Month: September 2022

NY Sunday News-1974 “Magic Show” Sunday Spread

The above page comes from a 1974 “New York Sunday News” newspaper spread. In it, Doug is interviewed, while giving kids a lesson in magic. It’s a fun piece, and a nice representation on how “The Magic Show” was promoting itself during its very first holiday season.  As the article itself is fairly intricate, I’ll…

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1977 “Magic Show” Abbreviated TV Commercial

The above late 70s commercial is a real rarity, and features a more abbreviated version of a longer one that aired around the same time. As you can probably make out, Doug had left the production by this point, and Joe Abaldo had taken over the lead role. More than likely, the production team wanted…

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Remodeled James Earl Jones (Cort) Theatre Interior

As mentioned a couple weeks back, the venerable “Cort Theatre,” home of “The Magic Show,” was undergoing a renaming and extensive refurbishment. Well, yesterday it was official when the “Cort” became the “James Earl Jones.”  A video at the event was shown showing Jones looking over the renovated theater. From the looks of it, the…

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OTB Newspaper Ad-1974/75?

The above advertisement for OTB (Off Track Betting) is certainly one of the most obscure ads that I’ve seen Doug appear in.  However, the story of how it ended up here is a unique one in itself. Author and psychologist, Richard Wiseman,  recently sent me a group of newspaper clippings he found in an old…

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“Magic Show” Airing This Sunday (9/4/22) on RSU-TV

If there are any readers of the website in Claremore, Oklahoma, set your DVR for tomorrow night at 7pm. I just found out that “The Magic Show” TV movie will be played as part of RSU-TV’s “Digital Drive-in” showcase. The station itself is a PBS affiliate, and is on Channel 35.1.  This is certainly a…

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Sept. 12th Cort Theatre Renaming

As mentioned back in March, the Cort Theatre is about to enter a new era. As of Monday, September 12th, the theater will be renamed after venerable actor and Sith Lord himself, James Earl Jones. The theater itself has been undergoing extensive renovations during COVID, and when I saw it last November you could barely…

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“Illusion and Reality” Chicago Lecture-Mark Holstein Remembers

For those watching Sunday night’s “Magic Collector’s Corner” on Zoom, Mark Holstein briefly touched on Doug’s Chicago lecture “Illusion and Reality.” Along with Jay Marshal, it sounded like a really interesting and fun night for a variety of reasons. I asked Mark if he could elaborate on the evening for the website, and he was…

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