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Fred Kaps (official name Abraham Pieter Adrianus Bongers), (June 8, 1926 – July 22, 1980) was a Dutch magician, famous for being the only magician to become FISM world champion three times.^[1] He was the creator of numerous original effects including his version of the colour-changing silks. Another popular effect he often performed was the salt shaker, in which act he poored a little salt on his empty hand, made the hand into a fist, then poured an "endless" supply of salt from his fist onto the floor, and as part of his act he would exhibit facial expressions of great surprise and disbelief, as he would, seemingly unsuccessfully, try to desperately stop the flow. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar). ... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. ... Look up Salt shaker on Wiktionary, the free dictionary For the Australian biodiversity and dryland salinity project, see Saltshaker. ...

Biography

He was born in Utrecht and grew interested in magic through performances by local hairdresser and amateur magician Verschragen, who often tried effects on his customers. Kaps would go home and practice until he knew how to perform these effects himself. Later, he also married the man's daughter, Nel Verschragen. Utrecht ( (help· info)) is a municipality and the capital city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. ... A hairdresser is someone whose occupation is to cut or style hair, in order to change or maintain a persons image as they desire. ...

After finishing his high school education, his father wanted him to work as an artist in advertising, but Bram wanted to turn his hobby into his profession. Commercialism redirects here. ... A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit. ...

Using the name Valdini, he performed at weddings and parties and as Mystica he performed for Dutch soldiers. When he had to serve in the military himself, he was put into the "cabaret group". He went to Indonesia where he retained his passion for magic through several performances.

After his time in the military it was hard for him to get a job, until he won the Grand Prix, a magic world championship, which was the start of worldwide performances. He appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in the United States, he was the guy who had the unenviable job of following the Beatles when they made their debut appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show": Beatles, Sullivan Get Back on DVD Ed Sullivan's February 9, 1964 installment truly was "a really big show. Some 73 million viewers tuned in to watch Fred Kaps' card and salt-shakers trick and Wells & the Four Fays doing their unique brand of "acrobatic physical comedy." Oh yeah, there was also a little outfit from Liverpool called the Beatles making their U.S. television debut." Fred Kaps performed for the royal families of both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Magic world championship is the title held by the winner of the International Grand Prix of Magic. ... The Ed Sullivan Show was an American television variety show that ran from June 20, 1948, to June 6, 1971, and was hosted by Ed Sullivan. ...

He was a protégé of Henk Vermeijden, the owner of a magic studio in Amsterdam, who also trained several other world champions. A magicians trophy was named after Henk Vermeijden. (who is able to write an article on Henk Vermeijden?) This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary. ...

He went on to become national magic champion twice in Arnhem (1950) and Enschede (1959) and he was the only person to win the world championship three times in Barcelona (1950), Amsterdam (1955) and Liège (1961). Arnhem is a municipality and a city in the east of the Netherlands, located on the Lower Rhine, and the capital of the Gelderland province. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Raadhuisstraat in Enschede, with the Grote Kerk in the background Enschede or Eanske in the local dialect (Twents) is a municipality and a city in the eastern Netherlands, in the province of Overijssel, in the Twente region. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (Catalan) Ciudad Condal (Spanish) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Amsterdam Location Flag Country Netherlands Province North Holland Population 741,329 (1 August 2006) Agglomeration - 1. ... 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Liège (Dutch: Luik, German: Lüttich; before 1946, the citys name was written Liége, with the acute accent) is a major city located in the Belgian province of Liège, of which it is the capital. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

Along with his appearance (spotless suit and white shirt), sleight of hand was Kaps' trademark. He would practice an effect for weeks before he dared to perform it live. He performed both stage illusions and close-up magic using a variety of props like playing cards, candles, coins, balls, dice and silks. Look up Suit in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Sleight-of-hand, also known as legerdemain, is a technique of close-up magic in which small items are concealed in and around the performers hands, sometimes by the use of misdirection, to enhance the illusion being performed. ... Magician redirects here. ... Magician redirects here. ... Lance Cpl. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

Memorial

During a closed party on March 9, 2005, a memorial was revealed in front of the house in Utrecht were he used to live to honor Kaps' contributions to magic. March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The memorial at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii commemorates American dead from wars in the Pacific. ...

Awards

FISM: GRAND PRIX WINNERS:

• 1948 Lausanne - Willane, England
• 1949 Amsterdam - Viggo Jahn, Denmark
• 1950 Barcelona - Fred Kaps "Mystica", the Netherlands
• 1951 Paris - Geoffrey Buckingham, England
• 1952 Geneva - Moroso, Italy
• 1955 Amsterdam - Fred Kaps, the Netherlands
• 1958 Vienna - Tonny Van Dommelen, the Netherlands
• 1961 Liege - Fred Kaps, the Netherlands

References

1. ^ FISM World Champions

• Freddie Jelsma: Fred Kaps (1984);
• Wie is dat nou eigenlijk? Fred Kaps, goochelaar. Interview door Hans van Assumburg (In "Lach 69", 28.11.1969).
• Fred Kaps: Seeing is believing (DVD)

External links

• Fred Kaps DVD
• Fred Kaps Official Web