Magic!!! Starring Blackstone



'Magic!!! Starring Blackstone' is a pledge drive special that originally aired on PBS station KTCA in Minnesota on January 1, 1983. The hour and a half special stars magician Harry Blackstone putting on a grand magic show in the tradition of vaudeville at the Orpheum Theater.

Statler and Waldorf appear periodically throughout the special to transition to the pledge drive breaks. In one scene, Statler cites information from various PBS programs to help Waldorf get out of his seat (though he's merely stuck on someone's wad of gum). In a later scene, the two trade various lightbulb-related puns while plugging the pledge break and other PBS shows (including The Electric Company, of course). In one final scene, following an act involving a disappearing elephant, the geezers wonder where it went and are shocked to see the elephant is now by their box (represented by just a trunk, repurposing the Fluffy puppet).

For the Muppets' scenes, Jim Henson and Richard Hunt are given onscreen credit for their roles. Joseph A. Bailey is credited as writer for their scenes and Martin G. Baker is listed as a producer.