I know he collapsed and had to leave towards the end of the 5th season. So, that explains why he was missing in a lot of the Season 5 episodes. But that doesn't explain his absence in a few episodes of Seasons 3 and 4. Why is that? Was he starting to have health problems in Season 3?

He was given some episodes off because his father died (Bernard York died in Dec. 1967, I think), and others because of his back/health problems.

Bewitched Filming Schedule: http://www.bewitched.net/filmsche.htm

These non-Darrin episodes and their filming dates could've fit that:

"Tabitha's Cranky Spell"- 12/4/67
"A Prince of a Guy"- 12/11/67
"Playmates"- 1/18/67

Dick York missed a total of 14 episodes (he was in 156 of the first five seasons' 170). In the book Bewitched Forever by Herbie J. Pilato, DY missed two episodes because of his father's passing and the rest because of his own health issues.

Thanks. It's terrible that they did this. I got my Season 4 DVD set last week in the mail and I'm enjoying it until now. The non-Darrin episodes are painful to sit through. Ok, I got through "A Prince of A Guy" yesterday. But now, I just finished watching "Playmates" and it was depressing. And now the next episodes..."Tabitha's Cranky Spell" which is also non-Darrin. Two in a row. My stomach can't take it. And to think that I still have to watch "A Majority of Two."

Remind me not to buy Season 5 because I know it only gets worse. I must say, as much as I like Dick York better than Dick Sargent, at least none of the Sargent episodes were Darrin-less. Seriously, they should've just not filmed those episodes at all if Dick York couldn't make it for filming. I'd rather there be about 29 good episodes of Season 4 all with Darrin than to have 33 episodes with 4 of them missing him.

You're welcome, but I wouldn't write off S5 completely. There are some good episodes WITH Darrin on there, such as "Samantha Goes South For a Spell" and "Samantha Loses Her Voice".

True. Though, I must say that the only non-Darrin episode I actually like is "Samantha's Power Failure." Uncle Arthur and Serena really made the episode entertaining.

True. Though, I must say that the only non-Darrin episode I actually like is "Samantha's Power Failure." Uncle Arthur and Serena really made the episode entertaining.
Yeah, that is a fun one. :lol:

I crack up at "Marriage, Witches' Style." Mainly for the scene where Franklin and Serena are pretending to be total klutzes to "out-mortal" each other.

I crack up at "Marriage, Witches' Style." Mainly for the scene where Franklin and Serena are pretending to be total klutzes to "out-mortal" each other.
:rofl: Serena certainly gave Liz the chance to show off the naughtier AND goofier sides of her personality.

I still like the non-Darrin episodes throughout season four. I really love "Playmates" as it gives Samantha and Mrs. Stephens some great interactions. Peggy Pope is also wonderful in this episode as Gretchen.Dick York had experienced back troubles for years which grew steadily worse through seasons four and especially in season five when he missed so many episodes.

Thanks. It's terrible that they did this. I got my Season 4 DVD set last week in the mail and I'm enjoying it until now. The non-Darrin episodes are painful to sit through. Ok, I got through "A Prince of A Guy" yesterday. But now, I just finished watching "Playmates" and it was depressing. And now the next episodes..."Tabitha's Cranky Spell" which is also non-Darrin. Two in a row. My stomach can't take it. And to think that I still have to watch "A Majority of Two."

Remind me not to buy Season 5 because I know it only gets worse. I must say, as much as I like Dick York better than Dick Sargent, at least none of the Sargent episodes were Darrin-less. Seriously, they should've just not filmed those episodes at all if Dick York couldn't make it for filming. I'd rather there be about 29 good episodes of Season 4 all with Darrin than to have 33 episodes with 4 of them missing him.

Dick York missed a total of 14 episodes (he was in 156 of the first five seasons' 170). In the book Bewitched Forever by Herbie J. Pilato, DY missed two episodes because of his father's passing and the rest because of his own health issues.
I now own Seasons 3, 4, and 5 on DVD. After watching all of Seasons 3, 4 and most of 5, this is what I notice about York’s disappearance…..

In Season 3, he only missed 2 episodes, one in the middle of the season and one towards the end. This is unusual since the episodes are spread apart. But like you said, those two episodes were probably due to his father’s death. He missed two episodes and they probably just spread them out in the season.

In Season 4, he missed 4 episodes. These four episodes are close together and happen towards the end of the season. My guess is that Dick York was starting to have health issues towards the end of the season and needed some time off.

Season 5 is the most interesting one. There were 30 episodes and in the first 19, Dick York is in ALL the episodes. But starting with episode 20 and on, he starts missing almost every episode, with the exception of a few here and there (one of those few being “Daddy Does His Thing” which he collapsed while filming). So, in season 5, it looks like they wanted Dick York to be in all the episodes, but since he collapsed and had to resign, they had to film the remaining 8 episodes without him. And they inserted the remaining 3 Darrin episodes and mixed them into those 8.

So, Dick York’s short disappearance in Season 3 is due to his father’s death. His disappearance in Season 5 was due to his early resignation. But, Season 4 is what I find to be the most puzzling. My best guess would be that his health problems were starting to act up and he needed time to rest and recover.

I wonder what was the cause of the seizure. Was he running a very high temperature or was it too much medicine?

Thanks. It's terrible that they did this. I got my Season 4 DVD set last week in the mail and I'm enjoying it until now. The non-Darrin episodes are painful to sit through. Ok, I got through "A Prince of A Guy" yesterday. But now, I just finished watching "Playmates" and it was depressing. And now the next episodes..."Tabitha's Cranky Spell" which is also non-Darrin. Two in a row. My stomach can't take it. And to think that I still have to watch "A Majority of Two."

Remind me not to buy Season 5 because I know it only gets worse. I must say, as much as I like Dick York better than Dick Sargent, at least none of the Sargent episodes were Darrin-less. Seriously, they should've just not filmed those episodes at all if Dick York couldn't make it for filming. I'd rather there be about 29 good episodes of Season 4 all with Darrin than to have 33 episodes with 4 of them missing him.

Point taken, but I'm sure they were contractually obligated to give the network 33 episodes and had a schedule to meet. It's like any other job -- the other co-workers pick up the slack and muddle through when a co-worker is absent. That's life, folks.

I wonder what was the cause of the seizure. Was he running a very high temperature or was it too much medicine?

Probably a perfect storm of not only the usual back pain and painkiller side effects, but also pneumonia, the flu, and insomnia. From http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/yorkarticle1980.htm :

Pressures -- both emotional and physical -- built atop pressures. And, eventually, York crashed. "I'd been fighting off pneumonia for a month, then got the flu. I hadn't been able to sleep for a week. One day, my body just totally gave up. I went into convulsions. I saw the color drain from my wife Joey's face when she saw me in the hospital. I saw what it did to her. And I made a decision: 'I can't play this kind of game anymore.' "

Poor guy. :(

Probably a perfect storm of not only the usual back pain and painkiller side effects, but also pneumonia, the flu, and insomnia. From http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/yorkarticle1980.htm :

Pressures -- both emotional and physical -- built atop pressures. And, eventually, York crashed. "I'd been fighting off pneumonia for a month, then got the flu. I hadn't been able to sleep for a week. One day, my body just totally gave up. I went into convulsions. I saw the color drain from my wife Joey's face when she saw me in the hospital. I saw what it did to her. And I made a decision: 'I can't play this kind of game anymore.' "

Poor guy. :(
Oh, yes, I remember reading that. :( The poor dear. I can't even imagine...

Probably a perfect storm of not only the usual back pain and painkiller side effects, but also pneumonia, the flu, and insomnia. From http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/yorkarticle1980.htm :

Pressures -- both emotional and physical -- built atop pressures. And, eventually, York crashed. "I'd been fighting off pneumonia for a month, then got the flu. I hadn't been able to sleep for a week. One day, my body just totally gave up. I went into convulsions. I saw the color drain from my wife Joey's face when she saw me in the hospital. I saw what it did to her. And I made a decision: 'I can't play this kind of game anymore.' "

Poor guy. :(

Wow, this guy was in bad shape. I give him so much credit for going through all of this while filming 5 entertaining seasons of Bewitched. It must've been a struggle.

I crack up at "Marriage, Witches' Style." Mainly for the scene where Franklin and Serena are pretending to be total klutzes to "out-mortal" each other.

My first time seeing that episode was only a few months ago when I bought the Season 5 DVD. For some reason, when Bewitched used to be shown on Nick at Nite, they kept skipping that episode. Not sure why. But yeah, it's one of the better non-Darrin episodes. My only complaint with it is that Elizabeth's stand-in can OBVIOUSLY be seen in certain shots, particularly in the final scene. Not sure who is responsible for that, but that person must've been drunk or something?? I mean, why on earth would they allow Liz' stand-in to fully face the camera?? :confused:

It's also interesting how in several season 5 episodes it is obvious Dick York basically filmed one scene that is shown in two scenes - one at the end and one at the beginning. For obvious reasons that was done in his last episode filmed, "Daddy Does His Thing" but another one I can think of shot like that is "Darrin, Gone and Forgotten". It's almost as if he shot a beginning and closing scene to technically be in the episode but is missing for most of it. It seems like he really isn't in "I Don't Want To Be A Toad, I Want To Be A Butterfly" and "Samantha's Super Maid" much either...and I can't remember if he was in the episode "Mrs. Stephen's, Where Are You?".

Also - I know they used stunt people but for him to have such bad back problems there were a few scenes that it LOOKED like York did that appeared physically taxing for a person with back related health issues. One I can think of is in season 4. In the episode "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" Serena (posing as Samantha) twitches and maks the rug buckle up. As Darrin goes to answer the front door he trips over the rug and falls on the floor. It looked like York did that himself. Maybe he didn't actually take the fall but as I recall it appeared he did. Also, in "Samantha Goes South For A Spell" the scene when 'Rance Butler' tosses Darrin out the door and onto the walkway looks like it would hurt a healty person - and it LOOKS like York is the one who falls to the ground. It also APPEARS that at least in some of the scenes shot when Darrin falls from the trellis and hits the ground that York is doing some of that too. Maybe not - I certainly don't know how he did it - especially hearing stories of how York would have to lie down between scenes, etc.

Wow, this guy was in bad shape. I give him so much credit for going through all of this while filming 5 entertaining seasons of Bewitched. It must've been a struggle.

and I can't remember if he was in the episode "Mrs. Stephen's, Where Are You?".

He wasn't.

Okay. Thanks:)

He wasn't.

Okay. Thanks:)

No problemo!! :D

I just find this part amusing...sometimes when I'm watching certain episodes of Bewitched, I'll start to get depressed thinking that he won't appear in that one, like in many of the episodes in season 5. But then, all of a sudden, he'll pop up out of nowhere when you least expect it! He'll suddenly show up in his office talking with Larry or coming home from work or something. So my thoughts end up like this:

"*Sigh* :( ...this is going to be another episode without--oh, no, wait! :eek: There he is!"

Also - I know they used stunt people but for him to have such bad back problems there were a few scenes that it LOOKED like York did that appeared physically taxing for a person with back related health issues. One I can think of is in season 4. In the episode "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" Serena (posing as Samantha) twitches and maks the rug buckle up. As Darrin goes to answer the front door he trips over the rug and falls on the floor. It looked like York did that himself. Maybe he didn't actually take the fall but as I recall it appeared he did.

Yes, I believe that is York. I don't know why they made him do that.

Also, in "Samantha Goes South For A Spell" the scene when 'Rance Butler' tosses Darrin out the door and onto the walkway looks like it would hurt a healty person - and it LOOKS like York is the one who falls to the ground. It also APPEARS that at least in some of the scenes shot when Darrin falls from the trellis and hits the ground that York is doing some of that too. Maybe not - I certainly don't know how he did it - especially hearing stories of how York would have to lie down between scenes, etc.

That episode I believe used a stand-in- his hair is a lighter brown than York's.

Linking back to this thread in which I list the "Bewitched" filming dates chronologically, which episodes don't have Dick York in them (they actually were filmed in large chunks, rather than randomly, as they were aired), and why I thought so: https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showthread.php?t=272755

To summarize: He missed his first episodes in season 3, namely "A Gazebo Never Forgets" (10/19/66) which appeared in a chunk of time where nothing was happening after the filming of "Sam's Spooky Chair" (9/29/66), which biographer Charles Tranberg said Joan York reported Dick taking a nasty fall in, probably aggravating his back and holding up production for a while. He also missed "Aunt Clara's Victoria Victory" (1/25/67), which may have been when York had the flu, since he talked about missing episodes for that too.

Season 4: He missed a large chunk around the time his father died- 12/29/67, which York talks about them letting him off for (possibly he was sick first). So that would leave "A Majority of Two" (2/6/68) as the only non-Darrin episode in season 4 that York missed for an unknown reason. However, since it was completed only a day after "To Twitch or Not to Twitch," the majority of it might have been filmed around that time as well. It's hard to tell.

Season 5: Although there were episodes earlier in the season where Dick York almost doesn't appear (but he's in a few scenes, like "Darrin Gone! and Forgotten!," "Samantha's Super Maid," "I Don't Want to be a Toad..."), he actually doesn't miss any episodes until the end, namely "Mrs. Stephens, Where Are You?" (12/11/68), and then the rest of the season following his collapse during the filming of "Samantha's Surprise" (1/9/68), which would later be re-edited into "Daddy Does His Thing."