

The Magician
1973–1974 · NBC · 60 min · 1 season
S01E21 · The Illusion of the Evil Spikes
Tue, 16 Apr, 10:00 am
An escape artist is killed while performing his act and Tony goes after a special effects man against the wishes of several people.
About
Anthony Blake was falsely held prisoner in a South American prison. Using his skills, he managed to escape and then swore that he'd help people who faced the kind of injustice that he faced. Now as a touring magician, Anthony helps those who need help using his talents for sleight-of-hand and escapology.
Episodes
- Special
Pilot
Sun, 18 Mar· 120 minAnthony Blake is a suave, polished magician who uses magic tricks to outwit crooks, displaying a good deal of charm. The show emphasized an expensive jet-set look as the wealthy magiclan who lives aboard his plane, unravels a nuclear bomb plot in Seattle, Wash, and San Francisco, and caps the show with an exotic boat and plane chase sequence. Blake comes to the aid of Nora Coogan, a middle-aged woman who becomes the target of an assassin because she's witnessed a murder. The magician uses his great talents to spirit her into hiding while he recklessly goes after the murder plotters.
- E01
The Manhunters
Wed, 3 Oct· 60 minIn the series opener, Anthony Blake sets out to discover who tried to murder his best friend, Max Pomeroy, a newspaper columnist with an impressive array of enemies.
- E02
The Vanishing Lady
Wed, 10 Oct· 60 minA young singer appearing with Tony in Las Vegas has been kidnapped by sinister thugs who plan to collect ransom—and then dump their captive in Lake Mead.
- E03
Illusion in Terror
Wed, 24 Oct· 60 minTony Blake meets and falls in love with beautiful Joanna Marsh, only to lose her in a tragíc hit-and-run accident.
- E04
Lightning on a Dry Day
Wed, 31 Oct· 60 minBlake's life is placed in jeopardy when he seeks the reasons behind a hospitalized young boy's fright and retreat into silence. By making a plant grow before a distrusting woman's eyes, Blake hopes she will provide a clue to the event that traumatized a young man in a backwoods town full of close-mouthed people. While performing his magic act in a hospital, Blake encounters Ian Keefer, a 17-year-old who goes into hysterics when he sees fire in the act. Probing the core of Ian's dilemma takes Blake to Elm Ridge, a southern backwoods town where the people, including Sheriff Platt and Mrs. Thatcher, are fearful, silent and sometimes violent.
- E05
Ovation for Murder
Wed, 7 Nov· 60 minIn this strange tale, magician Anthony Blake (Bill Bixby) finds himself trying to prove the innocence of a friend who is accused of murder. The brutal fact is Blake and many others at a party witnessed the friend firing the gun at a man, but he swears he can't remember the shooting. He uses his disappearing magic to help the suspect in an escape plot from the prison hospital.
- E06
Man on Fire
Wed, 21 Nov· 60 minAnthony Blake helps a novice magician clear the young man's father of a murder charge. THE MAGICIAN (Bill Bixby) is involved with a young man (Brad David) who wants to become a magician. This leads to an involvement with the lad's father (Carl Betz), who is responsible for the death of a young woman he loves (Jane Merrow).
- E07
Lady in a Trap
Wed, 28 Nov· 60 minThe Magician sets out to find a rare book stolen from a museum. Blake attempts to read a man's mind to find a rare book stolen from a museum. Tony meets Stacy McGranahan, the assistant curator of the museum, shortly before a rare book is stolen from the museum. Some thieves who plant the valuable book in her bag, realising that the museum guards will not search her thoroughly, use Stacy. Tony must now find the missing book and the thieves.
- E08
The Man Who Lost Himself
Wed, 12 Dec· 60 minThe magician, Anthony Blake (Bill Bixby), beats a trio of thieves to a long-hidden cache of money and then, with magic, seemingly throws the bills away right before their eyes. Sam Hill (Joe Flynn) causes an accident and ends up in a hospital room with Blake, who also was injured. Blake notes that Hill has amnesia. In efforts to help him regain his memory, Blake finds that Hill was one of four men who robbed a military payroll many years earlier and is the only one of the group who knows where the money is stashed.
- E09
Nightmare in Steel
Wed, 19 Dec· 60 minBlake conducts a fire simulation aboard a ship loaded with explosives to thwart a piracy attempt. Anthony Blake's assistant, Lauri, narrowly escapes death twice, and her estranged husband becomes a prime suspect. It appears he is under the control of a tough character (guest-star Leif Erickson) who is plotting to pirate a ship carrying high explosives.
- E10
Shattered Image
Wed, 9 Jan· 60 minMagician Anthony Blake performs a stunning act tonight, making a little girl disappear and then reappear just as mysteriously. He is protecting her from gangsters who are searching for her father. The father, portrayed by Joseph Campanella, is on the run from both the police and the mob because he has killed a crime boss.
- E11
The Illusion of the Curious Counterfeit (1)
Tue, 15 Jan· 60 minLloyd Nolan guests as a reformed criminal who tries to disassociate with all criminal activities especially a shady prison executive who is masterminding a robbery.
- E12
The Illusion of the Curious Counterfeit (2)
Tue, 22 Jan· 60 minMagician Blake is shot and pretends to be dead to convince a corrupt prison executive that his way is clear for stealing banknotes.
- E13
The Illusion of the Stainless Steel Lady
Tue, 29 Jan· 60 minA woman who claims to be the granddaughter of a famous actress asks Anthony Blake to help her meet the star, who has become a recluse. Anthony Blake sets out to uncover the suspicious action of his old friend and patron, Irene Denore, a legendary film star turned recluse.
- E14
The Illusion of the Queen's Gambit
Tue, 5 Feb· 60 minDuring Blake's levitating act for a benefit show aboard the Queen Mary, robbers attempt to steal the funds. William Shatner and Katherine Justice star as a former casino owner and his wife whose charity show is robbed of its receipts.
- E15
The Illusion of Black Gold
Tue, 12 Feb· 60 minBlake becomes entangled in international intrigue. Blake is involved with one of those men who always gets his way (Eric Braeden) and his movie star love (Lynda Day George), all because he is trying to find a scientist who has been first "assassinated", then kidnapped.
- E16
The Illusion of the Lost Dragon
Tue, 19 Feb· 60 minBlake is called upon to retrieve a priceless jade dragon.
- E17
The Illusion of the Deadly Conglomerate
Tue, 26 Feb· 60 minA bogus minister and a crooked doctor are in the business of kidnapping alcoholic bums.
- E18
The Illusion of the Fatal Arrow
Tue, 5 Mar· 60 minA young girl with psychic powers (Pamela Franklin) keeps seeing murders before they happen, so she enlists the aid of friend Tony Blake (Bill Bixby.)
- E19
The Illusion of the Lethal Playthings
Tue, 19 Mar· 60 min - E20
The Illusion of the Cat's Eye
Tue, 26 Mar· 60 minIn the search of a missing art treasure solid silver cat, Tony tracks a ruthless beauty and her killer panther.
- E21
The Illusion of the Evil Spikes
Tue, 16 Apr· 60 minAn escape artist is killed while performing his act and Tony goes after a special effects man against the wishes of several people.
Cast

Bill Bixby
Anthony Blake

Keene Curtis
Max Pomeroy

Jim Watkins
Jerry Anderson

Todd Crespi
Dennis Pomeroy

Joseph Sirola
Dominick