Blacke's Magic (1986– )

A magician and his con-man father solve mysteries using a combination of sleight of hand and con games.

Creators:

Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson, William Link

Stars:

Hal Linden, Harry Morgan, R.J. Adams

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Hal Linden	...	Alexander Blacke (4 episodes, 1986)
Harry Morgan	...	Leonard Blacke (4 episodes, 1986)
R.J. Adams	...	Art Baer (3 episodes, 1986)
Claudia Christian	...	Laurie Blacke (2 episodes, 1986)
Mark Shera	...	Lt. Ted Byrnes (2 episodes, 1986)

Storyline

Alexander Blacke is a retired magician who comes out of retirement, at the behest of his con-man/gambler father, Leonard, to perform on stage and solve mysteries in this series that mixes the magical antics of "The Magician," the con-game schemes of "The Sting," "Switch," and "Tenspeed and Brown Shoe", and the intricate mysteries of "Columbo" and "Murder She Wrote."

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Plot Keywords:

magic | detective | character name in title

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 January 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blacke el Mago

Filming Locations:

Denver Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min 60 min (13 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in St. Elsewhere: Black's Magic (1986)

User Reviews

Very interesting show

I agree that this show wasn't given enough time to catch on. I never found out about it until years later so it must have come and gone very fast. I really wish it had been around longer because I found it to be a very interesting show.

Hal Linden was great playing the lead role of the debonair Alexander Blacke and I don't think anyone else could have played that role the way he did. The same goes for Harry Morgan in the role of Leonard Blacke, Alex's father.

I loved these episodes and how each one Blacke used his powers of observation and experience from years of being a magician/illusionist to solve a crime. I also thought the magic he performed in the episodes was fun to watch.

Like Murder, She Wrote you also got to see a lot of great guest stars, people who you might not have seen for a while since they weren't on TV each week anymore. A lot of faces from the past as well as people who were just starting out.

This was definitely a fun show that cut short before its time.