Lucky Fordali  1917–2000

Biography

He made his first appearance on Maltese Television in the early eighties. Lucky Fordali was on a short visit to Malta, his country of birth and childhood and, since he was well-known by the popular comedians here, he was invited to take part in a current T.V. programme.

He was born Fortunato Dalli on the 19th October 1917 to Angelo Dalli, a builder of churches and a maker of religious statues and to Angela nee Sciberras, a teacher. Being the third of six brothers and two sisters who were all inclined towards learning, and having a younger brother by five years, Zaren, becoming a prominent politician with a street named after him when he died in 1966, Lucky was considered the ‘black sheep’ of the family since the only ambition he had when he was quite young, was to become a magician.

He must have been inspired by a magician, part of an Italian troupe that had visited Malta. He wanted to discover more about this art and he bought a book for sixpence and he was hooked. His parents both died in the same year, 1936, when Lucky was about 18 and he chose to abandon his studies that he had been pursuing in a private school in the Tarxien area.

He gave his first public performance in a small hall in Birzebbuga and later amused the troops and the civilians between Air Raids during the Second World War. Before the War he used to entertain as a clown and stilt-walker especially during the traditional Carnival festivities. However, he didn’t make a bundle from shows at that time so he decided not to put all his eggs in one egg-bag and doubled as a meter reader with the Water & Electricity department. In 1948, when he saw that he couldn’t further his career in magic in these small islands he decided to try his luck in Australia.

Another great magician continued to inspire him there. Maurice Rooklyn (1905 – 92) was a British born magician who became highly successful in Australia where he emigrated at the age of five. He had his own touring show and in 1958 won the FISM prize for manipulation. Although Lucky had no intention of imitating either Rooklyn’s manipulation or his disastrous bullet-catch stunt, he hailed Rooklyn as his hero.

Nevertheless, even in Australia, the chances of becoming illustrious and a fully-fledged magical entertainer in a flash were very slim. So, in the interim, he tried out various occupations among them steering buses and instructing new drivers. At first he intended to go for just a straight magic act but one night he slipped up badly and unintentionally had the audience rolling in the aisles. He decided to lean towards comedy.

A sharp wit has been Lucky’s forte and it was this that brought him so much fame. In the late eighties he planned to re-settle back in Malta and he lived in Santa Lucia for a few years. In 1990 he was one of the guest performers at a formal dinner organized by the Malta Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians at the Preluna Hotel with the International President Tony Shelley as guest of honour. The latter was so amused at this performance that he had tears of laughter rolling down his cheeks. The English writer, Willis Hall, who was also there, wrote in the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Another chap who makes me laugh both on and off stage is Lucky Fordali, a Maltese-born comedy magician for whom – and rather in the style of Tommy Cooper – the comedy takes precedence over the magic”.

“Fordali strolls onto the cabaret-stage with a bewildered expression on a face that looks as if it’s been slept-in, carrying a wastepaper basket which contains his entire act and – for reasons best known to himself – with some 40 or 50 yards of magician’s soft white rope secreted up his trouser-legs.”

“From the first moment that he murmurs “Oh, blimey!” when the act appears to be getting out of hand, he had me and the rest of the audience in the palm of his hand.”

Following the Preluna performance Tony Shelley booked him for an audience of 500 at his Presidential banquet at Penn’s Hall in Sutton Coldfield where the other king of comedy, Paul Daniels, was present.

Fortunato, a relatively widespread Maltese name of Italian origin literally means ‘lucky’ and Fordali is a combination of part of his name and surname. I’m sure he felt that this name would roll off the tongue and would be kept in mind with ease by English speaking audiences and agents.

Even so his success wasn’t merely due to being “lucky”. He worked very hard at honing his act to perfection. He volunteered for a good number of charity shows but eventually was paid well to do Children’ s Parties, Comedy Clubs, Theatres and Cruises. He even did his act for the governor general of Australia. Television became his next claim to fame and he appeared in the Ray Martin Show, the Don Lane Show, Melbourne Tonight Showcase and the Barny Crocker Show. Yet he never abandoned working for charities.

In 1994 he played the part of “Il Nonno” in a minor film called “Gino” by Australian director Nicholas Buffalo together with Zoe Caride, Bruno Lawrence and Jackie McKenna.

Notwithstanding his success he still kept in touch with his Maltese identity and had a ball working for the Maltese Community in Australia. In 1992 he worked for a big dinner in Blacktown together with Tony Camilleri and Charlie (Baby Face) Curmi. His last show for the Maltese was a month before his sudden demise on the 14th of July 2000 after a massive heart attack. This was two weeks before he had to appear in a show for the Maltese Society of the Central Coast – the only booking that, unfortunately, he could not honour.

Lucky had been married to Lorenza nee Mifsud who died in 1963 when he was in his mid-forties. Through this marriage they had four boys. When he was 54 he married Angela Goodman an Australian lady of Irish ancestry with whom he established a very happy and understanding relationship that lasted to his end. Together with Angela he came to Malta for a long stay in the 90s with a view of settling. During this visit he worked in various clubs and theatres, among them the ill-fated Eden Palladium.

He attended the Ring meetings regularly and entertained us with parlour and close-up magic. But his favourite genre was stand-up magic. In his regular act he performed an excellent rope routine that involved the Professor’ Nightmare, Cut and Restored Cord and the Professor Cher’s Rope trick which commenced as a protection against watch lifting and ended with a production of a giant watch at the extremity of the rope. This doesn’t sound much on paper but he infused it with a strong dash of comedy and a hearty sense of fun.

This is the way a magazine in Australia described his act: “Lucky Fordali opened and demonstrated his consummate ability to handle an audience. As his magic, so his manipulation of the audience through his dry comedy is the work of a pro who never lets you take your eyes off him. Laughs, smiles and wonder blend in an entertaining mix as he plays rope tricks on your eyes, conjures a dove from nowhere, turns a lighter into a matchbox, and then puts the dove in a paper bag before slapping it into thin air. The crowd bought him completely.”

Before he left for Australia he was promoted to honorary membership of Ring 202 but in Australia he had already won the Les Levante Shield in 1958, the Certificate of Outstanding Service to the Community by Warringah Shire Council in 1983 and the Magician of the year in Sydney in 1989. But, most of all, Lucky will be remembered by those who knew him for his honesty, generosity, professionalism and genuine sense of fun whether on or off stage.