The International Magicians Society (“IMS”) named Turkish magician, screenwriter and professor, Kubilay “QB” Tunçer their 2009 Merlin Award winner.
This is hot news. How hot? We learned about it from the on-line outlet for Hurriyet Daily News of Istanbul but found no other outlets carrying the story, yet.
The IMS has not yet updated their web site to announce the 2009 Merlin winner.
Mr. Tunçer is a man of many skills. In addition to his award-winning magic, he writes critically acclaimed plays, television scripts, and films. If that is not enough, he is an accomplished actor and starred with the beautiful Lale Mansur in the 2002 play Ordinary Miracles during its run in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. But wait, there’s more. He is also a professor at the prestigious Bilgi University in Istanbul; plus, consults with major corporations like Hyundai and Pfizer. He vanished a new vehicle for the former and used his magic ingenuity to launch the latter’s new drug.
We hear that he may actually sleep in 2010.
You can visit his web site at http://www.kubilayTunçer .com. It is in Turkish but you can see a translated version here.
Mr. Tunçer’s world tour took him through the States last year. He performed with Jeff McBride in Magical Wonderground in Vegas in October 2008. According to the Hurriyet Daily News, he was the first Turkish magician to appear in Las Vegas.
The IMS correctly observes that the “Merlin Award to magic is what the Oscar is to the movies.” Past winners include Harry Blackstone, Doug Henning, Siegfried and Roy, and David Copperfield.
According to the IMS web site, the organization has more than 36,000 members around the world. Hurriyet reports the IMS “chose Tunçer as the best stage and cabaret magician of this year in recognition of his contributions to the art of magic, his innovative style of combining theater and magic, and his support for young magicians.”
Mr. Tunçer is the first Turk to receive the award and IMS President Tony Hassini will present the 2009 Merlin Award to Tunçer at a ceremony in Istanbul on June 12.
Oh, wait, did we say that he has his own television program on which he showcases great magicians from around the world?
We have contacted both Mr. Tunçer and the IMS for more information and will bring it to you as soon as possible. We also hope to have an interview with Mr. Tunçer in the near future.
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