Geoffrey Durham (born 22 July 1949) is a British comedy magician and actor who was known for many years as 'The Great Soprendo'.
Early life
Durham was born in West Molesey, Surrey, England. At the age of ten he developed an interest in magic and performed occasional shows for friends and relatives. By the age of 13, however, that interest had waned. He later studied Spanish at Leeds University and then took a job as a stage-hand at the Leeds City Varieties Theatre. He worked there for 18 months, ending up as head flyman, and then left to become an actor. After working in various stage shows for several years his interest in magic was rekindled while preparing for a show in Liverpool, in which his character performed some tricks. He dug out some of his old props and found he enjoyed learning and performing magic so much that he decided to make it his new career.
Magic career
He presented a magic act as an outrageous Spanish magician for at least 15 years before performing as himself. His catchphrase was "Piff Paff Poof!". As 'The Great Soprendo', Durham appeared in many children's TV shows, including Crackerjack, and appeared in theatres all over the country.
After ditching his disguise as Soprendo, Durham has had continued success in his own right. He is a regular contributor to the Channel 4 game show Countdown, and his Newspaper Tear featured on the Fifty Greatest Magic Tricks on the same channel. He occasionally appeared as one of the Puzzle Panel on BBC Radio 4.
Durham is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, and was presented with the Maskelyne Award in 2002. Durham had previously refused to join the Magic Circle because membership was only open to men, and was instead a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
