“It” was television, and it has garnered both avid supporters and bitter critics since it’s inception. In the field of magic, it has launched similar debates from the early “killer of Vaudeville” theorists to the controversial Masked Magician’s revelation of secrets. One thing that American television indisputably did, was to sporadically spark children’s interest in magic. Throughout its history both magic-related shows and show tie-in promotions have connected children to magic, and even admittedly sparked a few professional careers.

Though the connection of magic and television is complex, encompassing individual characters, program themes, advertising and thematic specials, one long-standing connection is between TV programs and magic sets. In particular, a number of magic sets have been created as specific links to programs.

The grandfather of children’s television programs was the Howdy Doody Show. Originally titled Puppet Playhouse, it first aired on December 27, 1947 and continued in half-hour and hour versions for over 2,500 performances until September, 1960. With a wide range of characters, this hugely successful marionette show provided wholesome entertainment for both live studio and home audiences. Howdy Doody, it’s central character, and host Buffalo Bob Smith are still icons for youth television. Though the premise of the show centered around running a circus, little actual magic was performed on the show. There was a magic set connection in the form of a Mars Candy Company premium entitled The Howdy Doody Magic Kit. Sold for 15 cents and one candy bar wrapper, this mailing envelope with four sheets of punch-out cardboard boasts 5 tricks, some ancillary props, and a sheet of instructions for 20 additional tricks done with household items. The instruction sheet is optimistically labeled “Black Magic: A Handbook of Cabalistic Phenomena.” The props include a cardboard rabbit that pops up from behind a cardboard hat, a multiplying money tray, a magic wand, a square cardboard Okito box, and an ingenious cabinet. When assembled, the cabinet is a thin, flat tube with a hole in the front and a secret sliding panel. A paper figure is inserted into the cabinet and ostensibly cut in half. Actually the panel that is secretly slid into place becomes visible through the hole and shows two flaps that appear to be the cut apart center of the figure.

Around the same time another puppet show became popular. Lucky Pup was a 15-minute weekday series of puppet adventures presented by puppeteers Hope and Morey Bunin. The show sometimes included a magician character named Foodini. He was one of the most popular of the characters and, along with his assistant Pinhead, sparked a separate series. Foodini The Great, a 15-minute short ran on the ABC network during the Fall of 1951. It was first aired August 23rd and it’s last show was November 17th. Foodini was an egotistical bumbling magician, assisted by the enamored Pinhead. These two hand puppets with movable mouths and eyebrows fumbled through misadventures, sometimes aided by hostesses Ellen Parker and Doris Brown. Their plans usually went awry, but somehow Foodini always managed to conclude that he had succeeded. The Foodini Magic Set was created to market along with the program. It contains many common items pioneered by Gilbert’s Mysto Magic sets and henceforth carried over to many Zenith, Redhill and Transogram sets.

Real magicians competed with puppets in some instances. In 1952 Harry Blackstone hosted and performed on a series of three-minute spots that were syndicated. These Blackstone Magic Spots were often used as filler by local stations who were not able to sell all their advertising time, thus placement varied by locale. Though not connected with a specific magic set, the spots were a part of the general Blackstone commercial enterprise which included premiums, comic books, ghost-written trade books and magic sets.

In 1953 a young children’s program offered something new — interactive television. Winky Dink and You, a half-hour animated adventure had its simple line-drawing character speak to the audience to ostensibly complete the story line. Viewers were encouraged to purchase a Winky Dink Kit, which included a plastic overlay that statically adhered to the TV screen, and wax crayons to draw on the plastic. During the show, whenever Winky Dink was in trouble, he would ask the viewer to draw something on the screen to assist him. If he was stuck in a tree, for example, he might ask the viewer to draw a ladder so he could climb down. The program was popular and successful, and it ran until 1957. Besides the Winky Dink Kit, the creators marketed a Winky Dink Magic Set, which includes a full-sized Winky Dink face mask and a magic want to help children role-play the central character. This kit contains 12 tricks, a wooden magic wand and a cardboard face mask of the cartoon character. An imp bottle, wooden paddle, ring and coil, trick lock, buddah papers and ball and vase are among the tricks. Some of the tricks are housed in specially printed Winky Dink boxes. Others including a Pillars of Solomon and a wooden coin slide painted with a Chinese scene, are glued directly to the tray.

Mandrake the Magician was a popular newspaper serial comic character, and its creator Lee Falk was a clever businessman. He parlayed the characters and their stories into a variety of formats, including a syndicated 1954 TV show. The Mandrake the Magician magic sets, created by Transogram are widely known and collected, and were produced almost continually before and after the short-lived TV program.

Afternoon television was virtually taken over by the children in the family starting in 1955 when the Mickey Mouse Club premiered. Run consecutively for 4 years, this variety show included musical acts, cartoons, and action-adventure series that appealed to pre-teens. Mars Candy offered a related premium for 25 cents and two candy bar wrappers. The Mickey Mouse Club Magic Kit is 4 pieces of cardboard, a couple of sucker sticks and a rubberband that arrived in an 8 x 10 mailing envelope. The items are nicely printed and die-cut, though careful assembly is required. The kit is very similar to the Howdy Doody Magic Kit with some artistic changes to incorporate Disney characters. The basic items are an appearing Dumbo elephant, a Magic Money Machine similar to the familiar plastic money maker, a multiplying money tray, and interestingly enough, a cardboard Okito box that works with acorns instead of coins. The kit also includes generic show tickets, a magic wand, and directions for some simple magic with household items.

Perhaps the most widely watched show of them all was Mark Wilson’s phenomenally successful The Magic Land of Allakazam. Mark and wife Nani Darnell created, wrote, hosted and starred in this program from October, 1960 until September, 1964, even selling the idea to ABC after it had been dropped by competitor CBS. Before this national show Mark produced a local TV show out of Dallas, Texas. As a commercial venture, Mark, Nani and then-teenager John Gaughan hand assembled magic sets on Mark’s dining room table and carried them to local department stores. This set is remarkable for it’s clever design, and original, eye-catching art. It includes a wooden magic wand, plastic cups and balls, cut and restored rope, boomerang trick, cutting a girl in half (paper version using the envelope slit method), a Viz-Escape decorated to look like a skeleton in the closet, Buddah papers, penetrating pin on wooden stick, anti-gravity glass gimmick, ring and rope penetration and some instruction in basic sleight-of-hand with cotton balls.

While Mark and Nani were working, Felix the Cat made his debut as an animated character in 1960. Numerous 4-minute cartoons were made, all with a similar plot: The Professor and his accomplices try to steal and use Felix’s Magic Bag of Tricks for evil. The animation was stiff, as were the characters, so the show faltered. Through a nostalgia resurgence, Felix has again become somewhat popular, and some commercially-licensed products are currently being created. Among them is the Felix the Cat Magic Bag of Tricks Magic Set (”150 Tricks”!). This contemporary set contains a plastic top hat, a magic wand and a very typical assortment of small, cheap Chinese-manufactured magic toys.

Science fiction may seem an unlikely candidate for a magic set theme, but when based upon a popular TV show, it seems to have worked. My Favorite Martian has Bill Bixby playing a reporter who lives with his Uncle (Ray Walston). With typical light situational comedy Uncle Martin tries to repair his ship and survive on Earth, all while concealing his true extra-terrestrial nature. Though no standard magic occurs in the show, Martin’s extra-sensorial ability appears to have been enough of an impetus to spark A.C. Gilbert’s My Favorite Martian Magic Set. This set is a fine example of thematic magic. Though many of the seventeen tricks are standard ones, they have been adapted so that almost every item is especially designed to coordinate with the outer space theme. The Obedient Ball trick, for example is a spaceship with a string running through it. A black plastic drawer box is fitted with a silver-suited astronaut, the old red snapper trick has been tooled as a rocket ship, and a plastic paddle trick has Uncle Martin the Martian printed on it. Even the “Galaxial Guillotine” has rocket fins on the base.

Following the hefty movie success of the first James Bond films, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. quickly became an American favorite TV program of the 60s, despite its illogical premise. International secret agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin (played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum) battled global corruption of the evil THRUSH organization, continually bent on overthrowing the world. Based loosely on the Ian Fleming style of adventure, this program, which ran from September, 1964 through January, 1968, spawned the last magic set created by A. C. Gilbert company. The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Spy Magic Set is carefully configured with magic gadgets and equipment designed to resemble spy paraphernalia. The large flat tray box lists six tricks on the cover, then boldly touts “and more!” In fact there is only one more, making seven tricks in all. Instructions are inscribed on the inside of the box lid. There is a hook key, a coin slide, a buttonhole tag and loop, a card trick, a paddle trick, a trick gun and a 7-piece color-divination trick. Each is custom designed and labeled to project the spy theme. The paddle is marked “TRUE” and “FALSE” on opposite sides and comes with a covering slide labeled “U.N.C.L.E. Lie Detector.” The simple two card monte has a double backed card and a double-facer showing photos of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. Curiously, the title of “Double Agent Card Trick” almost gives away the secret. The trick gun shoots a cap (apparently not included) when you push the trigger rather than pull it. This trick is generously called “The Incredible Mystery Gun Affair.” The coin slide is labeled “U.N.C.L.E. Money Converter and changes a regular nickel into a blue plastic disk printed with “5000 Rubles.” In addition, a small plastic scope viewer can be used to spot the correct jewel from under one of three covers (if you are able to spot the hair). This was Gilbert’s last production magic set, and judging by the current prices and availability, it must have been a fairly small production run.

With the cold war over, international spies gave way to domestic mystery. Hanna-Barbera Productions had great success with their extensive and imaginative line of Saturday morning cartoon, but none was quite as venerable as Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? The program started in 1969 and has played almost continuously since, producing spin-offs, direct-to-video movies, and a generous supply of commercial products. Scooby-Doo’s Box of Magic Tricks, released in 1977, held punch-out cardboard sheets with props for nine tricks. The artwork’s inconsistency is striking: some props feature clean, bright, professional depictions of the show’s cartoon characters, while some pieces are oddly pseudo-Chinese, and one is a muted watercolor semi-realistic illustration of a castle. the latter is actually a string and ring puzzle rather than a magic trick.

Finally, The Magician was the epitome of magic television programs. With high production values, a popular star, and clever scripts, this hour long, 1973 adventure series made the most of magic. Bill Bixby starred as a stage magician who played detective, often using his magic equipment in an effort to solve mysteries and catch criminals. The magic was well-woven into the story plots, and the show’s budget allowed showcasing lots of fine illusions. In addition, Bixby, who had been an amateur magician and avid magic fan, studied hard in order to perform realistically on the show. Paramount took advantage of the popularity of the show to authorize The Magician Magic Set (“as seen on national television”) in 1974, the last year of the show’s two-year run. Produced by Marshall Brodien’s TV Magic Productions, the set has all the standards: cups and balls, sponge bunnies, multiplying coin tray, rice bowls, Color Vision Cube, two card monte, paddle trick, etc. In a rare departure from the company’s usual bag-in-a-box packaging, the large flat box is fitted with a tray with molded insets for the props.

In more recent years, there have been some magic-related commercial tie-ins that only marginally qualify as of interest to magic set collectors. These include such items as the I Dream of Jeannie Magical Playsets, a Sesame Street Magic Show toy, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle magician action figure, the Colorforms Mork & Mindy Magic Show set, and Sabrina The Teenage Witch dolls and sets that incorporate pseudo-magic tricks. In addition, there have been some toys and sets which could be construed as having television connections, but were originally produced as film promotions, such as the Wizard of Oz, 101 Dalmations and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Most of these such items were created in conjunction with publicizing a movie, which itself resulted in spin-off cartoon shows. There have also been many kits that, while not produced in direct connection with a specific program, do incorporate TV characters in some capacity, including Mickey Mouse, Popeye, Snoopy, Donnie and Marie Osmond and others.

There may still be critics complaining about zombified youth deteriorating their brains all day in front of the”boob tube,” but it is evident that at least some of them have been inspired to learn a new craft. All in all, if television has produced enough interest in magic to create and sell all the above sets, magicians hardly have room to complain. While it may have been fun to sit watching programs with a magic connection, it is obvious that many youngsters left their TV sets long enough to practice and perform tricks from their magic sets. And that should mean that TV couldn’t be all bad.