Derek Dingle (1937–2004) was an English

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

magician.

Early life

Dingle became interested in magic after receiving a box of magic tricks when he was about eight years old. Upon joining the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

, he met another magician, James Gregory, of Kenilworth, England, and spent 18 months with him working as wireless operators. They were in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

for 12 months, where they made up trick packs of cards for magic dealer W. Y. Chu. During this time Dingle borrowed Gregory's collection of magic magazines, such as '' The IBM Budget'' and ''

The Linking Ring ''The Linking Ring'' is a monthly print magic magazine published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for its members since 1922. It is based in Bluffton, Ohio. In 2007, Samuel Patrick Smith, a magician, author and publisher ba ...

'' and his interest in magic grew. They later met Anthony Curle, a sergeant in the RAF, who was also a magician and a member of The Magic Circle. Curle introduced them to many of the Chinese magicians, including Peter Kwok, who became a very close friend.

Career

Dingle spent a year working in magic shops in

, where he practiced magic sleights with coins and billiard balls. After leaving the Royal Air Force and spending a few years in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, Dingle moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he became friends with many more magicians, and where his fame grew. Dingle was known in the magic world for his technical ability. Dingle was very proficient with difficult

sleight of hand Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' () comprises fine motor skills used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card fl ...

technique with playing cards and coins. Among fellow magicians, he was well known for his skill in executing the pass. Dingle's magic was published in several publications and videos. His most popular publication, ''The Complete Works of Derek Dingle'' ( Richard J. Kaufman, 1982), has been out of print for many years now, but has recently been re-published by Richard Kaufman. His first main release to the magic world was a small book written by

Harry Lorayne Harry Lorayne (born Harry Ratzer; May 4, 1926April 7, 2023) was an American mnemonist, magician, and author who was called "The Yoda of Memory Training" and "The World's Foremost Memory-Training Specialist" by ''Time'' magazine. He was well kno ...

. Dingle also released several videos which have been now transferred to DVD. These DVDs include ''Dingle's Deceptions'' and ''Dingle's Delights''. He was also part of the Stars of Magic series.

Death

Derek Dingle died on January 10, 2004, from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

.Magic Week magazine
January 17, 2004 The May 2004 edition of ''

Genii Magazine ''Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine'' is a magazine devoted to magic and magicians. It is a monthly magazine first published in September 1936, currently edited by Richard J. Kaufman and owned by Randy Pitchford. The magazine is based in Washington ...

'' featured several articles on Dingle in memoriam of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dingle, Derek 1937 births 2004 deaths English magicians