Kaye, Hamilton, 1921 - 2006
Dates
- Existence: 20 May 1921 - 25 December 2006
Biography
Born Ronald Kaye on 20 May 1921, he was known as Hamilton Kaye for magic shows and for his magic business. He also used other performing names such as Wizard Kaye, Ron Dalmo and briefly as Milton Kaye.
Ron Kaye was born in Sheffield, at Rock Street, Pitsmoor. His parents were both teachers and his father eventually became head teacher of Hillsborough School. His family moved to Crosspool in the early 1930s, where they bought a newly built semi-detached house for £550 and Ron became a pupil at the newly opened High Storrs School.
At the age of four Ron was taken to see a variety show at the Sheffield Hippodrome. He was startled when 'The Great Carmo' appeared in a flash and ran back up the aisle shouting 'I'm going home'. It was at this point that he fell in love with theatre, music hall and especially with magic. He began performing magic to family and friends, church socials and garden parties as well as other small audiences. He produced plays and organised New Year Dances at Ranmoor Church Hall. During the early years of the war he was a member of the 'Steel City Stars', a group of semi-professional entertainers that performed variety shows in many local venues including Sheffield City Hall.
Later in the war he served in the RAF and was posted to India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) where he was a member of ground crew servicing flying boats and bombers. During this time he took part in and produced concert parties for fellow servicemen.
On his return home he worked first in the laboratories at Sheffield University, then for the Sheffield Corporation Water Department, later the Yorkshire Water Authority. He was introduced to his future wife Marion, a nursery nurse, by his cousin Molly. He and Marion were married in 1953 and with their two children the family moved to Dronfield in 1960 where Marion ran a nursery school for many years.
Ron had a lifelong passion for magic and increasingly built a reputation in the local area as a conjuror and children's entertainer. He was a voracious collector of magic and also ran a magic business supplying tricks and his specialty flash paper and string. He was able to concentrate even more on magic when he took early retirement from the Water Authority. In 1982/3 he served as President of the British Ring of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
Ron actively pursued his passion for magic until a few months before his death attending magic events. Ron passed away on Christmas Day 2006, age 85.
Found in 71 Collections and/or Records:
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Handbill, Week Commencing 24 April 1950
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Handbill, Week Commencing 24 April 1950
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Handbill, Week Commencing 24 April 1950
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Poster, April 1950
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Programme, Week Commencing Monday 24 April 1950
Programme for performances at Palace Theatre, Attercliffe, Sheffield. Hilda Gregory and Lynn Andrews, Let’s Dance, Laurie Watson, Ventriloquist, Hamilton Kaye, Vera Denman, Accordion Player, The Rosinas, Acrobats, Laurie Watson, ‘It’s That Manikin’, Sandy Daw, Comedian, Jack Doyle, Singer, The Seanor Trio, Acro-Contortionists. Illustrated cover, 8pp.
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Programme, Week Commencing Monday 24 April 1950
Programme for performances at Palace Theatre, Attercliffe, Sheffield. Hilda Gregory and Lynn Andrews, Let’s Dance, Laurie Watson, Ventriloquist, Hamilton Kaye, Vera Denman, Accordion Player, The Rosinas, Acrobats, Laurie Watson, ‘It’s That Manikin’, Sandy Daw, Comedian, Jack Doyle, Singer, The Seanor Trio, Acro-Contortionists. Illustrated cover, 8pp.
Palace Theatre, Attercliffe Programme, Week Commencing 7 July 1952
Programme for performances at Palace Theatre, Attercliffe, Sheffield. Four Jays and June, Charm and Personality, Hamilton Kaye, The Magical Funster, Jack Grieve, Comedian, Campbell and Rogerson, Spirit of the Carnival, Nippy, the World’s Cleverest Dog, Archie Lewis, West Indian recording and Radio Star, Swifty, Trick Cyclist. Illustrated cover, 8pp.
Photograph of Red Hills Productions' Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, December 1945
Printed photograph of the Red Hills Productions staging of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, Christmas 1945.
Photographs, c1930 - 1949
Black and white photographs of Hamilton Kaye performing, including images from when he was a teenager and an image of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves pantomime, in which he performed. Photographs also include: nine photographs of Hamilton Kaye; two photographs of other magicians; and one digitised gag book.
Posters, c1950 - 1954
Posters for various performances showcasing Hamilton Kaye amongst other performers, from the early 1950s.
Programmes, 1938 - 2000
A range of programmes for performances involving magic, as well as other variety performances.
Ronald Kaye and Assistant Stationery, c1950
Stationery for Ronald [Hamilton] Kaye and assistant, circa 1950.
Sheffield Empire Programme, Week Commencing Monday 4 July 1938
Featuring Dante "Master of Mystery", 4pp.
Sheffield Empire Programme, Week Commencing Monday 28 April 1947
Featuring Dante, the Danish American magician. Illustrated cover, 8pp.
Starlight, Victoria Hall, Sheffield Poster, Saturday 13 March c1954
Poster for Starlight, a performance by the Sheffield City Police Male Voice Choir, Hamilton Kaye, and others at Victoria Hall, Sheffield. Blue print.
Thank You Letter for Hamilton Kaye from June Bostock, 29 December 1956
Thank you letter dated 29 December 1956 from June Bostock to Hamilton Kaye for his performance.
Thank You Letter for Ron Kay from Major-General Wilson, June 1946
Thank you letter dated June 1946 from Major-General Wilson to Ron Kay[e] for performances given during the Second World War.
The Big Top Magic Show Postcard, c1970 - 1989
Postcard for magician Geoffrey Newton for the Big Top Magic Show, '"A Treat for Children," circa 1970s - 1980s; black and white photograph.
The Fascinating Deceptionist Hamilton Kaye Advertising Card, c1950 - 1959
Advertising card for "the Fascinating Deceptionist" magician Hamilton Kaye, circa 1950s, with black and white photograph.
The Fascinating Deceptionist Hamilton Kaye Promotional Flyer, c1950 - 1959
Promotional flyer for "the Fascinating Deceptionist" Hamilton Kaye, circa 1950s, with photograph.