He was the Netherlands' greatest magician of the twentieth century, but consciously remained unknown to the general public. Among colleagues worldwide, however, Tommy Wonder is considered one of the most influential close-up thinkers ever. A Dutchman who turned magic into a philosophy.
The Bemelman brothers
Born Jacobus Maria Bemelman in 1953 in Voorburg, Tommy discovered magic through his younger brother Heiko. Together they formed 'The Bemelman Brothers', a Dutch magic duo that performed in the 1970s and 1980s on TV and in theatres. Their style was new: poetic, dry-comic, with a touch of surrealism.
Tommy was the thinker of the two. He read everything, dissected everything, and revised even the most classical effects from the ground up. His approach was noticed worldwide and he began teaching at all major magic conventions.
Books and routines
His two books 'The Books of Wonder' (1996) are considered by magicians the most thoroughly worked-out theoretical works on close-up magic of the twentieth century. No superficial tips, but 600 pages of philosophy, psychology and detailed routines.
His routine 'Tamed Card' — a variation on the Ambitious Card — is considered by many the most beautiful card routine ever written. Fully structured, dramatic, and with an unexpectedly emotional ending.
- ✦Wrote: 'The Books of Wonder' Vol I & II (1996)
- ✦Famous routines: 'Tamed Card', 'Two-Person Telepathy', 'Symphony of the Rings'
- ✦Died in 2006 at age 53 from cancer
A Dutch legacy
Tommy Wonder is the reason Dutch magic is internationally taken seriously. He showed that magic was not an American monopoly; that a small language like Dutch could produce great thinkers.
His early death was a shock to the magic world. At his memorial in Amsterdam, colleagues from thirty countries were present — silent homage to a man who in his life never aimed at a large TV audience, but did change an entire art form.
Tommy Wonder proved Dutch magic can reach world-class. Silence, thought and precision were his instruments.