Tobias "Theo" Leendert Bamberg (1875–1963) was a professional magician. Born in the Netherlands, Bamberg performed under the name ''Okito'' which is an

anagram An anagram is a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of a different word or phrase, typically using all the original letters exactly once. For example, the word ''anagram'' itself can be rearranged into the phrase "nag a ram"; which ...

of Tokio (

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

). His father had been court magician to King William III of the Netherlands, making ''Okito'' the sixth generation in a family of outstanding magicians known as the Bamberg Magical Dynasty.

Early life

Bamberg was the son of Judic Simon Delden and David Tobias Bamberg. His family were Dutch Jews. As a young boy, Theo Bamberg nearly drowned while

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

. The accident left him almost completely

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

and as a result, he performed entirely in

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

. As a young man, inspired by a performance of the great French magician, shadowist and mimic Felecien Trewey, Bamberg developed a shadowgraphy routine which he performed professionally, beginning in his early teens.

Early career

In 1893, Bamberg created his first Japanese-style act in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

at the age of eighteen. Success was virtually immediate, but he eventually abandoned the show to elope with the theater manager's daughter. Shortly after, his new wife convinced him to change his name from "Tobias/Toby" to "Theodore/Theo". When he returned to performing, Bamberg altered his Japanese act to become a Chinese-style act to better facilitate a new illusion he had designed. Unlike William Ellsworth Robinson who performed as

Chung Ling Soo William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (). He is mostly remembered today for his extensive use of yellowface in his act to falsely represent himself to be ...

, Bamberg didn't make an attempt to hide his European identity. February 1907 brought the birth of his son

David Bamberg David Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg (best known by his stage name Fu Manchu) (19 February 190419 August 1974) was an itinerant magician who traveled with his full evening magic show from the early to mid part of the 20th century. In Bamberg's autobi ...

(who would later perform under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

''Fu Manchu'') in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Bamberg and his family eventually moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

where, beginning in 1908, ''Okito'' worked as an off-stage assistant/advisor and on-stage feature in the shows of illusionist Howard Thurston. On the Thurston show, he was billed as "Europe's Greatest Shadowist."

Later career

In 1909, through SAM, Bamberg had become friends with other notable magicians including Clement de Lion,

Nate Leipzig Nate Leipzig (born Nathan Leipziger; May 31, 1873October 13, 1939) was an American vaudeville magician who performed in Europe and the United States. Early years Leipzig was born the third youngest of eight children—seven boys and one girl� ...

, and many others. Frustrated with his lack of success, Theo sold his Okito act to a Brooklyn magician and plumbing contractor, W.J. "Doc" Nixon. It was in that year that Bamberg opened, with partner Joe Klein, the Bamberg Magic & Novelty Co. in New York City. The company was the primary representative of the German firm of Carl Willmann. While minding the store and toying with a pillbox, Bamberg invented his famous Okito box used to perform

coin magic Coin magic is the manipulating of coins to entertain audiences. Money Magic, pp. 175-221. Because coins are small, most coin tricks are considered close-up magic or table magic, as the audience must be close to the performer to see the effects. ...

. Eventually, Bamberg returned to the road (playing vaudeville and variety theatres), selling his interest in the shop to Klein. Bamberg's skills were such that existing handmade props created by Bamberg are highly prized by collectors today. Many of Okito's props were described by Robert Albo in his ''Classic Magic with Apparatus'' and ''The Ultimate Okito'' series. Eventually, Doc Nixon gave Theo the "Okito" title back. Discarding the old act, Okito built many larger effects that would make him into a legend. When he returned to Europe, success finally found him. He traveled the world working large prestigious contracts. He was reunited with his son David and made him his assistant like his father did and his father's father as well. Following a

South American South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

and European tour in 1932, Theo decided to settle down and he returned to the Netherlands. Meanwhile, David had established himself in South America and persuaded his father to come and visit him. ''Okito'' did so just as the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

invaded

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and the Netherlands. As a result, all of his possessions were either confiscated or destroyed. Theo Bamberg, known as ''Okito'' and frequently billed on posters as ''The Mystic'' ended his last years in Chicago where he won the friendship, respect and admiration of everyone interested in magic. and died in 1963. Squash Publishing is scheduled to release an anthology of selected Okito tricks, illusions, reminiscences and his never-before-published hand shadow routine.Squash Publishing: About
Accessed February 16, 2020.

Works

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Early life

Early career

Later career

Works

References

Further reading