As a special holiday treat, NBC broadcast Doug Henning’s World of Magic, a rare live television special, on this night in 1975. The previous year, Henning had become an unexpected Broadway star in a modest musical, The Magic Show. On NBC, the magic was sensational and memorable: Henning’s cast spent months of rehearsal to prepare for the television show, concluding with a re-creation of Houdini’s Water Torture Cell. Orson Welles was announced as the host of the show, but when he was unable to be there, Gene Kelly stepped in to introduce Henning to America. Doug went on to do eight specials.
