The Magician (U.S. TV series)

The Magician
Bixby as Tony Blake.
Starring	Bill Bixby
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	21
Production
Running time	45 minutes per episode 70 minutes (pilot episode)
Production company(s)	Paramount Network Television
Distributor	CBS Television Distribution
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	March 13, 1973 (pilot); October 2, 1973 (regular series) – April 15, 1974

The Magician is 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 named Anthony Dorian; the name was changed due to a conflict with the name of a real life stage magician.

Blake was a professional stage magician who used his skills to solve crimes and help the helpless. Years earlier, Blake had been in prison on a trumped-up espionage charge in an unnamed country in South America. 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 unjust imprisonment, and it motivated him to seek justice for others.

Initially, Blake used his Boeing 737 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 (and Watkins retained a place in the opening credits) and Tony recruited 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.