''The Magic Land of Allakazam'' was the name of a series of network television shows featuring American magician
Mark Wilson.
It ran from 1960 to 1964 and is credited with establishing the credibility of magic as a television entertainment.
History
The origins of the series were in a locally broadcast show that Wilson arranged in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. That grew into other shows in Houston and San Antonio. With the introduction of videotape and the help of
Alan Wakeling, Wilson created ''The Magic World of Allakazam'' as the first magic show to be videotaped and nationally syndicated. It debuted on 1 October 1960 on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and aired every Saturday morning on that network for two years. Wilson's wife, Nani Darnell, and their young son, Greg Wilson, assisted him and they were joined by Bev Bergeron who played the character Rebo the Clown. Other cameo appearances by Bob Towner, Robert Fenton and Chuck Burns played occasional characters on the show. The shows were in black and white and were sponsored by Kellogg's Cereals. They followed a formula that Wilson devised and which he believed was essential for the success of magic on television. This was that there should be a live audience, that there should not be a cut from one view to another during a trick and that viewers should know they were seeing exactly what the studio audience saw.
stories set in the Land of Allakazam involved the King (played by Bob Towner) and his subject Perriwinkle (Chuck Barnes), opposed by the wicked magician Evilo (also Towner).
In its first year of broadcast, cartoon shorts from
The Huckleberry Hound Show
''The Huckleberry Hound Show'' is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, and the second series produced by the studio following '' The Ruff and Reddy Show''. The show first aired in syndication on September ...
would be interspersed throughout the show, often times with Mark interacting with the animated characters when introducing them. The cartoons were dropped for the second season.
In 1962, the show moved to
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
without missing a week on air. In 1965, the series left ABC and was internationally syndicated. The series was one of the top shows in the Nielsen ratings for Saturday mornings. It has been cited by a number of famous magicians as an early inspiration.
Home media
Wilson has released the first 24 shows on DVD in six volumes, as well as the 1970s Magic Circus episodes.
References
External links
*
Mark Wilson's official websiteBev Bergeron's official websiteThe Official Website of ''The Magic Land of Allakazam''
American television magic shows
CBS original programming
American Broadcasting Company original programming
American television shows featuring puppetry
1960s American children's television series
1960 American television series debuts
1964 American television series endings
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