Online Memorial for Ali Bongo

Just recently last March 8, 2009 one of the pilars of magic, Ali Bongo (President of Magic Circle) passed away. He lived a remarkable life as a magician, a friend and an inspiration to all magicians worldwide.

Ali Bongo (8 December 1929 – 8 March 2009) was a British comedy magician, and president of The Magic Circle who performed an act in which he was known as the “Shriek of Araby”.

ALI BONGO

picture from telegraph.co.uk

Born as William Oliver Wallace in Bangalore, India,where his father was serving as a Sergeant Major with the 1st Battalion of the Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment. He spent his early years on a British station in Trimulgherry, Secunderabad, going to Britain with his mother at the age of seven.

He created his Shriek of Araby character with a cod oriental costume (robes, golden curly-toed slippers, horn-rimmed spectacles and a headgear that incorporated a fez and a turban) and took the name Ali Bongo from a character he had created for a youth club pantomime he had co-written and appeared in while in his teens. The original character had sung a song which began: “My name is Ali Bongo and I come from Pongo, pong-tiddley-pongo land.” Among his later magic catch-phrases were “Uju Buju Suck Another Juju”, “Aldy Bority Phostico Formio”, “Hocus Pocus Fishbones Chokus”.

Bongo joined The Magic Circle in 1960 and, two years later was made a Member of The Inner Magic Circle. He won The Magic Circle Magician of the Year in 1972, the Carlton Comedy Award in 1983 and the David Berglas Award in 1991. He served twice as vice-president of The Magic Circle before being elected president on 8 September 2008.

Here’s a vid of Ali Bongo’s performance as the Shriek of Araby

At the beginning of February 2009, Bongo collapsed while giving a lecture in Paris. He was taken to hospital and, whilst there, suffered a stroke. Bongo was subsequently returned to the United Kingdom and cared for in St Thomas’ Hospital, London, where he later died from complications arising from pneumonia on March 8.

You can give your respects to this wonderful man by clicking here

References: wikipedia.com, scotsman.com,telegraph.co.uk, etc.