Background
Durham was born in West Molesey, Surrey, England.
Durham was born in West Molesey, Surrey, England.
He later studied Spanish at Leeds University and then took a job as a stage-hand at the Leeds City Varieties Theatre.
At the age of ten he developed an interest in magic and performed occasional shows for friends and relatives. By the age of 13, however, that interest had waned. He worked there for 18 months, ending up as head flyman, and then left to become an actor.
After working in various stage shows for several years his interest in magic was rekindled while preparing for a show in Liverpool, in which his character performed some tricks.
He 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. 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 television 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 was 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 appeared as one of the Puzzle Panel on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 4. Durham has done some screen acting, most notably in the 1987 film Wish You Were Here, which starred Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell.
He is currently heavily involved with the Quaker outreach programme "Quaker Quest", of which he has authored the book "Being a Quaker: A Guide for Newcomers".
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. In 1994 Durham went to a Quaker meeting and became a member of the Society of Friends two years later.