Tommy Wonder (magician)

Dutch magician

Tommy Wonder (November 29, 1953 – June 26, 2006) was the stage name of Jacobus Maria Bemelman, a Dutch magician who performed both close-up and stage magic. Wonder performed in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and on Fox television.^{[citation needed]}

Wonder developed an interest in conjuring at an early age. He studied acting, dancing and singing for three years at the Academie voor Podiumvorming (Performance Academy) in The Hague and subsequently toured for two years with De Haagsche Comedie.

He took second prize at the FISM World Championships of Magic in 1979^[1] and again in 1988.^[2] In 1998 he also received the Performer Fellowship Award from the Academy of Magical Arts in Hollywood. In 1999, he was awarded Best Sleight of Hand Performer from the World Magic Awards.^{[citation needed]} Because Wonder designed and developed all of his own repertoire, he was held in high esteem amongst his colleagues in magic.^[3] On 5 August 2006 he posthumously received the Theory & Philosophy Award at the FISM World Championships of Magic in Stockholm.

Wonder's 1996 two-volume The Books of Wonder is highly acclaimed.^[4]^[5]

He died in 2006 after a brief battle with lung cancer.

Works

Wonder, Tommy; Minch, Stephen (1996). The Books of Wonder. Seattle: Hermetic Press. ISBN 0-945296-16-9.

References and notes

^ "FISM Winners — 1970 to 1979". FISM.org. International Federation of Magic Societies (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques). Retrieved 3 February 2020.
^ "FISM Winners — 1982 to 1988". FISM.org. International Federation of Magic Societies (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques). Retrieved 3 February 2020.
^ Fitzherbert, Nick (2011). Presentation Magic. Marshall Cavendish International Asia Pte Ltd. p. 90. ISBN 9789814351799.
^ Jay, Joshua (2008). Magic: The Complete Course. p. 269. in 1995 [Tommy Wonder] wrote the two finest modern works on magic.
^ Swiss, Jamy Ian (June 1996). "Featured article". Genii. [The Books of Wonder] are among the very greatest books of this or perhaps even the next, century.