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
Cami Sebring	...	Kathy / ... 11 episodes, 1973-1974

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 | magic | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

El mago

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bill Bixby actually learned how to do the magic tricks for this role, so for most of the magic there was no trick photography used at all. Some magic did use the frame of the camera or edits to allow effects that would not have been possible otherwise.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Castle of Fu Manchu (1992)

User Reviews

Lots of fun

Despite some plots that didn't quite measure up, the show had cool factor, and charm as only the great Bill Bixby could deliver. Additionally, the series is unique in its premise, if not in its mysteries.

Bixby did a great job of performing Mark Wilson's magic. Wilson was a popular professional magician who had his own TV show in the 60s. While I don't see it listed on this site, I distinctly remember what I believe to have been a 30 minute Saturday morning series where he rescued his beautiful assistant from bad guys each show - of course using his magic each week.

If you like magic, or Bill Bixby, or especially both (like me), keep an eye out for this. Since it only ran one season, once in a rare while a cable channel will run a marathon of the entire series.