The Wizard
THE WIZARD/CBS/1986-87 (Little Person)
Simon McKay (David Rappaport), a genius inventor and toy maker who created fantastic devises for fun and the US Government.
Simon is protected by CIC agent Alex Jagger (Douglas Barr) who is assigned to keep Simon safe from mercenaries, ruthless businessmen, and other nefarious folk those who sought to use Simon’s genius for evil. Another person on Simon’s team is his long time friend, Tillie Russell (Fran Ryan).
Simon’s arch-enemy is Troyan (Roy Dotrice), a sinister fellow suffering from radiation poison. He once kidnapped Tillie Russell and held her hostage in Hong Kong until Simon and Alex rescued her.
Some of Simon’s creations included: Aegis, a prototype robotic helper dog; The Golden Fleece, Simon’s radio-controlled plane; H.E.N.R.I., a robot (Voice of Roddy McDowell); and an inspirational board game “Never Give Up.”
Note: David Rappaport measured 3-feet, 11-inches in height. Born David Stephen Rappaport on November 23, 1951 in London, England, actor David Rapport died on May 2, 1990 (age 38) in San Fernando Valley, California from suicide (self-inflicted gunshot to the chest with a .38 caliber revolver). He was buried at the Waltham Abbey cemetery in England.
His other screen credits: Randall, the ringleader of a motley group of time-traveling thieves in the film Time Bandits (1981); Rinaldo, a little person who befriends a giant in The Bride (1985); and Hamilton Skylar, a slick attorney in a few episodes of of the TV series L.A. LAW (1986).
