Ali Bongo was one of Britain’s most popular stage magicians in the 1960s but it was his work as an adviser to other magicians and television shows involving magic that he became most successful. He was for many years associated with the conjuror David Nixon, one of television’s earliest celebrities. He taught tricks to the actor Robert Lindsay when he appeared in the role of Fagin in the musical Oliver! at the London Palladium and worked on the popular children’s television series, Ace of Wands. Ali Bongo was also the original inspiration for the character of Jonathan Creek, played by the actor Alan Davies, in the eponymous television drama series.
As one of its most respected members, Bongo was elected president of the Magic Circle in 2008.
Ali Bongo was the stage name of William Oliver Wallace, but throughout his career he was rarely referred to by his real name. Born in Bangalore, India, Ali’s parents were Scottish and Irish. He performed his first magic trick at the age of 5, which he learnt from the children’s page of The Times of India. He was educated at garrison schools in India, then at Sutton Valence School in Kent.
He acquired the Ali Bongo name from a character he played in a national youth club pantomime as a teenager. After National Service he moved to London where he worked in various spheres of magic including as a prop-maker. A gifted cartoonist, he illustrated several books about magic and eventually became the manager of the magic department in Hamley’s toy shop in Regent Street.
By the 1950s Ali was working as a magician in variety theatres and clubs throughout the country. Billed as “The Shriek of Araby” he wore outrageously colourful costumes and his act was a combination of brilliantly mimed, zany comedy with expertly performed magic tricks. Casseroles of fire turned into colourful displays of doves and silks, bouquets of flowers changed colour, ladies were sawn in half and he involved his audiences with hilarious mind-reading feats. Like many magicians of his era, Ali was loath to reveal the tricks of his trade to the general public. “It’s long training,” he said. “You have to know about chemicals, electricity, lighting, mechanics and music. You need an analytical mind to understand how things work.”
At the height of his stage career he had his own BBC TV series, Ali Bongo’s Cartoon Carnival, but a turning point came in the late Sixties when David Nixon invited him to become an adviser on such television programmes as David Nixon’s Magic Box and The David Nixon Show. A former stage partner of Norman Wisdom, Nixon went on to become one of television’s most famous magicians. His naturally shy, avuncular personality caught the public imagination and with the introduction into his shows of the fox puppet, Basil Brush, he became a household name.
Ali worked on nine series of television shows with Nixon, as well as acting as adviser on Ace of Wands (1970-72), a Thames Television children’s adventure series in which a young stage magician tackled crime and evil in his spare time.
The programme helped to popularise magic as a hobby and Ali wrote several paperbacks for children on the subject. He also endorsed a bestselling toy, which was sold as Ali Bongo’s Box of Tricks.
Ali travelled extensively throughout the world acting a consultant to many internationally famous magicians, most notably David Copperfield in Las Vegas. During the 1980s he worked closely with Paul Daniels on the his television programmes, Paul Daniel’s Secrets. He appeared at many magic conventions, often dressed in garish red suits and sporting a flowery bow tie.
In 1997 David Renwick, the writer and creator of the BBC comedy drama Jonathan Creek, said that he had based the lateral-thinking character of Creek on Ali Bongo: “I’ve always felt that a good detective character should have some kind of very special mental acuity and I thought that someone who was in the process of constructing illusions would possess the wherewithal to deconstruct crimes that were totally baffling.”
Ali continued to be in demand both as an adviser and as a performer for several years despite being involved in a serious car crash in June 2003. He and a fellow magician, Jack Devlin, were due to perform at a charity function at Prince Charles’s Highgrove Estate when a lorry hit the side of his Daimler. Both men were taken to hospital, but were released later.
A popular figure at many showbusiness functions in London Ali Bongo was a past president of the Concert Artistes Association and a member of the Inner Magic Circle. Once asked about his profession he said: “I won’t tell people how it’s done. But most of it isn’t dangerous. You’d be surprised how easy it is to convince the majority of people of magic.”
His sister predeceased him. A niece and a nephew survive him.
Ali Bongo (William Wallace), magician, was born on December 8, 1929. He died of pneumonia on March 8, 2009, aged 79
As one of its most respected members, Bongo was elected president of the Magic Circle in 2008.
Ali Bongo was the stage name of William Oliver Wallace, but throughout his career he was rarely referred to by his real name. Born in Bangalore, India, Ali’s parents were Scottish and Irish. He performed his first magic trick at the age of 5, which he learnt from the children’s page of The Times of India. He was educated at garrison schools in India, then at Sutton Valence School in Kent.
He acquired the Ali Bongo name from a character he played in a national youth club pantomime as a teenager. After National Service he moved to London where he worked in various spheres of magic including as a prop-maker. A gifted cartoonist, he illustrated several books about magic and eventually became the manager of the magic department in Hamley’s toy shop in Regent Street.
By the 1950s Ali was working as a magician in variety theatres and clubs throughout the country. Billed as “The Shriek of Araby” he wore outrageously colourful costumes and his act was a combination of brilliantly mimed, zany comedy with expertly performed magic tricks. Casseroles of fire turned into colourful displays of doves and silks, bouquets of flowers changed colour, ladies were sawn in half and he involved his audiences with hilarious mind-reading feats. Like many magicians of his era, Ali was loath to reveal the tricks of his trade to the general public. “It’s long training,” he said. “You have to know about chemicals, electricity, lighting, mechanics and music. You need an analytical mind to understand how things work.”
At the height of his stage career he had his own BBC TV series, Ali Bongo’s Cartoon Carnival, but a turning point came in the late Sixties when David Nixon invited him to become an adviser on such television programmes as David Nixon’s Magic Box and The David Nixon Show. A former stage partner of Norman Wisdom, Nixon went on to become one of television’s most famous magicians. His naturally shy, avuncular personality caught the public imagination and with the introduction into his shows of the fox puppet, Basil Brush, he became a household name.
Ali worked on nine series of television shows with Nixon, as well as acting as adviser on Ace of Wands (1970-72), a Thames Television children’s adventure series in which a young stage magician tackled crime and evil in his spare time.
The programme helped to popularise magic as a hobby and Ali wrote several paperbacks for children on the subject. He also endorsed a bestselling toy, which was sold as Ali Bongo’s Box of Tricks.
Ali travelled extensively throughout the world acting a consultant to many internationally famous magicians, most notably David Copperfield in Las Vegas. During the 1980s he worked closely with Paul Daniels on the his television programmes, Paul Daniel’s Secrets. He appeared at many magic conventions, often dressed in garish red suits and sporting a flowery bow tie.
In 1997 David Renwick, the writer and creator of the BBC comedy drama Jonathan Creek, said that he had based the lateral-thinking character of Creek on Ali Bongo: “I’ve always felt that a good detective character should have some kind of very special mental acuity and I thought that someone who was in the process of constructing illusions would possess the wherewithal to deconstruct crimes that were totally baffling.”
Ali continued to be in demand both as an adviser and as a performer for several years despite being involved in a serious car crash in June 2003. He and a fellow magician, Jack Devlin, were due to perform at a charity function at Prince Charles’s Highgrove Estate when a lorry hit the side of his Daimler. Both men were taken to hospital, but were released later.
A popular figure at many showbusiness functions in London Ali Bongo was a past president of the Concert Artistes Association and a member of the Inner Magic Circle. Once asked about his profession he said: “I won’t tell people how it’s done. But most of it isn’t dangerous. You’d be surprised how easy it is to convince the majority of people of magic.”
His sister predeceased him. A niece and a nephew survive him.
Ali Bongo (William Wallace), magician, was born on December 8, 1929. He died of pneumonia on March 8, 2009, aged 79
