The Magician - Season 1 - Eps 15: The Illusion of Black Gold
Tony Blake stages a real life illusion--making it appear that a Alexander Polchek, a scientist from the Soviet Union, is killed so that he can be given a new identity. Thanks to a leak, however, a band of kidnappers is not fooled. They capture the scientist and hold an auction for his secret of extracting oil from shale rock. Californiamagic writes: This episode opens with what appears to be a well thought out assassination of a famous scientist at a public press conference..... But in reality Tony is helping to fake the doctor's death so that the doctor can go under an assumed name, and will no longer have to fear for his life. Why all the trouble? Because this doctor has the secret to extract oil from shale! But even with Tony's help, the bad guys figure out the doctor is not really dead, and kidnap him with plans to sell him to the highest bidder.
About The Magician

Title: The Magician
First Air Date: 1973-10-02
Last Air Date: 1974-04-15
Status: Ended
Rating: 6.7/10 (from 12 votes)
Language: EN
Seasons: 2
Total Episodes: 21
Network: NBC
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure
Production Companies: Paramount Television, B&B Productions
Synopsis
The Magician is an American television series that ran during the 1973–1974 season. It starred Bill Bixby as stage illusionist Anthony "Tony" Blake, a playboy philanthropist who used his skills to solve difficult crimes as needed. In the series pilot, the character was instead named Anthony Dorian. The name change was due to a conflict with the name of a real life stage magician.
Cast

Bill Bixby
Anthony Blake

Joseph Sirola
Dominick

Keene Curtis
Max Pomeroy

Julian Christopher
Jerry Anderson