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MEMORIES:
GuitarPlaya2000 remembers...This show is pure classic. When I watch reruns of the show, I still laugh like it's my first time ... More »
Posted on 07/14/08
PHOTOS:
Cast:
Serena...Elizabeth Montgomery
Darrin Stephens (1964-68)...Dick York
Darrin Stephens (1969-72)...Dick Sargent
Endora...Agnes Moorehead
Larry Tate...David White
Phyllis Stephens...Mabel Albertson
Frank Stephens...Roy Roberts
Frank Stephens...Robert F. Simon
Maurice (1964-72)...Maurice Evans
Aunt Clara (1964-68)...Marion Lorne
Abner Kravitz (1964-72)...George Tobias
Gladys Kravitz (1964-66)...Alice Pearce
Louise Tate (1964-66)...Irene Vernon
Gertrude (1964)...Kit Smythe
Uncle Arthur (1965-72)...Paul Lynde
Gladys Kravitz (1966-72)...Sandra Gould
Tabitha Stephens (1966-72)...Diane Murphy
Tabitha Stephens (1966-72)...Erin Murphy
Louise Tate (1966-72)...Kasey Rogers
Dr. Bombay (1967-72)...Bernard Fox
Esmeralda (1969-72)...Alice Ghostley
Adam Stephens (1971-72)...David Lawrence
Adam Stephens (1971-72)...Greg Lawrence
Studio:
Network:
Release History:
Trivia:
Bewitched hit the airwaves on September 17th, 1964. For eight seasons, it took viewers into the home of Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery), housewife and expert witch. With a twitch of her nose, Sam can do just about anything.
In the first episode, we meet her husband, Darrin Stephens (Dick York), sitting at a bar moaning woefully to his bar mates. (“My wife is a witch,” he says, and he doesn’t mean it the way most other guys do.) Darrin wants his marriage to be happy, peaceful and above all normal, but this is scarcely possible when Darrin’s in-laws are the most eccentric collection of witches and warlocks imaginable.
Darrin’s mother-in-law, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), is a sarcastic sorceress, utterly opposed to her daughter’s union with a mortal. She delights in irritating, taunting, and frequently casting hexes on the hapless Darrin, whom she constantly calls “Derwood,” “Darwin,” and other non-endearments.
Trouble comes from other family members as well, including practical joker Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde), flighty Esmerelda (Alice Ghostly), and forgetful Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne), prone to bringing historic figures like Ben Franklin and Julius Caesar into the household. Maurice Evans (best known as Doctor Zaius in Planet of the Apes) played Maurice, Samantha’s grandly Shakespearian Dad.
But characters from the mortal world are just as likely to cause trouble. Nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz (Alice Pearce) is certain that something is wrong at the Stephens’ house and she’s willing to snoop in order to prove it to her henpecked husband Abner (George Tobias). Abner always arrives seconds too late to see whatever Gladys is chattering about, and he often advises her to take her nerve medicine.
Meanwhile, Darrin tries to maintain a career at the ad firm of McMann & Tate. His boss, Larry Tate (David White) and Larry’s wife Louise (Irene Vernon) often bring clients over to the house, always when some chaotic spell or magical mishap threatens to expose Darrin and Samantha’s big secret. Sam has to use her smarts and her fantastic powers to restore order, and often as not, to keep Darrin’s clients from dropping their accounts with the firm.
If all this didn’t keep things lively enough, Samantha gave birth to a daughter, Tabitha, at the end of the second season, and sure enough, Tabitha has inherited her mother’s powers, but she’s too young to know how to use them wisely. (Eventually, a younger brother, Adam (David Lawrence), joined the family as well.)
This set-up provided story material for 254 episodes. Sol Saks created the show concept, and gave it to producer/director William Asher to develop. Asher saw it as a perfect vehicle for his lovely wife, Elizabeth Montgomery, to showcase her comedic talents. First appearing in black and white, Bewitched was an instant success. The show switched to color at its third season, and over the years, weathered numerous changes in cast.
Most notable, of course, was the pivotal role of Darrin. Dick York, noted for his frantic, discombobulated style, was in ill health throughout production, and stepped down in 1969. The role was taken up by Dick Sargent, who created a less flustered Darrin, very different, but audiences soon accepted him as the real thing.
Irene Vernon, as Louise Tate, was replaced in 1966 by Kasey Rogers. Alice Pearce, who had won an Emmy for her Gladys Kravitz, was replaced that same year by Sandra Gould.
Tabitha certainly held the record for the greatest number of actresses in a single role. Three sets of twins appeared as Tabitha; Heidi and Laura Gentry, Tamar and Julie Young, all from 1966, and Erin and Diane Murphy, who shared the role permanently thereafter. (In 1977, a late spin-off series, Tabitha, starred Lisa Hartman as a teenaged version of the character.)
Bewitched received numerous Emmys including William Asher for Best Director, and Marion Lorne, for her performance as Aunt Clara. Elizabeth Montgomery was nominated five times, but never won the award, though her place in TV history is obviously assured.
Bewitched got a boost from its gifted cast, and witty writing, which often ventured into sophisticated social satire. Kids loved the show for its magical antics, and adults could easily relate to the grown-up concerns of Darrin and Samantha. (And they were certainly grown-ups. The characters on Bewitched poured more cocktails than anyone else in TV history!) As fluffy and frivolous as Bewitched certainly was, it did manage to confront relevant issues, as in the Halloween episode “Witches Are Out,” which dealt with prejudice and bigotry, and the Christmas episode “Sisters at Heart,” which also targeted racism and deployed themes of interracial marriage and adultery. This episode won a special Governor’s Award at the Emmys.
