Diane Murphy (born 1964)

Diane Murphy at a 1998  AIDS charity tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery. Picture courtesy TVToys.Com  Former television child star Diane Murphy was born 17 June in Encino, California, just five minutes before her twin sister, Erin.  When they were a year old, Diane and Erin appeared in a soap commercial with future President Ronald Reagan.  In 1966, they were cast to play Tabitha Stephens on the popular Bewitched  television series.  The use of twins to play a single child character was a common practice in television (and still is), as it allowed more scenes to be filmed without violating laws which limit the number of hours children may work.  As the girls grew older and  their physical differences became more pronounced, -  they were not identical twins  -, Erin was used solely to play Tabitha.  Diane continued to make small appearances on the show as other characters, including a Raggedy Ann doll brought to life by witchcraft.  One of her last appearances was as a guest at Tabitha's sixth birthday party, together with future Partridge Family cast member Danny Bonaduce.  Following the cancellation of Bewitched  in 1972, Diane, like her sister, continued to do some acting and voice work, mostly in commercials.  Perhaps her best known post-Bewitched role was as the little girl who walked up to Henry Fonda at the end of a commercial for Lifesavers candy and asked, "Aren't you Jane Fonda's father?" As she grew older, Diane left acting to pursue her education.  She eventually earned an MBA in management from Golden Gate University in Santa Barbara, California.  Later, she earned a BA in psychology and sociology at the University of Southern California at Santa Barbara.  Currently she is an associate executive director of Shelter Services for Women, which maintains battered women's shelters in the Santa Barbara area.  She also is on the board of directors for the Greater Santa Barbara Community Association, an organization of businesspersons in the GLBT community, and once chaired its scholarship fund committee to assist gay and lesbian students.  Diane Murphy  lives in Santa Barbara with her cat, Sugar. Note: Herbie J. Pilato's The Bewitched Book (New York: Dell Publishing 1992), was the primary source for this article. Links: Diane and Erin Murphy on Juvenile Jury Diane Murphy Find A Death: Elizabeth Montgomery and the Cast of Bewitched Diane Murphy TVTOYS.com LIBRARY - A Bewitching Birthday Tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery Shelter Services for Women Gay and Lesbian Business Association of Santa Barbara KeywordTitleAuthor