Tony Corinda

Tony Corinda, aged 80 years, suddenly died at his home on the 1st July and the funeral service was held at Mintlyn Crematorium on Thursday 15th July.

Born Thomas William Simpson, he took the name Tony Corinda  when he began working as a mentalist in the UK. In 1950, he opened a magic studio where he sold all types of magic, but catered especially to mentalists. 

From 1958–1960, whilst in his mid-twenties, Corinda wrote a series of thirteen booklets on mentalism, each one dealing with a different aspect of mentalism or an allied art. The booklets were originally published as 13 individual 'courses', and first compiled as the encyclopedic "Corinda's Thirteen Steps to Mentalism," and published in 1964 as a complete volume by D. Robbins and Co. From then the book went on to be regarded as the essential 'mentalism' read/reference book bar none. Thirteen Steps to Mentalism was later produced as a hardcover bound volume by Harry Clarke, a printer who produced many other books for magic studios at that time. Jon Tremaine and Eric Mason did much of the artwork.