Who Am I?

I was born in October of 1907 in England and moved to Germany as a young boy. My singular stage name is very different than my real name. I fell in love with magic as a young lad when my grandfather took me to see Dante. My career went a bit off-track when I was serving in WWII, was captured as a prisoner-of-war, and interned in England in 1943. As a civilian, I started performing professionally in 1948 and continued to for the rest of my life. I was awarded several times for my innovative magic-as-theater by several prestigious organizations. In 1979 I was appointed Dean for Life of the Psychic Entertainer’s Association. I have written a few books, but they were printed in very low numbers. Before I died, I made several prime-time television appearances in Germany. You might have heard about me from one of my students, who wrote a book named after the Queen of storytellers.

Who am I?
And what is the name of my famous student?