Von Fred
1938–2008
Biography
The young 17 year old Alfred Camilleri saw the first lights of the stage, as an actor with known theatrical companies of the fifties like "Stage Commandoes", "Malta Cocktail Varieties" and "Radju Muskettieri". It didn't take long until he started to play the leading role in many productions of the time. Stumbling across a book of card tricks, he became magnetised by interest in the realm of magic. At the back of this same book, he found a magic dealer's advert. He ordered Lm80 of magic in one go! At the age of nineteen, he broke into the children's entertainment circuit. Coming from St. Paul's Bay, his first show was at the Immaculate Conception Hall of his hometown.
The feedback and encouragement from his audiences led him to start doing cabaret shows in Malta's leading nightclubs. His name came in the limelight through his performances in the much-followed "Red Circle Shows". Sleight of hand being his forte, he built an act based on manipulation of all sorts and dove productions. Indeed, he was one of the first and few Maltese performers to use dove steals as opposed to production boxes. In 1965, he won the National Talent contest; Success was on the horizon, and his name became a household one due to his constant appearances. Impresarios discovered his talent and contracted him to appear alongside showmen like Rocky Roberts and Claudio Villa. From then on, whenever foreign companies landed some production on our island, VonFred was always one of the headliners.
At that point in time, having literally worked every stage and night club on the island, VonFred wanted to broaden his experience by working overseas. Indeed, he ended up performing in various nightspots in the United Kingdom and other parts of the continent. Throughout his travels, he befriended performers like Tony Corinda and John Giordmaine, who always had the kindest remarks about VonFred.
Simplicity and slick presentation were the key factors of his successful dove act. VonFred also contributed to Ian Adair's "Encyclopedia of Dove Magic". For more than fifteen years, he appeared on many major children's TV shows like "Ilgħab u Tgħallem” and "Wow!". During the run of these productions, he performed hundreds of different sleight of hand tricks. This seems to have contributed to his rise to fame. Indeed VonFred never presented grand illusions.
At the end of 2007, Von Fred celebrated fifty solid years of performing magic in public. Having released a commemorative DVD with highlights from his career, VonFred retired from performing magic. He was born on the 16th March 1938 and passed away on the night of the 6th June 2008 at age 70.
