![]() It first aired on Oct 8, 1976, from 9pm-11pm, as part of ABC’s Friday Night Movie. It was filmed at the 20th Century Fox studio with the theater scenes shot at the historic Wilshire-Ebell Theater. is credited as Technical Advisor, but magic notables such as Manny Weltman, John Gaughan, Don Bice, and Abb Dickerson also contributed. The Great Houdinis was conceived by writer-producer-director Melville Shavelson for ABC Circle Films. Harry Blackstone Jr. Oh, and if you look closely you can spot Houdini expert Patrick Culliton playing Houdini’s assistant Franz Kukol. Other cast includes Ruth Gordon as Mama Weiss Bill Bixby as the Reverend Arthur Ford (sans southern accent) the underrated Adrienne Barbeau as Daisy White Peter Cushing as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Vivian Vance as the fictional maid Minnie (who also narrates the film), and Jack Carter shows up briefly as Theo. Sally Struthers, also a major TV star from All in the Family, turns in a stellar performance as Bess (more on that later). Glaser gives us the most likable Houdini since Tony Curtis. ![]() At the time Glaser was a major TV star from Starsky & Hutch and a ‘70s sex symbol. The Great Houdinis stars Paul Michael Glaser as Houdini. Not only does it have an amazing cast, but what at the time seemed to be steamy confection of fictionalization has over the years turned out to be fact - such as Houdini’s affair with Daisy White and Bessie’s alcoholism. For my money, the best Houdini biopic is the 1976 made for TV movie, The Great Houdinis.
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