This magician has almost as many talents as he does rabbits in his hat.

Magic, according to one definition, is the art of creating illusions agreeably. Indeed, the ability to elicit laughter from people who have just been fooled is as important as a mastery of the illusion, said magician Harry Blackstone.

Blackstone knows quite a bit about fooling people and making them laugh. His father was the Great Blackstone, who raised the art of stage magic and illusion to new heights. Now, the son also mesmerizes.

“The Blackstone Magic Show� begins at 8 tonight at the Norris Theatre in Rolling Hills Estates. Tonight’s show is sold out, but the theater’s box office is keeping a waiting list in case any tickets are returned.

“Deep in their hearts, people want to believe in magic, and that is why they respond to it when it is entertainingly presented in theatrical form,� Blackstone wrote in “The Blackstone Book of Magic and Illusion.�

Currently the Society of American Magicians’ international ambassador of magic, Blackstone has performed in Europe, Asia, Australia and throughout the United States. Until this week, however, he had never performed at the Norris Theatre.

“Every venue allows us to do different illusions,� Blackstone said, “and we don’t know which ones we’ll do until we get there.�

With the support of his 18-member troupe of musicians, technicians and stage helpers, Blackstone promised to perform “many miracles� and two new pieces developed for his current tour.

Blackstone said he will also perform such classics as the Floating Light Bulb, the Frightening Buzz Saw and the Dancing Handkerchief, all of which he learned and perfected with his father’s guidance and encouragement.

Born in 1943, Blackstone began his career in magic when he was only 6 months old, appearing and disappearing in his father’s illusions. Since then, Blackstone has developed his own magical skills. He has been named magician of the year twice by the Academy of Magical Arts and awarded the Star of Magic, an honor he shares with only 11 other magicians, including his late father.

Blackstone has almost as many talents as he does rabbits in his hat. He is an author, an actor, an inventor, the creator of the longest-running magic and illusion show on Broadway, and the producer of special effects for the bands Earth, Wind and Fire and New Kids on the Block.

Borrowing a phrase from Samuel T. Coleridge, the English poet and critic, Blackstone said that it is “the willing suspension of disbelief� that makes magic work in its ideal form. The enjoyment of magic, he added, is “as natural as breathing� and rooted in “mankind’s quest for what is real and what is not.�

History’s first recorded account of magic might be one written on an Egyptian papyrus that dates to 1700 B.C. Performing before a Pharaoh, Dedi of Dedsnefru was said to have cut off and switched the heads of a goose and a pelican and then let the birds fly away.

“Magicians still do that trick today,� Blackstone said.

Asked if he could explain how it’s done, he answered: “I could, but I won’t.�

What: Harry Blackstone’s magic show.

Where: Norris Theatre, 27570 Crossfield Drive, Rolling Hills Estates.

When: Tonight, 8 p.m.

Admission: $35. The show is sold out; the box office has a waiting list in case tickets are returned.

Information: (310) 544-0403.