''Mr. Merlin'' is an American

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ...

that ran for one season, from 1981 to 1982, about Merlin the wizard (played by

Barnard Hughes Bernard Aloysius Kiernan Hughes (July 16, 1915 – July 11, 2006), known professionally as Barnard Hughes, was an American actor of television, theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after mi ...

), who is immortal, living in modern-day

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, and disguised as Max Merlin, a mechanic. ''Mr. Merlin'' was produced by Larry Rosen and Larry Tucker, working as the Larry Larry Company, in association with

Columbia Pictures Television Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...

Premise

Merlin hires Zachary Rogers ( Clark Brandon) to work in his garage, and when Zac pulls a crowbar out of a bucket of cement, the crowbar is revealed to be Arthur's sword

Excalibur Excalibur () is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes also attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Britain. It was associated with the Arthurian legend very early on. Excalibur and the Sword in th ...

and Merlin must reveal himself to Zac and make him an apprentice. Leo Samuels (

Jonathan Prince Jonathan Alexander Prince (born August 16, 1958) is an American actor, director, screenwriter and movie producer. Career Prince embarked on an acting career following graduation from Harvard University. His played Leo in the 1981 CBS series ''M ...

) is Zac's best friend, who naturally has no idea his best buddy is a "wizard in training".

Elaine Joyce Elaine Joyce (born Elaine Joyce Pinchot) is an American actress. Early life and education Elaine Joyce Pinchot was born in Cleveland, Ohio, of Hungarian ancestry, the daughter of Iliclina (née Nagy) and Frank Pinchot. Career She made her fil ...

is Alexandria ("Alex"), Max's equally magical liaison with an unseen "council" (who insisted Merlin take on an apprentice or lose both his powers and immortality).

Cast

Main

as Max Merlin, Merlin the Magician who now works as a mechanic in San Francisco. * Clark Brandon as Zachary Rogers, Merlin's apprentice. *

as Leo Samuels, Zac's best friend. *

as Alexandria, Merlin's fellow magician. * Phil Morris as the Kid.

Guest cast

* DeAnna Robbins in "Pilot" (Episode 1) *

Richard Basehart John Richard Basehart (August 31, 1914 – September 17, 1984) was an American actor. He starred as Admiral Harriman Nelson in the television science-fiction drama '' Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'' (1964–68). He also portrayed Wilton Knig ...

in "A Moment in Camelot" (Episode 7) *

Stacy Keach Sr. Walter Stacy Keach Sr. (May 29, 1914 – February 13, 2003), known professionally as Stacy Keach Sr. was an American actor whose screen career spanned more than five decades. Biography Keach was born in Chicago, Illinois. He was of English desc ...

in "Take My Tonsils... Please!" (Episode 9) * Scott McGinnis in "Not So Sweet Sixteen" (Episode 11) *

Mel Stewart Milton "Mel" Stewart (September 19, 1929 – February 24, 2002) was an American character actor, television director, and musician who appeared in numerous films and television shows from the 1960s to the 1990s. He is best known for playing Hen ...

in "Alex Goes Popless" (Episode 14) *

Catherine Mary Stewart Catherine Mary Stewart (; born 22 April 1959) is a Canadian actress. Her film roles include '' The Apple'', ''The Last Starfighter'' and ''Weekend at Bernie's''. She was also the original Kayla Brady in ''Days of our Lives''. Early life Stewar ...

and

Rita Wilson Rita Wilson (born Margarita Ibrahimoff; October 26, 1956) is an American actress, singer, and producer. Her film appearances include ''Volunteers'' (1985), '' Sleepless in Seattle'' (1993), '' Now and Then'' (1995), ''That Thing You Do!'' (1996) ...

in "Everything's Coming Up Daisies " (Episode 15) *

Eugene Roche Eugene Harrison Roche (September 22, 1928 – July 28, 2004) was an American actor and the original " Ajax Man" in 1970s television commercials. Personal life Roche was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Mary M. (née Finnegan ...

in "Change of Venue: Part 1" (Episode 18) *

Holly Gagnier Holly Gagnier (born December 12, 1958) is an American actress. Early life Gagnier was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were Hugh Gagnier, a cinematographer and Eleanor Gagnier, a stenographer for the United Nations. Eleanor served ...

in "I Was a Teenage Loser" (Episode 22)

Episodes

''Note'': A ''Mr. Merlin'' strip ran briefly in the British ''

TV Comic ''TV Comic'' was a British comic book magazine published weekly from 9 November 1951 until 29 June 1984. Featuring stories based on television series running at the time of publication, it was the first British comic to be based around TV pro ...

''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mister Merlin 1981 American television series debuts 1982 American television series endings 1980s American sitcoms Television series by Sony Pictures Television CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series based on Arthurian legend Television shows set in San Francisco Works based on Merlin