The TV detective series Blacke's Magic starred Hal Linden as dapper professional magician Alexander Blacke, and Harry Morgan as Alexander's con-man father Leonard. Together, Blacke and Blacke solved mysteries with the help of Alexander's prestidigatory skills and Leonard's flim-flammery. In the series' two hour pilot, the Blackes attend a magician's convention, where an old friend of Alexander's is murdered. All the magic tricks performed on the episode were real, requiring Hal Linden to acquire a few conjuring skills post-haste. The Blacke's Magic pilot aired on Sunday, January 5, 1986; the series itself premiered the following Wednesday.