Dick York's Exit

[the truth]

I keep up on IMDB with what Rebecca Asher is doing as a script supervisor and this year she worked on Mad Men and already she's getting credited with another show in 2011. As I stated earlier in this thread, it seems like it would be a huge pain jumping from show to show, but that seems to be what she does. And I wonder, is it just for the challenge, is it due to a conflict with the director(s) or what? Just seems like it would be starting all over from scratch each season to pick up on a new show, but she does so quite a bit. Any theories? Or hey, does anyone even care for that matter? I kind of like to follow what she does though since she's Liz's only child in the business. I also wonder if she's got the desire to ultimately be a director or producer like her father was.

Linky:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0038893/

[catlover79]

Whatever the case, I wish Rebecca (not to mention Billy and Robert) nothing but the best!!

[McGillicuddy]

I'm glad you posted this. I'm currently watching season 5, and wondered what order the episodes were produced. Surprised the last episode aired was filmed way back in September! Anyway, this reveals alot.

Also, I noticed they filled the void of Darrin's absence with more frequent appearances of other male characters, Larry, Maurice, Uncle Arthur and Cousin Henry. Mother Stephens was seen more frequently in season 5, also.

[Celeste.]

Thanks for posting the order they were filmed in. It is interesting how they jumbled some of them up when they did the airing order.

I just watched 'Daddy Does His Thing' and Dick York doesn't look too well in this episode. His voice is a little weaker than usual, but he delivers his lines and is still an excellent actor.

[Arfies]

I forgot what a treasure trove this was of articles that came out proving that yeah, people DID care about the Darrin switch after all: https://majicst.proboards.com/thread/16

And here’s the 1969 TV version of “Arsenic and Old Lace” that was originally supposed to star Dick York in Bob Crane’s role. How cool would that have been?

https://youtu.be/MeNiT4wd5cM

[Arfies]

Watching that, I kept thinking how much better Dick York would've been...

[Arfies]

I put Season 4's episodes in which the order they were filmed, with the completion date then the airdate. Like season 5, it seems most of the non-Darrin episodes were also filmed around the same time period vs. "will Dick York show up or won't he."

Dick York said he got some time off when his father, Bernard York, died (which was December 29, 1967- maybe they let him off before that if his father was sick, as the time period seems to fit). So that would leave "A Majority of Two" 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.


#109 TOYS IN BABELAND (filmed during season 3 and held over)
3/6/67 9/14/67
#110 BUSINESS, ITALIAN STYLE 6/8/67 9/21/67
#122 I GET YOUR NANNIE YOU GET MY GOAT 6/15/67 12/14/67
#127 IF THEY NEVER MET 6/20/67 1/25/68
#112 CHEAP, CHEAP 6/26/67 10/5/67
#126 SNOB IN THE GRASS 7/10/67 1/11/68
#115 A SAFE AND SANE HALLOWEEN 7/14/67 10/26/67
#114 BIRDIES, BOGIES AND BAXTER 7/20/67 10/19/67
#108 LONG LIVE THE QUEEN 7/27/67 9/7/67
#111 DOUBLE, DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE 8/11/67 9/28/67
#113 NO ZIP IN MY ZAP 8/18/67 10/12/67
#116 OUT OF SYNC 8/24/67 11/2/67
#117 THAT WAS NO CHICK, THAT WAS MY
WIFE 8/31/67 11/9/67
#120 SOLID GOLD MOTHER IN LAW 9/8/67 11/30/67
#118 ANCIENT MACEDONIAN DODO BIRDS 9/14/67 11/16/67
#119 SAMANTHA'S THANKSGIVING TO
REMEMBER 9/21/67 11/23/67
#121 MY, WHAT BIG EARS YOU HAVE 9/28/67 12/7/67
#123 HUMBUG NOT TO BE SPOKEN HERE 10/5/67 12/21/67
#128 HIPPIE, HIPPIE, HOORAY 10/12/67 2/l/68
#124 SAMANTHA'S DA VINCI DILEMMA 10/20/67 12/28/67
#130 MC TAVISH 10/27/67 2/15/68
#131 HOW GREEN WAS MY GRASS 11/2/67 2/29/68
#125 ONCE IN A VIAL 11/9/67 1/4/68
#134 TABATHA'S CRANKY SPELL (No DY) 12/4/67 3/28/68
#129 A PRINCE OF A GUY (No DY) 12/11/67 2/8/68
#133 PLAYMATES (No DY) 1/18/68 3/21/68
#132 TO TWITCH OR NOT TO TWITCH 2/5/68 3/14/68
#136 A MAJORITY OF TWO (No DY) 2/6/68 4/11/68
#135 I CONFESS 2/12/68 4/4/68
#137 SAM'S SECRET SAUCER 2/19/68 4/18/68
#138 NO HARM CHARM 2/26/68 4/25/68
#139 MAN OF THE YEAR 3/l/68 5/2/68
#140 SPLITSVILLE 3/8/68 5/16/68



He only missed two episodes in season 3, which were:

#89 A GAZEBO NEVER FORGETS 10/19/66 12/22/66
#100 AUNT CLARA'S VICTORIA VICTORY 1/25/67 3/9/67

Apparently he took a nasty fall during "Sam's Spooky Chair" (completed 9/29/66), and if you look at season 3's filming schedule (http://www.bewitched.net/filmsche.htm#66-67), there really isn't much filmed in October save for the non-Darrin "A Gazebo Never Forgets." The next episode filmed was "Hoho the Clown" (11/11/66).

This article from Oct. 1967 refers to a chair wire snapping while suspended in air "last spring," damaging York's spine further (who knows which episode, though, since that scene wouldn't have appeared in the final cut). It says he was "in traction for six weeks", and they were able to shoot around him for a while, but then production was held up.

That might be why they had to film the non-Darrin episode in March while he was in traction. The episode filmed immediately before that was "TOYS IN BABELAND" (completed 3/6/67 and held over until season 4), and before that was "HOW TO FAIL IN BUSINESS" (2/27/21) where I *think* Samantha and Endora are midair? Maybe they did it with them instead. The final episode filmed for season 3 was "THERE'S GOLD IN THEM THAR PILLS" (3/21/67).

Unless the timeline or details in the article is off. Maybe he was out around late September, October, and early November 1966 from an accident in "Sam's Spooky Chair" (nothing midair, but there is a scene where Darrin sits on the chair that collapses under him), as that would've been around six weeks. Or if "last Spring" referred to Spring 1966 instead of '67, but the filming schedule for season 2 really doesn't show any gaps (save for EM's maternity leave around October '65 when Robert was born). But there's really not many people alive anymore to ask about it.

With the births of EM's children and maternity leaves at different times, it's difficult to say what a "normal" Bewitched shooting schedule would've been like to compare.

[Arfies]

For reference, here is season 3's shooting schedule in order since I did it for the other seasons:

#87 MY FRIEND BEN 6/15/66 12/8/66
#88 SAMANTHA FOR THE DEFENSE 6/15/66 12/15/66
#78 ACCIDENTAL TWINS 6/23/66 10/6/66
#76 MOMENT OF TRUTH 7/6/66 9/22/66
#75 NOBODY'S PERFECT 7/11/66 9/15/66
#82 DANGEROUS DIAPER DAN 7/18/66 11/3/66
#83 SHORT HAPPY CIRCUIT OF AUNT CLARA 7/25/66 11/10/66
#77 WITCHES & WARLOCKS ARE MY FAVORITE
THINGS 8/1/66 9/29/66
#85 OEDIPUS HEX 8/11/66 11/24/66
#79 A MOST UNUSUAL WOOD NYMPH 8/18/66 10/13/66
#84 I'D RATHER TWITCH THAN FIGHT 8/25/66 11/17/66
#80 ENDORA MOVES IN FOR A SPELL 9/2/66 10/20/66
#81 TWITCH OR TREAT 9/12/66 10/27/66
#90 SOAPBOX DERBY 9/23/66 12/29/66
#86 SAM'S SPOOKY CHAIR 9/29/66 12/1/66
#89 A GAZEBO NEVER FORGETS 10/19/66 12/22/66 (No DY)
#92 HOHO THE CLOWN 11/11/66 1/12/67
#91 SAM AND THE MOON 11/17/66 1/5/67
#93 THE SUPER CAR 11/23/66 1/19/67
#94 THE CORN IS HIGH AS A GUERNSEY'S
EYE 12/5/66 1/26/67
#95 TRIAL AND ERROR OF AUNT CLARA 12/9/66 2/2/67
#96 THREE WISHES 12/16/66 2/9/67
#97 I REMEMBER YOU... SOMETIMES 12/22/66 2/16/67
#98 ART FOR SAM'S SAKE 1/9/67 2/23/67
#99 CHARLIE HARPER, WINNER 1/19/67 3/2/67
#100 AUNT CLARA'S VICTORIA VICTORY 1/25/67 3/9/67 (No DY)
#101 THE CRONE OF CAWDOR 1/31/67 3/16/67
#105 BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND INFURIATED 2/7/67 4/13/67
#102 NO MORE MR. NICE GUY 2/13/67 3/23/67
#103 IT'S WISHCRAFT 2/20/67 3/30/67
#104 HOW TO FAIL IN BUSINESS 2/27/67 4/6/67
#109 TOYS IN BABELAND 3/6/67 HOLD (til season 4)
#106 NOBODY BUT A FROG KNOWS HOW TO LIVE 3/14/67 4/27/67
#107 THERE'S GOLD TN THEM THAR PILLS 3/21/67 5/4/67


"Sam's Spooky Chair" was directed by R. Robert Rosenbaum, but the director mentioned in this article during the "chair suspended by wires" incident is William Asher. "How to Fail in Business" is directed by Richard Kinon, "Toys is Babeland" is directed by William Asher, "Nobody but a Frog" is directed by Richard Kinon, and "There's Gold in Them Thar Pills" is directed by R. Robert Rosenbaum. So the only episode that would fit that description of "last Spring" with the director being William Asher would be "Toys in Babeland," which for whatever reason was held over until season 4 (maybe the original script called for the suspended chair? Who knows). But the only large gap in filming during season 3 would've been following "Sam's Spooky Chair," which (I think) biographer Charles Tranberg said Joan York told him Dick had an accident during the filming of.

[Arfies]

Edited for accuracy.