Apparently Dick York was fired from Bewitched

[Monliz]

According to Barry Pintar, Asher told him that Dick York didn't resign from Bewitched, he got fired.

Barry Pintar says Asher told him that when he went to visit York to the hospital after he collapsed, he told York in a compassionate way that he was fired because the show can't afford his constant absences anymore.

Barry Pintar also says that according to Asher, York had a serious addiction to alcohol and that the rest of the cast wasn't compassionate about his departure.

[Harlock]

Dick York said he resigned. I believe York's version

[Larry Tate]

There is no York version to believe, here it is in this video clear as a bell right from Bill Asher's word to us all York was Fired and had no say in his staying on the show or not.

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 Yorks 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.

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.

[Larry Tate]

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 Yorks 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 Ashers 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.

[Monliz]

Originally Posted by tcr1701

My first thought was that this is ridiculous - York having an alcohol addiction, which led to him being fired. Mostly because York admitted to every other problem he had in life. Why not this? But I do wonder that it could be true because it would explain a great deal.

Especially Elizabeth's odd silence about York for years and her supposedly wanting him out (per William Froug). I don't believe Elizabeth would ever be so cruel as to not sympathize with his back pain and dependence on prescription pain pills thus demanding he be fired.

Nor do I believe Froug's assessment that she disliked him because he was "smitten" with her and that she didn't like being loved by any man. And forget the blatant lie that York was "lecherous" to her as has been accused here. As idiotic as that accusation is, Bill Asher would never have let that happen in any sense of the word.

But an alcohol addiction - and we know more about how alcohol is addictive today than we did in the 1960s - that could really have irritated Elizabeth because she worked with York intimately. She could have seen it as interfering with production too much and that's understandable. She also could have seen his drinking as something he could control but didn't. And if Herbie Pilato's accusation that she herself may have been drinking heavily (as far back as her marriage to Gig Young) Elizabeth may have seen something in York's addiction that scared her.

And why did Bill Asher protect York if this is true? Having worked on "I Love Lucy" Asher knew all about behind the scenes drama and cast members with real issues - but that onscreen they were perfect (William Frawley's legendary drinking being one issue). Bill Asher and Elizabeth protecting York's secret their whole lives, in a way, is actually quite touching and a loyal thing to do. Again, if this is true.

We will never know the real story on any of this - as William Froug himself even mused. But this possibility actually makes everyone much more sympathetic - Bill, Elizabeth, and Dick York. And poor Dick York really did suffer terribly. It makes me like him even more (if true).

.

Why do you keep pushing this same narrative over and over? Every thing related to York you twist it and try to make it look like Liz liked him and was friends with him. You want to save York's reputation so badly and it's ok but you can't do it with lies.

York himself said in his book that Liz grew tired of him after the second season, so there's nothing more to say. You already know that, so stop with your nonsense.

[Monliz]

For some reason Tcr1701 deleted the post he made. Anyways I have the screenshot of the comment he posted in this thread.




This is fascinating Tcr1701, you managed to turn York's alcoholism into something positive, you even managed to find a way to turn York's alcoholism into a ridiculous proof that Liz liked him because according to you she protected York's alcoholism secret, man I admire your twisting abilities and how you spin things around to promote your agenda

If anything York's alcoholism may have contributed to York's inappropriate behavior towards Liz, his alcoholism probably made Liz dislike him even more.

If York was an alcoholic there's no reason for anyone to have sympathy for him. Stop trying to make York look like a hero because of his alcoholism, your defense of York is getting silly now.

[MA]

Can all of this please just stop?

[tcr1701]

Originally Posted by MA

Can all of this please just stop?

Sadly, civil discussion and a fun exchange of ideas is no longer possible here. I will not be responding to the intentional chaos any longer.

[Harlock]

Originally Posted by Larry Tate

There is no York version to believe, here it is in this video clear as a bell right from Bill Asher's word to us all York was Fired and had no say in his staying on the show or not.

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 Yorks 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.

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.

Barry Pintar didn't post the interview with Bill Asher so we'll never know if Asher truly said that or not. He could be lying, I don't know if what he said about York is true, we can believe him or not, but we can't be sure because we didn't hear Asher saying York was fired. So I choose to believe York's version.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by tcr1701

Sadly, civil discussion and a fun exchange of ideas is no longer possible here. I will not be responding to the intentional chaos any longer.

Larry Tate has been nothing but a troll here for years. I don't know if Monliz is LT or not but they are in cahoots together.

[Larry Tate]

All i have done is tell the facts and the truth about salient and relevant aspects of Bewitched that all true fans care about and want to be knowledgeable about.

I have always responded to twisted lies you and our ilk with your multiple personalities who have attempted to blame and trash Elizabeth Montgomery for all of Dick Yorks foibles and weakness, blaming her when the fault was his and his alone for many of the negatives aspects that controlled his life.

Perverted garbage that tries to blame her for understandably wanting to have nothing to do with him after the show, making up blatant falsehoods as to her purported motivations for having him removed from Bewitched which in the end was what was done.

Trying to paint him as the star of the and the one responsible for the success of Bewitched when it was overwhelmingly Elizabeth Montgomerys accomplishment and success.

Trying to paint the two as if they were best friends and almost if not lovers when that could not be farther from the truth with the opposite being the case.

You are a Liar and deflecting trash, that is what you are, your rock is lonely, go back and crawl back under it.

You are both deleted and dismissed,

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

Larry Tate has been nothing but a troll here for years. I don't know if Monliz is LT or not but they are in cahoots together.

[Larry Tate]

Your comments are comically idiotic and hypocritical, when you hear a Barry Pintar video that says what you want to hear about DY you lionize him, when it is what you do not want to hear you spout this kind of drivel, you Yorkies are all alike.

If he played the tape you would claim it was doctored or not believable because he was from Venus, what the heck do you think he was doing, he was chatting with a friend in Bill Asher not video tapeing him, who do you think he was and is, Bob Crane?

What Pinter said was the truth, deal with it, your boy had feet of clay.

Originally Posted by Harlock

Barry Pintar didn't post the interview with Bill Asher so we'll never know if Asher truly said that or not. He could be lying, I don't know if what he said about York is true, we can believe him or not, but we can't be sure because we didn't hear Asher saying York was fired. So I choose to believe York's version.

[Larry Tate]

Yorks lecherous behavior is fact and the truth not a lie, Elizabeth Montgomery did not have a drinking problem, she drank while with Gig Young and alcoholic so she could spend time with him and stay close to him, as Cliff Robertson once said on camera that Gig had a drinking problem, but not Elizabeth.

Her experience with Young would have made her less tolerating of Yorks drinking problem as after going through all that she did with Young she would not put up with that kind of behavior again.

[tcr1701]

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

...

I do enjoy your posts, Mr Television, so glad you are a voice of reason here.

[tcr1701]

Originally Posted by Harlock

Dick York said he resigned. I believe York's version

I do know Joey York really, really wanted him to quit after his seizure on set and she spoke to Bill Asher about that. If you look at York in much of season 5 he was very thin that year.