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KARI HENDLER the Phone Rings

KARI HENDLER the Phone Rings

PHOTOS: KARI HENDLER The phone rings. Caller ID says it’s Wil- tions,” then cleverly wrote three television next phase: “Why don’t you blindfold the liam Link. drama scripts to fulfill the requirement — duck?” Blackstone, a little less thankful than “Hi, Bill.” scripts that they sold to anticipated, gave Bill’s foot a kick and said “Hi, Peter. You know this piece from Presents. The “powers that be” at the school in a low voice, “Keep out of this kid!” But David Regal? I think I’m going to get that considered the submission of scripts to be he made up for that by attaching a pencil one, he’s a real clever fellow…” And so we exploiting a loophole and closed it behind with a loop of string through the buttonhole talking . them, apparently not recognizing that on Bill’s suit coat, leaving him with a puzzle Bill Link is sharp as a tack. Oh, sure, show business is indeed a business. It was and a souvenir to talk about at Sunday maybe a name or two might take a few sec- an auspicious start for two business school School the next day. Ah, show business. onds longer to come back, and his legs don’t graduates, succeeding in business by doing By then, as his father’s business was work so well these days, but heck, he recently what they loved to do. succeeding, they had moved from a suburb celebrated his 81st birthday and just look at Though you’ll not see a picture of Wil- of Philly to the upscale Elkins Park area of all the work he has created and the success liam Link or as teenag- the city, where two school districts were he has earned. His is a true suc- ers wearing top hats or cradling rabbits, it being amalgamated. It was on the first day cess story, and even though he might not be was magic that brought them together and of junior high school that Link and Levin- known in the industry for his conjuring, he became the connective tissue when they son met. Bill describes it like this: “I was has always been a magician at heart. flexed their creative muscles. And their love tipped off by some of Dick’s friends to look If all he and his writing partner, Richard of magic never left them. for a guy named Dick Levinson, who was Levinson, had done in their careers was to Bill’s parents relocated from the New tall, loved and performed magic, and wrote create Colombo and Murder, She Wrote, York area to , where his father mysteries. Dick was tipped off to look for it would be enough. But there is so much became a successful textile broker and a short guy who wrote mysteries and did more. As a team, they’ve written books, an inveterate lover of gadgets. He shared magic. We met at lunchtime and were best novels, over thirty short stories for periodi- that love of technology with his children, friends by the end of the school day. We cals and anthologies, radio scripts, films, bringing home one of the new wire record- went home and started writing. It lasted plays, and several musicals, including one ers, becoming an early adopter of televi- over forty years.” for Broadway — the magic musical Merlin, sion — complete with gigantic magnifying They wrote that day and every day after which starred . They created lens — and even, at one point, buying a real school. On one day, Dick would take two magician Alexander Blacke as the lead char- Geiger counter for Bill’s brother to search buses to Elkins Park to write at Bill’s home, acter in their mystery series Blacke’s Magic, for uranium in the woods behind the house. and on alternate days, Bill would take two bringing magic to network television each But even before those days, week. That show was just one of 14 original he began taking the family television series Levinson & Link created, to see the touring Blackstone along with 26 made-for-TV movies. Their show whenever it came backgrounds in thinking magically aided the through town. When Bill team in their plotting, and they occasionally turned eight, he was the were able to insert magicians and illusions happy recipient of a Mysto into the storylines of the more than 100 Magic set. A little knowl- other scripts and teleplays for other series. edge is a dangerous thing, The list of shows they’ve worked on over and shortly thereafter, the years includes Dr. Kildare, The Fugitive, young Bill, dressed in his , Banacek, Burke’s Law, Johnny Sunday best, was attending Ringo, , and The Alfred Hitch- the spectacular Blackstone cock Hour. After Dick’s untimely death, Bill show with all its mystery continued producing and writing, and he and audience participa- still works daily from his home office. tion. When children were Every conversation with Bill is illuminat- called up onto the stage, ing, shining a spotlight on some of the most Bill made sure he was part creative and innovative writers, actors, and of the group, and seeing producers in television history. He knew that Blackstone was about them all. I can sense his ease with language, to begin a routine with an ease that comes from a craft honed over Joanne, the Card Duck, nearly seventy years of daily effort. Forget he spoke up, setting the 10,000 hours — he’d achieved that before stage, he thought, for a he was out of . He and Dick had their smooth transition into the first story published during their last year in high school. And by the time they graduated Bill Link at work in his from the University of , they office [facing page]. A were professional authors. photo of Link and writing At Wharton School of Business, they partner Richard Levinson found a senior thesis topic called “Publica- still adorns his desk. MAGIC • march 2015 41 buses to the row house in Oak Lane, where leave the magic clown at home?” So they They wrote mostly during pre-computer Dick lived. They were fourteen, they loved to were back to strictly a duo act, which was days, with Dick banging away at his Swiss- write, and they loved magic. Every Saturday, fine with them. made typewriter for hours a day, every they’d take the bus downtown to Kanter’s Amazingly, in the 42 years of their day. At one point it got so hectic, they were Magic Shop in search of new mysteries. collaboration, they never fought. They working so hard, with Dick banging away at There are no artifacts from those early never argued. Of course, roadblocks arose, the keys, that his fingers were getting bloody. years. None of the early cartoon drawings perhaps a plot problem with no immediately He solved that problem by taping thimbles to still exist from the time before Bill could obvious solution, so they would break for his fingertips so that he could keep working. write words, and none of the fully illustrated the night. In the morning, one or the other Bill is a happy convert to a Mac, but Dick storybooks from a few years later. There would invariably show up with the solution. never made the change before his untimely are no photographs of Link and Levinson This formula succeeded from the start, and death. Sharing his feelings about the loss of as young magicians performing their shows the work they created was so good that it his friend and partner, Bill quotes George for birthday parties and bar mitzvahs, only led to an unbelievable series of awards. Bernard Shaw, who once said, “There are memories of lugging their suitcases through Richard Leighton Levinson and William some people so valuable and so important in the snow on the way there. Dick’s was Theodore Link received six Emmy nomina- your life that you only lose them with your larger, containing magic props and a vent tions and two for their work. death.” Bill adds, “And I find in the case of figure. They always talked and thought There were also two Golden Globe Awards, Dick Levinson, that’s very, very true.” about magic they’d seen and how it worked. four Edgar Allan Poe Awards from the Mys- Obituaries in , They’d take turns doing tricks dur- tery Writers of America, the Ellery Queen Times, and others recognized ing their thirty- to forty-minute show, but Award in 1989, an Image Award from the their remarkable lifelong friendship and when Dick started with the vent, Bill would NAACP, a Christopher Award saluting writing partnership. Friends said that they hide, cringing at the act, which only got media that “affirms the highest values of the were “much more than collaborators, they one laugh, when Dick spun the dummy’s human spirit,” a Writers Guild of America were more like brothers.” — head in a circle. At one show, when Bill Laurel Award, the prestigious George Foster known for developing, among other shows, needed a coat with an open weave for his Peabody Award, and the Producers Guild Hill St. Blues, NYPD Blue, LA Law, and next number, the Knife Through Coat, none of America Hall of Fame Award. Although Doogie Howser, M.D. — said, “They not were to be had, except for the one Dick was Dick Levinson died of a heart attack in only finished each other’s sentences, they wearing, so off it came, exposing all the gim- 1987, at the age of 52, he (posthumously) began them.” The old saw is that you can micks and ropes for Dick’s Cut & Restored and Bill Link were inducted into the Acad- pick your friends but you can’t pick your Rope number and leaving the audience emy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of family — in this case, they created a family howling with laughter. For a while, Bill’s Fame in 1995. They were nominated for a in which their shared creativity was a bond brother Warren came along as a clown, but Tony Award, Broadway’s highest honor, for stronger than blood. was so mean to the kids that the parents, their writing of Merlin in 1983. Levinson Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. when booking the pair back for the follow- & Link created a record of success that is How did this partnership of Levinson & ing year, asked “Oh, Mr. Link, could you untouched to the present time. Link evolve? Well, it was always about sharing the stories with others, not just writing them. In Bill’s earliest memory of crafting a story about his own heroes and villains, he was telling it to an older cousin. In the late , radio drama was big, and by then both the boys had their Webster-Chicago tape recorders. They would cast the roles from their schoolmates, then rehearse and record their shows in Dick’s basement. The first of the monthly shows they created was Metropolis, about a corrupt mayor of a big city like Philadelphia. Already their stories encompassed a social conscience, and they always would. They were both very good students. Bill was getting straight As throughout junior and senior high school, except for math. To the end of his life, Dick still counted on his fingers. They were writing

Levinson & Link, arguably the most success- ful writing team in TV. [Left] Some of their many awards displayed in Bill’s den, shelved behind wire in case of earthquake. 42 MAGIC • march 2015 every day, and to say they were ambitious would be an understatement. They were driven. Obsessed. During their senior year The real magic of Levinson & Link was that in high school, they sold their first story, they were able to be so successful and yet have “Whistle While You Work,” to The Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, which published such compassion and progressive thinking in it in the November 1954 issue. Together, they moved on to the University their work, with social relevance. of Pennsylvania where, it would be safe to say, practically every one among the 16,000 undergraduate students knew of them. They collaboration in the 200-year history of the In 1959, TV Guide chose “Chain of edited the university’s newspaper, wrote arti- University of Pennsylvania. Command,” their drama of army life pro- cles for it, and cofounded and contributed to They graduated from the University’s duced as an installment of the Desilu Play- The Highball, the campus humor magazine. Wharton School in 1956 as professional house, as the best program of the season. During their time at the university, they writers, with three scripts sold to Alfred With this recognition, it was time to make together wrote six of the famous Mask and Hitchcock Presents for broadcast on the the move to California. Dick knew a bit Wig musicals. These were huge productions, fast-growing new medium, television. The about Los Angeles — his father had taken funded by the school’s athletic successes, Army occupied several years of their lives him on visits there several times — so he reportedly to the tune of $100,000, which after graduation, sending Bill to Germany preceded Bill, who drove out with a friend. is nearly $900,000 in today’s dollars. The while Dick was stuck stateside, forcing them They started out freelancing in Los shows were grand productions, touring up to continue their writing by mail — which of Angeles, doing work on The Untouchables, and down the East Coast and even making course they did. Being big fans of the televi- Michael Shayne, Johnny Ringo, and other an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. sion industry, they knew they needed to write TV shows. Four Star Television put them That Bill and Dick created six of these was for it and struck out for New York, only to under contract, where they met Aaron an incredible accomplishment. Even the uni- find that the television mysteries and dramas Spelling, who loved their work. He began versity knew it was a big deal, touting their that were previously taped there had vanished feeding them multiple script deals. It was a work by saying it was the most incredible and were now coming out of Hollywood. great opportunity, writing for shows such as MAGIC • march 2015 43 PHOTOS: KARI HENDLER

The Fugitive, Dr. Kildare, and Burke’s Law, said, “Bill and Dick, in their era, were emphasis on their strict edict that there be no introducing them to movie stars like David American television.” smoking or drinking in their series. Their sen- Niven, Charles Boyer, June Allyson, and While they didn’t perform much magic sibilities extended much further. Even though others. Years later, Aaron Spelling told their during the university days, and not in New these were crime and murder mysteries, the agent that he knew the boys were special, York or later in Los Angeles, they always act of violence was never seen onscreen. They but he had no idea just how far they would talked about it, comparing tricks, buying were aware that children might be watching go in the industry. tricks, and fooling each other. At one point and felt strongly that there was no reason In the early days, every Thursday they’d early on, Dick re-created the moment Ver- for kids to see such things. The knife or gun go to eat at Chasen’s. Thanks to being non fooled Houdini, using a double-backed might be seen beforehand, and there might mistaken for the more famous writing team card and a double lift to amaze Bill. They be a body after, but never was the assault of Lawrence & Lee, creators of Inherit the were fascinated by the puzzles that magic itself depicted. In fact, would never Wind, Levinson & Link were seated at a top offered. On two occasions, they had seen a carry a gun and never be involved in a shoot- table in the horseshoe, among the rich and performance of ’s spectacular ing or a car chase. famous. One night, they were seated next to Zig-Zag Girl illusion, and it completely baf- Columbo, as a series, was born in 1971 Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Perkins as fled them. They had to know how it worked, as part of the NBC Mystery Movies series. they talked about the adventures on the set so they wrote an episode of Columbo in Lieutenant Columbo had appeared in the during the shooting of Psycho. After a few which a murder is connected to a stage illu- play Prescription: Murder in 1962, and a TV months of borrowed status, the error was sion, and they had the studio order the prop. movie of the same name was scheduled for discovered and Bill and Dick were moved When the shoot day arrived, they ran down release in 1968. back with the hoi polloi. But that would to the set like children on Christmas morn- That Bill and Dick loved the classic change as their stars rose. ing, ready to open their special gift. But the locked-room mysteries of John Dickson Carr After leaving Four Star Television, they Zig-Zag was nowhere to be seen. The prop is clearly evident — especially in the later sold their stage play Prescription: Mur- department, in placing the order, had picked Blacke’s Magic — and they paid their respects der to Universal, which produced it as a out the wrong illusion. The two of them left, to Ellery Queen, , and Doro- made-for-television movie. Universal also completely disappointed. thy L. Sayers in construction and characters. insisted on a seven-year exclusive contract The real magic of Levinson & Link was The triumph of working-class cop Columbo — a contract that kept being extended, that they were able to be so successful and over the highborn and wealthy was more a eventually spanning decades. Those yet have such compassion and progressive dramatic necessity than a political statement. decades solidified their place in television thinking in their work, with social relevance But it did not go unnoticed. history. Norman Lloyd, who produced all in even their most popular writing. As And let’s not forget magic. The locked- of Hitchcock’s television shows, recently producers and writers, they placed strong room mystery is itself a kind of magic trick, 44 MAGIC • march 2015 and mystery surrounded their famous TV the opening-credits sequence with sleight- this, not that,’ and he’d do it. My memory sleuth, Lieutenant Columbo. Bill Link once of-hand magic and the episode titled “Ten of the shoots were that they’d say ‘Cut,’ described Columbo as an enigma “who Tons of Trouble,” split into segments, can be and Hal would look for me, hand the prop comes from nowhere and goes back to found on YouTube. back to me with, ‘Here, Jim. Thanks.’ He nowhere.” We never see his real life; we The magic consulting was contracted had no interest in it.” At one point, he was never see his wife or family or even his with Doug Henning’s company, but due standing around and said, “What’s the trick office. Columbo’s story is more than a police to the complexities of crediting, the sole with these rings?” and Jim performed half procedural, it’s a mythical tale. listing was for Jim Steinmeyer, who in of the Symphony of the Rings. The team of Levinson & Link contin- reality did all the work. The opening- looked impressed and said, “Wow, I can ued their great success with Murder, She credits manipulations feature his hands see how you could spend a couple of hours Wrote, featuring a woman detective who doing the magic as Hal Linden’s character, working on that.” was not “saved” by a male counterpart. and Earl Nelson did the hands of Harry Ah, show business. Instead, she stood on her own and tri- Morgan. There are a few, but only a few, So why didn’t the show continue after umphed as a woman, not as an adjunct. It moments during the actual episodes when the first season? There was a rumor that was a hallmark of theirs that entertaining they hand-double the actors. Interestingly, attributed it to a high network executive not television could encompass socially rel- it was who was originally slated being a fan of magic. But according to Jim, evant imagery and role models that were to work with Jim, but scheduling changes the real reason was very well documented. progressive and uplifting. necessitated replacing him with Earl. The networks decided that they wanted more While Columbo and Murder, She Both Hal Linden and ownership in shows, and the deal at that time Wrote were the series that made them were the epitome of professionalism on was that Universal owned the shows. When famous — Dick always joked that his set. Which is not to say creating the magic shows go into syndication, that’s when they tombstone would read, “He was the co- was easy. Early on, it became clear that Hal make money and the networks wanted a creator of Columbo” — the work they had absolutely no interest in magic. When piece of that. NBC had said “We want co- were most proud of included two serious Jim offered him props to rehearse with, the ownership of the shows.” Universal, which movies, (1972) and actor politely declined. For Jim, it was a owned Blacke’s Magic, was the big holdout The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), terrifying experience. He spent the entire and said “We’re not doing that.” At which which won them a Peabody Award. It was show panicked, looking for good self-work- point, Universal’s production that season in the exploration of social and cultural ing material. It’s to Jim’s credit that Linden went from fourteen hours weekly to roughly themes that they found their greatest always did well, but he would not practice. four hours. People were shocked that Blacke’s challenges and their greatest satisfaction. He’d look up and say, “Oh, you’re on the Magic was cut back, but it was one of many Bill refers to Slovik — the World War II set — are we doing something today?” shows that got canned. There was even talk story of the only US soldier to be court-mar- Jim would nod and get the response, “Oh, about it going to another network, because tialed and executed for desertion since the that’s right, there’s a trick in here — so it was a popular, successful show. But that Civil War — as “our finest, most powerful show me what that is.” As Jim describes it, never happened. movie.” That Certain Summer was the first “He always wanted it put into his hands Bill Link still hungers for magic. Just TV movie to take a serious, compassion- and shown how to do it. I’d say, ‘Nope, do look at his desk. In his workshop — his ate view of a homosexual relationship. In keeping with their belief in social justice, Levinson & Link adapted the novel and play , presenting an interracial friendship that came as close to being an interracial love story as they could get and still have it broadcast on television in 1970. Their one real magic series was Blacke’s Magic (1986). It starred Hal Linden and Harry Morgan as a father-and-son detective team, comprising retired magician Alexan- der Blacke and his finagling con-man father Leonard Blacke. The focus was less on figuring out who did the crime and more on how it was done, very much in keeping with the lifelong obsessions of Bill and Dick. The magic in the show was done without camera trickery and was developed under the supervision of Jim Steinmeyer. Full episodes are currently difficult to find, but a clip of

Bill Link at work in his office, with computer, magic, memories, and inspirations. And always a deck of cards. MAGIC • march 2015 45 private escape, which you discover only and Barbara De Angelis, written by Levin- come close in talent and preparation for after entering under the bright yellow son & Link. Although Merlin was not a writing that musical. crime scene tape — you will find the walls financial success, it was a magnificent show, The writing was fun. “We wrote the covered with photographs and cartoons. as can be attested to by all who saw it. For book for that show in a month. It was so And on the desk, where he can turn when the writing partners, it was a dream come easy. It was so great, working in our living he pauses in his writing, are some of the true. Even if Bill does describe it as being room, and because we did magic and were most current mysteries and a selection involved in an automobile accident, Dick incredible magic fans, we would create of classics: tricks, decks of cards, props, always wanted them to write a Broadway these illusions that Charlie [Reynolds] and DVDs, and of course, books. Bill is an musical, and they did. They were the perfect Jim [Steinmeyer] had to make work. It avid reader of books. Not only magic writers for the show. The Creative Artist was fabulous, that we could do that.” And but in far ranging fields — and his list of Agency that represented director Ivan Reit- sometimes, even after thinking up illusions, friends would be a Who’s Who in Hol- man also represented Levinson & Link; and they were completely surprised and fooled lywood, including writers, agents, produc- someone at CAA, knowing their writing and by them. But then again, so was Doug. ers, directors, actors, and magicians. One their knowledge of magic, put the three of Robin Wagner, a multiple Tony Award close friend is Jim Steinmeyer. them together. winner for his work on Broadway, did His friendship with Steinmeyer dates When Reitman called on them to write the spectacular scenic design for Merlin, back to their collaboration on Merlin, the Merlin, these guys were ready for it. In fact, earning him a Tony nomination. He tells 1983 musical conceived by Doug Henning there was nobody who could have even of the time Doug asked how the levitation worked. Doug floated in and among tril- ithons reminiscent of Stonehenge, columns with lintels across the top that seemed to eliminate the possibility of wires or rod suspension. Robin avoided answering, tell- ing Doug that he’d taken the oath and was sworn to secrecy. Even Bill and Dick were surprised and thrilled by the midair vanish of Doug seated on a horse. Bill remembers it stopping the show, every performance. The audience just had to catch their breath, they were so stunned. Perhaps “stopping the show” might bring up two other memories for Bill. One is how the rehearsals would just stop as Doug and Debbie would retire for long periods of meditation. “And they thought that they floated into the air. Please.” The loss of rehearsal time was especially problematic because of the expense. The show was so big that it could not be mounted out of town and brought into the Mark Hellinger The- atre for final rehearsals and opening night. The delays, the difficulty with the original director, an extended period of previews with full ticket prices being charged — these problems were especially upsetting to Bill and Dick, who were accustomed to being in control of a production. Too many things were beyond their control. The second memory is worse. Merlin was produced by Columbia Studios. The studio was putting up all the money for the show, along with its associated costs. Studio president Frank Price had a strong desire for the show to succeed, but he needed to be a realist. As Bill tells it, “The

Bill on Broadway in 1983, at the opening of Merlin, by Levinson & Link. A couple of souvenirs from conventions attended by Bill the magic aficionado. 46 MAGIC • march 2015 PHOTOS: KARI HENDLER

worst thing was that Doug said, ‘I’m black say?’ He said, ‘Nobody, in all the time I invention. He wants to know how things and blue from coming in and out of these brought this leopard to the theater, nobody work and, with a critical eye, evaluates trapdoors.’ There were like thirty some except one person made a comment — an whether the idea is intriguing and the trapdoors in that huge stage at the Mark elderly Jewish lady who asked, “Is that a big solution serves the plot. He still holds that Hellinger. And Frank Price said to him, cat on your back?”’ New York is unbeliev- young boy’s need to know how it’s done ‘We need you to get through the summer, able, I’ll tell you.” and retains his lifelong drive to entertain. because then it will pick up in the fall.’ And Merlin received two Drama Desk and five He wraps his ideas in a good story because, Doug said, ‘I can’t do it,’ to which Frank Tony Award nominations. For Levinson & as Michael Weber has been known to say, replied, ‘I’m being very honest with you, Link, their triumph was the nomination for “He with the best story wins.” Doug — if you leave the show, I’m closing Best Book of a Musical, and more than that, When asked if he has any regrets, profes- it like a door.’ And Doug left the show, and the satisfaction of knowing they had written sionally, Bill answers, “We made only two Frank closed it. It was horrible. We’d run a great Broadway magic musical. mistakes, two big missed opportunities. We for nine months. And it had done well. It Dick and Bill returned to Los Angeles passed on writing Jaws for Steven Spielberg could have run for four or five years.” and back to television, where they created and Victor, Victoria for Blake Edwards. Still, New Yorkers loved the show. We, Murder, She Wrote in 1984 — which would The other regret I have is that we never had after all, love the weird and wonderful, run for twelve seasons, becoming one of the as a murderer on Columbo. and Merlin was all that and more. “Did I longest running and most successful shows Putting together with Orson tell you about the guy with the leopard?” in television history — and Blacke’s Magic would have been amazing! Bill asks me. “Every day, we had a leop- for the 1986 season. In 1987, after over 42 “And I still haven’t found the Holy Grail, ard in the show, this huge, beautiful, sleek years of collaboration, their partnership the perfect solution to Any Card At Any Num- black leopard. And I once said to the guy ended with Dick Levinson’s death. ber. Oh, and the Hooker Card Rise.” who brought the leopard, ‘Do you bring Bill and Margery, his wife of 35 years, him in the truck?’ He said, ‘No, I leave my still live in Los Angeles, but he no longer Peter Samelson is a producer of Monday truck downtown.’ So I asked how he got makes frequent trips down to The Magic Night Magic, the longest running Off- the leopard to the theater. He was this big, Castle. He writes daily in his office, sur- Broadway Magic Show in New York. He tall, broad guy. ‘I put him over my back. I rounded by his most recent acquisitions performs, lectures, and designs for televi- walk him to the theater. You know, it’s only of magic props and books. He still creates sion, film, and theater, including Broadway. 22 blocks.’ ‘What?’ I said, ‘People must be plots and stories, delighting in puzzles He created and starred in three critically looking at you. You’re walking with this big to be solved and mysteries that demand acclaimed one-man Off-Broadway shows black leopard on your back. What do people unraveling. He values clever ideas and and tours internationally. MAGIC • march 2015 47

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