The Magician (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Magician was an American
television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby
as stage illusionist
Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was instead named Anthony Dorian. The name change was due to a conflict with the name of a real life stage magician.
. He discovered a way to escape with his cellmate, which began his interest in escapology
. The cellmate died and left him a fortune. The escape, presumably followed by exoneration of the false charges that had led to it, led to Blake's pursuit of a career in stage magic, which made him famous. He never forgot his imprisonment or the fact that he had not deserved it, and it motivated him to seek justice for others.
Initially, Blake used his Boeing 720
jetliner
as a base of operations; it was outfitted as a mobile residence ("It's like any other mobile home, only faster.") with live-in pilot Jerry Anderson (Jim Watkins). Blake frequently received assistance from acerbic columnist Max Pomeroy, portrayed by Keene Curtis
, and his brilliant, wheelchair-using son Dennis (Todd Crespi). Midway through the program's run, the idea of the airplane was dropped and Blake took up residence in a posh apartment at The Magic Castle
, a real club devoted to magic acts. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick, a somewhat comical sidekick played by Joseph Sirola. No explanation for the changes was given in the series. Jerry continued to make occasional minor appearances (with Watkins retaining a place in the opening credits) and Tony did recruit Jerry and Max together for one further case in the new format.
Some episodes featured Larry Anderson (who later hosted Truth or Consequences
and created the JawDroppers video magic course) as Blake's assistant.
, although it was not possible for this to be the case in the TV-movie/pilot. He was instructed in these performances by the program's technical advisor, Mark Wilson
, who was credited as "magic consultant." Once the format changed to have the hero based in a magic club, Wilson could occasionally be seen on the stage there, as well. In addition to escapes, Bixby performed feats of sleight of hand
, mentalism
, and stage illusions. After the series' cancellation, Bixby went on to host a string of magic specials on NBC
and a series in first-run syndication.
creator Chris Carter
, who worked it into Special Agent
Fox Mulder
's "origin" story: a teenaged Mulder was watching The Magician when his sister Samantha was abducted by mysterious forces.
In the Quantum Leap episode "The Great Spontini", Scott Bakula
's character, Dr. Sam Beckett, leaps into an amateur magician in 1974 who aspires to appear on Bill Bixby's The Magician; however, owing to his partial amnesia, Dr. Beckett, at first, can only recall Bixby's connection with The Incredible Hulk
, which had not been made at that time.
The Incredible Hulk
itself featured an episode that paid homage to both The Magician and Bixby's earlier series, My Favorite Martian
. In The Incredible Hulk's "My Favorite Magician" episode, Bixby's character became the temporary apprentice to a stage magician played by Bixby's Martian co-star, Ray Walston
. Mark Wilson
was on hand again as the episode's "magic consultant" as well.
Actor Andrew J. Robinson has also stated that his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
character, Elim Garak
, was partially influenced by Bixby's character.
: To Be Announced.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett “Bill” Bixby III was an American film and television actor, director, and frequent game show panelist.His career spanned over three decades; he appeared on stage, in motion pictures and TV series...
as stage illusionist
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was instead named Anthony Dorian. The name change was due to a conflict with the name of a real life stage magician.
Premise
Blake was a professional stage magician who used his skills to solve crimes and help the helpless. Years earlier, Blake had been wrongly convicted of an unspecified crime, and unjustly confined for that crime in a prison in an unnamed country in South AmericaSouth America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. He discovered a way to escape with his cellmate, which began his interest in escapology
Escapology
For the Jessica Mauboy song, see Inescapable.Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks and other perils, often in combination.-History:The art...
. The cellmate died and left him a fortune. The escape, presumably followed by exoneration of the false charges that had led to it, led to Blake's pursuit of a career in stage magic, which made him famous. He never forgot his imprisonment or the fact that he had not deserved it, and it motivated him to seek justice for others.
Initially, Blake used his Boeing 720
Boeing 720
The Boeing 720 is a four-engine narrow-body short- to medium-range passenger jet airliner. Developed by Boeing in the late 1950s from the Boeing 707, the 720 has a shorter fuselage and less range...
jetliner
Jet airliner
A jet airliner is an airliner that is powered by jet engines. This term is sometimes contracted to jetliner or jet.In contrast to today's relatively fuel-efficient, turbofan-powered air travel, first generation jet airliner travel was noisy and fuel inefficient...
as a base of operations; it was outfitted as a mobile residence ("It's like any other mobile home, only faster.") with live-in pilot Jerry Anderson (Jim Watkins). Blake frequently received assistance from acerbic columnist Max Pomeroy, portrayed by Keene Curtis
Keene Curtis
Keene Holbrook Curtis was an American character actor.-Film career:Curtis made his film debut in the 1948 Orson Welles adaptation of Macbeth...
, and his brilliant, wheelchair-using son Dennis (Todd Crespi). Midway through the program's run, the idea of the airplane was dropped and Blake took up residence in a posh apartment at The Magic Castle
The Magic Castle
The Magic Castle, located at 7001 Franklin Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, is a nightclub for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It bills itself as "the most unusual private club in the world."-Nightclub:The Magic...
, a real club devoted to magic acts. At the same time, the supporting cast of the show was replaced with a new, single character, Dominick, a somewhat comical sidekick played by Joseph Sirola. No explanation for the changes was given in the series. Jerry continued to make occasional minor appearances (with Watkins retaining a place in the opening credits) and Tony did recruit Jerry and Max together for one further case in the new format.
Some episodes featured Larry Anderson (who later hosted Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences
Truth or Consequences is an American quiz show originally hosted on NBC radio by Ralph Edwards and later on television by Edwards , Jack Bailey , Bob Barker , Bob Hilton and Larry Anderson . The television show ran on CBS, NBC and also in syndication...
and created the JawDroppers video magic course) as Blake's assistant.
Magic on the program
The show is noteworthy in that Bixby insisted on doing all of the magic himself, without any trick photographySpecial effect
The illusions used in the film, television, theatre, or entertainment industries to simulate the imagined events in a story are traditionally called special effects ....
, although it was not possible for this to be the case in the TV-movie/pilot. He was instructed in these performances by the program's technical advisor, Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson (magician)
James "Mark" Wilson is an American magician and author. He is widely credited as becoming the first major "television magician" and in the process establishing the viability of illusion shows as a television format.-Early years:...
, who was credited as "magic consultant." Once the format changed to have the hero based in a magic club, Wilson could occasionally be seen on the stage there, as well. In addition to escapes, Bixby performed feats of sleight of hand
Sleight of hand
Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain, is the set of techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....
, mentalism
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
, and stage illusions. After the series' cancellation, Bixby went on to host a string of magic specials on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and a series in first-run syndication.
Influence
Though it ran only a single season, The Magician was an influence on later series. The show was a favorite of The X-FilesThe X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
creator Chris Carter
Chris Carter (screenwriter)
Christopher Carl Carter is an American screenwriter, film director and producer. He is the creator of The X-Files and Millennium.- Ten Thirteen Productions :...
, who worked it into Special Agent
Special agent
Special agent is usually the title for a detective or investigator for a state, county, municipal, federal or tribal government. An agent is a worker for any federal agency, and a secret agent is one who works for an intelligence agency....
Fox Mulder
Fox Mulder
FBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
's "origin" story: a teenaged Mulder was watching The Magician when his sister Samantha was abducted by mysterious forces.
In the Quantum Leap episode "The Great Spontini", Scott Bakula
Scott Bakula
Scott Stewart Bakula is an American actor, known for his role as Sam Beckett in the television series Quantum Leap, for which he won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama in 1991 and was nominated for four Emmy Awards. He also had a prominent role as Captain Jonathan...
's character, Dr. Sam Beckett, leaps into an amateur magician in 1974 who aspires to appear on Bill Bixby's The Magician; however, owing to his partial amnesia, Dr. Beckett, at first, can only recall Bixby's connection with The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series)
The Incredible Hulk is an American television series based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The pilot episodes were a pair of TV movies on the CBS network beginning on November 4, 1977; the series soon followed, airing from March 10, 1978 to...
, which had not been made at that time.
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV series)
The Incredible Hulk is an American television series based on the Marvel comic book character of the same name created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The pilot episodes were a pair of TV movies on the CBS network beginning on November 4, 1977; the series soon followed, airing from March 10, 1978 to...
itself featured an episode that paid homage to both The Magician and Bixby's earlier series, My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
. In The Incredible Hulk's "My Favorite Magician" episode, Bixby's character became the temporary apprentice to a stage magician played by Bixby's Martian co-star, Ray Walston
Ray Walston
Ray Walston was an American stage, television and film actor best known as the title character on the 1960s situation comedy My Favorite Martian. In addition, he is also remembered for his roles as Luther Billis in South Pacific , Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees , J.J...
. Mark Wilson
Mark Wilson (magician)
James "Mark" Wilson is an American magician and author. He is widely credited as becoming the first major "television magician" and in the process establishing the viability of illusion shows as a television format.-Early years:...
was on hand again as the episode's "magic consultant" as well.
Actor Andrew J. Robinson has also stated that his Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe...
character, Elim Garak
Elim Garak
Elim Garak is a fictional character from the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, in which he is portrayed by Andrew J. Robinson. In the series, Garak is an exiled spy from the Cardassian empire and a former member of a prestigious Cardassian intelligence group called the Obsidian Order...
, was partially influenced by Bixby's character.
See also
Blake is but one in a long line of magicians who double as detectives. Others include:- The Great MerliniThe Great MerliniThe Great Merlini is a fictional detective created by Clayton Rawson. He is a professional magician who appears in four locked room or impossible crime novels written in the late 1930s and early 1940s, as well as in a few short stories....
, created by author Clayton RawsonClayton RawsonClayton Rawson was an American mystery writer, editor, and amateur magician. His four novels frequently invoke his great knowledge of stage magic and feature as their fictional detective The Great Merlini, a professional magician who runs a shop selling magic supplies...
. - Norgil the Magician, created by Walter B. GibsonWalter B. GibsonWalter Brown Gibson was an American author and professional magician, best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow...
. - Chandu, a character in radio mysteries who was played on screen by Bela LugosiBéla LugosiBéla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
. - Blackstone, the Magic DetectiveBlackstone, the Magic DetectiveBlackstone, the Magic Detective was a 15-minute radio series which had a tie-in with several comic books. The program aired Sunday afternoons at 2:45pm on the Mutual Broadcasting System from October 3, 1948 until March 26, 1950.-Radio:...
, a 15-minute radio series which had a tie-in with several comic books. - Mandrake the MagicianMandrake the MagicianMandrake the Magician is a syndicated newspaper comic strip, created by Lee Falk , which began June 11, 1934. Phil Davis soon took over as the strip's illustrator, while Falk continued to script. The strip was distributed by King Features Syndicate.Davis worked on the strip until his death in 1964,...
, a comic stripComic stripA comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
hero created by Lee FalkLee FalkLee Falk, born Leon Harrison Gross , was an American writer, theater director, and producer, best known as the creator of the popular comic strip superheroes The Phantom and Mandrake the Magician, who at the height of their popularity attracted over a hundred million readers every day...
. Mandrake has appeared in a 12 chapter serial for Columbia studios, as well as a failed TV series pilot that starred Anthony HerreraAnthony HerreraAnthony Herrera was an American actor.-Career:Among roles in various movies, he is most known—and most hated—for his role as the evil James Stenbeck on the soap opera As the World Turns, a role he has played off and on from 1980 to 1984, from 1986 to 1989, in 1996, from 1997 to 1999, in 2001 and...
in the title role, alongside Ji-Tu CumbukaJi-Tu CumbukaJi-Tu Cumbuka is an American veteran stage and screen actor.-Career Biography:...
as Lothar, Mandrake's "sidekick." Unlike most crime-solving magicians, Mandrake is sometimes presented as having actual magical powers. - Alexander Blacke, the hero of the 1986 television series Blacke's MagicBlacke's MagicBlacke's Magic was a short-lived American TV show about a magician, Alexander Blacke , who, with some help from his con-man father, Leonard , solves mysteries that get in the way of his performances. It ran for one season in 1986 for 13 episodes and featured crimes that tested logic against...
, played by Hal LindenHal LindenHal Linden is an American stage and television actor and television director, best known for his role in the television comedy series Barney Miller and as presenter on the ABC educational series Animals, Animals, Animals....
. - Jonathan CreekJonathan CreekJonathan Creek is a British mystery series produced by the BBC and written by David Renwick. Primarily a crime drama, the show is also peppered with broadly comic touches...
played by Alan DaviesAlan DaviesAlan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
, was a series produced by the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
from 1997 to 2010 (Creek was a designer of stage illusions, but generally did not perform magic himself). - Naoko Yamada, played by Yukie NakamaYukie Nakamais a Japanese actress, singer and former idol. She was born in Okinawa, Japan, in a fisherman's family, the youngest of five siblings.At the start of her career she was a gravure idol and singer , and appeared in bit roles until her career breakthrough playing Sadako in "Ring 0: Birthday ."In 2000,...
, the main character of the Japanese drama Trick.
DVD release
Coming Soon to DVD from Paramount Home EntertainmentParamount Home Entertainment
Paramount Home Entertainment is the division of Paramount Pictures dealing with home video founded in late 1975.-History:...
: To Be Announced.