Doug Henning World of Magic

An archive of the man who put wonder back on television — the NBC specials, The Magic Show, Merlin, and the night of 26 December 1975, recorded shot by shot.

Wonder, live on NBC

Doug Henning (1947–2000) was a Canadian magician who did something nobody had managed in a generation: he made magic feel modern. No tails, no top hat, no sinister patter — just a man in a tie-dyed shirt and flared trousers, delighted by his own tricks.

He broke through on Broadway in 1974 with The Magic Show, which ran for four and a half years. On Boxing Day 1975, NBC handed him an hour of live network time. Doug Henning’s World of Magic drew an audience of roughly fifty million and became an annual event, running through the 1980s. In 1983 he returned to Broadway as the wizard in Merlin.

What survives here comes from the fan wiki that ran at this address for twenty years: the running orders, the notes people typed up from memory, and a set of stills captured off videotape.

Doug Henning in pink flared trousers working the Shadow Box illusion during the live 1975 broadcast
Shadow Box — 26 December 1975Captured from videotape of the live NBC broadcast.

The specials

Seven World of Magic specials aired on NBC between 1975 and 1981, alongside three stage productions. Dates are those recorded in the archive.

Television — NBC

  • 26 Dec 1975

    World of Magic — Show One53 stills below

    Live on NBC. Introduced by Gene Kelly, with Bill Cosby, Shimada and Lori Lieberman. Closed with the Houdini Water Torture Cell escape.

  • 1976

    World of Magic — Show Two

    Running order preserved in the archive.

  • 17 Dec 1977

    World of Magic — Show Three

  • 14 Dec 1978

    World of Magic — Show Four

    Opened by producing a camel. Brooke Shields appeared from beneath a Chinese mask, then again inside an Egyptian pyramid. Tom Bosley played a magician the size of a dwarf.

  • 1979

    World of Magic — Show Five

  • 1980

    World of Magic — Show Six

  • 1981

    World of Magic — Show Seven

    The last of the NBC run.

Stage

  • 1974–1978

    The Magic Show

    Previews 16 May, opened 28 May 1974 at the Cort Theatre. Songs by Stephen Schwartz. Closed 31 December 1978 after 1,920 performances. Two Tony nominations in 1975.

  • 1982–1983

    Merlin

    Previews from 10 December 1982; opened 13 February 1983 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. Closed 7 August after 199 performances.

  • 1983–1985

    Doug Henning & His World of Magic

    Opened at the Fox Theater, Atlanta on 13 October 1983. Reached the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre 11 December 1984, closing 27 January 1985 after 60 performances.

26 December 1975 — shot by shot

53 stills captured from videotape of the first live broadcast, in the order they aired. The picture is soft and the colour has drifted, which is exactly what a 1975 NBC broadcast looks like fifty years on.

Show Open Credits

Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Introduction by Gene Kelly
Introduction by Gene Kelly
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Show Open Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Fickle Nickel

Still from “Fickle Nickel” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Fickle Nickel” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Bill Cosby Juke Box Production

Still from “Bill Cosby Juke Box Production” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Bill Cosby Juke Box Production” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Doves From Nowhere

Still from “Doves From Nowhere” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Doves From Nowhere” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Vanishing Bird Cage

Parrot Production
Parrot Production
Still from “Vanishing Bird Cage” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Vanishing Bird Cage” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Owl Production
Owl Production

Commercial Break

Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Closeup: Card in Cigarette

Still from “Closeup: Card in Cigarette” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Closeup: Card in Cigarette” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Closeup: Card in Cigarette” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Cut and Restored Rope Trick with Bill Cosby

Still from “Cut and Restored Rope Trick with Bill Cosby” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Cut and Restored Rope Trick with Bill Cosby” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Shadow Box

Still from “Shadow Box” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Shadow Box” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Shadow Box” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Operation Table

Still from “Operation Table” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Shimada Parasol Act

Still from “Shimada Parasol Act” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Sands of Egypt

Still from “Sands of Egypt” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Gene Anderson's Newspaper Tear

Still from “Gene Anderson's Newspaper Tear” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Lori Liberman sings "Killing Me Softly"

Still from “Lori Liberman sings

DeKolta Chair Vanish with Lori Liberman

Still from “DeKolta Chair Vanish with Lori Liberman” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “DeKolta Chair Vanish with Lori Liberman” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Things That Go Bump In The Night

Still from “Things That Go Bump In The Night” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Things That Go Bump In The Night” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Things That Go Bump In The Night” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Things That Go Bump In The Night” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Water Torture Cell Escape

Still from “Water Torture Cell Escape” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Water Torture Cell Escape” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Water Torture Cell Escape” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Water Torture Cell Escape” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Water Torture Cell Escape” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Commercial Break

Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975
Still from “Commercial Break” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Show Close with Bill Cosby

Cosby figures out the rope trick
Cosby figures out the rope trick
Still from “Show Close with Bill Cosby” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

Credits

Still from “Credits” — Doug Henning’s World of Magic, 26 December 1975

A life in wonder

  • 19473 May. Douglas James Henning born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His father, an airline pilot, is promoted and the family moves to Oakville, Ontario.
  • 1953Aged six, he watches a magician float a woman in mid-air on The Ed Sullivan Show. He asks his mother how it was done. She tells him: “That’s magic.”
  • 1961First paid show, at a friend’s birthday party. At fourteen he has cards printed for The Great Hendoo and places a newspaper advertisement: “Magician, Have Rabbit, Will Travel.”
  • 1963Promotes a high-school assembly show with a publicity photograph of himself levitating his younger sister Nancy.
  • 1967Enrols at McMaster to read psychology, intending to go on to medical school. He works Toronto’s coffee houses and club circuit, making as much as $5,000 a year.
  • 1971Applies to the Canada Council to study magic as an art. The rejection letter says: “Magic is not a fine art.” He travels to Montreal, performs for the panel in person, and leaves with a $4,000 grant.
  • 1972Studies sleight of hand with Tony Slydini in New York, then with Dai Vernon on the west coast. Vernon writes in Genii: “I predict that if he keeps up with his present schedule of study and dedication, Doug Henning will be a great success in magic.”
  • 1973With college friend Ivan Reitman he stages Spellbound at the Royal Alexandra in Toronto — borrowing $5,000 from his mother for second-hand illusions. It breaks the theatre’s box-office record, beating Hair and Godspell.
  • 197428 May. The Magic Show opens on Broadway at the Cort Theatre.
  • 1975Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. 26 December: Doug Henning’s World of Magic premieres live on NBC.
  • 1977Marries Barbara De Angelis. 17 December: Show Three airs.
  • 197831 December. The Magic Show closes after 1,920 performances.
  • 1981Divorces; in December marries Debby Douillard. Show Seven airs — the last of the NBC run.
  • 198313 February. Merlin opens at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. It closes on 7 August after 199 performances.
  • 198411 December. Doug Henning & His World of Magic opens at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, closing 27 January after 60 performances.
  • 1987Leaves magic to work full time promoting Transcendental Meditation.
  • 1999Magic Magazine asks what he would tell magicians about his return to magic. He answers: “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!”
  • 20007 February. Dies of liver cancer, aged 52.