''Magicland'' was a television

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

show for children that ran for 23 years on the

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, station

WMC-TV WMC-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. Its studios are located on Union Avenue in midtown Memphis, and its transmitter is located in northeast Memphis, ...

. It holds the

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the longest continuously-running television magic series in the world. The show was created by presenter

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

, who was recruited to WMC-TV in 1965 as a staff announcer and weatherman. Williams was a magician in his spare time and had started a magic show under the title ''Magicland'' for his previous station

KGNC-TV KAMR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Amarillo, Texas, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside low-power broadcasting#Television, low-power MyNetworkTV affiliate KCPN-LD (channel 33); Nexstar al ...

in Amarillo, Texas. Management at WMC-TV liked the sound of that show and persuaded Williams to create something similar for them. He agreed, but thought the series would only last for about a year. Instead, it eventually ran for 23 years and nearly 1,200 episodes. ''Magicland'' was a weekly half-hour live-audience show aimed at children and aired at 10am on Sunday mornings. Dick "Mr. Magic" Williams performed tricks and illusions, juggled clubs and scarves, and is often remembered for his signature magician's finger exercises (photos at MagiclandTV.com). He was assisted by his wife, Virginia, who, in addition to her onscreen role, sewed costumes, organized props, arranged music, and directed other assistants.

References

American television magic shows 1960s American children's television series 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series 1966 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings Local children's television programming in the United States {{US-nonfiction-tv-prog-stub