The Magician 

The cases of a stage magician/escape artist who moonlights as an amateur crimefighter.

Creator:

Bruce Lansbury

Stars:

Bill Bixby, Julian Christopher, Keene Curtis

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Bill Bixby	...	Anthony Blake / ... 22 episodes, 1973-1974
Julian Christopher	...	Jerry Anderson / ... 22 episodes, 1973-1974
Keene Curtis	...	Max Pomeroy 12 episodes, 1973-1974
Joseph Sirola	...	Dominick 11 episodes, 1974

Storyline

Anthony Blake is a very compassionate and wealthy magician, who uses his talents as an illusionist and escape artist to help people in trouble. Max Pomeroy, a friend who is a syndicated columnist, describes him as "One of the few individuals in this age of numbness, who can still regard the suffering of a fellow human being as his own." He is motivated to help because he had been falsely imprisoned in South America for espionage.

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Plot Keywords:

stage magician | escape artist | crime fighter | 1970s | magician | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

There is a recurring extra throughout this series who also appeared in Bill Bixby's The Incredible Hulk. She is a beautiful, middle-aged, blonde lady and can be spotted in many episodes, often featured as an atmosphere player (an extra who single-handedly interacts with the star of the show or is prominently featured in non-verbal scenes).

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Connections

Referenced in The X-Files: Little Green Men (1994)

User Reviews

Classic 70's Crime drama, with a twist!

I vaguely remember really enjoying this show as a kid. I was always fascinated with Magic and it was fun to see magic used to defeat bad guys. Now in my 30's I have finally been able to view this series again (thanks to the Sci-Fi channel and insomnia) to see how well it holds up. I've always been a fan of Bill Bixby and his portrayal of Anthony Blake is still marvelous. He's cool, collected and always seems to get wrapped up with people who get in trouble (ala Hart to Hart). The one aspect where Bixby really shines though is his "I'm too cool" attitude towards the bad guys. Blake gets into some tense situations but always seems to have the one up on them and always has a trick up his sleeve (sometimes literally) as he slip out of handcuffs, makes guns vanish and throws flash powder in attacker's eyes. He likes to torment, ridicule and expose the enemy. Also he has some cool stuff like his Corvette, tons of magical gimics and an airplaine which he lives in! Apparently Bixby trained as an actual magician and vowed that all the tricks shown on the program were authentic, this lead to the famous Magician Blackstone offically recognizing the show. Sure you have the wide ties, huge lapells and bell bottoms and at times this show can get a little cheezy with "future starlets" singing, people overcoming emotional problems, etc. But this is a fun show, and the magic adds a special twist to the plot. If you were a fan of Maninix, Streets of San Francisco, Knight Rider or any of the crime shows with a "twist" from the 70's such as David McCallum's Invisible Man or Gemini Man, this series is worth a look (if you can find it that is).

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Magician

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

B&B Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (24 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1