Mr. Merlin
title: "Mr. Merlin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1981-american-television-series-debuts", "1982-american-television-series-endings", "1980s-american-sitcoms", "television-series-by-sony-pictures-television", "american-english-language-television-shows", "television-series-based-on-arthurian-legend", "television-shows-set-in-san-francisco", "works-based-on-merlin", "cbs-sitcoms"] topic_path: "geography/united-states" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Merlin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox television"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| image | MrMerlin.jpg |
| image_size | 240 |
| caption | Mr. Merlin title card |
| genre | Sitcom |
| Fantasy | |
| creator | Larry Rosen |
| Larry Tucker | |
| producer | Joel Rogosin |
| writer | Larry Rosen |
| Larry Tucker | |
| Tom Chehak | |
| director | Bill Bixby |
| Harry Winer | |
| James Frawley | |
| starring | Barnard Hughes |
| Clark Brandon | |
| Elaine Joyce | |
| Jonathan Prince | |
| Phil Morris | |
| composer | Ken Harrison |
| country | United States |
| language | English |
| num_seasons | 1 |
| num_episodes | 22 |
| executive_producer | Larry Rosen |
| Larry Tucker | |
| cinematography | Chuck Arnold |
| Ronald W. Browne | |
| editor | Robert F. Shugrue |
| John Farrell | |
| Kenneth R. Koch | |
| runtime | 30 minutes |
| channel | CBS |
| company | Larry Larry Productions |
| first_aired | |
| last_aired | |
| :: |
| image = MrMerlin.jpg | image_size = 240 | caption = Mr. Merlin title card | genre = Sitcom Fantasy | creator = Larry Rosen Larry Tucker | producer = Joel Rogosin | writer = Larry Rosen Larry Tucker Tom Chehak | director = Bill Bixby Harry Winer James Frawley | starring = Barnard Hughes Clark Brandon Elaine Joyce Jonathan Prince Phil Morris | composer = Ken Harrison | country = United States | language = English | num_seasons = 1 | num_episodes = 22 | executive_producer = Larry Rosen Larry Tucker | cinematography = Chuck Arnold Ronald W. Browne | editor = Robert F. Shugrue John Farrell Kenneth R. Koch | runtime = 30 minutes | channel = CBS | company = Larry Larry Productions | first_aired = | last_aired =
Mr. Merlin is an American sitcom that ran for one season, from 1981 to 1982, about Merlin the wizard (played by Barnard Hughes), who is immortal, living in modern-day San Francisco, and disguised as Max Merlin, a mechanic. Mr. Merlin was produced by Larry Rosen and Larry Tucker, working as the Larry Larry Company, in association with Columbia Pictures Television.
Premise
Merlin hires Zachary Rogers (Clark Brandon) to work in his garage, and when Zac pulls a crowbar out of a bucket of cement, the crowbar is revealed to be Arthur's sword Excalibur and Merlin must reveal himself to Zac and make him an apprentice. Leo Samuels (Jonathan Prince) is Zac's best friend, who naturally has no idea his best buddy is a "wizard in training". Elaine Joyce is Alexandria ("Alex"), Max's equally magical liaison with an unseen "council" (who insisted Merlin take on an apprentice or lose both his powers and immortality).
Cast
Main
- Barnard Hughes as Max Merlin, Merlin the Magician who now works as a mechanic in San Francisco.
- Clark Brandon as Zachary Rogers, Merlin's apprentice.
- Jonathan Prince as Leo Samuels, Zac's best friend.
- Elaine Joyce as Alexandria, Merlin's fellow magician.
- Phil Morris as the Kid.
Guest cast
- DeAnna Robbins in "Pilot" (Episode 1)
- Richard Basehart in "A Moment in Camelot" (Episode 7)
- Stacy Keach Sr. in "Take My Tonsils... Please!" (Episode 9)
- Scott McGinnis in "Not So Sweet Sixteen" (Episode 11)
- Mel Stewart in "Alex Goes Popless" (Episode 14)
- Catherine Mary Stewart and Rita Wilson in "Everything's Coming Up Daisies " (Episode 15)
- Eugene Roche in "Change of Venue: Part 1" (Episode 18)
- Holly Gagnier in "I Was a Teenage Loser" (Episode 22)
Episodes
Note: A Mr. Merlin strip ran briefly in the British TV Comic.
|background = #F3F781 |overall = 7 |title = 28 |director = 15 |writer = 25 |airdate = 15 |prodcode = 10 |prodcodeR = |country = US |episodes =
|EpisodeNumber = 1 |Title = Pilot |DirectedBy = John Astin |WrittenBy = Larry Tucker, Larry Rosen |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 2 |Title = The Cloning of the Green |DirectedBy = Bill Bixby |WrittenBy = Larry Tucker, Larry Rosen |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 3 |Title = Starsand |DirectedBy = Herbert Kenwith |WrittenBy = Larry Tucker, Larry Rosen |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 4 |Title = The Music's in Me |DirectedBy = Harry Winer |WrittenBy = Tom Chehak |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183402 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 5 |Title = All About Sheila |DirectedBy = Harry Winer |WrittenBy = Larry Tucker, Larry Rosen |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183401 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 6 |Title = The Two Faces of Zac |DirectedBy = Bill Bixby |WrittenBy = Tim Maschler |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183403 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 7 |Title = A Moment in Camelot |DirectedBy = Harry Winer |WrittenBy = William J. Keenan |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 8 |Title = A Message from Wallshime |DirectedBy = Alan Myerson |WrittenBy = Jeffrey Scott |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 9 |Title = Take My Tonsils... Please |DirectedBy = Bill Bixby |WrittenBy = Parke Perine |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 10 |Title = The Ache |DirectedBy = Larry Elikann |WrittenBy = Stephanie Garman, Hollace White |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 11 |Title = Not So Sweet Sixteen |DirectedBy = Alan Myerson |WrittenBy = Tom Chehak |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 12 |Title = Romeo and Dreidelwood |DirectedBy = James Frawley |WrittenBy = Larry Tucker, Larry Rosen |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183419 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 13 |Title = Getting to Know You |DirectedBy = Leo Penn |WrittenBy = Ann Woodall, Paula Lintz |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 14 |Title = Alex Goes Popless |DirectedBy = James Frawley |WrittenBy = Tom Chehak |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183420 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 15 |Title = Everything's Coming Up Daisies |DirectedBy = Jeffrey Hayden |WrittenBy = Don Tait |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183421 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 16 |Title = The Egg and Us |DirectedBy = Howard Storm |WrittenBy = George Geiger |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183417 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 17 |Title = How to Help a Gymnast in a Foreign Country |DirectedBy = Leo Penn |WrittenBy = Martin Donovan |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183416 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 18 19 |Title = Change of Venue: Parts 1 & 2 |DirectedBy = Bill Bixby |WrittenBy = Tim Maschler |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = |ShortSummary = Originally presented as an hour-long episode. |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 20 |Title = An Absence of Amulets |DirectedBy = Harry Winer |WrittenBy = Paul Haggis, Michael Mauer |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183413 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 21 |Title = Arrivederci, Dink |DirectedBy = Alan Myerson |WrittenBy = Julie Kirgo, Dinah Kirgo |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183424 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781 |EpisodeNumber = 22 |Title = I Was a Teenage Loser |DirectedBy = Bill Bixby |WrittenBy = Tom Chehak |OriginalAirDate = |ProdCode = 183425 |ShortSummary = |LineColor = F3F781
References
References
- "Public Catalog - Copyright Catalog (1978 to present) - Basic Search [search: "Mister Merlin"]". United States Copyright Office.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::