Help us get to over 8,748 articles in 2024.

If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com

Difference between revisions of "Magic Land of Allakazam"

From Magicpedia, the free online encyclopedia for magicians by magicians.
Jump to: navigation, search
(New page: {{Wikipedia}} The Magic Land of Allakazam was the name of a ground-breaking series of network television shows featuring American magician Mark Wilson. It ran from 1960 to 1964 and is ...)
 
m
 
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 +
'''The Magic Land of Allakazam''' was the name of a ground-breaking 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.{{Youtube Thumb|AlYXPhzdM-M}}
 +
 +
== 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, 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  and aired every Saturday morning on that network for two years. Wilson's wife, [[Nani Darnell]], assisted him and they were joined by [[Bev Bergeron]] who helped write the shows and played the character Rebo the Clown.  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. [[File:GeniiCoverV25N2.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Cover of Genii (1960)]]
 +
 +
In 1962, the show moved to ABC 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 Nielson ratings for Saturday mornings. It has been cited by a number of famous magicians as an early inspiration.
 +
 +
{{References}}
 
{{Wikipedia}}
 
{{Wikipedia}}
The Magic Land of Allakazam was the name of a ground-breaking 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.
+
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460657 Show entry] at the  Internet Movie Database
 +
* [http://www.markwilsonmagic.com Mark Wilson's official website]
 +
* [http://bevbergeron.com Bev Bergeron's official website]
 +
* [http://magiclandofallakazam.com The Official Website of the Magic Land of Allakazam]
 +
* [http://www.facebook.com/pages/Magic-Land-of-Allakazam/134588933251280?v=app_2373072738&ref=sgm#!/pages/Magic-Land-of-Allakazam/134588933251280 The Official Facebook Fan Club Page]
 +
* [http://www.magiclandofallakazam.com/ 50th Anniversary Website]
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Media]]

Latest revision as of 19:14, 18 April 2013

The Magic Land of Allakazam was the name of a ground-breaking 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, 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 and aired every Saturday morning on that network for two years. Wilson's wife, Nani Darnell, assisted him and they were joined by Bev Bergeron who helped write the shows and played the character Rebo the Clown. 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.
Cover of Genii (1960)

In 1962, the show moved to ABC 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 Nielson ratings for Saturday mornings. It has been cited by a number of famous magicians as an early inspiration.

References

Wikipedia-logo.png This page incorporated content from Magic Land of Allakazam,

a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License