Bewitched became a household name after it was first released in 1964. Who couldn’t resist Samantha’s charm? Elizabeth Mongomery played the young witch and did a stellar performance.
It felt that the actors got lucky. Have such a fun time being part of the incredible series, but a lot of people don’t know about the drama behind the scenes.
Not All As It Seems
How could actors with what looked like so much chemistry possibly have drama? Unfortunately, this really was the reality behind the scenes.
Even when the show first started producers had to overcome a lot of challenges when the show was first shot. Things wouldn’t change…
Actress Change
We’ve all come to love Elizabeth Montgomery, but did you know that someone else was originally going to play her role?
Tammy Grimes was originally going to play Montgomery’s role but ended up declining it because she didn’t like the character. Herbie J. Pilato said, “She felt like if the character had all this power, why doesn’t she cure all the ills of the world?”
Hidden Pregnancy
Did you know that Elizabeth Montgomery was pregnant not one, but three times while she was in the show? But only two became a part of the series. Tabitha and Adam were put into the show.
She had to hide her first pregnancy in the show in season one. They didn’t want her character to have a child right after getting married.
Hesitation
Elizabeth Montgomery got the role after Tammy Grimes walked away from it. But Montgomery took on the role just as she thought about retiring from acting, good thing she didn’t!
They managed to get her on the show but no one knew why she actually wanted to retire in the first place.
Episode Fail
The show had a lot of iconic episodes. But one stands out for a very different reason.
One episode had got intentions and tried to acknowledge racism. But an episode like that would never have been suitable for television today.
No Sick Leave
Dick York had a temperature of 105 while filming and surprisingly the producers still asked him to work.
But then while under the hot spotlights he had a seizure. He was alright afterward but left the show under mysterious circumstances.
Sly Tactics
The producers had to replace the hole Dick York left. They tried to make it a seamless transition in the hopes that people would take a liking to the new Darrin.
They decided to do a rerun of every episode that Darrin wasn’t in! That’s clever.
Awkward Relationships
Dick Sargent took on the role of Darrin, but Agnes Moorehead who played Samantha’s mother seemed to have a problem with him.
The lack of chemistry would lead to Dick Sargent saying, “About the third or fourth show I was in, Moorehead said to people in front of me, ‘They should never meddle with success’”. That’s pretty rude!
Off-Screen Life
Elizabeth Montgomery’s personal life off-screen was also full of change. Her marriage with Bill Asher wasn’t very stable because of Asher’s disloyalty.
And perhaps in response to this, the Bewitched star had her own relations with Richard Michaels, one of the show’s other producers. It was only downhill from here.
Love Triangle
When Montgomery’s relationship with Asher came to an end, she married the show’s producer. It’s not surprising that Montgomery had many admirers, including her co-stars.
York was one of those co-stars who supposedly fell deeply in love with her. However, it was an unrequited love that didn’t help the set become any less awkward…
Tense Relationships
To add to the strained relationships on set, Montgomery and her on-screen mom, Moorhead also didn’t appear to see eye to eye.
On one occasion, it was said that Montgomery made a sarcastic dig at Moorehead’s rude behavior on set to which Moorehead gave her a disdained glare. Montgomery then replied, “Don’t you look at me that way”. But this wasn’t the only dysfunction on set.
Fun On Set
Going to the workplace in the 1960s was much more different than it is today. For starters, you didn’t only have to wear a suit or a dress every day but you also could drink during your workday.
It was no different for the Bewitched actors who sipped on real liquor when their characters had drinks in their hands. Yikes! You’d want to get the take fast before the liquor sets in!
Misunderstanding
One of the most interesting facts about the show was that the iconic nose-wiggle Samantha famously used to activate her magic, was actually misunderstood.
She wasn’t trying to wiggle her nose, but her upper lip. Director William Asher described it as the character’s nervous twitch. But out of all this, what led to the show’s cancellation?
Perfect Timing
As you may have guessed, it was the tensions of the cast relationships behind the scene that eventually led to the show ending. At the time it was canceled, it was still as popular as ever.
However, perhaps some may say that they stopped while they were on top so maybe it was all for the best!