Professional Documents
Culture Documents
(Fu Manchu)
Born David Tobias Bamberg
19 February 1904
Derby, England, UK
Died 19 August 1974 (aged 70)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Occupation Magician, illusionist, shadowist, writer, performer
David Tobias "Theodore" Bamberg (aka Fu Manchu) (19 February 1904 – 19
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
autobiography, Robert Parrish wrote in the introduction that no other great
illusionist could match Bamberg's skill. The Fu Manchu show was known for
comedy, drama, and a plethora of color.
Bamberg was the sixth and final member of the Bamberg Magical Dynasty.
They were a Dutch family of conjurers whose magical lineage was passed
from each of the first-born sons. His father was Tobias "Theo" Leendert
Bamberg (Okito), son of David Tobias Bamberg (1843–1914). Okito was a
headliner in European variety. He was a skilled mechanic and one of the
most artistic magicians.
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Syko the Psychic
2.2 Return to America
2.3 South America
2.4 Fu Manchu
2.5 Movie career
3 Last years
4 Legacy
5 Selected filmography
6 Reference
Early life
David was born in Derby, the eldest son of Tobias Bamberg, who performed
as "Okito", and Lillian Poole, daughter of Charles William Poole, one of the
brothers who ran the famous Poole's Myriorama traveling Diaroma show in
England. His father was from the Bamberg Magical Dynasty, a Dutch Jewish
family of magicians. During Okito's European tour, Lily, his wife, became
pregnant. She continued to assist him, hiding her pregnancy through her
Chinese robe. While in Russia, Lily feared that she would give birth there.
They cancelled their contracts in Russia and returned to England. On 19
February 1904, Lily gave birth to their first son. He was named David, and
would have one brother and one sister.
Bamberg stayed with his grandfather for a year, but was reunited with his
father when he fulfilled the postponed contracts in Russia. It was in Russia
where Bamberg first appeared on the stage, at the age of four, as a little
Chinese boy being produced from a cloth. It was on their way to Norway
that Julius and Agnes Zancig met Bamberg. Agnes predicted accurately that
he would follow in her footsteps, although no one else believed it at the
time.
After his European contract was through, Bamberg's father was approached
by American vaudeville agent Martin Beck. He signed a six-month contract
to play the Orpheum Circuit in the United States. He brought Lily and David
to America to fulfill the dates. With the money he made in Europe and
America, he decided to quit show business and settle in New York. He
opened up a magic shop on the corner of Broadway and 28th Street called
Bamberg Magic and Novelty Company with Joe Klein. Here he created
exclusive magic tricks for magicians such as Harry Kellar, Frederick Eugene
Powell, Bernard M.L. Ernst, Samuel Leo Horowitz, and many other leading
magicians residing in the United States.
Career
Bamberg performed his first trick in public when he was five years old at the
Society of American Magicians meeting. It was a card trick in which he asked
club president Harry Houdini to assist him. Bamberg later said that, "I
venture to say that very few magicians ever had such a famous assistant."
Bamberg said that he never went through the fireman/cowboy/aviator
phase that most children his age went through. He constructed a toy theatre
and envisioned being the world's greatest magician doing his big illusion
show.
Business was bad and ready to close. Kellar convinced Bamberg's father to
build illusions for the Thurston show, and Bamberg was to travel with the
famous illusionist, Howard Thurston and his show. In one point in the show,
Thurston asked for the assistance of a boy and a girl. This was Bamberg's cue
to jump up on stage. Here Thurston performed David Devant's trick, "Eggs
From A Hat".
Howard taught young Bamberg his first card sleight. It was during this tour
that Thurston presented Bamberg as his future successor. Thurston
promised this to many magicians including Harry August Jansen aka "Dante".
Bamberg had no doubt that one day he would be an illusionist with his own
show. Through his father's connections, he met Houdini, Kellar, Horace
Goldin, and the other leading magicians of the turn of the 20th century. In
1911, Bamberg's sister Dorothy was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan and she
was known as the Grand Rapid Baby. Thurston was her godfather. The
Bamberg family left the Thurston shortly after that and settled in Brooklyn,
New York. It was there that Bamberg would sneak into his father's magic
den by sliding under a bookcase. While there he learned from the books and
magic tricks in what he called, "this magical paradise".