My favorite videos of "The World's Greatest Magic"

I remember in the early 90's watching the "World's Greatest Magic" TV specials. I was sucked in by the wonderful captivating and magical talent. The program usually aired around Thanksgiving and I was always so excited when I would see the commercials advertising it. I really wish they would bring that show back. It was truly a magical time.

I thing that's what also helped me get back into magic. I was so inspired to get back into magic by watching all the great magicians dazzle the world with their magic. Here is a few of my favorites. I have many more, but for some reason there isn't many World's Greatest Magic videos. Feel free to send me some of your favorites as a link in the comments area. I will try to add them to this blog.

The World's Greatest Magic was a series of American television specials showcasing magic acts.The first of five shows was broadcast by NBC in 1994, and continued with annual editions through 1998. These shows were most often first telecast during the Thanksgiving holidays when special programming would occur. These specials reran occasionally on ABC Family (then The Family Channel and Fox Family) from October 1996 to early 2002.

The first episode was hosted by Robert Urich, the second by Alan Thicke, and the final three episodes by John Ritter. All of the specials were narrated by Don LaFontaine. During specials II, III, IV, and V, before each commercial break of every episode, in a segment known as the Mac King School of Magic, Mac King showed viewers a simple magic trick, and would break its steps down after the commercial break so that the audience could perform the same trick for family and friends. The first special featured the same teach-a-trick segments which involved some of the various magicians featured in the special, along with a special guest celebrity.

Below is a list of the closing illusions for each of the five shows, and the magicians who performed them:

• World's Greatest Magic I: Franz Harary - Space Shuttle vanish
• World's Greatest Magic II: Penn and Teller - Magic bullet catch
• World's Greatest Magic III: The Pendragons - Disappearance of 25 Vegas showgirls
• World's Greatest Magic IV: Lance Burton - Jaws of Death escape (Lance was handcuffed and shackled inside a canvas mailbag, put in the back of a car, and dropped into a car crusher.)
• World's Greatest Magic V: Brett Daniels - Teleportation of actress Kelly Packard across the Grand Canyon

Franz Harary (born July 18, 1962) is an American magician and inventor who has appeared on television shows such as the first episode of NBC's The World's Greatest Magic, on which Harary made the Space Shuttle appear to vanish.

While studying music at Eastern Michigan University and aspiring to be a singer and dancer on Broadway, Harary was designing illusions as a hobby. He began performing publicly after persuading the university's marching band leader to let him appear as part of the halftime show. Between 1982 and 1984, Harary's Odyssey In Illusion team designed and executed illusions for ballet troupes, ice revues, marching bands, and symphony orchestras. It was featured on ABC-TV's live telecast of the 1983 Thanksgiving Day parade in Detroit. 

At the end of 1983, Harary sent Michael Jackson a videotape of Odyssey In Illusions greatest hits and within a week was invited to perform as part of the Jacksons' "Victory Tour" in 1984. Harary made Jackson levitate and disappear on one side of the stage and reappear with his brothers on the other side. In 1990, a character in World Championship Wrestling called The Black Scorpion used magic in efforts to anger the popular Sting. Wrestling websites claim Harary was the masked man performing the magic.