i think she was a very kind sweet funny lady. don't read piro's book about her it is innaccurate read dick yorks autobio if you want the true story.

I would say she was a good person. I have never heard anybody ever say anything bad about her, so what does that tell you?

Elizabeth Montgomery was a wonderful, sweet, Beautiful & very Private person who was down to earth & very real, no BS about her, what you saw was what you got,..............sounds like a pretty good deal to me ;)

She was perhaps the most beloved actress in all of Hollywood in her time, everyone liked her & spoke well of her, she was adored by the crews she worked for as she preferred hanging out with them more so then the casts she was with.

The extent of the high regard that she was held in by all is shown by the way all of Hollywood was very protective of her, even the Papparatzi gave her a pass, nobody ever tried to dish on her or her life.

Every set she was on was a love set, just because of her presence.

Larry Tate :)

Bewitched Forever by Herbie J. Pilato is a great read because Elizabeth's insights about the show and its popularity are just so wonderful. Mr. Pilato is also at work writing a new biography about Liz, and since he knew her quite well, I'm sure his will be much more accuate/readable than the Piro book.

Liz ignored her own symptoms until it was too late. Her biggest concern was helping her husband, Robert Foxworth, through hip replacement surgery. She thought her symptoms were just the flu. Robert begged and pleaded for her to see a doctor for months, and by the time she finally did, it was too late. She was diagnosed with cancer in March of 1995 and died just two months later.

Here is Liz's A&E biography (narrated by Peter Graves), which sheds a little more light on the woman behind the witch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p-xNnamhec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUZXndBA7n0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrnOd-nlDvM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Crj6cN2iTQM&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5reb6MWevfI&feature=related

Hey Monika-

Thanks for the links to Liz's biography. I thoroughly enjoyed it! I was struck by her baby pictures and how much Erin and Diane resembled her at that age. I wonder if they were cast as Tabitha because of the resemblence.

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. :D

OK, since this subject was brought up, I have a question:

I heard on an interview with Dick York from around the late '80s/early 90's that when he got rushed to the hospital and thus ended his run on Bewitched, that he basically never saw or heard from Liz again from that point on. He had told Bill that he would end his run on the show but he didn't see Liz again. What's up with that and is that what happened? If so, why? On the interview he seemed OK about it and kind of passed it off like it was no big deal and they were still pretty tight, but it seems odd if that's indeed what happened. I'll see if I can find the link on youtube.

Here ya go....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZupYMgYIM

It's strange because like was mentioned, no one really ever had anything bad to say about Liz. All I've ever heard about it was that York did have some financial problems in the 70's from some bad real estate investments. But I don't know if that impacted their relationship at all? Anyone have the 411?

OK, since this subject was brought up, I have a question:

I heard on an interview with Dick York from around the late '80s/early 90's that when he got rushed to the hospital and thus ended his run on Bewitched, that he basically never saw or heard from Liz again from that point on. He had told Bill that he would end his run on the show but he didn't see Liz again. What's up with that and is that what happened? If so, why? On the interview he seemed OK about it and kind of passed it off like it was no big deal and they were still pretty tight, but it seems odd if that's indeed what happened. I'll see if I can find the link on youtube.

Here ya go....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZupYMgYIM

It's strange because like was mentioned, no one really ever had anything bad to say about Liz. All I've ever heard about it was that York did have some financial problems in the 70's from some bad real estate investments. But I don't know if that impacted their relationship at all? Anyone have the 411?



They never really talked about it, so I guess its something we'll never know.

OK, since this subject was brought up, I have a question:

I heard on an interview with Dick York from around the late '80s/early 90's that when he got rushed to the hospital and thus ended his run on Bewitched, that he basically never saw or heard from Liz again from that point on. He had told Bill that he would end his run on the show but he didn't see Liz again. What's up with that and is that what happened? If so, why? On the interview he seemed OK about it and kind of passed it off like it was no big deal and they were still pretty tight, but it seems odd if that's indeed what happened.
It's strange because like was mentioned, no one really ever had anything bad to say about Liz. All I've ever heard about it was that York did have some financial problems in the 70's from some bad real estate investments. But I don't know if that impacted their relationship at all? Anyone have the 411?

Bottom line is that Liz & Dick York worked together & Brilliantly i might add, but there never was a close personal Friendship or any relationship to continue, nor were they friends at all.

You have to understand that they were real people who were actors playing roles that were not them, they were not Samantha & Darrin in real life, sometimes people get that reality confused.

This is not unusual as one could say the same thing about any cast member & the majority of the cast & as well about anyone & most of those that they work with her their never having any contact again after his leaving the show is perfectly natural in my view.

This doesn't mean they liked or disliked each other, they merely worked with each other & had the same working experience that any actor or actress has with 95% of all those they work with.

It was a job & they had a job to do & they did it, then they went their own way, as you must recall that they both had spouses & large young families to tend too, this along with the full time job of carrying a weekly series left little or no time for any other interaction between the two, they both already had a full plate to deal with.

I have heard it said that she strongly disliked Dick York but this is in no way corroborated in the least & there is no basis to think that it is so.

These internet rumors are i feel made up by those that have their own issues & for some reason need to use this fiction to express them.

After DY left the show there was simply no reason for them to have any contact with each other as is the case with all actors pretty much once they finish a project, they just move on with their lives.

Liz had real phobias with anything medical so i can see her not wanting to go the hospital to see him for this reason.

Larry Tate :)

According to Agnes Moorehead's biography, she loved DY and was very sorry to see him leave Bewitched. In fact, she had a hard time warming up to Dick Sargent because she liked DY so much. Having said that, she never saw him again after he left the show. The author wasn't clear why, but Agnes herself passed away only a few years after that. So they all really just were co-workers who had their own lives outside the show and probably didn't see each other outside the set except for functions, etc.

Plus, you're right that Liz had phobias about hospitals, doctors, etc. Look how long it took for her to seek medical attention for her cancer in 1995. Alas, by that time, it was too late. :(

I wonder why Irene Vernon was replaced after two seasons as Louise.

I wonder why Irene Vernon was replaced after two seasons as Louise.

She retired from Show Biz of her own accord to go into real estate, this was confirmed both by her in the book Bewitched Forever by Herbie J Pilato & more recently by her family.

It is too bad as she was very good & missed on the show.

Larry Tate :)

She retired from Show Biz of her own accord to go into real estate, this was confirmed both by her in the book Bewitched Forever by Herbie J Pilato & more recently by her family.

It is too bad as she was very good & missed on the show.

Larry Tate :)
If I'm not mistaken, she spent the rest of her life in Florida. As great as Irene was on Bewitched, I don't think they could've found a better replacement for her than Kasey Rogers. They were both great as Louise. :cool:

I don't think I read anything bad about Elizabeth, not even in the tabloids. I know for a fact that she did keep in touch with Dick Sargent and Erin Murphy. She even participated in the Gay Pride parade with Dick Sargent, now that's class. It's a shame that she had the phobia about doctors, had she got diagnosed earlier, she might still be with us today. My cousin had a cancer similar to Elizabeth's and she's still alive today.

I don't think I read anything bad about Elizabeth, not even in the tabloids. I know for a fact that she did keep in touch with Dick Sargent and Erin Murphy. She even participated in the Gay Pride parade with Dick Sargent, now that's class. It's a shame that she had the phobia about doctors, had she got diagnosed earlier, she might still be with us today. My cousin had a cancer similar to Elizabeth's and she's still alive today.

Liz & Dick Sargent had drifted apart & lost touch shortly after Bewitched ended & had not seen each other in about 15 years till they were reunited when both were approached by Herbie J Pilato in regards to interviews for his then upcoming book The Bewitched Book, they reconnected through Herbie as they discussed if they should cooperate or not with him.

When Herbie met David White for the first time in Liz's Garden at her home as a special surprise for him, he was told by David White he had not been there for over 15 years.

So she drifted apart even from good friends as people do when the matter that brought them together in the first place ended.

So these things are natural & normal & not anything that should reflect negatively on her, quite the opposite, this is how it is supposed to be & is with everyone in life & was the case as well with any member of this or any other cast of this or any other show.

Same thing with her good friend Carol Burnett when Carol moved to Hawaii, they just lost touch after being great friends since they did
Who's Been Sleeping in my bed? together in 1963.

She kept in touch with Erin Murphy mainly because Erin was such great friends with her kids, but when they all grew up Liz lost touch with Erin as well.

Life happens & means nothing other then that, as was the case when Liz & Dick York lost contact with each other & they were not even friends like she & DS & DW were.

Larry Tate :)

^ But it is important to remember that her co-workers all seemed to love her (cast AND crew). Dick York always spoke very highly of Liz as well.

^ But it is important to remember that her co-workers all seemed to love her (cast AND crew). Dick York always spoke very highly of Liz as well.

Yes that is what i meant, that these things of cast members losing touch with each other are natural & normal & not anything that should reflect negatively on her, quite the opposite, this is how it is supposed to be & is with everyone in life & was the case as well with any member of this or any other cast of this or any other show.

So all this angst in regards to Liz & Dick York never seeing each other again & losing touch with each other is not something she should be knocked for as is often unfairly in my view the case in other threads with other posters.

As you say same thing happened between DY & Agnes Moorehead.

I very much agree with your comments about Liz being so Loved by all the cast & crew on any project she worked on, she really was very much beloved by Hollywood in general & understandably so.

Larry Tate :)

i remember watching dick york's last interview on some site last decade he said liz called him. i wonder how she felt when he died.

i remember watching dick york's last interview on some site last decade he said liz called him. i wonder how she felt when he died.

Yes that was an ET interview he did (it was mentioned in Hard Copy & Extra interviews he did at the time as well) but it was he that called her & she was not at home at the time so they never get a hold of each other till he passed 6 months later.

They never did have any interaction of any kind after he left the set that final time in convulsions, i read she was in shock when she heard about it & very upset, it shook her up, she was not on the set or there at the time.

Liz was terrible for returning phone calls as many of us are so it is not surprising that she did not return his that time.

Larry Tate :)

Yes that was an ET interview he did (it was mentioned in Hard Copy & Extra interviews he did at the time as well) but it was he that called her & she was not at home at the time so they never get a hold of each other till he passed 6 months later.

They never did have any interaction of any kind after he left the set that final time in convulsions, i read she was in shock when she heard about it & very upset, it shook her up, she was not on the set or there at the time.

Liz was terrible for returning phone calls as many of us are so it is not surprising that she did not return his that time.

Larry Tate :)
Plus, Liz had a fear of doctors and illnesses, so it's not surprising that DY's condition would affect her so much. David White WAS on the set when it happened and was very shaken up, according to DY's book. DY said that David White was his best friend on the Bewitched set.

...they never got a hold of each other till he passed 6 months later.

They never did have any interaction of any kind after he left the set that final time in convulsions........she was not on the set or there at the time.

And you don't find that the least bit odd that she didn't speak to a person whom she would work so closely with for over four years after he left the set 1) for the final time and 2) in a health crisis situation?

Sorry, but the whole thing just screams that Liz really didn't care much for Dick at all.

And can't return phone calls? He left the set in the late 60's and died in the early 90's. That comment by you is totally laughable. Just come to grips with it, Liz didn't like the guy a bit. No way to even remotely spin it. :rolleyes:

the truth. i have friends from high school i haven't talked to since i graduated in 1998 that doesn't make me a mean person

the truth. i have friends from high school i haven't talked to since i graduated in 1998 that doesn't make me a mean person
I never said she was a mean person.

I'm saying Liz didn't like Dick York. We don't know and probably won't know the reasons. Hell, he might have been hitting on her the whole time he was on the show for all we know. It's like someone said upon her death, "if she was your friend, she was in your corner through thick and thin". That's great, it's just that she wasn't that big on Dick York. I don't know that for a fact, but the ACTIONS speak to this. It doesn't make her a mean or bad person.

And I can see after York had to leave acting and after he had some bad real estate deals in the 70's that Liz might wish to stay away from him, but that still doesn't explain not having any contact with him after he's left the set and taken to a hospital in the late '60s. I mean, how can anyone interpret that any other way?

Well, since neither one of them are here with us anymore, I choose not to speculate. They can't tell us now about their relationship. All I care about was that they were both great actors and had tremendous chemistry onscreen - which helped make the show work. Let them both rest in peace.

Well, since neither one of them are here with us anymore, I choose not to speculate. They can't tell us now about their relationship. All I care about was that they were both great actors and had tremendous chemistry onscreen - which helped make the show work. Let them both rest in peace.
I agree. It really doesn't matter.

And you don't find that the least bit odd that she didn't speak to a person whom she would work so closely with for over four years after he left the set 1) for the final time and 2) in a health crisis situation?

Sorry, but the whole thing just screams that Liz really didn't care much for Dick at all.

And can't return phone calls? He left the set in the late 60's and died in the early 90's. That comment by you is totally laughable. Just come to grips with it, Liz didn't like the guy a bit. No way to even remotely spin it. :rolleyes:

Apparently you did not read my prior post, Liz reacted the same way to GOOD friends David White, Dick Sargent & Carol Burnett, the first two she did not see for 15 years after the mid 70's & Carol as well after she moved to Hawaii, so how is her not being in contact with Dick York any different then those were.

She did not see Kasey Rogers as well after the show ended till 1994 at Dick Sargent's Funeral, she no more disliked or hated any of them in the process of her non-interaction with them then she did with Dick York.

Why people can't see that is beyond me, just because she did not see or talk to DY again does not mean she hated or disliked him, rather it just shows that they were co-workers only & not friends, so what is the big deal with that?

There is zero evidence or any indication that DY ever behaved in a inappropriate way towards Liz or that she had any negative feelings of dislike or loathing towards him.

All appearances seem to indicate to me that she did not feel one way or another about him, he was just a fellow actor to her that she worked with, what is wrong with that?

Nothing odd in this my rejoinder, as well this is the normal situation with ones co-worker 99.99% of the time in any job, sitcom or warehouse.

Why would she have called or attempted to contact someone she worked with 25 years prior who she only worked with & didn't know on a personal level??, it would seem odd to me if she had kept up communication & or had attempted to contact him.

There is nothing laughable in my comments, rather only in your apparent lack of comprehension of them.

The phone call she did not return was only 6 months before he passed not in the 1960's, read more carefully before you comment on someones post.

Why some people seem to want something to exist that there is zero evidence that it did so has nothing to do with Liz & DY but rather the person who sees & hears what he wants to even though what he sees & hears does not exist.

Another point, this was not Samantha ignoring Darrin but rather Elizabeth Montgomery the actress playing Samantha not being in contact with Dick York an actor who played Darrin after they were no longer working with each other, some people seem to miss this fact that reality & creative Fantasy are not one & the same.

Larry Tate :)

The only co-star she seemed to have a lifelong relationship was Bob Foxworth (whom she appeared with in Mrs. Sundance, Face to Face and With Murder in Mind)!! :D

Apparently you did not read my prior post, Liz reacted the same way to GOOD friends David White, Dick Sargent & Carol Burnett, the first two she did not see for 15 years after the mid 70's & Carol as well after she moved to Hawaii, so how is her not being in contact with Dick York any different then those were.
And none of those people ever had to be taken off the set in pain in an ambulance never to be seen again. Just saying, if she doesn't like hospitals, a phone call would have been nice. "Hopefully" she did do at least that much, though none of us know for sure. I'd at least like to think that she did.

She did not see Kasey Rogers as well after the show ended till 1992 at Dick Sargent's Funeral, she no more disliked or hated any of them in the process of her non-interaction with them then she did with Dick York.
Again, see above. No trip to hospital to end career = no need to follow up. Oh, and Dick Sargent didn't die in 1992, but rather 1994.

Why people can't see that is beyond me, just because she did not see or talk to DY again does not mean she hated or disliked him, rather it just shows that they were co-workers only & not friends, so what is the big deal with that?
I agree. Hell, I'm that way at work too.

There is zero evidence or any indication that DY ever behaved in a inappropriate way towards Liz or that she had any negative feelings of dislike or loathing towards him. All appearances seem to indicate to me that she did not feel one way or another about him, he was just a fellow actor to her that she worked with
That's good to hear, I'd like to think that's the case.

Nothing odd in this my rejoinder, as well this is the normal situation with ones co-worker 99.99% of the time in any job, sitcom or warehouse.
Yep, that sounds like me too.

Why would she have called or attempted to contact someone she worked with 25 years prior who she only worked with & didn't know on a personal level??, it would seem odd to me if she had kept up communication & or had attempted to contact him.
I meant more immediately after the accident. As time goes on, that would be normal not to keep in contact. Sorry for the confusion.

There is nothing laughable in my comments, rather only in your apparent lack of comprehension of them. The phone call she did not return was only 6 months before he passed not in the 1960's, read more carefully before you comment on someones post.
I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding, as I'm more than capable of gathering someone's point in any given post.

Why some people seem to want something to exist that there is zero evidence that it did so has nothing to do with Liz & DY but rather the person who sees & hears what he wants to even though what he sees & hears does not exist.
I don't care one way or another as they're both dead and I didn't know either of them. But the original poster asked "was Liz a good person" so I chimed in with a question about the two people's actual relationship. I didn't mean to disturb paradise for you by speculating that she might not have cared a lick for DY. Sorry for the ruffled feathers.

Another point, this was not Samantha ignoring Darrin but rather Elizabeth Montgomery the actress playing Samantha not being in contact with Dick York an actor who played Darrin after they were no longer working with each other...
Really? I thought Sam didn't like Darrin. :rolleyes: Yeah, that's why I wrote that Liz didn't like DY a bit, not that Sam didn't like Darrin. Read more carefully before you commen.....ah, forget it. :D

...some people seem to miss this fact that reality & creative Fantasy are not one & the same.
Are you trying to convince me or yourself? I'd think most of us could realize that two people were simply playing two characters and that they weren't ACTUALLY those people.

Look, it's all just speculation anyway. She might have liked him, she might not. No one really knows. There's no doubt she was very professional and people really liked to work with her. But that seems to be where it ended. If you wanted to be her friend, you best do it away from the work environment and not try to get too close on any set with her, as that seems to be what her track record would dictate. My opinion is no different than yours - it's just an opinion. We didn't know her so we really don't know. And just because you may have every stitch of video known to man regarding this woman that's available on this Earth doesn't make your opinion more correct than mine.


I'll be looking forward to reading your thesis on my comments. :)

i think you're being hard on liz. i don't know what happened between dick y and liz and frankly i don't really care all i know is they were good people. i believed what dick y said he wouldn't lie i'm sure of it.

how did liz react when alice pearce died? i remember watching episode 66 and 67 she looked very sad and not her cheerful self.

One you don't know if she made a phone call or not or if she sent her best wishes
through Bill, York most likely would not have wanted Liz to see him that way as he was described as out of it, & in a semi-coma drifting state & bed ridden for most of the next 1 1/2 years, so communication with a fellow worker in such a state would not have been practicle or made any sense.

First you are Bitching about no contact between Liz & DY over the decades & when that rubbish is exposed as normal & everyday you whine about her not being by his bedside while he was over on Pluto or somewhere when you don't know anything about the circumstances one way or another as they related to Liz.

You should dwell in truth, fact & logical realities rather then inane speculation that is both baseless & pointless.

And if you didn't care one way or another then what is up with the troll act for, first putting forward ugly made up fantasies based on nothing & then saying you didn't care & meant no harm, hardly credible but very troll like in a droll way.

Again you are clueless about not getting the difference between actors & the characters they portray & thusly getting your panties into a bunch over one not being the other.

Hateful speculation is pointless & only destructive, you would have made a great fishwife, to say something negative about someone just for the sake of it when it is based on nothing but your ignorance, well that speaks volumes, truth & fact are what posts should be about on such matters.

My opinions are based on facts while yours are based on your issues which seem to abound.
I never said mine was the almighty of them all, i just gave mine period, which is what you seem to have an issue with.

She had many friends over the years who she met on the set of a show & continued to be the case thereafter on future sets such as Carol Burnett, Bob Foxworth, Bill Asher, Dick Sargent, Alice Pierce, Aggie, Dominck Dunne, Bea Arthur, Cliff Robertson, John Newland etc. i don't know where you get this if you worked with her you could not be her friend, that is rubbish & just your bias & imagination at work.

I am glad that my collection of Liz footage gives you to strive to equal, perhaps by the year 2099.

Larry Tate :)

And none of those people ever had to be taken off the set in pain in an ambulance never to be seen again. Just saying, if she doesn't like hospitals, a phone call would have been nice. "Hopefully" she did do at least that much, though none of us know for sure. I'd at least like to think that she did.


Again, see above. No trip to hospital to end career = no need to follow up. Oh, and Dick Sargent didn't die in 1992, but rather 1994.


I agree. Hell, I'm that way at work too.


That's good to hear, I'd like to think that's the case.


Yep, that sounds like me too.


I meant more immediately after the accident. As time goes on, that would be normal not to keep in contact. Sorry for the confusion.


I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding, as I'm more than capable of gathering someone's point in any given post.


I don't care one way or another as they're both dead and I didn't know either of them. But the original poster asked "was Liz a good person" so I chimed in with a question about the two people's actual relationship. I didn't mean to disturb paradise for you by speculating that she might not have cared a lick for DY. Sorry for the ruffled feathers.


Really? I thought Sam didn't like Darrin. :rolleyes: Yeah, that's why I wrote that Liz didn't like DY a bit, not that Sam didn't like Darrin. Read more carefully before you commen.....ah, forget it. :D


Are you trying to convince me or yourself? I'd think most of us could realize that two people were simply playing two characters and that they weren't ACTUALLY those people.

Look, it's all just speculation anyway. She might have liked him, she might not. No one really knows. There's no doubt she was very professional and people really liked to work with her. But that seems to be where it ended. If you wanted to be her friend, you best do it away from the work environment and not try to get too close on any set with her, as that seems to be what her track record would dictate. My opinion is no different than yours - it's just an opinion. We didn't know her so we really don't know. And just because you may have every stitch of video known to man regarding this woman that's available on this Earth doesn't make your opinion more correct than mine.


I'll be looking forward to reading your thesis on my comments. :)


I think that William Asher (Montgomery's real life husband) and Montgomery owned a piece of the show. This changes things. Montgomery is not only an actress on the series, she is an owner. York in a sense works for her. They may not have been as sympathetic to York's dilemma as others in the cast. They may have seen it as acting out to get more money, or a piece of the show or some other concessions they were not willing to give. It's possible they may have viewed his health problems as his fault. I know that sounds strange but remember that old song, "There's No Business Like Show Business". Columbia Pictures rose Shemp Howard from the grave to finish some Three Strooges shorts , by using stock footage and stunt doubles.

Liz & Bill owned 20% of the show intitally which rose to 80% by the end of the shows run.

They never had controlling interest in the show but were rather investors who had functional creative control, the studio owned the show & called the $$$$$ shots.

I think they both knew & cared about Yorks situation & tried to make it work where it was easy as it could be on him yet allow the show to still work, York most of all i think thought along these lines.

At the end of Season 4 York took a fall on the set & basically in the view of most such as the studio & the Ashers thought he was pulling a power play to get a redone deal with equal power on the show with Liz & Bill and a lot more money & recognition.

It was thought he was hurt but after a week was milking things for leverage reasons, this was addressed in an article at the time which had Bill interviewed on the matter.

After the second week York wanted to come back but was basically frozen out for 2 more episodes by Screen Gems before he was allowed to come back, this is all documented history.

Asher for sure is on record that he thought York was faking it & using it to get a better deal.

At no time have i ever heard that the Ashers were uncaring about his medical situations.

In the End York had to wait till his contract expired after 5 years to get a new deal just as everyone else on the show had to do so, sadly he never had the chance to negotiate a new deal.

Larry Tate :)

...after an accident while being suspended on invisible wires [they snapped, he crashed to the floor] during production of "Daddy Does His Thing" in early 1969, I believe Bill Asher knew that York was never going to return to the set. According to Dick (who was in excruciating pain), Bill visited him in his hospital room. He simply said to Dick, "Do you want to quit the show?". Dick hugged him, in tears, knowing he was being given an "out", and that Asher was genuinely concerned about his condition to allow him to gracefully exit the series. I'm sure Liz visited him during his recuperation as well.



:tv:

Larry, I've read that article which you mentioned, and I believe someone asked Mrs. York if that ever happened. She said it never did.

Unfortunately, fan magazines of the era tended to make up these kinds of stories for $$$. The more controversial, the better. Elizabeth Montgomery herself remarked on the trend in another article, saying that she'd open up a magazine and read an "interview" with her that never happened.

In short, it's best to take these fan magazine articles with a huge grain of salt.

Larry, I've read that article which you mentioned, and I believe someone asked Mrs. York if that ever happened. She said it never did.

Unfortunately, fan magazines of the era tended to make up these kinds of stories for $$$. The more controversial, the better. Elizabeth Montgomery herself remarked on the trend in another article, saying that she'd open up a magazine and read an "interview" with her that never happened.

In short, it's best to take these fan magazine articles with a huge grain of salt.
Exactly, since neither EM nor DY are here to tell their sides of the story.

Larry, I've read that article which you mentioned, and I believe someone asked Mrs. York if that ever happened. She said it never did.

Unfortunately, fan magazines of the era tended to make up these kinds of stories for $$$. The more controversial, the better. Elizabeth Montgomery herself remarked on the trend in another article, saying that she'd open up a magazine and read an "interview" with her that never happened.

In short, it's best to take these fan magazine articles with a huge grain of salt.

Arfies i have seen other articles confirm the content in that article, as well although what you say is true that cuts both ways as many articles & interviews in magazines in those days were very accurate so one can not assume it is one or the other 100% of the time & most of the time then they were legit.

The time & the episodes missed then by him track as well as comments along the lines of his wanting more in say & a higher profile on Bewitched from other sources at that time.

His wife may be denying it now as it does not make DY look all that good & she wants him remembered in a positive light, then again she also denyed receiving $$$$ help from castmates or being threatened or jealous of Liz during Bewitched & we know both of those statements by her were not true so her denials now have a certain lack of credibility.

She also tried to look & act like Liz at the time even with her hairstyle in the mid 1960's & fashion choices as well as refusing several social invitations from Liz & Bill, so i think she was very threatened by Liz.

Bill Ashers comments in that article were in industry magazines like Variety at the time & he basically in those comments confirmed the gist of what the article was saying was going on.

Liz's comments in other magazines at the time track as well so i think it was true.

Going in to Bewitched Dick York was a journeymen actor who nobody knew about really & all of a sudden he was a co-star of a hit TV show & i myself think he thought this was his shot & chance at stardom & he tried to grasp the brass ring so to speak.

In the end his attempt fell short & none of his attempts bore fruit as nothing changed.

He did not get a new contract, more money, a higher profile nor did the studio promote him over the two witches as he sought, his attempt to a certain extent to Hijack the show from Elizabeth Montgomery in a power grab failed completely & in the end he gained nothing & never even had a chance to negotiate a second contract.

As they say that's Show Biz.

All of this to say the least did not endear him to Liz who thought of him already as merely a co-worker & nothing more.

I think all of the comments that she loathed, despised him or hated him are not true, i don't think she thought of him one way or another & was ambivalent about & toward him as simply some one she acted with, nor did she like him or consider him a friend.

Larry Tate :)

Well, again, they're both gone and none of us were there to see what did or didn't happen. Dick and Joan York were married for 40+ years and had five children. When his back problems and painkiller addiction came to a head and they lost all their savings through bad investments - they still stayed together until he died. They were dirt poor living in her late parents' tiny house outside Grand Rapids, MI - and still trying to raise money and supplies for the homeless and hungry. Some celebrity spouses would've split as soon as the money and fame left - but she didn't. :heart:

"Was Elizabeth A Good Person?"



The answer is......YES.



:lookaroun

Thanks for that reliable information! Just because celebrities have plenty of money doesn't mean they have the wisest decision when it comes to business investments. Unfortunately, celebrities and their money are often parted. Here are a few of the most memorably bad celeb investments (http://personalmoneynetwork.com/moneyblog/2012/05/01/bad-celebrity-investments/), ever.

Chiming in, even though two pages into this thread I noticed that the conversation took place about 4 years ago...

I think people show you how they feel by what they do and by what they don't do.

If EM never spoke to DY again after he left the series then I'm sure she had her reasons. She had years to get around to it and she didn't, so...I guess she didn't want to. Whatever her reasons were, she was entitled to have them.

I don't know if I could really call her "a good person", when I just found out that she hated her Father, and was to blame for starting a feud with him because of Politics; Robert was a Republican, as anti-communist as they come, and Elizabeth was a Democrat.

Did she also hate Republicans, just for being Republicans? Did she also subscribe to Communism, and idolize violent dictators?

I don't know if I could really call her "a good person", when I just found out that she hated her Father, and was to blame for starting a feud with him because of Politics; Robert was a Republican, as anti-communist as they come, and Elizabeth was a Democrat.

Did she also hate Republicans, just for being Republicans? Did she also subscribe to Communism, and idolize violent dictators?

Troll much?...............apparently.........................Yes.!!

Not trolling. I was reading on IMDB about how there was a rift between her and her Father due to Politics. And I feel she was to blame for it.

No reason to behave like this towards me.

"Was Elizabeth A Good Person?"



The answer is......She was a WITCH ! :eek:



Take it,
EZ

Does anyone know any details about her involvement with a producer on the show as her marriage to Bill Asher was ending?

Because EM was married a few times, I do wonder about her.
She was already on marriage no.3 at only about 30 years old when Bewitched premiered.

I saw Paul Petersen in person about 20 or so years ago, he played the son on "The Donna Reed Show". I can't remember where it was, maybe it was a seminar on children working in show business or something like that. Paul said that "The Donna Reed Show", "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bewtiched" were filmed on the same lot (I believe adjoining stages.) I remember him saying that a lot of the actors from all three shows were in the makeup chairs at the same time in the morning. He talked about Barbara Eden being nice and everything, but I remember him saying Elizabeth Montgomery was very cold and had no interaction with anyone. He said Elizabeth really detested Barbara Eden because she thought "I Dream of Jeannie" was a "cheesy" knock-off of "Bewtiched".

I've heard numerous stories over the years that Liz did not like Dick York, Irene Verdon or Sandra Gould. But she liked Agnes Moorehead, Dick Sargent and David White.

Disappointing to hear about Liz. Truly.

Most of Elizabeth's costars say only positive things about her. She herself stated that one of her regrets was that she wasn't a "good enough" mother (working so many hours), but her children have stated she worried about that for nothing. There is one photo of her dressed in KISS make-up with her kids for Halloween. That seems to suggest she had fun with her kids.

However, several people (producers and other behind the scenes people) have suggested that she had a "dark side." But that was in relation to her private life not her treatment of costars. William Froug, however stated that she was "a tough cookie...and nuts.). He believed that Dick York was "smitten" with Liz and it ticked her off. Herbie Pilato mentions Froug's opinion in his bio on Liz, but left out the "and nuts" part which can be heard in an online interview.

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/bewitched#

That's why she wanted York fired - simply because he annoyed her. Instead of using that dynamic in her role as Samantha, she conspired behind York's back to try and get rid of him. No one, including Bill Asher was about to get rid of York because he was so good in the role.

As for York pulling a "stunt" to get more money (as posted in earlier posts in this thread) that was a total fabrication. York felt enormously guilty for having to leave the show and was physically flat on his back for 18 months after the incident on set. He didn't fall, BTW, he passed out from the flu and his system was over-saturated on prescription pain pills.

York also stated that he was happy on Bewitched and his career plan was to finish the run then work on getting his own show after. Liz did refuse to ever speak to him again. When he was near the end of his life he stated that he called her but she wouldn't come to the phone (or perhaps was "out"). She never returned his call either.

Liz was complicated, but Hollywood is an even more complicated business. You have to be tough to be in that business. She was as good as any of us. She was human.

Was Dick York Fired or did he resign?
Although i think Dick York would have been fired by both Screen Gems and ABC after his initial 5 year contract expired, i do believe Bill Asher when he said on the day of his collapse that Dick York simply resigned from the show that day.

The delays caused by his absences and the uncertainty of his being able to work any given week due to his back condition cost both ABC & Screen Gems a fair bit of money, so i think they would have been inclined to cut their loses at that point.

Later the following year in late spring Dick York did re-approach Screen Gems and ABC about returning to the cast as Darrin.

He had asked to be allowed a sabbatical till that September to allow his back to heal at which point filming of his scenes would have recommenced.

By that point though Screen Gems had recast Darrin and signed Dick Sargent for the role, in fact 3 or 4 episodes had already been filmed by that point in time and were in the can so to speak.

As well Liz & Bill and Screen Gems did not believe that the time off would make any difference knowing full well the extent of Dick York's back problems and how difficult it had been for him all those years.

They correctly believed that he would still be incapacitated after his time off and would be unable to work.

This would have left Bewitched in the Lurch without a Darrin and with most likely all the best candidates no longer available forcing them to take whatever they could get.

They proved to be right as after Dick York's collapse in early December, 1968 he was bedridden and only semi lucid for for more then a year so obviously would have been unable to film scenes for Bewitched in September, 1969.

He was never again able to physically work for any sustained period of time, so the time off would have accomplished nothing.

That summer after he had been rebuffed by the Asher's and Screen Gems he said in an article that he was glad to have left the show and wanted to play other roles, that he felt he was improperly and underused as Darrin and that the atmosphere on the set was very unpleasant.

Talk about burning your bridges, that alone made any further expectation of any contact between Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York in the future unrealistic and not rational.

Why would anyone rush to that aid of someone who in your last interaction with them had slapped you in the face.

Interestingly Dick York in interviews near the end of his life in the 1990's still claimed if they had just given him that summer off he could have finished the run of the show.

So he was clearly in denial on that matter all of his life.

It is sad he was not able to finish the run of the series, it would have been great and preferable if he could have, but it simply was not possible.

At least we do have his wonderful performances of the first 4 2/3 seasons of the show to enjoy over and over, they are all timeless those episodes and never get old.

Larry Tate

Liz Montgomery & Dick York & Why they never spoke to each other again

After 25 years of not having anything to do with someone who was never a friend but merely someone she worked with compared to a close longtime personal friend that Dick Sargent was to Liz clearly shows why Liz commented on Dick Sargent's passing as she did as well re close friends Alice Pierce & Agnes Moorehead but did not re Dick Yorks passing as she did not about other members of the cast who passed away such as Paul Lynde (whose funeral she did not attend) and others.

There was no need to make a Public comment on Dick Yorks passing all these decades later & who contributed what success to the show has zero to do with who she should have commented on or not, it should be passed on personal feelings not rating points & $$$$ garnered by a cast member the is irrelevant.

She did not rave about Dick Sargent she spoke very positively about him when he was on the show as she did about Dick York when he was on the show.

She was contacted by the press after DS passed but i don't believe the same interest was there with the media in that respect with DY when he passed in regards to contacting Liz then.

She had no reaction to Dick York's passing but then why would she?????...........as this was by then 25 years later a complete stranger who she simply had once worked with and had not seen or interacted with in almost 25 years, plus at the end Dick York made some very unkind comments towards the show & therefore indirectly towards Liz so her reaction of no comment is the only logical & rational one she could have made.

The fact that in the spring of 1971 when he asked back into the show after leaving, was denied & then said about Liz & the show in an interview about the unpleasant atmosphere on the set, how he was unhappy with how he was being used in the show as in underused & how he wanted to go onto other & better things sure would have made Liz say throughout those 25 years hey i got to give good ol Dick a call, i don't think sooooooooooo.

In the 1988 book "Whatever became of?", York stated: "I left in an amulance and never returned. The atmosphere on the set of Bewitched was extremely unpleasant. I never missed that show."

Dick Sargent had been a longtime close personal friend who she had been very close to in the half dozen or so years prior to his passing so her comment on his passing was a natural & logical one.
Bottom line is that Liz & Dick York worked together & Brilliantly i might add, but there never was a close personal Friendship or any relationship to continue, nor were they friends at all.

You have to understand that they were real people who were actors playing roles that were not them, they were not Samantha & Darrin in real life, sometimes people get that reality confused.

This is not unusual as one could say the same thing about any cast member & the majority of the cast & as well about anyone & most of those that they work with her their never having any contact again after his leaving the show is perfectly natural in my view.

This doesn't mean they liked or disliked each other, they merely worked with each other & had the same working experience that any actor or actress has with 95% of all those they work with.

It was a job & they had a job to do & they did it, then they went their own way, as you must recall that they both had spouses & large young families to tend too, this along with the full time job of carrying a weekly series left little or no time for any other interaction between the two, they both already had a full plate to deal with.

After DY left the show there was simply no reason for them to have any contact with each other as is the case with all actors pretty much once they finish a project, they just move on with their lives.

Liz had real phobias with anything medical so i can see her not wanting to go the hospital to see him for this reason.

Liz & Dick Sargent had drifted apart & lost touch shortly after Bewitched ended & had not seen each other in about 15 years till they were reunited when both were approached by Herbie J Pilato in regards to interviews for his then upcoming book The Bewitched Book, they reconnected through Herbie as they discussed if they should cooperate or not with him.

When Herbie met David White for the first time in Liz's Garden at her home as a special surprise for him, he was told by David White he had not been there for over 15 years.

So she drifted apart even from good friends as people do when the matter that brought them together in the first place ended.

So these things are natural & normal & not anything that should reflect negatively on her, quite the opposite, this is how it is supposed to be & is with everyone in life & was the case as well with any member of this or any other cast of any other show.

Same thing with her good friend Carol Burnett when Carol moved to Hawaii, they just lost touch after being great friends since they did
Who's Been Sleeping in my bed? together in 1963.

She had not seen or talked to Kasey Rogers after Bewitched until at Dick Sargents funeral 22 years later.

She kept in touch with Erin Murphy mainly because Erin was such great friends with her kids, but when they all grew up Liz lost touch with Erin as well.

Life happens & means nothing other then that, as was the case when Liz & Dick York lost contact with each other & they were not even friends like she & Dick Sargent & David White were.

Another salient point is that some have said that Liz should have run to his aid & nursed him at his bedside,and funded his medical & living expenses as soon as Dick York's plight had become public.

Dick York had 5 children who by the time he hit rock bottom were 30 or more and had established their own adult lives one would think by then.

Where were they?
Why didn't they come running to his their father's side & aid, pay his medical & living expenses, a wheel chair, buy him the oxygen tank and equipment for his survival.

Only when it become publicly known did charitable donations come through to meet his medical equipment needs.

The point is that those who keep demanding Liz should have done these things for a stranger whose last contact with her 25 years earlier had been insulting on his part, should ask themselves why instead his children abandoned him in his hour of greatest need.

By 1990 they should have had between 5 and 10 incomes between them all, yet out of this they could not meet any of the needs i have listed causing Dick York to turn to a public appeal for charity handouts to pay for his medical needs such as a wheelchair and oxygen tank.?

It was the responsibility of his children and family to do so not Elizabeth Montgomery's or any other people associated with Bewitched.

Where were his adult children at this point and why did they turn their collective backs on him, there is more to this back story then meets the eye.

Larry Tate

What Dark side?, what rubbish.
DY was infatuated with Elizabeth Montgomery, now you can't blame him one iota
for that being the case but he did not keep it to himself and was mooning over her and all but sexually harassing Liz.

It was her show she was part owner, she was the star of the show, there was no need for her to put up with all that so after season 3 she went to the Screen Gems executives and simply asked for him to go as was her right.

Behind the back conspiracy?......Not.................Bill Asher himself has stated that DY was pulling a Larry Hagman style sickout to get a new deal early after season 4 as well as get equal power on the show, that i a fact, a ploy that unlike Hagman's during Dallas did not succeed.

When he collapsed DY was being lit for the next scene and was a fair bit up in the air, he began to pass out they brought him down and he then collapsed on the floor.

Larry Tate

Should Elizabeth have taken care of York when he was terminally ill? Of course not. Even York never asked for that. But 28 years later she could have been compassionate enough to take his phone call and said goodbye.

Pilato's biography clearly states that people have said that she could hold a grudge. After her power play with Jackie Cooper (when she was almost replaced on Bewitched before it went to series) he stated that she never spoke to him again unless it was work related.

Sandra Gould and Asher said many of the (secondary) cast got together to send Dick York money when he was at the end of his life, but that he refused it. York never turned to the public for handouts for himself. He spent much of his last years turning to public for donations for homeless shelters; Again not for himself.

Pilato stated that Tom Snyder wanted to do a reunion interview with Elizabeth and Dick York - but Elizabeth refused. I think that was more about her overall refusal to do personal interviews until Entertainment Tonight talked her into it. Elizabeth mentions on camera how "terrified" those interviews made her.

I do believe that if York had been in better health and was still acting he and Liz would have reconciled and gotten together as she did with David White and Dick Sargent - both of whom she had also not kept in touch with either. Elizabeth needed a reason to reacquaint herself with the old cast - i.e. Pilato's book.

I have never seen any statement or article from Bill Asher about York pulling a salary holdout ever. Asher has only publicly said how good York was in the show (better than Sargent in his opinion) and he refused to let him go no matter how much Elizabeth whined or ABC execs worried. York certainly wouldn't have wanted "equal power." He spent most of his energy getting through scenes with unending back pain.

York stated that when he decided to leave he realized that "people had had enough." I believe he meant Elizabeth in particular and Asher who constantly had to keep York going and also certain ABC execs that constantly worried about his health affecting the show. Pilato suggested that York was indeed hurt by Elizabeth snubbing him, but he understood that these things happen in life and in relationships.

York also wrote in his book that (at least in the first two seasons) he and Liz were very close - even playing word games between scenes. He felt that she was a friend. But something changed and she simply grew tired of him.

I believe that on a certain level it must have been hard for Elizabeth to ever completely relax with York when his back really starting acting up around season three. It would be hard for her to not worry about hurting him if she hugged him too tightly or put her hand on his shoulder or back. I'd guess that affected how she approached scenes and required more planning and less spontaneity.

It was only after Herbie Pilato interviewed York for his book did he state that he wished he could have had the "summer to heal up." But that was wishful thinking 20 years later not a conversation that happened in 1969. York's own book states he was flat on his back for 18 months.

When he was alive Dominick Dunne stated that he felt Elizabeth "had a very dark side." He had been close friends with her for 20 years and then they had a falling out and she cut him out of her life refusing to speak to him again. At one time he mulled over writing her biography, but felt it would have upset her even more. And I don't blame her for that.

It is interesting that some people seem to have a need for Elizabeth to be perfect. And that's a fine fantasy to have, but she wasn't. Nor was she just like Samantha. She wasn't a bad person at all. It's also interesting that some people want to put out negative stories about Dick York for no apparent reason. It's not a competition to prove who was a better person; York vs. Montgomery. Or even York vs. Sargent.

Well said!

I saw Paul Petersen in person about 20 or so years ago, he played the son on "The Donna Reed Show". I can't remember where it was, maybe it was a seminar on children working in show business or something like that. Paul said that "The Donna Reed Show", "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Bewtiched" were filmed on the same lot (I believe adjoining stages.) I remember him saying that a lot of the actors from all three shows were in the makeup chairs at the same time in the morning. He talked about Barbara Eden being nice and everything, but I remember him saying Elizabeth Montgomery was very cold and had no interaction with anyone. He said Elizabeth really detested Barbara Eden because she thought "I Dream of Jeannie" was a "cheesy" knock-off of "Bewtiched".

I've heard numerous stories over the years that Liz did not like Dick York, Irene Verdon or Sandra Gould. But she liked Agnes Moorehead, Dick Sargent and David White.

Oh, what does Paul Petersen know? I just bet he made that up about Liz.

Herbie Pilato was the one who stated that, in his opinion (and based on his interviews with her), that Elizabeth preferred Alice Pearce to Sandra Gould. But that was in relation to how Alice played the part and not any animosity or dislike personally of Sandra. Alice was really irreplaceable and Liz knew that, but the show needed a Gladys. I wish Sandra had lightened up her Gladys a bit. Her Gladys was often too mean spirited.

Liz stated that she hated "I Dream of Jeannie" but certainly not "Barbara or Larry." She did see it as a rip-off of Bewitched. Interestingly enough, Bill Asher told two stories about it; one where Sidney Sheldon called and asked if Asher minded if he wrote "Jeannie" (and Asher said he didn't mind) and the other version contradicted that stating Sidney wrote it without so much as a phone call.

Sally Field apparently started the rumor (on Rosie O'Donnell's old show) that Liz disliked Barbara - or at least her early morning singing in the dressing room. Barbara was asked about that recently and she said Liz was always nice to her at the studio.

I freely admit that I wish York and Liz had been friends to the end. But it didn't happen that way. A few years ago a soap opera actress (Melissa Archer of the now defunct "One Life to Live") stated that actors often have really great onscreen chemistry with other actors that they don't actually like. She said she didn't understand that dynamic, but it often happens.

York and Montgomery were perfect onscreen. And that's really all that matters.

Herbie Pilato was the one who stated that, in his opinion (and based on his interviews with her), that Elizabeth preferred Alice Pearce to Sandra Gould. But that was in relation to how Alice played the part and not any animosity or dislike personally of Sandra. Alice was really irreplaceable and Liz knew that, but the show needed a Gladys. I wish Sandra had lightened up her Gladys a bit. Her Gladys was often too mean spirited.

Liz stated that he hated "I Dream of Jeannie" but certainly not "Barbara or Larry." She did see it as a rip-off of Bewitched. Interestingly enough, Bill Asher told two stories about it; one where Sidney Sheldon called and asked if Asher minded if he wrote "Jeannie" (and Asher said he didn't mind) and the other version contradicted that stating Sidney wrote it without so much as a phone call.

Sally Field apparently started the rumor (on Rosie O'Donnell's old show) that Liz disliked Barbara - or at least her early morning singing in the dressing room. Barbara was asked about that recently and she said Liz was always nice to her at the studio.


Thank you.

It is interesting that in Herbie Pilato's original Bewitched book he wrote that Irene Vernon left to pursue other interests. But in the biography on Liz he amended that to her being fired by Liz and Bill Asher because she was "friends" with ex-producer Danny Arnold). Why the Ashers held a grudge against her for that is unknown.

David White stated that he preferred Irene Vernon to Kasey Rogers simply because she seemed more like an executive's wife (not out of any ill will towards Kasey). I think Kasey brought a bit more lighthearted fun to the role. personally.

Why should Liz have accepted a phone call more then 2 decades later of a person who she was never friends with who felt dissed by the Yorks after repeated dinner invites were turned down by the Yorks in the first year, who oogled & all but hit on by York from the Third season on.

Why should she return a call of someone who in 1969 in a magazine interview said he was glad to have left the show and wanted to play other roles, that he felt he was improperly and underused as Darrin and that the atmosphere on the set was very unpleasant.

Having not seen or spoken to him after such conduct why would Liz want to have anything to do with this guy who was more of a pain in the butt in the years that she knew him then anything else.

There was no power play by Liz prior to the pilot, she merely asked for what she had been promised by Bill Dozier who preceded Jackie Cooper as the head of SG on the west coast.

After Cooper turned it into pissing contest (not exactly fair dinkum as the Aussies would say) she walked and then after Cooper starting casting other actresses to play Samantha she went to her father who made a call to ABC in NY and the head of SG there and Liz was given all that she had been promised prior but let Cooper keep his ego trip, Liz did not speak to him till 1968 at which time they reconstituted a professional relationship although rarely was there a need for Liz to see or talk to him as Cooper was not the executive producer, Harry Ackerman was.

Yes Liz was very shy hence her repeated turn downs to appear on her good friend Carol Burnett's show where she would have been great but live performances terrified her, that as you say is why she turned down the interview with York with Tom Snyder.

Same reason that when all those reunion specials were all the rage where the old cast got back together to talk, look at old clips & tell stories etc., there was going to be one for Bewitched with Erin Murphy hosting but Liz turned it down so it never happened.

Your wrong, Liz was great friends with David White and Dick Sargent hence their refreshing their friendship when Herbie J created the context within which this could happen, she was NEVER friends or close to DY and the ending was in bad form on Yorks part, i am very confident that they never would have seen or had any contact whatsoever again and in respect to becoming friends again they could recreate what never existed in the past.

In respect to Yorks power play and sickout it was documented in the industry papers at the time and by Ronna Barrett etc and what i referenced in the Asher interview about his views on it was documented by him in that interview, it is a historical record.

He did want more money, power, a publicity campaign that would on par with the one that Liz and Agnes had, he wanted a creative veto, this is all on the record as well, he failed where Liz succeeded all along in terms of creative control.

I hardly think whining is a fair comment when Liz simply wanted him gone,he was unpleasant on many levels to be around, often due to his medication, the constant will he or won't he make this weeks show got old, and his all but harassing her made her wish for a fresh start away from all those problems.

Yes York left not so much because he knew others had enough all though that was so as well, but rather he had enough and simply could not physically do it anymore, i think he realized that better then anyone.

Liz did not snub him, she merely had no interest in interacting with someone who was never a friend and who basically acted like a jerk when they parted.

As i have stated after he left he wanted to come back even they were already filming with Dick Sargent, then he acted like he had been betrayed, all very delusional and disconnected from reality.

I have to say that in regards to both York & Liz looking at the shows you would have never known he was ill or that Liz had to be careful etc., they were both brilliant on camera together and that never changed.

Your wrong the whole he wished he could have had the "summer to heal up" was stated by him to the Asher's in 1969 as his argument to being given back the role, it was too late, he was not being rational nor realistic in his view, the Asher's knew this and they were right, that is where all the ugly comments by York came from after they said no.

Dominick Dunne was hard core coke head alcoholic party freak and Liz had seen enough of that self destructive behavior from Gig young and as well he was from the part of her life when she was married to GY and she wanted to put that and all that was connected to it behind her, re DD i think she saw he was poison in how he lived and that was not what she wanted in her life.

No DD was friends with Liz for about 8 years, when she divorced GY she divorced all aspects of that part of her life as well, rather normal reaction i would say.

It is interesting that Some need to see DY and Liz as Darrin and Samantha without understanding that these were merely roles that they played, not real life and who they were in real life, they can not deal with that truth and reality.

Nobody is saying Liz was perfect but if some untruth is stated then it is what it is.

Everything i stated about York is factually corroborated and in relation to aspects of his life and how they related to Liz and discussion context about Liz & York that is brought up by others.

It has never been confirmed by anyone as to why Irene Vernon's contract was not renewed, it was merely her guess that it was related to her connection to Danny Arnold who as a Producer on the show cast her as Louise.

If that was the case then after DA left the show after season one after a power struggle for creative control with Bill Asher they could have canned IV at that point as well but did not and brought her back for a second season.

My take on it is that as she was not cast by then the Asher's were not vested in her as Louise and simply had Kasey Rogers in mind instead, i seriously doubt it was personal but rather just a creative perspective, much like on the Andy Griffith show when the guy who played Goober was originally cast as Gomer Pyle but when AG saw Jim Nabors in an nightclub he revoked the casting and cast him instead, same thing re Joyce Bullifant as Carol Brady, Florance became available the last minute and...................as they say that's show biz.

Liz didn't hate IDOJ she was just ticked off that it was a total ripoff of her show that she had struggled for 10 years to find and create to attain the position that she had arrived at.

Liz was NOT morning person and Babs was, simple as that, there was never an issue between them, peterson is not credible as in the one instance that SF talks about after asking her several times to not sing at like 5 in the morning Babs kept on chirping and Liz finally had enough and told her to please shut up, and she did, that's it.

Apparently Irene Vernon told Herbie Pilato why she was fired. You'd think she would know.

I do find it laughable that Dick York supposedly pulled a power play when he wasn't even strong enough to drive himself to work. Per a conversation I had with Mrs. York he rode in with one of the make-up ladies. I also have never read or heard that trade papers published any such a story. Why would he want even more work to do and longer hours.

Every cast member has only said positive things about York (and Liz). So the assertion that he was creepy to Liz on set is silly. Froug never said that he "harassed" her. He believed (in his opinion) that York was "smitten" with her and his affection in general, not his actions, annoyed her (again in his opinion). He believed that Liz was the "kind of woman" that if you loved her "you were in trouble." He was actually, in a way, criticizing Liz and not York. He called Liz "nuts" too (conversely, Bill Asher called York "strange"). No - I don't believe Liz was nuts. I do believe Froug was embellishing memories from 40 years ago and summing her up as "the kind of woman" type of thing.

But whatever - I don't want to berate the same stuff over and over. There is no way to prove one way or another what happened. Most if it is hearsay and opinion anyway. And as I wrote earlier - it's not a contest to prove who was a better person; York or Liz. I love them both.

Regardless of what differences they had in season three, Liz obviously knew how important York was to the show. When he left in 1969 she wanted to end the series (per Bill Asher). ABC talked her into staying with a new Darrin.

Liz didn't hate IDOJ she was just ticked off that it was a total ripoff of her show that she had struggled for 10 years to find and create to attain the position that she had arrived at,

No, she hated it. Bill Asher has stated this and that she was furious at him for directing the Jeannie 1985 reunion movie. It's no bid deal. I hate "The Big Bang Theory."

Just as an aside; Asher also stated that she wanted to quit acting when they got married. He talked her into continue working if they could find a show to work on together. These comments are on the Bewitched.net interviews or the American Archives interviews. I forget which at the moment.

No Herbie stated that Irene Vernon THOUGHT that she was fired for that reason not that she knew for sure, in fact she stated to Herbie they never told her anything, she heard from her agent that she was not being renewed and that was that, i know this because i worked with Herbie on the book as his chief researcher.

He did not want more work or more hours, he wanted more creative power and control and a publicity campaign to push his career the way they were Liz's and Aggie's.

It is documented and factual with quotes from Asher in interviews on the record in magazines.

Hey it is hardly silly to describe as creepy Yorks propensity to oggle, stare, all but harass and all but hit on Liz.

Liz also felt he was weird and all wet hence creepy.

Once a scene was done with York Liz avoided him and kept her distance till filming commenced again, she could not stand being near him due to his conduct, this according to the cast and crew.

In Truth Liz had no intention of leaving Bewitched after 5 years, As Christmas approached in 1968 she contacted Jackie Cooper ( from his Bio.)
and reconciled with him speaking to him for the first time since 1963 and sent a Christmas gift to the Coopers as negotiations for her new contract were soon to begin, this was before Yorks collapse i might add.

It was well documented in Variety and other trade papers at the time that Liz was being courted by CBS to do a weekly Comedy for them, in fact they offered her a record deal which she was about to accept supposedly when ABC came in and Matched the offer.

Liz could have left Bewitched and gone onto to do a different role in a alternative premise with the same creative control and money if she was tired of doing Bewitched and playing Samantha.

She decided to stay put, my view is that she was using CBS all along as a negotiating ploy to get a better deal from ABC, it worked and she got what she wanted which included staying with ABC and continuing to play Samantha on Bewitched.

Yorks staying or not had zero to do with Liz ending the show after 5 years or continuing it as she did.

Again I don't want to keep debating the same points. You seem to contradict anything positive posted about Dick York - not sure what that's about. Maybe I am wrong, but you seem to need him to be the bad guy. It reads as if you don't like him because you think Liz did not like him.

No one has ever publicly said anything negative about York - not even Liz. Getting quotes from old movie/TV magazines is not a reliable source.

Burt Metcalfe on his American Archives interviews stated that Dick York was "well liked by ALL the people within the company." Agnes Moorehead adored him.

http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/shows/bewitched#

If York wanted more publicity to further his career he would have gone to his agent not the Ashers. That's what agents do.

Bill Asher in his Bewitched.net interview stated that he and Liz BOTH wanted to end the series after York left. Not necessarily because of York, but because it had been on for 5 years by that time.

http://www.bewitched.net/asher.htm

Below are William Froug's thoughts about Bewitched from his book "How I Escaped Gilligan's Island and other Misadventures of a Hollywood Writer."


"Sol Saks...developed the comedic situation with a family of characters, most particularly the witch's mother, Endora, played with great gusto by Agnes Moorehead. It was Saks's creation of the mother as a meddling know-it-all superwitch along with the comedic talent of Elizabeth Montgomery and co-star Dick York that had catapulted the series to the highest ratings in ABC television history...

The Bewitched set was a model of quiet probity, without bickering, animation, or joy. The tone of a set is always created by the star."

On Elizabeth:
"For a woman who had no overt physical sexuality Montgomery exuded a subtle sensuality. She was cordial, even pleasant, but I sensed a hidden agenda without having a clue as to what it might be. I also suspected that Montgomery had a rich but dark side, perhaps disturbed inner life. For whatever the reason, I was uncomfortable in her presence. It was immediately clear, however, that the discomfort was mutual...Although everyone involved in the production much admired Elizabeth Montgomery's talent and her work ethic, it was obvious they were careful not to cross her."

Agnes Moorehead:
"Agnes Moorehead, I thought, had no hidden agenda whatsoever. She let me know right off that she was a grande dame and was to be treated accordingly. She was a friend of the Ashers. Word had obviously reached her that it was her performance as Endora that was the key element in the show's success, and she apparently wanted to make certain everyone involved in the series knew it...Watching her perform on our set was to see a master of her craft at work."

Dick York:
"...Dick York...greeted me warmly. His was a friendly, open-faced greeting, but there was pain in his eyes. York had badly injured his back in an accident. He played his role superbly with exceptional comedic timing, yet he did it while frequently performing in excruciating pain. Yet, I never heard the actor utter a word of complaint. He remained amiable and eager to please...He often looked longingly at his co-star. However, it was immediately obvious that Montgomery was annoyed by his attention. For whatever reason, Montgomery did not like her co-star...It seemed clear to me that York was in love with Montgomery, and this annoyed her. For whatever reason, Montgomery clearly did not like her co-star. Was it his weakness? I wondered. She stayed clear of him except when they played scenes together. I never saw them exchange even the most casual dialogue off camera. They left the set and immediately moved into distinctly separate worlds. He never complained about his physical ailments, but once in a while following a scene you could catch a glimpse of the pain written on his face as he hobbled his way back to the slant board. I found myself fascinated by this dynamic."

Paul Lynde:
"As Paul Lynde played the effeminate Uncle Arthur even the crew could not resist cracking up. Lynde would wander off the set staying in character after the camera stopped rolling."

Marion Lorne:
"Marion...was delightful as the confused and forgetful Aunt Clara, a modest, adorable woman on and off camera."

End of season three:
"...I was called into a meeting in Harry Ackerman's office where Bill Asher and Elizabeth Montgomery were waiting...As I entered, Montgomery was speaking conspiratorially to Ackerman, 'We've got to get rid of him,' she said quietly with no attempt to conceal her annoyance...After they left I asked Ackerman who 'him' was. "Dick York," Ackerman replied. "I don't know why. I can't talk her out of it. York is more important to the series than she is willing to admit. Asher tried to convince her she was wrong, but she was adamant. She wants him fired." I was dumbfounded. Dick York was superb as Samantha's husband. His comedic timing was impeccable, and they appeared to work well together. Still, I learned not to try to make sense of Elizabeth's edicts..."

I am not contradicting anything, i am merely calling a spade a spade, it is people like you who create threads questioning if Liz was a good person or not just because she was not Samantha to Yorks Darrin in real life, all i have stated are the facts.

People like you who like to attack and run down Liz to express your obsession with York are the crux of the matter.

I don't think about York one way or another other then his performance, but someone like you who wishes to ignore factual realities to run Liz down just to build up York & defuse the impression of his issues merely demonstrate their issues.

It matters not if someone says something publicly about York or Liz, that does not alter the reality nor the truth that one finds in this regard.

On the record interviews with the media are a credible and accurate source in regards to actions and views people have of events or individuals.

Agents do not have the clout to create publicity campaign's the way a studio does, nor can they wrap a show around an actor or actress the way that studio can nor will said studio allow an actor alter the public perception of said actor in regards to a show.

His wife also complained about his low profile in the studio's publicity actions.

If the Ashers wanted to end the show after season 5 they would not have commenced late 1968 negotiations to extend it as they did.

Nor when they had other options to do completely different projects after season 5 would they have resigned when they could have had all that ABC was offering from CBS.

Asher had his reasons for saying what he did just as he did when he lied about why he & Liz broke up, such as his alternative wife at the time of over 2 years Nancy Fox.

no overt physical sexuality Montgomery had, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...................yeeeeeeeeeeeah.........................right....................didn't know Froug was gay, blind or both.

Many in the Industry stated his Bio. had no credibility as he was known to be using it to settle old scores, slights real or imagined.

He sensed she had a dark disturbed side.??????????????????? didn't know he was psychic as he had very little to do with her directly and functionally speaking they were strangers, but i guess he had x-ray vision...............i didn't realize that Superman was a Producer on Bewitched?, or maybe he was just a flying consultant to make those scenes look more realistic.

He was uncomfortable around her, Hummmmmmmmmmmmm guess he wasn't gay after all.

Oh ok, he was gay otherwise he would know one should never cross any woman if one wants to keep ones gonads. ;)

Really i have addressed all these points Froug made in his book.

People like you who like to attack and run down Liz to express your obsession with York are the crux of the matter.

I don't think about York one way or another other then his performance, but someone like you who wishes to ignore factual realities to run Liz down just to build up York & defuse the impression of his issues merely demonstrate their issues.

Uh...people like me??? I am not running her down. Someone else started this thread ages ago. I just posted actual verifiable comments and interviews that exist and not innuendo or hearsay.

On the contrary you seem to be tearing York down constantly in order to build up Liz.

I happen to love Elizabeth Montgomery. I think she was fabulous, gorgeous, and always fun to watch. I still miss her to this day. I don't care one way or another how she personally felt about York - their work on Bewitched together was all that matters. Even she knew that.

I think she was a good person and just as complicated as anyone.

Yes people like you who do try to increase the visibility and profile of Dick York re Bewitched and in the process try to tear down the true star of Bewitched Elizabeth Montgomery so as to accomplish your goal.

Your comments are non factual nor are they based on truths, rather on bias and obsession in the direction of Dick York in your attempts to make him other then he was in relation to Liz & Bewitched.

I reference facts, truths and corroborated reality rather then the delusonal fantasy that is all too often the case with fans of Dick York.

Everything i have stated about Dick York is factual, documented and a matter of public record and in response to attempts by Yorkies to misrepresent the historical facts or present York in a better light at Elizabeth Montgomery's expense.

Liz needs no building up, York clearly does in the eyes of his fans.

Yes people like you who do try to increase the visibility and profile of Dick York re Bewitched and in the process try to tear down the true star of Bewitched Elizabeth Montgomery so as to accomplish your goal.

Your comments are non factual nor are they based on truths, rather on bias and obsession in the direction of Dick York in your attempts to make him other then he was in relation to Liz & Bewitched.

I reference facts, truths and corroborated reality rather then the delusonal fantasy that is all too often the case with fans of Dick York.

Everything i have stated about Dick York is factual, documented and a matter of public record and in response to attempts by Yorkies to misrepresent the historical facts or present York in a better light at Elizabeth Montgomery's expense.

Liz needs no building up, York clearly does in the eyes of his fans.

You have posted mostly opinions about how Liz felt and referenced "public records" that only you have ever seen. It is interesting that you use the word "delusional." It's also interesting (psychologically speaking) that for you to "defend" Liz is normal...but anyone who defends Dick York is pathological.

Any time I post a direct quote or link to a video containing that quote you state the person was either lying, was wrong, or in Froug's case a homosexual. I didn't realize gay men don't have correct opinions about women. And I have ADMITTED that Froug's statements are HIS opinions.

I have never once denigrated Liz. I don't think people discussing her behavior (again all wrapped in opinions) and wondering who she was is a smear campaign. The average person fondly remembers her to this day.

I do believe - as did Joey York and Agnes Moorehead - that Dick York didn't get quite the credit for the success of Bewitched that he deserved. I don't think Larry Hagman did either on I Dream of Jeannie. This, incidentally, is just my opinion.

For the record I Love Liz Montgomery and Dick York - and the whole cast was wonderful. I even enjoy Dick Sargent's dry humor as Darrin. Part of the fun of Bewitched (when it's not turned into a war) is debating who was your favorite Darrin or Mrs Kravitz. The show is fondly remembered by most people and it has a lasting legacy. It is not a crime to be a Dick York fan as you seem to suggest.

But I have clearly touched a nerve with you here. So I am going to back out of this. Feel free to tell everyone you "won" this debate and put another "Yorkie" in his place.

You have posted mostly opinions about how Liz felt and referenced "public records" that only you have ever seen. It is interesting that you use the word "delusional." It's also interesting (psychologically speaking) that for you to "defend" Liz is normal...but anyone who defends Dick York is pathological.

Any time I post a direct quote or link to a video containing that quote you state the person was either lying, was wrong, or in Froug's case a homosexual. I didn't realize gay men don't have correct opinions about women. And I have ADMITTED that Froug's statements are HIS opinions.

I have never once denigrated Liz. I don't think people discussing her behavior (again all wrapped in opinions) and wondering who she was is a smear campaign. The average person fondly remembers her to this day.

I do believe - as did Joey York and Agnes Moorehead - that Dick York didn't get quite the credit for the success of Bewitched that he deserved. I don't think Larry Hagman did either on I Dream of Jeannie. This, incidentally, is just my opinion.

For the record I Love Liz Montgomery and Dick York - and the whole cast was wonderful. I even enjoy Dick Sargent's dry humor as Darrin. Part of the fun of Bewitched (when it's not turned into a war) is debating who was your favorite Darrin or Mrs Kravitz. The show is fondly remembered by most people and it has a lasting legacy. It is not a crime to be a Dick York fan as you seem to suggest.

But I have clearly touched a nerve with you here. So I am going to back out of this. Feel free to tell everyone you "won" this debate and put another "Yorkie" in his place.
As one Yorkie to another I appreciate your contributions to this thread. Larry Tate has been doing this for years. Some of us like to appreciate the whole cast and not just Liz. Anyone who wants to commend Dick York is open to ridicule.

Delusional yes indeed, glad you recognized yourself in the mirror, and if the Muzzle fits you can wear it.

Your the one who started running your mouth about poor poor Dickie and how mean mean Liz should have been his buddy & run to his aid and bashed her for not being Samantha to his Darrin, all just views of your own while my comments came from those that were there that said what was so with any of my views being couched in said comments from those who actually knew her and form documented public records.

No to defend Liz from Lies and Innuendo is normal to, to puff up Dick York just for the sake of his being seen how you want him to be rather then how he was, now that is abnormal.

Again if the muzzle fits wear it.

I already discounted Froug for what he was in his motivation for writing the book.

Almost all of your quotes were moot and had nothing to do with the discussion at hand, i merely used documented historical facts well known to the public then and now, albiet with some exceptions yourself clearly included.

Yes smear campaign pm your part but in a sneaky way, around the corner behind the barn sticking the knife all the while offering her some dessert, yup that is about right.

The point is Yorkies like thee want to give the credit of the success of Bewitched to York rather then to Liz, thems the facts Jack, Liz was the star with York a talented and superb supporting cast member, you all can't deal with this and attempt through the actions you have demonstrated in your posts you are attempting to reverse the perception of this.

No one is saying it is a crime to like DY but it is a crime to try to express said affection by smearing, attacking and trying reduce in stature the one to uplift the other in whom thee are obsessed in this case DY.

It is sad to see and i have seen the same attitude and mentality expressed in such actions by some in comparing the two Darrins, Lousie's, Gladys's even the two Frank's, and as well by Yorkies re Liz & York, you do not have to hate the one to love the other, i hope in that sense those haters have now been educated, here, there, and everywhere.

You didn't touch a nerve, you were merely wrong and i just corrected you.!! :)

Yes you and all can and should appreciate the entire cast of Bewitched but appreciating the one by denigrating, bashing or belittling or blaming the other is not right and should not be open to be done by anyone anywhere as you yorkies have a propensity to do everywhere.

All i have been doing all these many years is to point this out to all especially the Yorkies who can not handle that Liz was the star of Bewitched with York not the star, being merely a supporting cast member.

As one Yorkie to another I appreciate your contributions to this thread. Larry Tate has been doing this for years. Some of us like to appreciate the whole cast and not just Liz. Anyone who wants to commend Dick York is open to ridicule.

Thanks. I am proud to be a "Yorkie."

Well, to me, episodes that feature Mr. York are the ones I like to watch. No slight to Ms. Montgomery...she was very good, but Dick York made the show with his ability to play a broad range of emotions. He could be serious, crazy, caring, animated, thoughtful...whatever the situation required, he was always entertaining and brought out the best in whomever he was on-screen with. There was a chemistry with Mr. York and the other actors that was not present when he was in absence. As for the comment that Mr. York was "merely a supporting cast member," I think that severely underestimates his importance to the show. If that makes me a "Yorkie," then so be it.
Much as with Larry Hagman on I Dream of Jeannie, Dick York may have not been the top-billed performer, but he was the "straw that stirred the drink."
In regards to whether or not Ms. Montgomery was a nice person or not, I have no doubt she had both positive and negative qualities. I'm guessing that was true of all of the people who worked on the show. People are people, whether they be actors or office workers or are involved in another profession.

I always enjoyed all 14 Non-Darrin episodes on Bewitched, thought they were all superb with some
like Marriage Witch's style, Samantha's Power Failure, Samantha's Good News, A Gazebo Never Forgets
and Tabitha's Weekend being Brilliant and as good as any Darrin episodes, i also like Samantha's
Shopping spree very much, i always wanted to be Samantha's personal mannequin .

What i especially liked about the Non-Darrin episodes is that they gave one an opportunity to see Samantha's life at home at
1164 MGC, away from Darrin, Larry, Clients and McMann & Tate, to see what happened in her life while Darrin was away at work &
gave us a different and fresh feel to her and the show itself.

Going off on a tangent a bit like that kept the show fresh and allowed us to see what was going on at times during the week
at 1164 MGC in between our weekly visits there.

An extra bonus was seeing Samantha interact in both different contexts and similar ones that she did so with Darrin normally
only with different characters like Larry, a client, a relative, as well we got to see more of Serena & Uncle Arthur and her
Witchly relatives and friends which alone made it all very much worth our while.

Even in season 5 we only had 25 % of the shows Darrinless, with Darrin present 75 % of the time, same as Endora was for the first
7 seasons, if it was good enough for Endora then it was good enough for Darrin in my view.

If Darrin was absent 4 or 5 episodes of a 30 to 36 episode season then that harmed neither the season nor the premise, and instead was a positive in the ways i have referenced, it added to the show not detracted from it.

The two & four episodes respectively Darrin missed in seasons 3 & 4 were a bonus and should have been the case even if it were
possible for Dick York or whomever played Darrin to have been in those episodes for the reasons mentioned.

In Season 5 he missed eight episodes which was pushing things somewhat & on the cusp of where it would have hurt the show and made it a different premise from what it was intended to be, but it did not go over that point at eight Non-Darrin episodes nor did it hurt the show or it's premise, especially as they were able to sprinkle in Darrin episodes in amongst the eight he missed.

In summation Season 5 was one of the best seasons of the show & most creative and was not harmed in the least by having Darrin absent for eight episodes, more then that and it would have had the opposite effect, but as it was not it did not.

If able to work would Dick York have been offered a new contract after Season 5?

This is a difficult question to answer, it really could be taken in either direction with one or the other
being just as likely as the other to be the answer to it.

After Season 3 William Froug the producer that season said that Elizabeth Montgomery wanted Dick York fired
and replaced as Darrin, both William Asher & Harry Ackerman thought he was so good in the role that and the show was
going so well with the present cast wanted to keep the status co.

They managed to talk Liz into letting York keep the part.
The question is that after season 5 if York had not had to quiet due to physical ailments would William Asher & Harry Ackerman
felt as strongly about keeping him or would they have been more willing to go along with Liz's request he be replaced.

They may have been more sympathetic to Liz's view, as well if they felt York's health problems were getting worse they may have felt now was
the time to cut the cord as well as per their concern of the money it was costing Screen Gems and the Asher's as time is money in the Biz and York's inconsistent
availability affected production schedules and crew idling time caused lost income to all that owned the show.

I am sure it occurred to them that he could only go on so long and that if they signed him up for 4 more seasons and he broke down as he indeed did
,then they could find themselves without a Darrin as in deed happened in season 5, so their concern on such a event taking place would have affected their
view on the matter resulting in their switching and going with Liz on this one.

It has been stated as well that ABC wanted York out for quite some time for much the same reason.
However this would have been more to the tune of the instability he caused on their flagship show that so much
of their profit was based on, he in their view was a threat to the show by his absence at times and by their not knowing
on any given week if he was going to be able to make it to work that week.

I assume ABC paid a flat rate to Screen Gems per episode so if York caused any episodes to be more expensive
by his inconsistency in availability, then that would have been on Screen Gems dime not ABC's.

Liz most likely still felt the same way for the same reasons and would have wished him out as Darrin.

It well might be that his still being only in year 3 of 5 of his contract had contributed to his being kept on in 1967, but with his contract having expired after season 5 that the powers that be may well have felt that simply not renewing his contract rather then firing him would give them cover from the press and fans in letting him go after season 5.

Even if he managed to deal with his back problems through the end of season 5, this all could well have resulted in Dick York being fired and not being offered a new contract, unlike all the other cast members who of course were offered new contracts and were resigned.

At the same time it is quite possible that what had irked Liz in 1967 had faded in her mind and that she would be willing to continue to work with Dick York as she had in the two previous seasons after her request that he be replaced, after all she had problems with Dick York for most of the first 5 years of the show re his availability and yet she and Asher were willing to keep him on the show for the good of the show, this view in Liz's mind may have become paramount once again leading to his getting a new contract.

William Asher and Harry Ackerman could well have still felt the same way on the matter as in 1967 and insisted he be resigned for the good of the show.

ABC could well have felt that he had made it through 5 years so there was no reason to think that would not continue and after all it was on Screen Gems dime not theirs.

As a result if he could have held up a few more months Dick York could well have been offered a new contract with no additional creative power or billing but with a good sized raise for his work well done.

As i say it could go either way one as likely as the other, and one can't know what the truth is about what lay before him if he did not have to quit, unless Andy Ackermen or perhaps Richard Michaels come forward to illustrate the truth in this matter we shall be forever wondering as to the answer to this question.

Myself i don't think York coming back or not had any impact on Elizabeth Montgomery's decision on continuing the show or not.

In the end i believe the concern they had about Dick York's future availability and that his back condition might deteriorate would have let Bill Asher & Harry Ackerman to side with Elizabeth Montgomery and with ABC agreeing have Dick York fired and not offered a new contract and have him replaced as Darrin.

An interesting sub plot to this is that near the end of season four Dick York pulled a Larry Hagman style power & $$$$ grab trying to get a lot more of both with a sick out that was disingenuous in nature.

Basically he hurt his back in a fall and when it was ok after 2 weeks he milked it for several more trying to force a new long term contract when he still had a year to go.

This was not well received by Liz and Bill who spoke publicly in an interview on the matter and expressed the view that York was trying to pull a fast one at that time, he even offered to take York to the Hospital to get him looked at by specialists with York declining the offer.

When it looked at that time that he might be replaced with hints from Screen Gems that if the role was too much for him physically then he should just stay home for good he made a swift recovery.

He wanted to report to the set right away but was told by the producers that they were already committed to a Non-Darrin script costing him several thousand $$$ for the episode he missed.

A Majority of Two was the one i am referencing here that he was in effect banned from the set and prevented from doing even when he indicated he could.

Point being that there could well have been some additional resentment on behalf of Liz, Bill & Harry Ackerman towards Dick York as a result of his sickout that would have made them think differently towards his unreliability and from that if they were willing to put up with it and resign him after season five.

Although some have said it is so, the following is not an incorrect story that is being repeated over & over again, rather it is proven & corroborated Documented fact and has been accepted as such over 40 years.

What is incorrect is the revisionist history that is being perpetuated of late by those that can't stand the idea that Dick York was not alone in consideration for Darrin in the initial early time period when Bewitched was created & cast by Liz & Bill Asher in the Fall of 1963.

At no time has Bill Asher said that Dick York was the first & only choice by them as Darrin, quite the opposite is the case actually & it is on the public record & William Ashers comments on the record & on camera state that the Dick Sargent's contractual obligations such as his being on the
Tammy Grimes show were indeed the reasons why he could not be cast as Darrin after he was cast as Darrin by Elizabeth Montgomery & William Asher after they joined the project and Sol Saks left.

There is no reliable proof or corroboration that Dick Sargent was cast prior to Bill and Liz getting involved nor that he was involved whatsoever while Tammy Grimes was being considered as Cassandra (Samantha), no one at anytime, anywhere, that was associated with the show in any way has stated this was the case.

As well Tammy Grimes had never actually signed onto to doing Bewitched & never was happy with a script for a Pilot, even the last one Sol Saks did just prior to Liz & Bill coming on board, as such as in effect the project was in such a initial state with Samantha not even having been officially & contractually cast, that there would have been no casting of the other characters such as Darrin until Tammy Grimes had indeed officially signed on which of course she never did.

In fact Sol Saks the Producer for Bewitched prior to Liz & Bill taking over has stated on tape that no casting was done on his watch nor was it being seriously considered which in effect states that Dick Sargent was considered, auditioned and cast as Darrin by Liz & Bill after they had joined the show.

This makes the whole Dick Sargent being cast back then with Tammy Grimes as being illogical as well.

All this is is second or third hand fantasy or in some cases wishful thinking.

As well there was almost no time in between when Tammy Grimes pulled out to to a Broadway show & Liz & Bill being asked to take over it by Harry Ackerman the shows Executive Producer.

That Dick Sargent stated himself that he was the first choice by Bill & Liz in interviews & as well in Bewitched Forever is proven fact & not merely a wishful assumption.

Likewise so is the fact that this was stated at the time of his joining the show
in 1970 in numerous interviews in magazine articles by himself, ABC & Screen Gems Executives & that Liz herself never said it was not so, these again are facts not wishful thinking that someone merely makes up.

As well in the ET Bewitched special & in the subsequent pieces ET did on the
two Darrin's re Dick Sargent & Dick York it was stated by them in each of them that Dick Sargent was the first choice & that Dick York was only considered when Dick Sargent was not available when they went back to him after their initial interview in order to offer him the role.

Furthermore Bill Asher in the E! True Hollywood Special himself on camera
clearly states that Dick Sargent was the first choice as Darrin, that THEY as in he & Liz
wanted him but that he was unavailable, so there it is fact instead of fiction.

Screen Gems did all the casting themselves for the Pilot & after when the show was sold, Liz & Bill had final say in all casting after they came aboard.

Asher has been utterly consistent over the years on Dick Sargent being his & Liz's
first choice, there are no instances where this has been stated by him
otherwise, nor has there been any offered as proof, why?, because it does not exist.

From 1963 to the last year or two Bill Asher has always said it was Dick Sargent & never said it was Dick York, what he said was that Dick York was the best choice in hindsight & the only choice in that respect, not that he was the first one, there is a difference.

In a recent article on Ebay about Dick Sargent taking over as Darrin it was stated that Dick Sargent had been offered the role and was a prime candidate in 1963 for the role When producer Bill Asher was casting the show but had to turn it down due to a recent contractual commitment to another studio, Universal.

Well, to me, episodes that feature Mr. York are the ones I like to watch. No slight to Ms. Montgomery...she was very good, but Dick York made the show with his ability to play a broad range of emotions. He could be serious, crazy, caring, animated, thoughtful...whatever the situation required, he was always entertaining and brought out the best in whomever he was on-screen with. There was a chemistry with Mr. York and the other actors that was not present when he was in absence. As for the comment that Mr. York was "merely a supporting cast member," I think that severely underestimates his importance to the show. If that makes me a "Yorkie," then so be it.
Much as with Larry Hagman on I Dream of Jeannie, Dick York may have not been the top-billed performer, but he was the "straw that stirred the drink."
In regards to whether or not Ms. Montgomery was a nice person or not, I have no doubt she had both positive and negative qualities. I'm guessing that was true of all of the people who worked on the show. People are people, whether they be actors or office workers or are involved in another profession.

I actually asked Mrs. York about the dynamic between Liz and Dick at work. She and I both felt that they (as actors) brought out the best in each other. And were in many ways each other's best onscreen acting partners. Dick York, I think, blamed himself for any rift between he and Liz. Even if it was just her being her (as William Froug suggested). But York was like that, Until the day he died he always said the most positive things about Liz. He was a true class act.

There is a great 9 part interview on Bewitched.net with William Asher. In part 7 he talks about York leaving in season 5 and how they chose Dick Sargent because he was "runner up" when Dick York was originally the first and only choice for Darrin.

Oh you mean the Mrs.York was so jealous and threatened by Liz that she had a makeover in hairstyle and color and make up to try to keep hubby as even she could see his infatuation with Liz?

What she thought about this actor or that has no more meaning or credibility then that of any other Bewitched fan myself included.

Well Dick York should blame himself as he caused the rift and constantly extended the estrangement by his behavior.

Liz did not have any issues norm was she just being her, it was York who was Weird, strange, odd drippy and all wet, as well as having very bad BO and breath as a side effect to his medicating himself.

Whenever asked Liz always responded about York and without exception spoke glowingly about him and expressed appreciation for his contribution to Bewitched.

No your wrong again, Asher spoke of York being the best and only Darrin post Bewitched based on his directing him over 5 seasons, that is completely different in issue then who was first cast and offered the role and by whom, that was by William Asher and Elizabeth Montgomery and it was offered first to Dick Sargent before they even thought of Dick York, it was only after he had to turn them down due to his contractual obligations that they opened up the process once again and out of this came the casting of Dick York.

This is completely documented on camera and in print.

Thank goodness Dick York was cast to begin with and not Sargent. Too bad about his back and not being able to continue, but at least we had a few good years of Mr. York.

I actually asked Mrs. York about the dynamic between Liz and Dick at work.

That's awesome, tcr1701. Please feel free to share any other insights that Mrs. York might have expressed to you that Mr. York had expressed to her back in the day. Much appreciated, thanks!

That's awesome, tcr1701. Please feel free to share any other insights that Mrs. York might have expressed to you that Mr. York had expressed to her back in the day. Much appreciated, thanks!

I had written Mrs York a letter and one Christmas day she called me. This was years ago now - more than a decade. Mrs York and I kept in touch for a time after that.

Also, a very person special person was Claudia Kuehl who got York's bio published. She had Mrs York personally sign my book.

The reason this happened was because a certain "person" (much as we've seen here) was posting a lot of negative comments about Dick York on other message boards. It was like some sort of sick and bizarre campaign (much as we've seen here). I posted in response correcting the lies and Mrs York had read those posts and was very grateful (before we even talked).

I know she was personally upset (as was I) about:

1. York was fired - we know he wasn't now, of course, but it was spread around back then and some people started to believe it. I wanted to correct that. She stated that she asked Bill Asher to let York out of the series at the hospital that night. She knew the toll it was taking on him. She also stated ABC execs came to their house to personally check on York and any possibility that he could continue. He could not of course.

2. York was a drug addict. We know that he was depended on those pain pills - but they were physician prescribed NOT illicit. Of course this was the times in the 60s - if you were sick, they gave you a pill. Mrs York really took exception to Asher's statement (on the E True Hollywood story) that York had pills hidden all over his dressing room. Why would he - they were doctor prescribed.

3. She was also hurt by Pilato's assessment that York was "self destructive" also reported on the E True Hollywood Story. Of course Pilato was referring to York with Emphysema still smoking. And we all know how addictive cigarettes have been made on purpose by the tobacco industry - and how hard it is to quit.

I never specifically asked Mrs York if she knew why Liz disliked Dick (or if she really even did). Maybe I should have, but back then (over 10 years now) that wasn't the focus. I concentrated on Dick's life and why he left the series. Mrs York never said a bad word about Liz, though Not once. Liz and dick were co-workers not best friends. Dick and Joey concentrated on their family and not the fictional TV family.

BTW - the only person to ever say Dick Sargent was originally chosen for Darrin (by Asher) was Dick Sargent. There is some fuzzy history about him being considered along with Tammy Grimes before Asher took over, but that's it. Bill Asher has stated (on video documentation that is still available NOW) that DICK YORK was the first choice for Darrin.

Rubbish, the book came first then at the time of the Bio. the Sick and Bizarre HATE campaign by yorkie nutters such a thee to try to steal Liz's legacy, hand over all the credit for the success of Bewitched From Elizabeth Montgomery where it belonged to York where it did not.

Blaming Liz for all but not grabbing that railroad car's handle when it gave out and for all of Dick Yorks misfortune's thereafter as well as you all then and now showing an abnormal obsession in all but demanding that she should have been Samantha to his Darrin literally even after the show was over.

When such sick twisted attacks began to take place only then did i post to refute these lies and defamation's of her good name then and now.

The only lies in need of correction then and now were yours that were corrected by myself.

I have never stated he was fired, he basically retired from show biz due to his physical ailments, it is documented that ABC had long wanted him fired as they knew he had become an albatross around the shows neck due to his inability to assure his being able to be there from week to week as well as a financial liability.

I think there is a high likely hood he never would have been resigned due to these uncertainty's, as well Liz might well have insisted in a recasting as part of her resigning which is what ABC really cared about.

Nobody said York was an addict or that he was shooting up in some alley, he needed medical aid for his medical conditions, none the less they affected him on many levels that in the end made his continuation an impossibility.

Why would Asher have lied about the pills all over his dressing room.?
No matter if they were prescribed or not abuse is still possible, especially when after time the medication becomes less and less effective requiring more and more to achieve the same outcome.

Rubbish as i outlined, William Asher, Harry Ackerman, Richard Michaels and Richard Baer all stated and confirmed on the record that Dick Sargent was the first choice by the Ashers and that he was simply no longer available at that time when they offered him the role.

This was also widely stated in the Industry media at the time that this was so.

Asher says all this on camera in the E! True Hollywood story Bewitched special as well as in numerous other documented media interviews.

There is nothing fuzzy about this, it is Black & White.!!

The reason I specifically asked asked Mrs York about the working dynamic between Dick and Liz was because I felt (and still do) that on a certain (actor's ego) level Liz was threatened by how good York was. I don't mean that in an insulting way towards Liz - I am talking about the general need for actors to be the center of attention.

This was/is MY OPINION and Not Mrs York's. Again, for the record she NEVER said a bad word about Liz. And I never told Mrs York my theory.

Past season 2 the show switched from a romantic comedy - with Dick and Liz both (mostly) playing it straight - to a supernatural comedy. Much of the focus of the episodes started to center on Darrin and whatever spell he was dealing with. And with York's tremendous comedic abilities he was able to deftly act any situation. When he was onscreen all eyes were on him.

The writers would specifically come up with spells in which Darrin acted strangely and Samantha in turn became relegated to watching this happen and then confronting Endora from the sidelines. My guess is this frustrated Liz because Samantha became more of a side character without much to do - and certainly rarely got anything funny to do other than a few good lines.

I think she resented York for being in the position to get the best scenes to play. I think that's why Serena started to be used more and became such a cartoonish character. I think that was one of the major reasons she wanted York out at the end of season 3. He was getting ht spotlight and running with it (all while having a bad back).

This is just my opinion - not something that "is completely documented on camera and in print." One of the main reasons I think this is because when Sargent came on the dynamic of the show changed. Certainly past season 6 Darrin became less funny (some due to Sargent's rather wooden and stiff portrayal) and Samantha became the one to make funny gestures or facial expressions (see "How Not to Lose Your Head to King Henry VIII" as an example).

Of course, it could also simply be that Liz felt she had work much harder at playing the humor as Samantha because Sargent was so dry and flat in the role. But I suspect she specifically wanted the more outlandish humor to feature Samantha and not Darrin.

Incidentally, if you watch closely the final season of I Dream of Jeannie - Larry Hagman also works very hard to mine humor from the flat and unfunny scripts. maybe Liz was doing the same.

Here we go, this is the delusional fantasy of Yorkies i was referencing, Liz was scared of the Great Dick York Actor and threatened and wanted him fired for that reason, all some crazy supposition made up where you attempt to make it actual factual reality.

Garbage from Yorkies that Liz was afraid that York was so going to steal her show and that he was the real star and the public would demand this recognition, complete utter nonsense is what you Yorkie's spew out, always to lionize York and to belittle and diminish Liz, she was the center of attention because she was the star and it was her show and nothing was going to alter that fact then and now, she knew this, i know this and so do you as do all real Bewitched fans as in 99% of them.

And yes you are insulting Liz Montgomery by your statements.!!!!!!
Your theory has no there there.

Bewitched was every bit a Romantic Comedy in the first 3 color seasons of Bewitched as it was in the first two, as in Charlie Harper Winner, Darrin's short pants routine etc. and the show always focused on and was about the character of Samantha as well as all the problems she and her Witch relatives caused for this magical couple, they were not Darrin focused but them focused.

York and Liz were on the screen all eyes were on her, go ahead take a poll i dare you.!

I think your delusional but thank you for making my point about Yorkies simply wanting to portray York as the star and that Liz was afraid of him professionally, i am sure all Bewitched fans see my points in even better relief now and are chuckling along with me.

Oh Yeah Samantha was a side character and relegated to the sidelines, hysterical, stop, stop i can't take anymore, the tears are streaming down my face, i am laughing so hard this is better then pilates.

York was the straight man, even he stated that in interviews, the Witches Samantha and Endora had the funny lines and therefore the grand stage.

Serena never became a cartoonish character, she became high camp to a certain respect but not until Dick Sargent was playing Darrin Stephens.

Serena was used more and more strictly to allow Liz to stretch herself even more as an actress and do things that as Samantha would have been out of character.

The only thing Liz resented was not know if York would show up from week to week, especially in season 5 and that he was mooning over and all but hitting on her, that is why she wanted him fired.

Rubbish Dick Sargent was not wooden or stiff, but relaxed, moderate, low key & as they say just chilling compared to Yorks over the top, hysterical screaming and physical dramatics.

Not only is what you say not documented, it also does not nor did it ever exist other then in the delusional fantasies of a Yorkie.

Oh yeah Liz never did funny facial expressions till season 6 ha, boy you have seen Bewitched at all and must be thinking about IDOJ, try Bewitched some time and watch it for the first time, trust me, you will enjoy it a lot.

What was always primarily featured as outlandish humor was that of the Magical interface of the mortal & witch world not specifically any single character, this was the case throughout the run of the show.

Here we go, this is the delusional fantasy of Yorkies i was referencing, Liz was scared of the Great Dick York Actor and threatened and wanted him fired for that reason, all some crazy supposition made up where you attempt to make it actual factual reality.

Yawn. Just because you have an unhealthy and libidinous obsession with Elizabeth Montgomery, doesn't mean the rest of us do. You are the only one to continually post delusional comments over and over.

I am just guessing at why the dynamics on the show changed so radically. I am not even sure I believe it (it's a theory) or if I even believe Froug's statement that Liz wanted York gone. No one else has EVER said this.

If you have something constructive to add to the conversation then do. If not stop with the semi-hidden insults to others whose OPINIONS differ from yours.

BTW - I did not say you were one of those older posters who denigrated York back in the day. But to quote (York's) Darrin "if the shoe fits..."

All you quote are delusional fantasies and theories that even you don't believe are valid or that they even exist.........................

Simply standing up for Elizabeth Montgomery's good name while Yorkie Nutters like you try to smear hers is simply calling a spade a spade and stating the truth, those doing otherwise simply slither back into the gutter from whence they came.

Liar, you said what you said and that is clear for all the world to see according to Endora, you spout nothing but thinly veiled accusations and insults while saying nothing of substance, but you are consistent i will give you that.

I recall very well that NOBODY was saying anything about York till Yorkies around the time the York Bio was about to be self published through Bear manor, started spewing the same type of drivel as you just did in your prior post.

Slinging mud at a persons good name with zero to back it up and based nothing but delusional fantasies is not a constructive contribution.

Myself i do not state opinions i state facts.

while Yorkie Nutters like you...

And thank you for proving my point. And, BTW Pot meet Kettle!

No your the one who has Pot in your kettle, i am merely the shower of the truth raining down and filling your kettle with he truth.

It was my point that was proven and you were very helpful in doing so.!


And thank you for proving my point. And, BTW Pot meet Kettle!

No your the one who has Pot in your kettle, i am merely the shower of the truth raining down and filling your kettle with he truth.

It was my point that was proven and you were very helpful in doing so.!

You never add to any discussion -whatever someone else writes you post the exact opposite. It's not a debate or exchange of ideas - it's simply contradiction. It proves nothing.

BTW - hint: your response to this should be "No it isn't. It's you who contradicts everything."

You can not debate or discuss facts and truths, one can merely present them as they are.
All you do is present slanderous lies and delusional fantasies that even you admit you do not believe in, i merely refute them based on documented factual truths.

Factual publicly documented truths prove everything, even when you clearly have nothing of relevance to say.

I don't think you contradict anything, you merely lie and attempt to present fantasy as the truth.

You never add to any discussion -whatever someone else writes you post the exact opposite. It's not a debate or exchange of ideas - it's simply contradiction. It proves nothing.

BTW - hint: your response to this should be "No it isn't. It's you who contradicts everything."

You can not debate or discuss facts and truths, one can merely present them as they are.
All you do is present slanderous lies and delusional fantasies that even you admit you do not believe in, i merely refute them based on documented factual truths.

Factual publicly documented truths prove everything, even when you clearly have nothing of relevance to say.

I don't think you contradict anything, you merely lie and attempt to present fantasy as the truth.

LOL. Well, your response was amusing at least.

Well yours isn't, instead it is just Boring.......................Yaaaaaaaaaaaaawn, it is no fun talking to a Mannequin.


LOL. Well, your response was amusing at least.

Regarding this comments made about six weeks ago by “Larry Tate”:

“Asher had his reasons for saying what he did just as he did when he lied about why he & Liz broke up, such as his alternative wife at the time of over 2 years Nancy Fox.”

Back in 1971 Nancy Fox was a teenaged actress working on the east coast of the United States in stage productions and also in some television commercials. Elizabeth Montgomery spotted Nancy in a commercial for Close-Up toothpaste and then informed husband William Asher about her. At the time Asher was casting the pilot for a new sitcom called Temperatures Rising. He contacted Nancy’s agent and requested the young actress to make a trip to California and test for a part in the pilot for this new sitcom. As she was still a minor at the time, Nancy flew out with her agent, who acted as her legal guardian and had power of attorney for signing contracts. Nancy won the part and was also given a small role in “Samantha on Thin Ice”, one of the last episodes of Bewitched.

Temperatures Rising originally co-starred Nancy with Cleavon Little, Joan Van Ark, Reva Rose, and James Whitmore. It ran for two seasons on the ABC network and went through three different formats and cast line-ups during that time. (A fairly comprehensive history of the series can be found on Wikipedia.)

After its cancellation Nancy continued to make guest appearances on other television series and also worked as a stage actress. She retired from acting in the mid-1980s after she married and began a family.

I remember Temperatures Rising fondly and found Nancy Fox to be an extremely winsome and exceedingly pretty actress. About four years ago I took an interested in finding out whatever became of her and began researching her career. From my research I was able to put together a small biography. I was also able to find her home address and subsequently wrote a letter to her. Since then I have frequently corresponded with her by email and have also talked to her on the telephone twice. I’m quite happy to report that she is a very warm and charming lady.

In the mist of my research into Nancy’s career I found that around the time that Temperatures Rising went into production some unsubstantiated gossip regarding her and William Asher began. This was also around the time that Asher separated from Elizabeth Montgomery. The gossip erroneously stated that Nancy was an “extra” on Bewitched and hinted that Asher had an extra-marital affair with her.

Some years ago the above-mentioned “Larry Tate” (or someone else using that name) made some overtly smutty and derogatory comments regarding Nancy Fox and William Asher on a now defunct message board for an Elizabeth Montgomery fan site. He stated that Nancy had been Asher’s mistress for the last four years of his marriage to Montgomery. I found this to be quite a serious accusation since (as mentioned above) Nancy was a minor at the time. Thus the accusation is that Asher not only committed adultery but statutory rape as well. Add to that the accusation seemed geographically improbable since Nancy (again as mentioned above) was an actress working on the east coast of the United States while Asher was busy working as a television producer and director out west.

I added to the thread on this message board by asking “Larry” what proof he had to back up his statements. He replied with “It is common knowledge and well documented by the media at the time both in mainstream press and otherwise.” I then asked him to name a specific source but he ignored the question and simply embellished his story. So I asked him a third time and he flatly contradicted his first statement by saying “I don't know what you mean about documentation”. After that he offered up something so unbelievably asinine that I can not imagine anyone other than a blithering sycophant or an extremely gullible nincompoop accepting it as a valid response:

“These things come out in tabloids & recollections of people like hairdressers that passed notes & made phone calls for one party or the other where tabloids say a little birdy [sic] told me that A was Shagging B in the penthouse of the NY Hilton all last weekend. And they find out from the bellhop who took them their morning batch of strawberry's [sic] & whipped cream.”

It became clear to me that “Larry” had absolutely no proof for his surly fable about Nancy Fox and William Asher. It was apparently a story he made up or was something he heard and was simply repeating it and possibly embellishing it with lurid details. It seemed most likely to me also that neither he nor anyone else ever bothered to properly research these accusations. Likewise, he seems to be one of a long line of pedantic (and pathetic) know-it-alls who take unsubstantiated gossip and pass it off on the internet as if it were irrefutable truth.

At the time I began my research into Nancy Fox’s career Elizabeth Montgomery had long been deceased so I could not ask her to validate this story. William Asher was still alive but in very poor health so it seemed unlikely that I could ask him as well. (Asher passed away in July 2012 at the age of 90.)

That left only Nancy Fox herself. In my email correspondence with her I refrained from mentioning anything about the gossip until after the first time I talked to her on the telephone. During that phone conversation she mentioned that she owed much of her career to Elizabeth Montgomery as Elizabeth had been the one who discovered her in the afore-mentioned toothpaste commercial. I was surprised at this since all the newspaper articles that I had read credit Asher with discovering Nancy. In an email message that Nancy wrote to me the day after our phone conversation she stated:

“Yes, Elizabeth is the one who was solely responsible for bringing me as a kid to Los Angeles. Otherwise I think I would have always stayed in New York City. Elizabeth was very shy, which some people took as being cold, but she was not cold at all, she was nothing but a truly wonderful person. By the time I arrived in LA she and Bill were split-up, so I really never got to know her, but the little I saw of her was nothing but genuine and kind.”

After reading this I sent a lengthy email regarding the allegations that she had an affair with William Asher, including the ludicrous “Larry Tate” comments. Her response:

“[I] tried to plough through this today so I could reply properly to you. At first glance it was all so ridiculous and unfair and untrue, not only regarding me, but regarding Bill and Elizabeth, that I ended up speed reading through most of it. I did get one brief laugh over the NY Hilton and the strawberries. This kind of degrading, fallacious gossip is why I never cared about being in the public eye and even on my level of achievement always tried to remain as private as possible. The slightest nuance gets turned into something entirely different.

“It’s degrading to even have to defend myself, and after all this time there’s nothing I can do anyway. All the players are dead, except for me, so it’s my word against gossip. There’s no way to prove any of these allegations are true or false. So … I shall just let it go.

“Bill and Elizabeth were nicer to me and more helpful in my career than anyone who has ever come along. The thing that made me the sickest is that Bill was called an ‘adulterer’. I never saw this. When I came out to LA Bill and Elizabeth had split up. There are network events that actors and producers on series are expected to attend. I went to several with Bill and Paul Lynde. In several magazines and newspapers Paul Lynde was cut out of the picture and there was Bill and I, and people will think what they want to think. I was friends with Bill as I was with Reva [Rose] and Joan [Van Ark] and the casting person for the show and Cleavon [Little], but that was it….there was no ‘affair’. I did not live with Bill. I just plain liked him, and he liked me…..it was such a unique friendship that an ‘ill-thinking’ person could neither have nor understand.

“There was a character on Bewitched named Larry Tate, but he died a long time ago. Did he enter this material? Oh, one funny thing, it almost bothered me more to be called an ‘extra’ than the part about the affair. Really, this looks like sandbox stuff anyway when one thinks about the way the Hollywood crowd carries on today.”

I assured her that the late David White, who played Larry Tate on Bewitched, was not responsible for those libelous comments. As to the person who did, I hope he will now refrain from posting anything like he has in the past, as will any other “ill-thinking” person.

Nancy Fox does not deserve to have this type of trash written about her. In fact, no one does.

What is truly pathetic is your being an obsessive fan boy of a never was wanna bee whose career can hardly be described as such.

As for your desperate need and attempts to save the reputation of someone who nobody knows or cares about, that is both sad and laughable.

Bill Asher was a serial adulterer as was publicly stated by his first wife, even Liz alluded to this a time or two.

He started cheating on her early in her first pregnancy and continued to do so throughout his marriage to her and as well in all of his marriages, that is just the way it was and why Liz divorced him after she finally got fed up with his cheating and found out about his long time adulterous and yes illegal affair with Nancy Fox, them's the facts, read them and weep, that was the final straw and why she kicked him out.

He has lied since then till he passed and made up self serving stories to try to blame her and make him look like the victim, now that is truly disgusting, but he was a Brilliant Hall of Fame director and producer but as a man and husband a disgusting failure, simple as that.

You can get your panties all in a twitch if you like but the documentation is clear,Asher and Fox had a long affair, Asher handed much of the directors chores over to Richard Michaels and spent a lot of time in NY the last 3 seasons of Bewitched as the Producer of the show, but he had other extracuricular activity there as well with Nancy Fox.

That Liz discovered her is truly rich and if true ironic, that is the first i had heard of that, if it was so 1969 would be when it would have taken place.

Bitch all you want but it happened, it is documented by both mainstream, tabloid and industry media and your desperate attempt to alter that historical fact with your delusional fantasies changes that not one iota.

Ask Victor Mascaro, Mark Simpson, Herbie J Pilato, these are all Bewitched and Elizabeth Montgomery experts as am i and we all know the truths on this matter and their views on it are the same as mine, there really is nobody else with knowledge of Liz and the show worth asking about anything to do with either after these fab four on the subject matter.

I don't care what her motivations were then or now but the facts are what they are, she did what she did and she is what she is, deal with it percy.

By the way i never talked about strawberry's or the like and shagging is an english term so that came from someone over the pond not from i.

I never called her an extra nor are your other quotes from me accurate, i guess your first lobotomy didn't take, hope you are more fortunate the second time around.

As for the rest of your tirade.......................Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn..........................Scraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatch................................Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.!!!!!

It was total BS & RM has taken the trashy lying in his recollections.
The truth that has been long known about why the show & her marriage ended is accurate & made perfect sense & tracked, this is vague innuendo that has no sense about it & is illogical in it's presentation.

That is the thing as you say this big secret they were keeping & finally came clean about
was never a secret.

RM has a credibilty problem in my eyes, just because he was there & says the earth was flat then, it is not,
it is still round, so whatever he says here now is still wrong as proven by the facts shown back then.

There are some serious chronological contradictions here, as RM talks about it becoming a Love Affair only deep into season 8th's Filming schedule & yet it is referred to having gone on for years from the late 60's to the early 70's such as in the last 3 seasons or even 4 seasons of the show.

If it was hairdresser from the show how could she have been passing notes for years as RM said when RM said it didn't start till well into the last season, the timelines just don't make any sense and he constantly contradicts himself.

So that doesn't track, plus after a year did they have to tell their spouses they were dumping them while they were still with their spouses or was this after the marriages were over but not yet divorced on paper that they got together & kept it a secret from their respective kids & they were the ones they felt they had to tell after a year, see it is somewhat confusing & the chronology is key as Liz found out about Ashers Mistress Nancy Fox in about Oct/71 about 2/3 into the filming of season 8 so with RM separated as well for about 6 months by then when he & Liz first started seeing each other, there was no need to have a big secret or any spouses to tell about this as they were on their own by then.

It is documented in Public photos that Liz, the kids & RM went to Hawaii for 2 weeks after new years 1972 after Bewitched had concluded shooting, this was public knowledge.

The thing, I heard Liz kicked Asher out after she caught him in the sack while filming Samantha on Thin Ice so she didn't have to move out & this one room apt. they had together was just so they could be alone, not that she moved in & out of the house & left her kids, I don't buy that.

This is another thing, they say it went on for 2 1/2 years, I heard Liz & RM started their affair late Oct./71 after she had caught asher, & she did break up with RM finally in July/73 so it tracks better that they began their relationship in the last 1 3/4 of the 2 1/2 years they stated that the relationship went on, as otherwise it would have started at the start of 1971, 6 months before the start of season 8th's shooting began with RM saying it was deep into season 8th's filming before it began so that doesn't track either if you see what i mean, timeline wise

As i don't think she ever MOVED into the Apartment as they said on the ET site & MOVED OUT of the house, i think it was an occasional love nest to keep things private from the press.It really doesn't make sense as this telling & keeping the secret for a year till Oct/72, from Whom?, after New Years 1972 Liz & he were openly a couple in public & were photographed as such at public events in Hawaii in Jan/72, at a Dept. store opening in Feb/72. in Frisco, the emmy's in May/72.

So it was all well known & they were not hiding anything, so whom was there to keep this big secret to keep from, as there was even a tabloid reporter who followed Liz & RM home & staked them out from that evening till the morning when RM left, as there was only one way out, that was when the story was broken first by the Tabloids & this was while the Bewitched was still filming the last 10 or so episodes in late 1971, so everyone knew except their respective kids, so whom was there to tell after a year.

I don't know, there seems to be so many things left unexplained that make much of what was stated seem impossible by the laws of time & physics.

In late May/72 Liz was photographed at one racetrack with RM one week & then with Bill Asher at another track the following week, this was when she went back to Asher & left RM for a few months, so i mean like who did not know, it was commen knowledge, whom did they feel the need to confide in, some Martian, as you would have to be one not to be aware of what was going on.

Asher knew about it all in Oct./71 when it was first reported in the Press, RM's estranged Wife would have had to have known as well, so again whom was their to tell, Liz & Asher had several Rows on the set late in season 8 after he found out, then he was banned from the set till the final episode, so again who needed to be told this great non-secret.

What really ticks me is not one word about the serial Adultery by ASHER & his mistress of 4 years that really caused the marriage to end, instead Liz is blamed for ending the marriage by this affair even though it was after the fact re her & Asher not being together anymore.

Liz is Blamed for ending Bewitched when i don't think this whole thing had anything to do with the show ending, Liz chose to end it for several other reasons & this was not a serious one of them in my view, if she wanted to keep doing the show RM would have replaced BA as the Producer & Principal Director, Asher would have been canned by Screen Gems & that would have been that.

I really don't understand the point of RM coming out with all this now, i mean what is gained by it, he has no Book of his own to promote, it makes no sense.

It reminds me of some High School lockerroom breast beating, bragging about bedding the Head cheerleader, like it is some ego boosting on his part for some reason, i just don't see his motivation to talk about this right now.
Basically this interview is riddled with falsehoods, i can not take it in the least bit seriously or treat it's contents with even a modicum of respect.

In late 1971 i knew they were having an affair shortly after it began as did thousands of others, how?, i read about it & saw photos of them together, this is really much ado about nothing & nothing but a cheap way to garner interest by those involved.

Larry Tate got owned. Deliciously owned.

You know i was going to comment on replies from fools like you but none of them said anything, that is NOT fair and puts me at a disadvantage when i am a sentient and cognitive human being and they like you are not.!

How does it feel to be my Bitch................by the way it is not a good look.!!!

Interesting read about Nancy. I never saw "Temperatures Rising" but I remember her showing up every so often on "Charlie's Angels" and it has been written she was a childhood friend of Jaclyn Smith.

As for the response, it's funny to hear the poster called "obsessive fanboy" when the responder and all the other Bewitched 'experts' he named come across as doubly so (I've seen them or their comments on various other sites) and the message is always the same: Liz was a goddess who could do no wrong. WRONG--she was a flawed human being just the the rest of us, though one who left us with some wonderful, timeless performances.

Back in 1971 Nancy Fox was a teenaged actress working on the east coast of the United States in stage productions and also in some television commercials. Elizabeth Montgomery spotted Nancy in a commercial for Close-Up toothpaste and then informed husband William Asher about her...

Thanks for the information and notes from Nancy. It is frustrating when poorly disguised innuendo is presented as historical fact. I remember an interview with Bill Asher (possibly the E True Hollywood Story) where he stated that after Bewitched ended he wanted to get right back to work on something else - and he said that Liz wanted the two of them to take some time off - he blamed himself believing that his workaholic tendencies contributed to the ending of the marriage more than anything.

Kasey Kasey Kasey............................No i am a fan and chronicler of the life of Elizabeth Montgomery and have only made attempts to present factual truths that present the reality of the situation good or bad in regards to her personal and professional life, usually in response to some hater who is using their attacks on Elizabeth Montgomery as modality to promote their fawning over some other TV personality who shall go nameless.

I am in the classic mode of Joe Friday the purveyor of Just the truth and the facts mame.

Read the Elizabeth Montgomery Bio. by Herbie J Pilato "Twitch Upon a Star" pages 232 to 234 where he confirms that Bill Asher was having an affair with Nancy Fox and that this led to Elizabeth Montgomery divorcing him as well as her relationship with Richard Michaels.

Herbie confirms the affair and her being his mistress as do others.
The columnists were far kinder back in the day then they would be today and actually tried to protect Asher from the full extent of the potential consequences.

Herbie knows a lot more of all that happened in this situation but kept it out of print, he wanted to get the basic fact across without being Sensationalistic.

Hollywood Columnist Marylin Beck Aug.4th,1972
"While the Elizabeth Montgomery---Bill Asher estrangement continues Asher is managing to snap out of the blues a bit with the help of actress Nancy Fox.

She is the Young cutie who portrays the nervous student nurse in Asher's new
Temperatures rising ABC TV series.

His attention on and off the set are making her feel much less nervous about he first shot at stardom."

LA Times Aug.30th,1972
"Now Nancy Fox who portrays the nurse in Temperatures rising, is said to be raising Asher's temperature lately."

Read the Elizabeth Montgomery Bio. by Herbie J Pilato "Twitch Upon a Star" pages 232 to 234 where he confirms that Bill Asher was having an affair with Nancy Fox and that this led to Elizabeth Montgomery divorcing him as well as her relationship with Richard Michaels.

Hollywood Columnist Marylin Beck Aug.4th,1972
"While the Elizabeth Montgomery---Bill Asher estrangement continues Asher is managing to snap out of the blues a bit with the help of actress Nancy Fox. She is the Young cutie who portrays the nervous student nurse in Asher's new Temperatures rising ABC TV series. His attention on and off the set are making her feel much less nervous about he first shot at stardom."

LA Times Aug.30th,1972
"Now Nancy Fox who portrays the nurse in Temperatures rising, is said to be raising Asher's temperature lately."

Sorry, "Larry", but these 1972 quotes from Marilyn Beck and the Los Angeles Times simply prove the point that I made in my previous message: Unsubstantiated gossip is being passed off as irrefutable fact.

I came across these quotes several years ago and tried to find out how valid they are. My first attempt to do so was to contact Herbie J. Pilato, who is a friend of mine. He told me at the time that he never heard anything about the alleged Asher-Fox affair but that he would look into it.

About two weeks after that Herbie asked me to come over to his home for dinner. I did so (an excellent meal, by the way) and he mentioned that the rumors of the affair were true. I asked him where he got his information from but he declined to name his source (which made me suspect that he did not have anything that would be considered valid). About a month later Herbie and I attended the birthday party of a mutual friend. At that point he asked me if I could provide him with copies of the articles I had, as he needed them for his upcoming biography of Elizabeth Montgomery. I did give him copies, but I forewarned him that they were only gossip and that he should not consider them as valid sources of information. Unfortunately he did take them and face value and that's the way they are presented in his Twitch Upon a Star biography.

Herbie J. Pilato is a fine gentleman and a good friend. His admiration for Elizabeth Montgomery is very deep and sincere and his biography was very much a labor of love. Sad to say, however, that many reviews for the book (mainly on Amazon.com) are quite scathing. (Don't take my work for it. Go see for yourself.) Among the most frequent complaints is the validity of his sources; i.e. most of them are publicity material and gossip, and therefore unreliable fluff. The pages dealing with Nancy Fox are painfully obvious of this.

Of note is what is presented on page 234:

In time – if not just in time – Bill Asher realized his liaison with Fox was a mistake and blamed himself for the divorce from Lizzie. In 1999, he appeared on A&E’s Biography and admitted that “… the whole thing was my fault. I was going to work every morning and she was doing nothing. And it got to her. And she finally took off. I was very angry that she left. So I left.” Apparently with Fox, and then Lizzie divorced him in 1974.

That A&E program is readily available for viewing on YouTube. (Again, don't take my work for it. See for yourself. Go to YouTube and look up "Elizabeth Montgomery documentary" and then go to around the 30:00 mark.) Herbie's transcription of what Asher's said is not totally accurate but it's close enough to be acceptable. What baffles me and (sorry, Herbie) robs the book of credibility is that Asher's statement has nothing to do with Nancy Fox!

On other issues:

You can get your panties all in a twitch if you like but the documentation is clear,Asher and Fox had a long affair, Asher handed much of the directors chores over to Richard Michaels and spent a lot of time in NY the last 3 seasons of Bewitched as the Producer of the show, but he had other extracuricular activity there as well with Nancy Fox.

PROVE IT. Don't go on any long and unnecessary tirade filled with nasty comments. Just provide some definitive proof. And I do mean definitive, not gossip or heresay.

I never called her an extra

If you check what I wrote you will see that I never claimed that you did. Just to clarify any misunderstanding, however, that bit of information came from an article in the National Enquirer (an extremely unreliable source).

i guess your first lobotomy didn't take, hope you are more fortunate the second time around.

Hahahahahahaha!!!! That's a good one.

No what these examples do is simply show what was the WIDE spread view that was widely reported at the time that i remember personally reading about at the time, that this not at all a discreet or private affair and living arrangement was indeed factual and the reality.

The last 4 years Asher and Nancy Fox were shacked up till they broke up in 1976.

Typical when forced to face actual documented proof of what you deny you choose to simply say it is not so based on your simply saying that it is not so, well that is not how the world is or works, facts are there and you can not refute them, these examples nor the dozens of others that reported the same thing from well respected mainstream media at the time............why?, because this is indeed what actually happened.

Herbie is not going to reveal all his sources to you, why should he?, some are confidential and who the heck are you to demand what you have no right to have access too.

Factual documentation by multiple mainstream media is your new reality on this issue no matter your refusal to accept it, that is your issue but the truth is all that matters.

He took these two reports as factual because of the widespread corroboration that he found that this is indeed what took place.

Oh brother i would hate to see how you treat your enemy's after stabbing your good friend (Barf) Herbie J Pilato in the back by smearing his good name, his efforts in writing the Elizabeth Montgomery Biography and it's outcome just because it does not dovetail with your delusional fantasies of these unknown and irrelevant actress, but hey the truth and facts tend to do that on many an occasion.

But your conduct in regards to Herbie by smearing him just to attempt to discredit his book in a childish attempt to keep the truth hidden, well that is despicable.

Near the end of his life Asher did finally admit to his conduct. adultery that caused the end of his marriage to Liz Montgomery, this is what Herbie was referencing after Asher expounded upon the A&E quote.

It is well documented as fact that Asher took many business trips to NY in the last three years of Bewitched in the process of creating and working on many projects and pilots for Screen Gems and ABC.

You are a typical liar and two faced hypocrite, after personally attacking me and calling me countless names you try to pull the old switch and accuse me of doing what you yourself did, you have no honor or credibility.

My comments about you now are in response to your personal attacks against myself.

Let's dispense with the insults and come straight to the point:

Where is your PROOF regarding the allegations that William Asher had an extra-marital affair with Nancy Fox????? That's all I'm asking for.

One your the one who started personally attacking me, calling me names and the one doing the insulting.
Two i have already given more then enough proof of what was common knowledge and the case then, asking the same question after it has already been answered renders your question non existent.!

Let's dispense with the insults and come straight to the point:

Where is your PROOF regarding the allegations that William Asher had an extra-marital affair with Nancy Fox????? That's all I'm asking for.

It is interesting that Pilato included that one (and only) reference that you cited in the EM book. He doesn't even actually hint that he had "secret corroborating evidence" from anyone else. It's just that one bit from a gossip magazine. And those old TV/Movie magazines were filled with unsubstantiated gossip and fake stories with staged photos.

As for Asher constantly cheating on Elizabeth...it's never been proven. Of course how do you "prove" something like that. In fact all we really know is that Elizabeth had an affair with Richard Michaels. So who knows what was going on in their private marriage.

Your testimony from Nancy makes sense to the rest of us. I doubt Nancy Fox would lie now with Asher and Montgomery dead. I applaud your efforts to set the record straight. But you will never convince "Larry Tate" of anything. This poster seems to have a pathological need for Elizabeth Montgomery to be innocent and sweet. He told me (off) in post 64 and that he "worked with Herbie on the (EM Bio) book as his chief researcher."

Read more: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=4982368&postcount=64#ixzz3W5Kti0Ga

Bewitched is one of my favorite shows. But I only check this board out once in a while because of the extreme nutcases lurking, Hello Larry & I don't mean McLean Stevenson. Just reading a tiny bit here as I wasn't about to go thru page after page of Larry's rantings, he sounds just like the nutjob that a couple years ago was banned by this site for his way out over the top support of Dick #2 and his vitriolic attacks on anyone supporting the REAL Darrin, Dick York. Larry, really now, get a grip, this is only a TV show. There's no reason to go over the bend so often just because your beloved heroes have feet of clay.

No Hazel Anyday it is mentally ill people like yourself that fixate in a perverse manner on a character and actor to such an extent that as a part of this perversity you and your Yorkie ilk need to spew ugly putrid hatred at someone just because he is not Dick York, as well as trying to tar and feather Elizabeth Montgomery for not being the character she portrayed and rather was the person that she was in her private life as a private person.

Sick people like yourself that try to retroactively attempt to give York credit for the majority of the success of the show and make him the star and try to smear & personally attack Elizabeth Montgomery to give your lurid fantasy any credibility at all.

Elizabeth Montgomery was, is and always will be the Star of Bewitched as well as the reason to a vast extent for it's great success, deal with it, nobody is interested in your twisted delusions.

Dick York was NOT Darrin, nor is he THE Darrin or the ONLY Darrin, he was simply an actor who played a supporting role on the show to the Star of Bewitched Elizabeth Montgomery.

He was very ably replaced by another actor Dick Sargent in the role of Darrin that he as well played extremely well and in many respects was more suited to the role at that point of the show then Dick York would have been.

Rants?, hardly, the facts and accurate representations of the truth appear to be beyond your reading comprehension, so sorry for your issues and that you appear to be beyond hope.!

I don't bring these issues up, it is Yorkies Nutcases such as Hazel Anyday & company who always do so and i merely respond to the hateful vitriol that you and your sick ilk spew out at her in your attempts to tarnish her, drag her down so that in your twisted mindset Dick York will somehow be elevated.

You can say all the positive things about DY that you want, but in the process to personally attack Elizabeth Montgomery and go on some Isis type vitriolic rant filled with nothing but hatred for Dick Sargent is just NOT acceptable, only when those two attacks take place do i respond to set you silly foolish mesotrophic troglodytic creatures straight.!

Well hey That is a lot of poppycock and no matter your attempts they will have zero credibility or effect on the Vast majority of fans of Bewitched.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

tcr1701 your absurd fantasies do not interest anyone remotely interested in the show, post positive things about Dick York all you want, but personally attacking with hate filled diatribes against Dick Sargent and Elizabeth Montgomery is just NOT acceptable.

In the process you reveal yourself to be the morally bereft individual that you and your fellow miscreants are, you seem to feel you have the right to post anything about anyone but that someone having an alternative perspective can not express those views, even when they are responding to ugly hatefull poisonous attacks, well welcome to Democracy and free speech as well as expression of ones views on a subject matter, careful your swastika is showing.

Yes i told you exactly what you were and are, that is plain for all the world to see.

There were two references in Herbie's Book not one and the LA Times is not a tabloid not a TV Movie magazine nor is a highly respected syndicated columnist Marylin Beck, they and a dozen or more like them at the time knew the truth about Bill Asher and Nancy Fox and stated it on the record at the time, your inability to process these documented facts speak to your issues which are your problem alone.

Trying to say Bill Asher never cheated on his wives shows you for what you are, an ignorant, uninformed fool.

I have already illustrated that when Liz and RM got together Liz was already separated from Bill Asher who then focused on his other wife, that is just fact, if you can't read well that is again your issue.

It is a fact that indeed i worked with Herbie on the (EM Bio) book as his chief researcher.

This nutcase who is obsessed with the never was wannabee Nancy Fox has hardly set the record straight with his lies and delusional fantasies, rather he has been exposed for the fool and liar that he is as i with factual documented truths have refuted his lies and presented the facts on the matter to you all. :)

You know something? I believe you! I figure it's only due to your "research" that the utterly absurd notion of ABC ever having had any intention to order a 9th season of Bewitched found its way into Herbie's book. everybody knows the 8th season ratings were in the toilet even before the move to Saturday night. Let's see, it's Saturday night in January, 1972 and I can't make up my mind between cutting edge national sensation All In The Family and thrillingly graphic Emergency!...so I'll just watch the Dick Sargent recycle of a York Bewitched episode I watched in daytime earlier in the week! That's gotta be what everybody was thinking, right? :rolleyes:

What must it be like to be "Larry"? It must be a bit sad. To rant and rave and write never endingly about your own crazed thoughts, wild imaginings nutzoid beliefs and for it all the result is? :confused:

Not a single solitary soul is ever convinced. No one is reading you, no one taking you seriously, you're a joke. You're truly like the idiot in the park standing on a box screaming at the top of his lungs endless senseless ravings and people just walk by shaking their heads in disbelief. :crazy:

I can only feel sorry for the poor slob sharing the other bed in your room at the insane asylum. That poor guy came in crazy and now after your never ending rants he's completely hopeless.:mad:

Rave on MacBeth, no one is listening. I am so glad I skipped all the pages of this thread and only read a couple lines of your rants, you really are a loonybird.

But as I always say, you've never really won when all you've done is bested an idiot. With that I now leave this Bewitched site again for another couple years. I'm sure you'll still be raving against the real Darrin, Dick York then too.:lol:

Yaaaaawn TV_on_the_Porch your wrong and more to the point your an uninformed person who will lie to try to give the non credible creditability, you know nothing but that first because you know nothing.

The only thing in the toilet is your head, and it is not a good look by the way.!!

I guess you have to inform the ABC executives, who indeed had renewed Bewitched for season 9, this is an unimpeachable fact, further to the point the whole recycling of scripts is vastly overblown.

Actually the ratings against All in the Family were very respectable in season 8, it is all about demographics and in the the advertisers view the most desirable part of the viewing public was an area that Bewitched was still quite strong in and competitive with All in the Family in this area as well as beating out their NBC competition as well.

Remakes?????...........What Remakes????
Thank God we had 3 more seasons of Bewitched with Dick Sargent
I do not see what I want to see rather what is actually to be seen & is on the screen itself.

Others see what they choose to through a prism that is distorted by the affection that they feel for DY, hence I believe the place from where all the hatred for DS comes from by the Yorkies who express it.

What I saw was DS as Darrin clearly in love & devoted to Samantha with great affection for her & totally devoted to being with her evermore.

Most Yorkie's have the view that you express but most Bewitched fans in total, although may prefer DY, still very much like & enjoy DS as Darrin & his seasons a great deal.

He was very popular with the original generation of Bewitched fans that count the most the & although they are not as vocal as the Yorkie's they exist just as much to the same extent.

Although the ratings which are a relative thing to other shows did go down, the actual number of Households & people watching Bewitched were actually higher in the DS years then the early DY years for example.

As well the changeover prior to season 6 was not publicised & was largely unknown to the Bewitched Fan base till it happened. So when the fans tuned in to see the first episode of Season 6 they were expecting to still see DY, the ratings for this episode where they were tuning in to see DY were exactly the same as they were for the rest of the season when when they were tuning in to see DS, as they knew of the switch after seeing the first episode.

As well after the switchover there was no reaction from Bewitched fans, nobody called or wrote & cared or had a problem with it.This according to Screen Gems executives of the time like Bill Asher, Harry Ackermen, Richard Baer & Richard Michaels.

Thank goodness that the show did not end after season 5, that would have been a huge mistake & instead it should have been as it was done with the show continuing onwards for 3 more Wonderful Seasons.

Yes, Liz & DS were very good friends in a personal sense while she & DY were merely fellow workers who otherwise were not acquainted & were nothing more, which is why they had zero contact after DY left the show.

The Dynamics of the show as to how the characters such as Darrin, Samantha & Endora etc. interrelated & the Premise of the show was unchanged by the changeover from DY to DS, everything was maintained as it had been with consistency.

The 8th season was excellent & very enjoyable, all this Liz was bored,unhappy, hated being there, was a hateful Samantha & changed the character is a lot of Rubbish & is not what one sees on the screen, rather one sees the opposite of all this hateful comments.

Furthermore Elizabeth Montgomery is on record in many interviews that she loved doing all 8 years of the show, was never ever bored for a minute or unhappy doing the show during the 8 seasons & that it was a great experience throughout the entire run of the show & that she would not change anything about her experience in doing the show.

Her words are the truth & after all she should know as they were her feelings.
In fact what one sees is a happy & joyful Samantha, more so even then the previous seasons & that is saying something.

Good examples of this are Bewitched,Bothered & Baldoni, Three Men & a Witch on a Horse, where Adams powers were tested & the final episode, all that i have described is clearly delineated in those episodes.

#72 "What every Young man should know" from season two is a remake of the Pilot.

Remakes began as early as that not only in the last three seasons as so many say.

I would say from season 3 on there were 2,2,3,3,4,4 (out of the first 22 episodes in season 8) remakes, it was only at the end of season 8 that they were largely the case with 3 of the last 4 episodes being remakes.

These facts just show how creative & diverse Bewitched was, that although they stuck to their main premise through all 8 years they still never became formulaic or just rehashed themselves on a regular basis, quite the opposite was the case with varied &
unique episodes being the norm the vast majority of the time rather then them being glorified remakes of each other as has been suggested.

I must say as well that episodes where a spell was placed on Darrin or when he was transformed, ones time travel back & into the future, witch illness ones etc. were never remakes but all unique & creative episodes in the form of sub premises of the main premise, otherwise you might as well say that each time Samantha twitched her nose or Darrin kissed her that this made it a remake episode.

This would make as much sense as it would be to say the ones i referred to above were remakes as well,
& not the word for word of the entire episodes(which none of them ever were)which so often are claimed to be the case by those people who claim most if not all of the episodes the last 3 seasons & especially they say the last season were remakes..............they weren't needless to say.

Even when they were remakes they changed them around so much that they were dissimilar and ony had the odd line in the odd scene that was word for word the same with 98% of the dialogue utterly different from the original episode, this was not like the Japanese or Russian versions of Bewitched where they took the original scripts for each Bewitched episode and then remade them literally word for word scene for scene, when Bewitched even had a rare remake then this was not the case, far from it.


I don't think the issue was the lack of new writers but rather that if you were going to stay true to the fundamental premise & the original characterizations then one was limited in what one could do over 8 years.

The alternative would be to go off on a completely different tangent that would not have been good or healthy for the show.

The fact that they stayed true to their original intent & premise is laudable in my view.

Actually a good quarter to a third of the shows the last few years were from new writers.

To me Little Pitchers Have Big Fears", "Soapbox Derby" are the same as It's Magic and Prodigy,the sort of Good Sam helps the Mortals sub premise and therefore would not constitute a remake, same as a spell on Darrin would not even though it had been done before & the basic aspects of it were the same in premise such a spell, complications for Mortal Darrin, he freaks, he & Sam work to fix it out, she uses magic as a last resort to do so, Witches ,laughing at all the mischief they created, mortals saying did i just see that................that sort of thing, but they were not remakes either.

You know Hazel Anyday i was going to comment on Yorkie advocate replies but none of them said anything, that is NOT fair and puts me at a disadvantage when i am a sentient and cognitive human being and they like you are not.!

Dick York advocates are invariably a classic Star Trek moment where Capt.Kirk turns to Mr.Spock and as he says
"Beam me up Scottie, there is no intelligent life down here."