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Alcazar, Doctor. Doctor Alcazar was created by Philip MacDonald (Anthony Gethryn) and appeared in three stories in Ellery Queen from 1948 to 1952, beginning with “The Green-and-Gold String” (Ellery Queen, Oct. 1948).

Doctor Alcazar is a Con Man. He is a wandering swindler and charlatan who claims to be a clairvoyant and seer so as to gull wealthy women and relieve them of their money, usually in the form of checks made out to “The Alcazar Foundation of Psychic Research.” But Alcazar has a good side, deep down, and is willing to take risks to help others. Usually this is not necessary, and Alcazar can instead apply his sly cunning, wide experience, and formidable skills at flim-flammery and occult-sounding double-talk toward the goal of thievery. Alcazar works at a California circus when he is not striking out on his own for individual scams, and he is assisted by Avie du Pois, who guesses weights at the circus when he is not helping Alcazar swindle or solve crimes.

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