He didn't exactly have it as badly as Dick York, I mean Sargent was able to work consistently after Bewitched. But he was always going to be seen (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/StarDerailingRole) as the guy who abruptly replaced Dick York (in probably the most infamous recasting (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheOtherDarrin) in TV history). On that end, Sargent was for the rest of his career, pretty much a journeyman/working actor, who usually got guest-star walk-ons. Down to Earth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_to_Earth_(U.S._TV_series)), a fantasy sitcom that aired on TBS in the '80s was probably Dick Sargent's most high profile post-Bewitched role. And again, Sargent replaced (https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qZIsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kvsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3878,7048843&dq=carol-mansell&hl=en) another actor in the same role.

cwuvLPkC-EY

I think it did. He wasn’t as good as Dick York, and at he same time typecast him. So he lost on two counts.

I think it did. He wasn’t as good as Dick York, and at he same time typecast him. So he lost on two counts.

Even the '80s cult film Teen Witch played on Dick Sargent (https://people.com/archive/it-was-like-a-healing-vol-36-no-21/)'s Bewitched past. In that movie, he played the father of the tutular "teen witch", Robyn Lively.

There's a tags podcast where Bernard Fox talks about Bewitched and says Dick Sargent could be bitchy to work with. It's been about 4 years since I listened to it. Fox was brutally honest about his castmates on BW.

I think it did. He wasn’t as good as Dick York, and at he same time typecast him. So he lost on two counts.

I was reading comments elsewhere, and I really made me wonder if Dick Sargent was really "that great" of a performer to begin with? Even if you put aside the fact that his best known acting role is playing a character that somebody else originated on a successful sitcom, did Sargent ever really be able to connect with his co-stars regardless of gender?

It wasn't so much that he was purely typecast as Darrin Stephens so much that he was typecast as ineffectual civil servants, junior military officers, or harried brothers of more charismatic characters. He couldn't exactly play thwarted and/or frustrated as well as Dick York was if you want to compare them.

Prior to Bewitched I only remember Dick Sargent for minor supporting parts in films like The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Replacing the brilliant Dick York as Darrin was perhaps a no-win situation but it gave him a seat in pop culture perpetuity he likely would not have had otherwise.

No it didn't

I don't like Dick Sargent on Bewitched. But I did like his Family Ties guest appearance, would have been nice if he recurred on Family Ties instead of just appearing once.

I don't like Dick Sargent on Bewitched. But I did like his Family Ties guest appearance, would have been nice if he recurred on Family Ties instead of just appearing once.

I remember seeing Dick Sargent on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes as Arnold's school principal. He was also in an episode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWmhe4K0y0c) of Three's Company as a secretly married man who goes on a date with Chrissy.

In a sense, I think Bewitched helped Sargent's career. The industry and probably Sargent himself understood what his career was going to be about from that point forward. Between 1961-1972 he was a regular or lead in four series and the results to put it politely were abysmal. Let's take a quick look:

One Happy Family: 1961 half a season cancelled

Broadside: 1964-65 one season cancelled

The Tammy Grimes Show: 1966-67 6 episodes cancelled.

Bewitched: 1969-72 The ratings went down immediately upon his arrival, within two years the perennial favorite had lost half its audience.

Sargent was a serviceable actor, not a star, as long as a producer wasn't asking too much he could play a part. You needed a doorman, a desk clerk, a sales associate, a minister, a businessman, a murder suspect, farmer, defendant, a lawyer, Sargent can play the part. He's not funny, the performance will not be memorable in any way but he can get the job done. The key, don't expect too much. Elinor Donahue was once asked what she credited her long career to, she said, I wasn't a star. As Dirty Harry once said, "a man's got to know his limitations".

I think it did. He wasn’t as good as Dick York, and at he same time typecast him. So he lost on two counts.

10 Most Jarring TV Recasts Of All Time (https://screenrant.com/tv-show-characters-recast-jarring/)

Darrin Stephens In Bewitched

https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/dick-sargent-as-darrin-stephens-smiling-in-bewitched.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1

Darrin Stephens’ change of actor in Bewitched is one of the most famous recastings in TV history. Dick York plays Samantha’s mortal husband up until the last three installments of the show, during which Dick Sargent takes over. While it could be assumed that the fact both actors are called Dick (but with different surnames) would result in audiences missing this, it’s far from the case. Funnily enough, the appearances of both men aren’t too different, but the way the character is written during this time is.

10 Most Jarring TV Recasts Of All Time (https://screenrant.com/tv-show-characters-recast-jarring/)

Screen Rant is just terrible on facts. The writers they pay seem to literally just make stuff up to get a story completed. For the Darrin switch they have:

https://i.postimg.cc/RhHDCBqS/rant.jpg

York's Darrin was not in bed "primarily" that last season. Sadly this kind of reporting puts false facts out so the truth is forgotten. The worst kind or writing.