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Elizabeth Montgomery (1933 - 1995)
American television, stage and film actress and activist, Elizabeth Montgomery was born in Los Angeles to actor /director Robert Montgomery and film/stage actress Elizabeth Allen. She is best known for playing witch turned housewife Samantha Stephens on the Bewitched television series from 1964 to 1972. She was also a friend to the gay community, especially after the coming out of former Bewitched co-star Dick Sargent in 1991, and was a dedicated activist against AIDS from the earliest years of the epidemic. After attending the exclusive West Lake School for Girls, Elizabeth Montgomery pursued a career in acting, which her father at first opposed but later supported on the condition that she "give it her all." Her professional debut came in 1951 in an episode of her father's television show Robert Montgomery Presents, titled "Top Secret." Around this same time she also appeared on Broadway in Late Love. Over two hundred television appearances followed, including The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell in 1955 with Gary Cooper and the episode "Two" of The Outer Limits. She earned an Emmy nomination for a guest appearance on The Untouchables in 1960, with future Bewitched co-star David White. Elizabeth Montgomery was nominated several more times during her career, but sadly was never awarded a statue for her efforts. In 1955 Elizabeth Montgomery entered her first marriage, with televison director Frederic Cammann, which ended quickly. She married film actor Gig Young in 1957, but after six years of abuse divorced him to marry television director William Asher in 1963. Shortly after, Asher was approached to direct and co-produce a proposed television series about a witchly housewife. After British comedic actress Tammy Grimes turned down the role, Elizabeth took what would become her most famous part. Bewitched premiered in September of 1964 with Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens and Dick York as her husband Darrin. Liz and her husband approached Agnes Moorehead in a department store to play Samantha's meddling mother, Endora. Critical of most television, Agnes accepted the role largely because of Liz's persuasiveness. That same year Elizabeth starred in the comedy film Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed with Dean Martin and close friend Carol Burnett. Bewitched ran for eight seasons, ending in 1972 amid declining ratings, lower quality scripts, and the amicable end to Liz and Bill Asher's marriage. Elizabeth Montgomery spent over twenty more years on the small screen, in more serious roles far removed from her portrayal of Samantha. In 1974, Elizabeth Montgomery starred in A Case of Rape, one of the most highly rated television movies in history and one of the first to deal frankly with this controversial issue. She also starred in The Sundance Woman, co-starring the man who later became her fourth husband, Robert Foxworth. The following year she turned out what many considered her best performance, as the notorious title character in The Legend of Lizzie Borden. A television remake of Dark Victory came out in 1976. With each role she displayed her professionalism and talent as an actor. She also showed a penchant for playing villians, including a sadistic nurse in Amos (1985) with Kirk Douglas, and the real-life murderers Rue Coe in Sins of the Mother (1991) and Blanche Taylor Moore in The Black Widow Murders (1993). Almost from the beginning of the AIDS crisis, Elizabeth Montgomery was a rusader for both a cure and for the rights of people who had the condition, and was also among the first Hollywood celebrities to speak out in support of gay rights. When Dick Sargent, who had replaced Dick York in the role of Darrin on Bewitched in 1969, came out in 1991, Liz was one of the first to contact him to show support. In 1992 she appeared with him in the Orange County Gay Pride parade, and announced to the public and the media, "This is Dick Sargent. He is gay and he is my friend!" Her efforts on behalf of AIDS and gay rights activism would continue for the remainder of her life. While filming the second of two television movies based on the real-life adventures of crime reporter Edna Buchanan in 1995, Elizabeth began suffering symptoms of what she at first thought was a case of flu. A medical exam conducted much later revealed that she was in fact suffering from advanced colorectal cancer. She died later that same year at her Beverly Hills home with Robert Foxworth and her two children holding vigil. Links: Bewitched And Elizabeth Montgomery Site Find A Death: Elizabeth Montgomery and the Cast of Bewitched Internet Movie Database - Elizabeth Montgomery Jim Nemeth's Page - Elizabeth Montgomery tribute TVTOYS.com LIBRARY - A Bewitching Birthday Tribute to Elizabeth Montgomery Lizzie's Place looks at Elizabeth Montgomery Biography: Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Montgomery ~ Photographs Elizabeth Montgomery @ FANSITES.COM - Links Bewitched Elizabeth Montgomery Elizabeth Montgomery - An Appreciation Elizabeth Montgomery biography Elizabeth Montgomery Biography
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