The Magician (NBC 1973, Bill Bixby)

The Magician was an entertaining albeit short lived spin on a crime drama series that focused on stage magician Tony Blake.

Tony liked to use his skills to try and help people in trouble and so on. Blake’s crime solving activities were spurred by the fact that he had been in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. On hand to supply him cases and general help was novelist Max Pomeroy and his paraplegic wheelchair bound son Dennis.

Later in the series Tony (who was wealthy enough to have his own private plane called The Spirit) was resident at the Magic Castle in Hollywood which offered up opportunities for cameos by quite a few real life magicians. Bixby an accomplished amateur magician performed most of the magic tricks himself without resorting to camera trickery.

production details
USA / NBC / 1×90 minutes 20×50 minutes / Broadcast 2 October 1973 – 20 May 1974

Creators: Bruce Lansbury
Technical Advisor: Mark Wilson

cast
Bill Bixby as Anthony Dorian
Keene Curtis as Max Pomeroy

Head of film reviews at The Viewers Guide with an erudite, insightful, slightly sardonic, deep appreciation for classic cinema. Has a habit of quoting obscure lines from old films in everyday conversation. He keeps a meticulously organized film logbook. He's a bit of a tea snob.