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Bewitched
From Outcyclopedia, the free and queer encyclopedia. Bewitched is an American situation comedy television series which ran from 1964 to 1972. It is highly popular with members of the gay community, and in fact has become more so since recent revelations about its many gay cast members. The series' premise was of a young advertising executive, Darrin Stephens, who marries a beautiful woman named Samantha, only to learn she is a witch. Samantha agrees to give up witchcraft and live as an ordinary housewife, much to the disapproval of her mother, Endora. Episodes usually centered around Darrin and Samantha's struggle to lead a normal middle-class life amid the chaos caused by the witchly doings of "Sam's" relatives. Among others, the cast included Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha, Dick York and later Dick Sargent as Darrin, Agnes Moorehead as Endora, David White as Darrin's boss, Larry Tate, Alice Pearce and later Sandra Gould with Geogre Tobias as neighbors Mrs. and Mr. Kravitz, Maurice Evans as Samantha's warlock father Maurice, Paul Lynde as the practical-joking warlock Uncle Arthur, and twins Erin and Diane Murphy as the Stephens' daughter Tabitha. Produced and directed by Elizabeth Montgomery's then husband William Asher, the show was loosely based on two feaure films, I Married a Witch (1944), with Frederic March and Veronica Lake, and Bell, Book, and Candle (1958), starring James Stewart and Kim Novak. During its eight year run the series garnered twenty-two Emmy nominations, with an award going to William Asher for best direction and one each going posthumously to Alice Pearce and to Marion Lorne, who played Samantha's daft and bumbling Aunt Clara. Bewitched was one of the highest rated shows in television history and spawned an entire plethora of "weird family" sitcoms. While the escapism it offered from the social turmoil of the 1960s was a definite factor in the series' popularity, many have pointed at the wit and intelligence of its scripts and the considerable talent of its cast, qualities lacking in much of the schlock which pollutes television airwaves today. Of particular note was the way the series looked at very serious topics through the very unserious lenses of fantasy and comedy. Prejudice was the most prevelant of these, with many of the witch characters presenting themselves as members of a misunderstood and maligned minority. While this may in the 1960s have been an allusion to the quest for racial and ethnic equality, the inherent message could also be applied to GLBT persons who, like witches, had long been maligned and misunderstood, largely because of the propoganda of religious groups. In a reverse on this message, one could liken Endora's displeasure at her daughter marrying a mortal to a homophobic parent's reaction to their child entering a gay relationship. Then of course there are Darrin's paranoid and obsessive efforts to get his witch wife and witch kids to pass for "normal." One of the surprising facts about Bewitched is that a show which has remained so popular among gays in fact had many gay cast members. Paul Lynde's gayness had been a known secret in Hollywood for years before his death, and rumors circulating about Agnes Moorehead were largely confirmed when Lynde outed her during an interview some years after her death. Dick Sargent came out on national television in 1991. Speculations persisted for years about the sexuality of Maurice Evans and George Tobias, a both lifelong bachelors. Diane Murphy came out years ago as a lesbian, and has remained active in the GLBT community. Bewitched ended its original series run on 1 July, 1972, amid low ratings and the breakup of Elizabeth Montgomery's marriage to William Asher. Many factors have been cited for the show's demise. Some have rather unfairly blamed Dick Sargent, who replaced Dick York in the role of Darrin in 1969. Others have pointed out that with the feminist movement and career-woman shows like That Girl and Mary Tyler Moore having appeared, folks just were not as willing to accept the notion that a woman with Samantha's considerable abilities would be content to live as a housewife. But the most likely reason is that the show had simply outstayed its welcome. The quality of the scripts had gone down considerably, with most being recycled versions of earlier episodes and nearly all the plotlines revolving around the same tired "someone casts a spell on Darrin and all the other mortals react" formula. Still the show maintained enough magic of its own throughout its series run to command a loyalty among viewers which continues to this day, as it lives on in reruns. External links: Bewitched
And Elizabeth Montgomery Site
1164 Morning Glory Circle - site dedicated to the Stephens' house
Bewitched / 1964-1972 / Sitcoms Online Find A Death: Elizabeth Montgomery and the Cast of Bewitched Screen Gems Network - Bewitched Entry revised 19 October, 2004. All text is available for use under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (see Copyrights for details). |
