David Berglas (born July 30, 1926) is a psychological illusionist and mentalist.
Early Life
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| David Berglas |
Berglas escaped from Nazi Germany and fled to Britain at the age of 12. He later joined US Army in WWII, as an intelligence officer, after lying about his age. He got interested in magic around 1947, when he met, and then was mentored by Ken Brooke.
Career
Known as the "International Man of Mystery", he is said to be one of the world's leading mentalists.
In his 2009 Enigma show brochure, Derren Brown describes David Berglas as "One of our greatest living magical performers" and thanks him "-for his constant inspiration and generosity. Each show is indebted to his artistry and astonishing body of work. Thank you David".
The "Holy Grail" of Card Magic is known as "The Berglas Effect" which is also known as ACAAN (Any Card At Any Number).
Some of the celebrities he has entertained include Winston Churchill, Aristotle Onassis, Paul Getty, Lord Mountbatten of Burma, the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Michael Jackson, the Sultan of Brunei and most of the British Royal Family.
In 1999 he established a non-profit organisation called, the Foundation for Promoting the Art of Magic (FP-AM). This has benfitted the magical fraternity and has donated substantial funding for educational establishments like The College of Magic in Cape Town, South Africa. The Foundation presents the prestigious 'Berglas Award' annually at the International Magic Convention held in London. In 2008 it was awarded to Uri Geller,. and in 2009 to David Copperfield.
