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16 Facts About Geoffrey Durham

1.

Geoffrey Durham was born on 22 July 1949 and is a British comedy magician and actor who was known for many years as "the Great Soprendo".

2.

Geoffrey Durham later studied Spanish at Leeds University and then took a job as a stage-hand at the Leeds City Varieties Theatre.

3.

Geoffrey Durham worked there for 18 months, ending up as head flyman, and then left to become an actor.

4.

Geoffrey Durham dug out some of his old props and found he enjoyed learning and performing magic so much that he decided to make it his new career.

5.

Geoffrey Durham was a regular contributor to the Channel 4 game show Countdown, and his Newspaper Tear featured on the 50 Greatest Magic Tricks on the same channel.

6.

Geoffrey Durham occasionally appeared as one of the Puzzle Panel on BBC Radio 4.

7.

Geoffrey Durham acted as magic consultant on the Doctor Who story The Greatest Show in the Galaxy in 1988.

8.

Geoffrey Durham coached Sylvester McCoy in magic for the scenes in Part Four, in which the Doctor performs a magic show in the Dark Circus to appease the Gods of Ragnarok.

9.

Geoffrey Durham is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, and was presented with the Maskelyne Award in 2002.

10.

Geoffrey 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.

11.

Geoffrey Durham appeared in the 1987 film Wish You Were Here, which starred Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell.

12.

Geoffrey Durham married the writer and comedian Victoria Wood in March 1980, but they separated in October 2002 and were later divorced.

13.

In 1994, Geoffrey Durham went to a Quaker meeting and became a member of the Society of Friends two years later.

14.

Geoffrey Durham has described his life with Quakers as "the single most inspiring, moving and rewarding thread running through the whole of my adult life".

15.

Geoffrey Durham was involved for many years with the Quaker outreach programme Quaker Quest, and he remains a regular speaker at Quaker events.

16.

Geoffrey Durham has written The Spirit of the Quakers and Being a Quaker: A Guide for Newcomers.