tcr1701
04-14-2021, 10:19 AM
A May 2020 article from Closer Weekly takes a fresh look at York's departure from the show. Some very nice comments about Elizabeth and Dick York.
https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/heres-what-happened-to-bewitched-star-dick-york/
“As the show progressed, more and more problems showed up. Dick was the teeniest bit chubby in the beginning, and he began to lose weight. There were episodes where they had to limit what he was doing, because he was too stoned on pills to really function well. When the show went to color, they had to heavily make him up, because he looked ill. He was pale, losing weight, getting lines in his face and they began to have to use a bronzer on him to make his face look healthy. They had to supplement the suits he was wearing, because he was still losing weight and not looking well. He even began to slouch. Rehearsals became problematic because Dick was out of it. Elizabeth and Bill really loved Dick and felt that as long as they were able to continue working with him and producing the show on time, he was worth the trouble. Elizabeth liked him personally as a human being and she loved working with him.”
And his departure:
"Unfortunately, this was one promise that couldn't be kept (not firing York in season 5 after his seizure). Explains Geoffrey, “Elizabeth said to Bill, ‘I can’t deal with this anymore.’ Even she had had enough. As long as he was doing his job, they wanted to keep and help him. Elizabeth said, ‘We have Erin Murphy on the set, a child who should not be exposed to this. If our children show up on a set, they should not be exposed to this. And I don’t think we’re doing him any big favors. He also has his own children and by pretending there’s no problem, we’re not helping him or his problem.’ So Liz put her foot down and said he’s out."
https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/heres-what-happened-to-bewitched-star-dick-york/
“As the show progressed, more and more problems showed up. Dick was the teeniest bit chubby in the beginning, and he began to lose weight. There were episodes where they had to limit what he was doing, because he was too stoned on pills to really function well. When the show went to color, they had to heavily make him up, because he looked ill. He was pale, losing weight, getting lines in his face and they began to have to use a bronzer on him to make his face look healthy. They had to supplement the suits he was wearing, because he was still losing weight and not looking well. He even began to slouch. Rehearsals became problematic because Dick was out of it. Elizabeth and Bill really loved Dick and felt that as long as they were able to continue working with him and producing the show on time, he was worth the trouble. Elizabeth liked him personally as a human being and she loved working with him.”
And his departure:
"Unfortunately, this was one promise that couldn't be kept (not firing York in season 5 after his seizure). Explains Geoffrey, “Elizabeth said to Bill, ‘I can’t deal with this anymore.’ Even she had had enough. As long as he was doing his job, they wanted to keep and help him. Elizabeth said, ‘We have Erin Murphy on the set, a child who should not be exposed to this. If our children show up on a set, they should not be exposed to this. And I don’t think we’re doing him any big favors. He also has his own children and by pretending there’s no problem, we’re not helping him or his problem.’ So Liz put her foot down and said he’s out."