Detlef Jumpertz

Sim Sala Bim (the words made famous by Dante the magician) provides a nice lead-in to this week's Illustration Friday topic of magic.

The golden age of magic spawned illusionists (such as Harry Blackstone and Howard Thurston), escape artists (Harry Houdini), leviation specialists (Harry Kellar), and a set of faux oriental mystics (Okito, Alexander and Chung Ling Soo too name a few - the latter who died on stage performing the infamous "bullet catching trick"). This conjuring collective are rightly described as masters of their trade.

On the other hand, in England, after WWII, emerged one of the "worst" magicians of all time, paradoxically he also one of the best known - the late, great, fez-wearing Tommy Cooper.

He plied his trade in theatres and variety clubs before making his first TV appearance. Tommy soon became a hit with the viewing public through his combination of comic timing, panicky appearance and failed tricks. His career lasted decades, but in 1984 while appearing at Her Majesty's Theatre (the show was also being broadcast live on television at the time), he collapsed on stage and died.

For close to forty years Tommy's fez was a permanent trade mark of his act. The fez and Tommy's cheshire grin has today gained underground cult status with his image emblazoned on many a T-shirt. Indeed, my wardrobe includes a Billy Bragg (yep the singer) marketed Tommy Cooper T-shirt, whereby Tommy and his fez are screenprinted Che Guevara style on the front. The great selling point being that it "confuses student revolutionaries and members of the Magic Circle alike"!

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