, Hollywood, awarded David with 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 *In 2014, he was awarded The International Magic Award, at the International Magic Convention, London *He was awarded an MBE in the

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List.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berglas, David 1926 births 2023 deaths Mentalists British magicians English Jews German Jews Members of the Order of the British Empire German emigrants to the United Kingdom Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Masters Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Special Fellowship winners Entertainers from Berlin