The Magic Christian (novel) The Magic Christian (novel) The Magic Christian is a 1959 comic novel by American author Terry Southern (1924–1995) about an odd billionaire who spends most of his time playing elaborate practical jokes on people. It is known for bringing Southern to the attention of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, who had received a copy as a gift from Peter Sellers, and subsequently hired him as co-writer for "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) when Kubrick decided to make that film a black comedy/satire, rather than a straightforward thriller. In 1969, "The Magic Christian" was made into a film starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr; the
The Magic Christian (film) want it, here it is, come and get it'). Thunderclap Newman’s "Something in the Air" is also prominent in the film's soundtrack. Starr and Sellers became good friends during the shoot. British actor and dancer Lionel Blair was responsible for the film's choreography. A host of British and American actors have brief roles in the movie, many playing against type. Episodic in character, "The Magic Christian" is an unrelenting and often heavy-handed satire on capitalism, greed, and human vanities. Notable are the appearances of (pre-Monty Python) John Cleese and Graham Chapman (uncredited), who had jointly written an earlier version of