Bewitched Ended Fifty Years Ago!

First season/pilot episode....

Final episode;

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered am I.

It didn't end with "old Darrin"...

[quote] Bewitched Ended Fifty Years Ago!

It was curtains, bitches.

I loved the mother in law.

^ Agnes Moorehead will be so pleased you remembered her in her finest role 😂

Just the remembrance of Bewitched gives me a supreme happy feeling. Such a wonderful show.

I had no idea Bewitched was on for eight years!

The things I saw!!!

The people who created the intro were also behind The Flintstones.

When they decided to do a crossover, they redesigned the Samantha character which sounds unfortunate at first(continuity, etc). However, the new version actually looked a lot like Elizabeth Montgomery.

"When did you know you were Gay?"

The first time I saw Bewitched 😛

I still try to twitch my nose when I want someone to turn into a toad

R11- Fum little piece of trivia, the Flintstones were based on the Honeymooners.

Frank, I have a sick headache.

Calling Dr. Bombay! Emergency, cone right away!

Come right away, sheesh.

[quote] I had no idea Bewitched was on for eight years!

It was allowed to go on for too long.

It did go on a bit too long but the last season gave us the glory of Samantha Stephens in miniskirts and go-go boots with huge blonde falls.

Elizabeth Montgomery and her husband William Asher wanted to end Bewitched long before 8th season. But show was such a hit network kept throwing money and other goodies at the pair to keep it going. So they did, even though the Asher's marriage by end of series was on outs.

EM was having a torrid affair with Bewitched director Richard Michaels who was also married. In end both EM's and Michael's marriages broke up; latter same year Bewitched ended, and former one year afterwards.

You can tell by later seasons EM's heart just wasn't into Bewitched any longer, she often seemed to be phoning things in. This and or doing passive aggressive things like quite visibly going without a brassiere.

Show itself lost steam when Dick York left (was pushed out), as audiences by and large never warmed to Dick Sargent. Scripts from prior seasons were reused, then came cast changes...

Agnes Moorehead wanted more time off to do other work. Alice Pearce died in 1966, replaced by Sandra Gould. Kasey Rodgers was also forced out after Dick Sargent left due to behind scenes politics. Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) died in 1968 and her character wasn't replaced....

To make up for some of those loses new characters were added (even if only one or two episodes), while others were expanded such as Uncle Arthur, Aunt Hagatha, Cousin Serena..., we even got to see more of Sam's hammy actor father Maurice (pronounced Morris) .

Agnes Moorehead didn't exactly get on quite well with Dick Sargent, which may have come across on screen.

Of course we cannot have a thread on Bewitched without all the wonderful inconsistencies!

When Darrin first meets Endora she tells him to use her given name as he never would be able to pronounce the surname. But wouldn't Darrin have seen (or otherwise known) Samantha's last name? I mean they applied for a marriage license together didn't they?

Whose daughter was "cousin" Serena? Uncle Arthur's?

Eve Arden was great as the bitch head nurse on maternity floor when Sam gave birth to Tabitha. Not a fan of the colorized versions; things that should be white (teeth, Eve Arden's uniform and cap) have a horrible green/grey tone.

At time Bewitched was one of the gayest sitcoms on television. Paul Lynde, Maurice Evans (huge chicken hawk apparently), and Dick Sargent were all gay.

^Plus Agnes Moorhead, if you believe the rumors, & one of the Tabithas (the other twin is straight)

I watched Bewitched reruns as a child of the ‘70s, Endora totally reminded me of my grandma. I also believed magic was real, & for kindergarten (I barely turned 5 by Halloween) decided I wanted to go as a witch—against everyone’s better judgment. I still remember the embarrassment I felt when I got to school (just in a black cloak) & wasn’t hailed as having the best costume ever.

To this day I call my mother Mrs Kravitz, love the term “sick headache,” & know an Esmeralda.

Bernard Fox, actor who played "Dr. Bombay" died back in 2016, and IIRC he was last living of adult Bewitched cast members.

On another note the twin boys who played Adam Stephens claim Tony Curtis is their father, sired as by-blows with Peggy Potter as their mother the boys were adopted soon after birth.

Agnes Moorehead actually made Dick Sargent cry on several occasions.

Cannot find link ATM but IIRC there is a story about how AM chewed out a young fan (boy) in public (think it was an airport or airplane) who asked for her autograph and also referred to Endora/Bewitched.

For all the fame (and money) AM got from that sitcom she wasn't entirely happy about her most famous role playing a witch on television. Some of this might have had to with Ms. Moorehead's religious upbringing and overall morals. Other bit could be that like many other older actors on Bewitched Agnes Moorehead had a substantial body of work (radio, stage and film) before landing on Bewitched. That people discarded her past credits in favor of the campy witch Endora must have stuck in her craw I suppose.

Latter plays into reasons why AM wanted to scale back her appearances in Bewitched in last seasons to do other work.

Apparently Maurice Evans had a thing for chicken all is life. So much so that (if you believe the story), his personal business manager and ex-lover paid some random young bit of flesh to strip and lie with Mr. Evans while he lay dying.

Can't see how it would work, but Agnes Moorehead was considered for role of "Hazel". It came down to her and Shirley Booth.

Maurice was not pronounced Morris, R19.

Not by Americans no, but British or elsewhere pronunciation often is "Morris"

Or just...

Bewitched was like the Andy Griffith show. They both had five great seasons. Then key cast members either died (Floyd, Aunt Clara, realGladys) or left (Barney, realDarrin). The replacements were awful, and the show went downhill fast.

Absolutely one of the greatest shows of all time.

I remember a poster a.long time ago who said the first Darrin acted like he loved Samantha and the second Darrin acted like he tolerated her. That was a perfect assessment.

R19 Dick York was not "pushed out." He had real, physical ailments.

[quote]While filming the fifth-season episode "Daddy Does His Thing," York fell ill: "I was too sick to go on. I had a temperature of 105, full of strong antibiotics, for almost 10 days. I went to work that day, but I was sick. I lay in my dressing room after being in make-up, waiting to be called on the set. They knew I was feeling pretty rotten, and they tried to give me time to rest. ... From York's hospital bed, he and director William Asher discussed York's future. "Do you want to quit?" Asher asked. "If it's all right with you, Billy," York replied. With that, York left the sitcom to devote himself to recovery, never to return.

Alas, when he left, it is true that the show suffered greatly. Dick Sargeant's Darrin was mealy mouthed and dweeby.

R34 there are rumors that he was in love with Liz and she ended up disliking him by the time he left, and she wanted him off the show. That may be was R19 is alluding to. I know her husband William Asher stood by York until it affected the show with his increasing absences from episodes. I think his back agony was really the reason here. The Ashers wouldn’t shake up the show with a major recast unless they absolutely had to.

Dick Sargent was EM's first choice to play "Darrin", but he was engaged elsewhere so that was that.

Depending upon whom you believe, EM never warmed to Dick York, and thought he was too free with his hands. His increasing absences (again according to which source you believe) began to get on EM's nerves. That and when Dick York wasn't absent scenes had to be filmed around him lying on a couch, sitting in chair, or "Darrin" was largely absent from entire episode.

We do know of once Dick York left Bewitched he was good as dead far as EM was concerned. During height of his illness while the Yorks were struggling financially, cast of Bewitched passed around the hat; EM didn't give a cent. Ms. Montgomery wouldn't take Dick York's telephone calls, including one he made shortly before dying. Of course she couldn't have known, but still given the man's recent medical history...

Like many television dramas and sitcoms of 1960's through 1970's Bewitched featured a long list of actors from both stage, golden age of Hollywood and even radio.

Agnes Moorehead and Maurice Evans were a start, but you also had Reta Shaw..

"Shaw's first credited appearance on the Broadway stage was in 1947's It Takes Two.[1] She then appeared in Virginia Reel and on Broadway in a comedic role as Mabel in the original production of The Pajama Game in 1954, as well as in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Picnic, and Annie Get Your Gun, the last on tour with Mary Martin. She had featured roles in several motion pictures, including Picnic, The Pajama Game, Mary Poppins, Pollyanna, The Ghost And Mr. Chicken, Bachelor in Paradise and Escape to Witch Mountain"

Wikipedia...

This clip is from Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Marion Lorne...

Reta Shaw and Marion Lorne...

I hated York but loved Sargent.

Alice Ghostley and Paul Lynde were pals going back to their early days in NYC theatre trying to break into the business. They both were featured in New Faces of 1952 revue...

Alice Ghostley recreating her hit number the "Boston Beguine" for television.

Like this version better as young Robert Clary (later of Hogan's Heroes fame) pulls some great faces.

Paul Lynde's skit for 1952 New Faces revue was "Trip To Africa".

Alice Ghostley was often called the female Paul Lynde because their mannerisms were so similar. Most agree that it was Paul Lynde who based his persona on his good friend Alice Ghostley.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Fun fact: EM was actually related to Lizzie Borden.

Remember Miss Electra from film Gypsy?

Roxanne Arlen in bit part has stacked attractive blonde who answers advertisement for a maid in "Maid To Order" episode.

Skip to 4:51 if don't want to watch entire episode.

Another tidbit; Elizabeth Montgomery became pregnant on three occasions during the show's run. Her first pregnancy, which occurred during the filming of episodes two through seven, wasn't used as part of the storyline, and was covered up by filming most of the scenes not featuring Montgomery first and then filming her scenes after she gave birth very soon before the season one premiere date. Her second and third pregnancies led to the births of Tabatha and Adam. Montgomery gave birth to a son in 1965, Robert Asher, while Samantha had a daughter; Montgomery's only daughter Rebecca Asher was born in 1969 while Samantha's child was a boy.

More... After her initial five-year contract was up, Elizabeth Montgomery announced she would move on to other things. Desperate to keep the show going, the network gave her part ownership as part of her new contract. Which, in return, between syndication and a paycheck, she made millions from Bewitched.

As for Dick York things were starting to go down hill early on. After the third season, it was often not known if Dick York would be well enough to work any given week, because of his back pain issues. "Darrin-less" scripts were therefore on hand, or scripts were made Darrin-less (often by giving his lines to Larry Tate). Most sources tend to assume York missed thirteen episodes from his back pain issues, when in reality, most of the episodes York "missed" were actually filmed after he had already been fired from the show (in season five). They were then aired mixed with episodes he had completed. At least one of the two episodes he missed in season three had nothing to do with his back pain issues, but was because his father had died.

Samantha going hip in the 1970s was just like my mother. She was wearing halter tops, taking belly dancing, and going to night classes to meet new men.

^omg my father FORCED my mom to take belly dancing classes in the ‘70s when it was a thing for a hot minute.

I also remember when she & our neighbor joined this thing called Spa Lady, which was in fact a gym for women.

Dick York was fine as fuck when younger...

Little on scrawny side, but many men were back then. Still wasn't he just the cutest thing!

Dick York In "The Dusty Drawer" | Hitchcock Presents

Elizabeth Montgomery is one normally seen doing promo commercials for sponsors or other advertising connected with Bewitched. But Dick York did some as well.

1965 Chevrolet's Bonanza & Bewitched commercial.

You just won't see adverts like this today..

Robert Vaughn, god was that man gorgeous....

Rarely seen photos and production still shots....

R19 makes a few goofs.

Kasey Rogers was never forced out as Louise Tate. In fact, she filmed multiple episodes in the Dick Sargent seasons including the final year. It was Irene Vernon, the first Louise Tate, who was forced out over politics (she was close with writer Danny Arnold, who quit suddenly).

Dick York wasn’t “pushed out” either. As his back injury worsened & his drug usage increased, he became less and less able to film, missing a couple of episodes entirely last year (requiring sudden rewrites). I knew someone who filmed several season three episodes, and they told me his drug problem, while understandable, was totally out of control.

Who would have thought Dick York would hav Ed his own troll haunting this thread?

York did a long interview in Drama-Logue (a weekly LA trade paper) a couple of years before he died. He seemed rather pathetic.

As many years as I watched "Bewitched," it never occurred to me until here recently that the Kravitzes did not appear in the final season (season eight). I wonder what that was about....

Maurice Evans's first name was pronounced "Morris," but his character's name was pronounced "More-EES"

The new Gladys Kravitz played by Sandra Gould was a disappointment. She was a nasty bitch who always wanted to get the Stevens family in trouble after she saw something weird going on at their house.

The first Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce) was kind of fascinating: she genuinely liked Darrin and Samantha, but she just couldn't help snooping. She would only ever tell Abner what she saw at the Stevens' house.

Alice Ghostley was offered role of Mrs. Kravitz as Bewitched producers were trying to sort out what to with character after Alice Pearce died. Ms. Ghostley declined and role was offered to Sandra Gould who was a good friend of late Ms. Pearce.

Bewitched likely could have lasted another season or two, yes ratings weren't what they once were, but show was holding its own against "All In The Family" of all things.

Real reason why Bewitched ended was plain and simple; Elizabeth Montgomery was fed up with playing "Samantha" for various reasons, and simply declined to do any more episodes. Background things like her marital issues and having an affair didn't help matters either.

"From a Twitch to a Scowl"

"Bewitched actually would have gone on longer than eight seasons, but Elizabeth was anxious for things to come to an end. For starters, eight seasons of any show for most actors is pretty much enough time to live in the skin of one character. That frustration was becoming evident in her portrayal of Samantha. “Towards the end of the show, Elizabeth scowled a lot,” reflects Ed. “Especially at the end of the scene or during the final tag. She was visibly not happy doing the show then and apparently that’s been well documented.”

What Alice Pearce did likely wouldn't be tolerated or at least welcomed warmly today. Having been diagnosed with terminal cancer (ovarian?) before series even begun, Ms. Pearce knew her remaining time on earth was limited. But she loved being an actress, and found acceptance in performing community and thus was reluctant to let all that go.

As a young child Ms. Pearce suffered an accident which left her with a facial deformity. Her parents spent vast sums sending to get her best treatment possible including facial reconstruction, but in end things were what they were. Being cast as Ms. Kravitz was her first really big role, and letting suits responsible for Bewitched know she suffered a mortal illness would have likely meant end. It was early days and there was still time to find another actress to play role, which likely is what would have happened.

In a way some of the best acting Ms. Pearce did was hiding her terminal illness from cast and crew of Bewitched. She showed up, knew her lines and marks, did what she was supposed to do and quite well, no one knew she was ill much less dying.

R63 it should’ve ended in 1969 after York departed. The Ashers only did it for money for the final three seasons. They got a really sweet deal from ABC which included part ownership of the show. Interesting observation about the Kravitz characters from the poster above. That really makes perfect sense that Goulds take on Gladys was a bit mean spirited and shrill whereas Alice was more likeable in the role. Im currently watching the series on disc and I’m halfway through. Alice I think did more consistent episodes than Sandra. In the last season 4, they were in maybe 10 of the over 30 episodes. It may have been a budget thing as to why they were gone in the last season completely.

Good part of season 7 and early episodes of 8 were filmed at various other locations owing to a fire that damaged set used for interior home shots of Bewitched. These are episodes where Sam and Darrin travel to Salem and Europe among other places. This and or either Sam or "Serena" were traveling back in time..

As such there would have been less need for either Mrs. Kravitz to pop up since the Stephens weren't at home. No Mrs. Kravitz means generally no need for Mr. Kravitz either....

Season 8 as discussed reused many scripts from previous episodes, and or saw more focus on the children (Tabitha and Adam), such as Endora casting a spell turning Tabitha into an ice skating sensation.

Quite honestly while Sandra Gould was great in role, the character of nosey neighbor had ran its course IMHO.

Both seasons 7 and 8 featured heavy use of guest actors. My guess is budget wasn't so lavish that something (or some one) had to give (or go). That could have played into less work for either Mr. or Mrs. Kravitz....

Darrin looks handsome in R63's post

As I've mentioned in previous Bewitched threads, I thought there were a few original gems that came out of that final season like the one in which Samantha contracted a disease that elevated her weight to 500 pounds. I also liked the one (which I think was original and not based on a previous script, though I could be wrong) in which Darrin accidentally brings hold a paper bag full of money belonging to mobsters who come looking for it. I really liked that one.

I agree, though, that the show had totally run its course and that Elizabeth was clearly over it and ready to move on. I think the only interesting thing that could've possibly come out of a 9th season would've been a further exploration of Adam coming into his powers, which I'm sure the writers would've had a good time exploring at length.

By the way, one of the articles attached above raised the issue of how Bewitched had several unanswered questions, one of which was whose daughter was cousin Serena (since it was obvious she didn't belong to Uncle Arthur). My personal theory would be that she must have been the daughter of one of Maurice's siblings, none of whom we met over the course of the series.

Bewitched had tons of "unanswered" questions....

We know only that Endora and Uncle Arthur are siblings. It was never explained who the various other aunts (Clara, Hagatha, Enchantra) are related. We do know last two are sisters, and given all witches on Sam's side of family have names ending in soft A, can presume Endora, Hagatha and Enchantra are all sisters. Latter two are disdainful towards Maurice, which also tells me they are Endora's sisters.

Sam's actual age is never explained either. Endora conjures up a picture of a "Salem Maid", which gives impression Sam was born or at least was living during 1600s. But later when Sam is sent back in time to old Salem Endora tells Darrin she has no memory of who or what she is because Sam wasn't born yet.

Sam does tell Darrin when she confesses to being a witch that she's "young" and "just starting" out. She appeared to be a young woman in her twenties; but same could have been nearly 360 years old, younger, or older.

Serena had an affair with a warlock during 1600's (played by good looking Noam Pitlik), so we know she was around.

When Sam and Darrin go to Salem for Witches Convention Sam is followed around by a bed warmer (who she is later accused of stealing), that object turns out to be a warlock who once fancied Sam, but she blew him off, so he had himself turned into an inanimate object. This all went down around time of "old Salem", so again Sam would have been around.

Sam was always telling Darrin one witch couldn't break another's spell, but she, Endora and others did it often enough. .

United States was far more conservative and religious back when Bewitched aired. There were worries about noise from more religious areas of country about "devil worship" and so forth, which rattled sponsors and network.

Bewitched navigated those waters by making Sam virtually no different than any other young suburban matron. She was active with local church, and on at least one occasion actually attended services (Kermit's wedding) with nary a thunderbolt or other protestation from God.

There was never any mention of devil, Satan or anything else truly evil. Endora and Maurice could be malevolent at times , but we're not talking about Rosemary's Baby sort of thing. They just didn't like mortals way some white families didn't like blacks at that time. Nothing against them personally, just didn't want one in their family.

Despite Sam's obvious different physical make up from mortal women, her pregnancies and confinements were textbook normal. It thus is strange Sam needed Dr. Bombay or other witch doctor specialists otherwise.

[quote]It was never explained who the various other aunts (Clara, Hagatha, Enchantra) are related.

I could swear there was a scene in which Maurice greeted Clara with the words "my dear sister" or something to that effect. It may even have been the episode in which Endora, Aunt Hagatha, etc. show up to test Tabitha's powers but wouldn't bet money on it.

[quote]Despite Sam's obvious different physical make up from mortal women, her pregnancies and confinements were textbook normal. It thus is strange Sam needed Dr. Bombay or other witch doctor specialists otherwise.

When Sam was pregnant with Tabitha, I seem to recall Endora being incredulous to know it would take 9 months and saying something to the effect that -- if I remember correctly -- her pregnancy with Samantha only took a few minutes. But of course, I could be misremembering.

Sam was still a witch, her body wouldn't have changed just because she was carrying a half mortal child.

Do remember Endora telling Sam she should explain to Darrin with witches aging was a process that required centuries. This was in that "Salem Maid" episode where Darrin freaks out about Sam's age and fact she will stay young looking long after he's an old man.

[quote]Agnes Moorehead will be so pleased you remembered her in her finest role

[quote]Agnes Moorehead and Maurice Evans were a start, but you also had Reta Shaw..

Endora is her most well known role but Ms. Snow will always be my favorite. I wonder if Moorehead had anything to do with Shaw being cast on Bewitched.

One would think, then, R74, that witch pregnancies would take longer, not shorter time periods if we assume that the fetus would take longer to develop.

[quote]whose daughter was cousin Serena (since it was obvious she didn't belong to Uncle Arthur). My personal theory would be that she must have been the daughter of one of Maurice's siblings, none of whom we met over the course of the series.

Based on the episode I just watched today, I think I may have been correct in my post at R70 about Serena. The episode today featured the first meeting between Darrin's mother, Phyllis, and Serena and when Phyllis asked her on whose side of Samantha's family she's from, Serena answered her father's.