Geoffrey Durham
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Geoffrey Durham (born 22 July 1949 in Surrey) is an English comedy magician who was known for many years as The Great Soprendo.
Durham was born in East Molesey, Surrey. He presented a magic act as an outrageous Spanish magician for at least 15 years before performing as himself. His catchphrase was "Piff Paff Poof!". As The Great Soprendo, Durham appeared in many children's TV shows, including Crackerjack, and appeared in theatres all over the country.
After ditching his disguise as Soprendo, Durham has had continued success in his own right. He is a regular contributor to the Channel 4 game show Countdown, and his Newspaper Tear featured on the Fifty Greatest Magic Tricks on the same channel. He occasionally appears as one of the Puzzle Panel on BBC Radio 4.
Durham has done some acting, most notably in the 1987 film Wish You Were Here, which also starred Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell.
In 1994 Durham went to a Quaker meeting and became a member of the Society of Friends two years later. He has described his life with Quakers as "the single most inspiring, moving and rewarding thread running through the whole of my adult life". He is currently heavily involved with the Quaker outreach programme Quaker Quest. [1]
Durham is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, and was presented with the Maskelyne Award in 2002. Durham had previously refused to join the Magic Circle because membership was only open to men, and was instead a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Durham married writer and comedian Victoria Wood in March 1980, but they separated in October 2002.
