When he was 12, newly migrated from Malta and his father having died, Charles Gauci often wet the bed, so as a last resort his mother Inez took him to see a hypnotist, the Great Franquin, perform at the Princess Theatre.

Franquin’s book on self-hypnosis that Mrs Gauci bought in the foyer cured her son of bedwetting – and ignited his lifelong love of magic.

A devout Catholic, Inez Gauci thought her son was in league with the Devil.

At 16, in 1953, Charles was performing at the Royal Melbourne Show. He would memorise numbers and objects called out by the audience, then recite them back at will.

He spent his teen years touring the state. He would dress as an Indian — fire-eating and biting bullets. He could spend an entire day in a trance, lying on a bed of nails.

Mr Gauci, of Eltham, has been a professional magician for 52 years, and now spends four months a year working overseas at venues such as London’s Magic Circle Club, the Magic Castle in Hollywood and the Princess Grace Theatre in Monte Carlo.

His forte is now mind games: he calls members of the audience up on stage and can tell them which of their fists holds a $50 note and which holds 50 cents.

They call out a year number – say, “1969” – and in seconds he can draw up a grid of numbers where the horizontal and vertical digits each add up to 1969.

He is also president of the Australian Society of Magicians, which is celebrating its 100th birthday with a three-day convention in Melbourne this weekend.