Magic tricks info

Derek Dingle (1937-2004) was a renowned close-up English magician.

Life

As many magicians before him, Dingle’s interest in magic began with a box of magic tricks when he was about eight years old. It was on joining the Royal Air Force however, that he met another magician James Gregory of Kenilworth, England, and spent 18 months with him, 12 months in Hong Kong where they made up trick packs of cards for magic dealer W. Y. Chu. During this time Derek borrowed James’s collection of magic magazines such as The Magic Circular and The Linking Ring and his interest grew.

Dingle spent a year working in magic shops in Hong Kong, during which Dingle was practicing magic sleights with coins and billiard balls.

After leaving the army and spending a few years in Canada, Dingle moved to New York City, where he became friends with many more magicians, and where his fame grew.

Magic

Dingle was known in the magic world for his technical ability. Dingle was very proficient with difficult sleight of hand technique with playing cards and coins. Among fellow magicians, he was well known for his skill in executing The Pass (a playing card sleight where a deck of playing cards is swiftly and invisibly cut in the hands). He could perform expert card moves with no hesitation.

Dingle has magic published in several publications and videos. His most popular publication is probably The Collected Works of Derek Dingle (Richard Kaufman, 1982), which has been out of print for many years now, but has recently been re-published by Richard Kaufman.
His first main released to the Magic World was a small book written by Harry Lorayne.
Derek also released several videos which have been now transferred to DVD. These DVDs include Dingles Deceptions and Dingles Delights. He was also part of the Stars of Magic series.

Death

Derek Dingle died on January 10, 2004. His death was caused by a stroke.

The May 2004 edition of Genii Magazine featured several articles on Dingle in memoriam of his passing.