David Berglas

David Berglas
David Berglas (2000)
Born	(1926-06-30) 30 June 1926 (age 90)
Occupation	psychological magician and mentalist.

David Berglas (born June 30, 1926) is a magician and mentalist.

David Berglas was educated in several different European countries. He is of German-Jewish descent, and escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany, aged 11. At 16 he wanted to become a Spitfire pilot. He lied about his age and managed to join the RAF. When his true age was discovered he was not allowed to complete his training.

Still keen to be part of the war, he discovered that the American Army was urgently looking for suitable recruits for an important role in the denazification of Germany. The requirements were quite stringent. They had to have some previous military training, and to be able to pass strict physical and mental tests. Most importantly they had to speak 2 languages besides English, one of which had to be fluent German. The required minimum age was 21. Berglas explained that he was only 19 but could meet all the other qualifications. He was accepted into the Intelligence Service of the U.S. Army, serving an 'adventure filled' 18 months at the end of WWII. He then attended Bradford Technical College to study textiles with a view of joining his family business based in Wyke.

He first became interested in magic in 1947, through a chance meeting with Ken Brooke. Magic became an all-absorbing hobby for about 5 years, during which time he studied psychotherapy, specialising in medical hypnosis.

Although never performing as a stage hypnotist, his demonstrations gave him the experience of standing in front an audience and handling volunteers on stage. This gave him the confidence when he became a professional magician in 1952, working prestigious nightclubs and then in 1953 appearing at the famous Windmill Theatre, performing 6 times a day, 6 days a week, for 6 weeks. This was followed by an extensive tour of all the leading variety theatres and night clubs.

He devised numerous unique and entertaining sales presentations and product launches for household name brands. His specialised seminars included personal development, motivation, and memory systems.

David Berglas is the father of Marvin Berglas of Marvin's Magic, the world's largest supplier of professional magic sets. He is also uncle of South African cartoonist Zapiro.