Dick York

[Sarah Russell]

Hi

Bewitched is currently being re-run here in the UK every morning. I am interested in finding out more information about Dick York and why he left the series? I don't ever remember seeing the first ever episode and would be interested in finding out how Samantha and Darrin met. I love watching the re-runs. It is certainly a by-gone era. Any information gratefully received.

Keep twitching.

[Craig]

Dick York hurt his back while filming a movie prior to his Bewitched career. The pain became worse as time went on and he was missing lots of episodes. Finally he quit and was replaced by Dick Sargeant. The very first episode(the first two years were in B&W) show Samantha and Darrin meeting, marrying and on their honeymoon night where she tells him she is a witch. It is all done very quickly with a narrator. Then they go to a party held by Darrin's ex-fiance Sheila who embarrasses Samantha by telling her the dress is casual, but everyone is dressed formally. Samantha uses her magic to get back at her.

[Pitooey]

Hey that's my favorite episode the one with the dinner party. I love when Samantha blacks out that womens teeth and musses her hair.

[Precious]

I know why Dick York left. He had emphysema (due to constant smoking) and had to leave the show. Dick York suddenly became poor as the result of paying for his medical bills. He died in 1992.

I don't know if any of you have seen a film called My Sister Eileen starring the late great Jack Lemmon, Betty Garrett and Janet Leigh. Well in it Dick plays a character called The Wreck, who is a former football star. The reason that I am bringing this up is that there are several scenes in the film in which the Wreck takes a running leap at a a punch bag pegged on a washing line in the back yard where he and his girlfriend live. Unfortunately he always misses the bag when his girlfriend pulls the line, by accident,and he goes flying through the air and lands on his back. Now in hindsight I realise that it might have been a stuntman doing this stunt, but I couldn't help thinking about this while reading here why he had to leave the series. Just a thought.

I saw "My Sister Eileen" and I loved it! It was made in 1955, and Dick York didn't get his back injury until 1960, from "They Came to Cordura."

[daffodil]

I agree that Dick York suffered a back injury, ultimately becoming addicted to pain medication. He missed several tapings (these are episodes you will see where it is explained that Darrin is out of town on business, etc.)His emphysema occurred later in life, and was the cause of his death. Referring to the first episode, it's never explained how Darrin and Samantha meet. You simply see them running into each other at a revolving door and immediately being star struck. The narrator says something like, "Boy meets girl..."

[Liza]

I'm sorry, but this is really the episode I remember the best. The series begins with the narrator saying:

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful young American girl who bumped into a normal, red-blooded, American boy. And she bumped into him, and bumped into him." (They ran into each other in a revolving door, at a supermarket, and I think a jewelry stoor.) "So they thought they better sit down and talk this over before they had an accident." (They had dinner together.) "They became good friends. They found they had a lot of things in common. Radio," (them kissing in front of radio), "television," (kissing in front of televison), "trains" (kissing at a crossing.) "And when the boy found that the girl was lovely, charming, and everything any normal boy would want, he did what any normal boy would do. He asked her to marry him."

And that, my friends, is how Darrin and Samantha met!

[Cheryl Harrell]

I saw something on TV awhile back on Dick York. Even tho he was very ill from the abck trouble & emphyzema & not very well off he tried to help out poor people up until the very end of his life. He was a brave man. I think he died of cancer. Hope that helps...