Liz Montgomery & Dick York & Why they never spoke to each other again

[Larry Tate]

After 25 years of not having anything to do with someone who was never a friend but merely someone she worked with compared to a close longtime personal friend that Dick Sargent was to Liz clearly shows why Liz commented on Dick Sargent's passing as she did as well re close friends Alice Pierce & Agnes Moorehead but did not re Dick Yorks passing as she did not about other members of the cast who passed away such as Paul Lynde (whose funeral she did not attend) and others.

There was no need to make a Public comment on Dick Yorks passing all these decades later & who contributed what success to the show has zero to do with who she should have commented on or not, it should be passed on personal feelings not rating points & $$$$ garnered by a cast member the is irrelevant.

She did not rave about Dick Sargent she spoke very positively about him when he was on the show as she did about Dick York when he was on the show.

She was contacted by the press after DS passed but i don't believe the same interest was there with the media in that respect with DY when he passed in regards to contacting Liz then.

She had no reaction to Dick York's passing but then why would she?????...........as this was by then 25 years later a complete stranger who she simply had once worked with and had not seen or interacted with in almost 25 years, plus at the end Dick York made some very unkind comments towards the show & therefore indirectly towards Liz so her reaction of no comment is the only logical & rational one she could have made.

The fact that in the spring of 1969 when he asked back into the show after leaving, was denied & then said about Liz & the show in an interview about the unpleasant atmosphere on the set, how he was unhappy with how he was being used in the show as in underused & how he wanted to go onto other & better things sure would have made Liz say throughout those 25 years hey i got to give good ol Dick a call, i don't think sooooooooooo.

In the 1988 book "Whatever became of?", York stated: "I left in an amulance and never returned. The atmosphere on the set of Bewitched was extremely unpleasant. I never missed that show."

Dick Sargent had been a longtime close personal friend who she had been very close to in the half dozen or so years prior to his passing so her comment on his passing was a natural & logical one.
Bottom line is that Liz & Dick York worked together & Brilliantly i might add, but there never was a close personal Friendship or any relationship to continue, nor were they friends at all.

You have to understand that they were real people who were actors playing roles that were not them, they were not Samantha & Darrin in real life, sometimes people get that reality confused.

This is not unusual as one could say the same thing about any cast member & the majority of the cast & as well about anyone & most of those that they work with her their never having any contact again after his leaving the show is perfectly natural in my view.

This doesn't mean they liked or disliked each other, they merely worked with each other & had the same working experience that any actor or actress has with 95% of all those they work with.

It was a job & they had a job to do & they did it, then they went their own way, as you must recall that they both had spouses & large young families to tend too, this along with the full time job of carrying a weekly series left little or no time for any other interaction between the two, they both already had a full plate to deal with.

I have heard it said that she strongly disliked Dick York but this is in no way corroborated in the least & there is no basis to think that it is so.

These internet rumors are i feel made up by those that have their own issues & for some reason need to use this fiction to express them.

After DY left the show there was simply no reason for them to have any contact with each other as is the case with all actors pretty much once they finish a project, they just move on with their lives.

Liz had real phobias with anything medical so i can see her not wanting to go the hospital to see him for this reason.

Liz & Dick Sargent had drifted apart & lost touch shortly after Bewitched ended & had not seen each other in about 15 years till they were reunited when both were approached by Herbie J Pilato in regards to interviews for his then upcoming book The Bewitched Book, they reconnected through Herbie as they discussed if they should cooperate or not with him.

When Herbie met David White for the first time in Liz's Garden at her home as a special surprise for him, he was told by David White he had not been there for over 15 years.

So she drifted apart even from good friends as people do when the matter that brought them together in the first place ended.

So these things are natural & normal not anything that should reflect negatively on her, quite the opposite, this is how it is supposed to be & is with everyone in life & was the case as well with any member of this or any other cast of any other show.

Same thing with her good friend Carol Burnett when Carol moved to Hawaii, they just lost touch after being great friends since they did
Who's Been Sleeping in my bed? together in 1963.

She had not seen or talked to Kasey Rogers after Bewitched until at Dick Sargents funeral 22 years later.

She kept in touch with Erin Murphy mainly because Erin was such great friends with her kids, but when they all grew up Liz lost touch with Erin as well.

Life happens & means nothing other then that, as was the case when Liz & Dick York lost contact with each other & they were not even friends like she & Dick Sargent & David White were.

Larry Tate

Wanted:Classic TV Shows from the 1950s and 1960s with Elizabeth Montgomery Appearances in Them.

http://larrytate70.tripod.com/

Elizabeth Montgomery appearances in Movies, Bewitched & On TV shows on DVD that i have available in trade:

http://www.freewebs.com/larrytate550/

[comedyfreak]

I guess it's all up to the individuals cause other cast members from different shows have kept in contact after their shows ended. I guess they do view doing a show as a job and often don't realize how fans feel about certain shows.

[Larry Tate]

Another salient point is that some have said that Liz should have run to his aid & nursed him at his bedside,and funded his medical & living expenses as soon as Dick York's plight had become public.

Dick York had 5 children who by the time he hit rock bottom were 30 or more and had established their own adult lives one would think by then.

Where were they?
Why didn't they come running to their father's side & aid, pay his medical & living expenses, a wheel chair, buy him the oxygen tank and equipment for his survival.

Only when it become publicly known did charitable donations come through to meet his medical equipment needs.

The point is that those who keep demanding Liz should have done these things for a stranger whose last contact with her 25 years earlier had been insulting on his part, should ask themselves why instead his children abandoned him in his hour of greatest need.

By 1990 they should have had between 5 and 10 incomes between them all, yet out of this they could not meet any of the needs i have listed causing Dick York to turn to a public appeal for charity handouts to pay for his medical needs such as a wheelchair and oxygen tank.?

It was the responsibility of his children and family to do so not Elizabeth Montgomery's or any other people associated with Bewitched.

Where were his adult children at this point and why did they turn their collective backs on him, there is more to this back story then meets the eye.

Larry Tate

[Mr. Television]

Was she asked about Dick York when he died? If she said "no comment" then I do think that reflects on her. If nobody asked her then I could see her not saying anything. But even people that lose touch with someone sometimes coments on their death. As for what York said back in 1971, that's silly to hold a grudge over that for all those years.

[Larry Tate]

I have never seen it confirmed that Liz was asked about Dick York when he passed away.

But given the way things ended i could see her not wanting to be drawn into the situation when he died.

It is not a grudge to not want to interact with someone when ones last contact with them was to be insulted by them.

Even when 6 months from the end when Dick York did a Hard Copy interview i can see Liz not wanting to be used and manipulated by York when he called her just before the interview was taped to be able to say that Samantha & Darrin were still together after all these years.

It seemed disenginious to say the least on his part to use her that way rather then if he was calling her for no reason except to say Hi.

She would have seen through that in a second and would not have returned the call just for that reason & understandably so.

Larry Tate

[Retro4Life]

Well, with all due respect, the majority of what you posted was purely subjective, and your conclusions about why Ms. Montgomery did or did not do certain things are pure supposition. You may be right, but you may just as easily be wrong.

If you are correct about her not commenting on York's death, I have to say I don't think it's out of the question to assume that someone who worked with someone for years would give perhaps a single minute of their lives to comment on their co-workers death. I also disagree that after working for years with someone you can still be termed "a complete stranger". No, they may not have been friends but in that amount of time you cannot help but learn things about someone, whether you truly like them or not. And even if she LOATHED York, the fact that they made such an impact on television audiences through their work would seem to necessitate some response, if only for the fans and the historical record.

If she wasn't asked, it's a bit more understandable that she declined comment, but it's almost impossible for me to believe that he died and no one thought to question her.

[burlivespipe]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Well, with all due respect, the majority of what you posted was purely subjective, and your conclusions about why Ms. Montgomery did or did not do certain things are pure supposition. You may be right, but you may just as easily be wrong.

If you are correct about her not commenting on York's death, I have to say I don't think it's out of the question to assume that someone who worked with someone for years would give perhaps a single minute of their lives to comment on their co-workers death. I also disagree that after working for years with someone you can still be termed "a complete stranger". No, they may not have been friends but in that amount of time you cannot help but learn things about someone, whether you truly like them or not. And even if she LOATHED York, the fact that they made such an impact on television audiences through their work would seem to necessitate some response, if only for the fans and the historical record.

If she wasn't asked, it's a bit more understandable that she declined comment, but it's almost impossible for me to believe that he died and no one thought to question her.

I'm inclined to agree with Retro, noting that with both people now no longer with us its moot to debate the point even...

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by burlivespipe

I'm inclined to agree with Retro, noting that with both people now no longer with us its moot to debate the point even...

The Point is that this was raised at the start by those blasting Elizabeth Montgomery for not being Samantha to his Darrin in real life and not running to his aid as if she were his wife in reality.

This was merely a clarifying response to those absurd allegations and why they were absurd which they were.

Larry Tate

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by Retro4Life

Well, with all due respect, the majority of what you posted was purely subjective, and your conclusions about why Ms. Montgomery did or did not do certain things are pure supposition. You may be right, but you may just as easily be wrong.

If you are correct about her not commenting on York's death, I have to say I don't think it's out of the question to assume that someone who worked with someone for years would give perhaps a single minute of their lives to comment on their co-workers death. I also disagree that after working for years with someone you can still be termed "a complete stranger". No, they may not have been friends but in that amount of time you cannot help but learn things about someone, whether you truly like them or not. And even if she LOATHED York, the fact that they made such an impact on television audiences through their work would seem to necessitate some response, if only for the fans and the historical record.

If she wasn't asked, it's a bit more understandable that she declined comment, but it's almost impossible for me to believe that he died and no one thought to question her.

What was posted about the nature of interaction between co-workers both while they worked together and after this no longer was the case is not supposition or assumption but rather proven fact as shown in everyday life by 100% of all people who have ever been in a working environment, i can't be wrong about this and can only be right as it is in effect 2+2=4.

Likewise were they proven facts in respect to the interactions or lack there of re the cast members of Bewitched after the show ended.

Proof not assumption exists as stated by those directly involved on the record regarding the lack of contact between Liz and Dick Sargent, Kasey Rogers, David White and Bernard Fox who did not see or talk to Liz for 1 to 2 decades after the show ended.

If that was no big deal then why is it in regards to a lack of contact with Dick York.?

For the same reason as it is utterly understandable and normal for her to have lost touch with the people mentioned it is likewise the case in regards to Dick York.

She owed him nothing, his squandering of his fortune he gained from Bewitched was not her responsibility.

If you saw someone 20 years after having worked with them they would be in effect a stranger to you as you would not know them nor they you as to who you were in this new context at this moment in time.

Although she thought he was all wet and disliked him i do not believe she hated or loathed him, it was more of an unimpressed indifference.

Larry Tate

[douglasjc]

Originally Posted by Larry Tate

After 25 years of not having anything to do with someone who was never a friend but merely someone she worked with compared to a close longtime personal friend that Dick Sargent was to Liz clearly shows why Liz commented on Dick Sargent's passing as she did as well re close friends Alice Pierce & Agnes Moorehead but did not re Dick Yorks passing as she did not about other members of the cast who passed away such as Paul Lynde (whose funeral she did not attend) and others.

There was no need to make a Public comment on Dick Yorks passing all these decades later & who contributed what success to the show has zero to do with who she should have commented on or not, it should be passed on personal feelings not rating points & $$$$ garnered by a cast member the is irrelevant.

She did not rave about Dick Sargent she spoke very positively about him when he was on the show as she did about Dick York when he was on the show.

She was contacted by the press after DS passed but i don't believe the same interest was there with the media in that respect with DY when he passed in regards to contacting Liz then.

She had no reaction to Dick York's passing but then why would she?????...........as this was by then 25 years later a complete stranger who she simply had once worked with and had not seen or interacted with in almost 25 years, plus at the end Dick York made some very unkind comments towards the show & therefore indirectly towards Liz so her reaction of no comment is the only logical & rational one she could have made.

The fact that in the spring of 1969 when he asked back into the show after leaving, was denied & then said about Liz & the show in an interview about the unpleasant atmosphere on the set, how he was unhappy with how he was being used in the show as in underused & how he wanted to go onto other & better things sure would have made Liz say throughout those 25 years hey i got to give good ol Dick a call, i don't think sooooooooooo.

In the 1988 book "Whatever became of?", York stated: "I left in an amulance and never returned. The atmosphere on the set of Bewitched was extremely unpleasant. I never missed that show."

Dick Sargent had been a longtime close personal friend who she had been very close to in the half dozen or so years prior to his passing so her comment on his passing was a natural & logical one.
Bottom line is that Liz & Dick York worked together & Brilliantly i might add, but there never was a close personal Friendship or any relationship to continue, nor were they friends at all.

You have to understand that they were real people who were actors playing roles that were not them, they were not Samantha & Darrin in real life, sometimes people get that reality confused.

This is not unusual as one could say the same thing about any cast member & the majority of the cast & as well about anyone & most of those that they work with her their never having any contact again after his leaving the show is perfectly natural in my view.

This doesn't mean they liked or disliked each other, they merely worked with each other & had the same working experience that any actor or actress has with 95% of all those they work with.

It was a job & they had a job to do & they did it, then they went their own way, as you must recall that they both had spouses & large young families to tend too, this along with the full time job of carrying a weekly series left little or no time for any other interaction between the two, they both already had a full plate to deal with.

I have heard it said that she strongly disliked Dick York but this is in no way corroborated in the least & there is no basis to think that it is so.

These internet rumors are i feel made up by those that have their own issues & for some reason need to use this fiction to express them.

After DY left the show there was simply no reason for them to have any contact with each other as is the case with all actors pretty much once they finish a project, they just move on with their lives.

Liz had real phobias with anything medical so i can see her not wanting to go the hospital to see him for this reason.

Liz & Dick Sargent had drifted apart & lost touch shortly after Bewitched ended & had not seen each other in about 15 years till they were reunited when both were approached by Herbie J Pilato in regards to interviews for his then upcoming book The Bewitched Book, they reconnected through Herbie as they discussed if they should cooperate or not with him.

When Herbie met David White for the first time in Liz's Garden at her home as a special surprise for him, he was told by David White he had not been there for over 15 years.

So she drifted apart even from good friends as people do when the matter that brought them together in the first place ended.

So these things are natural & normal not anything that should reflect negatively on her, quite the opposite, this is how it is supposed to be & is with everyone in life & was the case as well with any member of this or any other cast of any other show.

Same thing with her good friend Carol Burnett when Carol moved to Hawaii, they just lost touch after being great friends since they did
Who's Been Sleeping in my bed? together in 1963.

She had not seen or talked to Kasey Rogers after Bewitched until at Dick Sargents funeral 22 years later.

She kept in touch with Erin Murphy mainly because Erin was such great friends with her kids, but when they all grew up Liz lost touch with Erin as well.

Life happens & means nothing other then that, as was the case when Liz & Dick York lost contact with each other & they were not even friends like she & Dick Sargent & David White were.

Larry Tate

Wanted:Classic TV Shows from the 1950s and 1960s with Elizabeth Montgomery Appearances in Them.

http://larrytate70.tripod.com/

Elizabeth Montgomery appearances in Movies, Bewitched & On TV shows on DVD that i have available in trade:

http://www.freewebs.com/larrytate550/

You are very right about Liz. She had her own problems and life to contend with and did not need to be bothered by other issues. I believe her marriage to William Asher became very strained on the series and that was the top issue.

[1960'sTVfan]

Interesting discussion in this topic. Dick York seems to have been a nice enough guy. Elizabeth Montgomery on the other hand, was rumored to be difficult at times and not always the nicest person to be around. One of those conceited types who thought she was better than everyone else.

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

Interesting discussion in this topic. Dick York seems to have been a nice enough guy. Elizabeth Montgomery on the other hand, was rumored to be difficult at times and not always the nicest person to be around. One of those conceited types who thought she was better than everyone else.

These comments could not be further from the truth, basically reverse the comments about Elizabeth Montgomery and you will find the truth about her nature and character, therefore the conclusions drawn based on the misrepreprsentation of them are not credible.

Dick York was at best eccentric and a bit odd, at worst self destructive and just plain weird or strange.
You only have to read his Auto Biography for this to be readily apparent.

Liz has been widely reported to have been loved by all that ever worked with her and spoken of as being down to earth, real, generous and giving with no affectations whatsoever and utterly self affacing the opposite of conceited.

She was loved on all sets and by all who knew or worked with her and nobody ever had an unkind word to say about her or that she was anything but a classy professional in every way as an actress and a human being, as undifficult as could be and a dream to work with, a complete, utterly prepared Pro.

So the comments referenced here about her being otherwise are utterly untrue and at best an urban legend with lie simply being repeated although in this case i can't see even that being the case as such comments are unknown about her on or offline, they have zero credibility based on the widly known facts.

Bottom line the outcome of there never being in contact again was perfectly normal and natural & by far the norm for co-workers famous and not.

There does not have to be a black hat and a white hat in such an outcome as nothing negative or unseemly is to be seen in the outcome.

Larry Tate

[1960'sTVfan]

Originally Posted by Larry Tate

These comments could not be further from the truth, basically reverse the comments about Elizabeth Montgomery and you will find the truth about her nature and character, therefore the conclusions drawn based on the misrepreprsentation of them are not credible.

Dick York was at best eccentric and a bit odd, at worst self destructive and just plain weird or strange.
You only have to read his Auto Biography for this to be readily apparent.

Liz has been widely reported to have been loved by all that ever worked with her and spoken of as being down to earth, real, generous and giving with no affectations whatsoever and utterly self affacing the opposite of conceited.

She was loved on all sets and by all who knew or worked with her and nobody ever had an unkind word to say about her or that she was anything but a classy professional in every way as an actress and a human being, as undifficult as could be and a dream to work with, a complete, utterly prepared Pro.

So the comments referenced here about her being otherwise are utterly untrue and at best an urban legend with lie simply being repeated although in this case i can't see even that being the case as such comments are unknown about her on or offline, they have zero credibility based on the widly known facts.

Bottom line the outcome of there never being in contact again was perfectly normal and natural & by far the norm for co-workers famous and not.

There does not have to be a black hat and a white hat in such an outcome as nothing negative or unseemly is to be seen in the outcome.

Larry Tate

One thing I know we'll agree with is that Elizabeth was a fine actress and did a superb job in her signature role on Bewitched.

[Larry Tate]

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

One thing I know we'll agree with is that Elizabeth was a fine actress and did a superb job in her signature role on Bewitched.

I agree 100% with that, without her the finest TV show to ever grace the airwaves would not have come into being.

To her and the wonderful cast that surrounded her we owe a great debt of graditude.

Larry Tate

[comedyfreak]

Originally Posted by Larry Tate

Bottom line the outcome of there never being in contact again was perfectly normal and natural & by far the norm for co-workers famous and not.

There does not have to be a black hat and a white hat in such an outcome as nothing negative or unseemly is to be seen in the outcome.

Larry Tate

I agree with you Larry. Here's what I read on The Munsters forum regarding Pat Priest and Yvonne DeCarlo relationship on the set as quoted:

Originally Posted by lucyandethel

If you read the recently-released "Living Room Legends: Chat with TV's Famous Faces" by Eddie Lucas, she says her "negative" experience with Yvonne De Carlo was really short-lived. She said, "Eventually, Yvonne and I got along fine. We went to lunch together frequently, and our boys were the same age, so I was friendly with Yvonne." She said once the series ended, she never saw Fred Gwynne again, and only saw Yvonne once. It is like with any job. You leave a job, and many of the people you have worked with you never see again. It doesn't mean you don't get along necessarily. It is just a job....when the job ends, everyone goes their separate ways. Such is life.

Read more: http://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/...#ixzz1WmN9ElUX
Hopefully this puts to rest all the contraversy on the Bewitched actors.