I've deleted this from the ill thread as it's more fitting here in the tirbute thread!
This is so sad...
ALI was one of the nicest magicians and most helpful I have had the pleasure of speaking to. He had a n aura and a patience about him that made him not just a great entertainer but also a great teacher and adviser.
You'll be missed and my thoughts go to all those affected by his death.
RIP ALI BONGO
Quote:
In 1973, the usually unassuming magician found himself at the centre of a controversy which the Daily Mail called "the great debate of the moment". Bongo was the first experienced magician publicly to challenge the Israeli-born showman Uri Geller over his supposed psychic powers. Vowing to "put my money where my mouth is", Bongo made an appearance on the Blue Peter programme aiming to recreate Geller's spoon-bending and mind-reading experiments in front of a studio audience using only conventional magic techniques.
The experiment was a muted success – "He didn't break the fork he only bent it," complained the metallurgist Alistair Brown – but Bongo emerged from the episode as a likeable figure, self-deprecating and generous with his expertise. He had been taken to Geller's hotel by a Daily Mail journalist the previous day in an attempt to force Geller into "proving" his abilities before an expert. The Israeli psychic ordered him out of the building with the words: "I have no time for magicians! What do they know about my powers?"
SOURCE:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituar ... Bongo.html
God Bless HIM