HAPPY FATHER’S DAY WITH BLACKE’S MAGIC (1986)

BLACKE’S MAGIC (1986) – HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, GENTLEMEN! Last Father’s Day I reviewed the neglected television series The Feather and Father Gang. This year I’m taking a look at Blacke’s Magic, which starred Hal Linden and Harry Morgan as a father and son team who solved mysteries. For those looking for my annual Bloom’s Day post click HERE.   

Richard Levinson and William Link, the creators of Columbo, also created the 13-episode series Blacke’s Magic and probably felt they had hit upon another terrific formula. With The Night Stalker‘s John Llewellyn Moxie directing the pilot movie they had another television veteran along for good measure.

Hal Linden played Alexander Blacke, a big-name, big-money stage magician. While investigating the seemingly impossible murder of an old friend, Alex gets help from his former conman father Leonard, portrayed by Harry Morgan.

(Coincidentally enough, in The Feather and Father Gang, Stephanie Powers’ character Feather solved mysteries with her former conman father played by Harold Gould.)

At any rate, just as Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher left a trail of dead bodies in her wake wherever she went, crimes just happened to be committed everywhere Alexander Blacke performed. Pretty suspicious if you ask me. I’m kidding!

In each episode of Blacke’s Magic viewers got to see bits of Alexander’s stage show mixed in with his and his father’s investigations into seemingly impossible crimes. That latter element added a touch of Banacek to the proceedings.

In support were Mark Shera – the former associate of detective Barnaby Jones – as well as Paula Beyers, Stephen Elliott and Claudia Christian.  

THE EPISODES:

BREATHING ROOM (January 5th) – The two-hour pilot movie for the series. When Alexander Blacke nearly dies while performing one of his feats of magic, he ponders retiring but then suspects foul play when a fellow magician is killed while performing. His impish father Leonard, a former conman, helps Alex get to the bottom of things. Guest stars included Maud Adams, Cesare Danova, Kathleen Beller, Carl Ballantine and David Huddleston.

TEN TONS OF TROUBLE (January 8th) – A ten-ton statue disappears seemingly instantly. When it looks like a blameless security chief will lose his job over the high-profile theft, Alex and Leonard investigate in order to bring the thieves to justice. Jane Badler, Ron Ely, Murray Hamilton and Cesar Romero guest starred.

KNAVE OF DIAMONDS, ACE OF HEARTS (January 15th) – Leonard Blacke is framed for the murder of a man inside an impenetrable vault. Alex knows his father is innocent, so the two once again join forces to solve a baffling mystery. Guest cast included Paul Winfield, Pat Crowley, Patrick O’Neal, and John Davis Chandler.

REVENGE OF THE ESPERANZA (January 22nd) – A team of divers at last finds the sunken Spanish galleon Esperanza, only to discover it missing the next time they dive down to it. Since neither David Copperfield nor Doug Henning have jurisdiction in the case, Alex and Leonard solve the mystery. Among the guest stars were Stuart Whitman, Betsy Palmer, Priscilla Barnes, Willie Aames and Gregory Walcott.

DEATH GOES TO THE MOVIES (January 29th) – When Alexander Blacke is called in to serve as a creative advisor for a movie it naturally means someone must die. The producer of the film gets murdered, and only our favorite stage magician and his father can get to the bottom of things. Roscoe Lee Browne, Frank Bonner, Tina Louise and Monte Markham guest starred. 

VANISHING ACT (February 12th) – While temporarily stranded in a small town named Cryerville, Alex and Leonard sniff out an ongoing fraud regarding unidentified flying objects. The pair decide to thwart the perpetrators. Robert Fuller, Lavelle Roby, Alan Hale Jr, Kathleen Lloyd, Dick Butkus and William Allen Young were in the guest cast.

PRISONER OF PARADISE (February 19th) – A high-profile swindler is murdered in a locked room where he was being held for extradition. Alex and Leonard investigate and nail the guilty party. (Or maybe they’re just clever assassins for hire who kill people, then frame patsies for their crimes, just like Jessica Fletcher. Again, I’m joking.) Guest starring Ramon Bieri, Charles Napier, Michael Constantine and Victor Campos.

ADDRESS UNKNOWN (February 26th) – An entire city street seems to disappear amid a corruption scandal regarding a defense contract. Alex and his father get caught up in the situation while trying to help one of Alex’s former stage assistants. Lynda Day George, J.D. Cannon, Sam Groom, Ken Swofford and Nancy Lee Grahn were in support. 

FORCED LANDING (March 5th) – A plane lands in a ghost town in the middle of the night, only for police to discover that all the passengers and crew have vanished. Blacke and his dear old dad try to solve this Department S style mystery. Among the guest cast were Linda Kelsey, John Schuck, Gary Crosby, Moosie Drier “and Gregory Sierra.” (See what I did there?) 

LAST FLIGHT FROM MOSCOW (March 12th) – The U.S. government turns to Alex for help in pulling off the defection of a Soviet diplomat’s wife. He and pop go Mission: Impossible on the staff at the Russian embassy, where she works. Robert Hooks, Sorrell Booke, Elaine Giftos, Martin Landau and Camilla Sparv guest starred.    

A FRIENDLY GAME OF SHOWDOWN (March 19th) – The theft of a prototype during a masterful job of industrial espionage leaves a Blacke family friend in danger of losing their entire company. Alex and Leonard step in to set things right. Gary Sandy, Darleen Carr and Alex Rebar were in supporting roles.

IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE (April 2nd) – A squirrely U.S. diplomat is being blackmailed by an unscrupulous Monte Carlo casino owner. Alex and his father concoct an elaborate caper to steal the blackmail material from the blackmailer. Guest starred Doran Clark, Richard Hatch, Patrick Macnee and John Riley.    

WAX POETIC (May 7th) – Alexander Blacke is hired to run an auction for an original, unpublished work by Edgar Allan Poe. When it goes missing, he and dear old dad investigate. Susan George, Vincent Price, Rene Auberjonois, Betty Garrett and Lisa Pelikan guest starred. 

For whatever reason, Blacke’s Magic failed to score high enough ratings to get renewed. We’ve all seen television shows with far more improbable premises and flimsier gimmicks last for multiple seasons, so this short-lived series was further proof there is no sure thing in the entertainment industry.

Happily, this television effort has developed a cult following in reruns and on DVD. 

FOR MORE FORGOTTEN TELEVISION CLICK HERE.