Tommy Wonder

Tommy Wonder
Cover of Genii (1996)
Born	Josef Jacobus Maria Bemelman November 29, 1953 Lisse near Amsterdam, Netherlands
Died	June 26, 2006 (age 52)
Nationality	Dutch
Categories	Books by Tommy Wonder

Tommy Wonder (November 29, 1953 - June 26, 2006) was the stage name of Josef Jacobus Maria Bemelman (a.k.a. Jos Bema), a Dutch magician who performed both close-up and stage magic. Wonder performed in Las Vegas, Monte Carlo and on Fox television.

Biography

Tommy 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.

Because Wonder designed and developed all of his own repertoire, he was held in high esteem amongst his colleagues in magic. Wonder's 1996 two-volume The Books of Wonder are highly acclaimed.

Tommy Wonder died after a brief battle with lung cancer.

On 5 August 2006, Wonder posthumously received the Theory & Philosophy Award at the FISM World Championships of Magic in Stockholm.

Awards and honors

• He took second prize at the World Championships of Magic in 1979.
• He took second prize at the World Championships of Magic again in 1988.
• 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.
• On 5 August 2006 Tommy Wonder posthumously received the Theory & Philosophy Award at the FISM World Championships of Magic in Stockholm.

Books

• Original Magic from Holland (1977)
• Wonder Material (1982)
• Tommy Wonder Entertains (1983), written by Gene Matsuura.
• The Books of Wonder Vol. 1 (1996) with Stephen Minch
• The Books of Wonder Vol. 2 (1996) with Stephen Minch
• Misdirection Does Not Exist (2002)
• Building an Act (2005)

Videos

• Tommy Wonder at British Close-Up Magic Symposium (1991)
• Tommy Wonder's Visions of Wonder Vol 1 (DVD)
• Tommy Wonder's Visions of Wonder Vol 2 (DVD)
• Tommy Wonder's Visions of Wonder Vol 3 (DVD)

References

This page incorporated content from Tommy Wonder, a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

• Tommy Wonder's homepage (Now managed by the Tommy Wonder estate)
• The Wonder Years by Max Maven, originally published in the May 1994 issue of MAGIC.
• Cover Genii 1996 June
• Cover The Linking Ring, Vol. 76, No. 5, September 1996, HOLLAND'S TOMMY IS A WONDER! page 55
• The Linking Ring, Vol. 79, No. 9, September 1999, Memories of a Magician's Ghost, page 89
• The Linking Rings, Vol. 86, No. 8, August 2006, Broken Wand, Tommy Wonder, page 123
• M-U-M, Vol. 96, No. 3, August 2006, Broken Wands, Tommy Wonder, page 30
• Genii 2006 September, Vol. 69, No. 9, Memorial: Tommy Wonder, 1953-2006 by Stephen Minch, page 48
• The Magic Circular, Vol. 100, No. 1082, September 2006, Reflections on Magic by Michael Vincent “A Wonder by Name, A wonder by Nature, A Wonder to us All”, page 296