50 Fun Facts About Bewitched

On which network did Bewitched air for its entire eight-season run?

It ran from September 1964 to March 1972 and was the network's number-one show in its first season, second overall only to Bonanza.

What is the Stephenses' street address?

The show could never decide whether the suburb was Westport, Connecticut or Patterson, New York; the exterior was a reversed copy of the Gidget house on Columbia's backlot.

What is the name of the Madison Avenue advertising agency where Darrin works?

Larry Tate, Darrin's sycophantic boss, was played by David White for the entire run.

How does Samantha most often cast a spell?

The twitch had its own synthesized sound effect, which one critic singled out as a unique part of the show's soundtrack.

Who played Endora, Samantha's disapproving mother?

She had been one of Orson Welles's Mercury Players and appeared in Citizen Kane; the role brought her six Emmy nominations.

Which actor took over as Darrin for the final three seasons?

Nick at Nite later celebrated the swap with a week-long 'Dueling Darrins Marathon'.

Dick York's back problems, which forced him off Bewitched, stemmed from an injury on which 1959 film?

He collapsed on set in January 1969 while filming 'Daddy Does His Thing' and left after a long talk with William Asher.

How many Bewitched episodes were filmed without a Darrin at all after York's mid-season-five exit?

They were aired out of order among previously filmed episodes; earlier seasons had often sent Darrin 'out of town on business' to spare York's back.

Which animation studio produced the show's opening and closing credits?

The same studio later made the 1972 special Tabitha and Adam and the Clown Family, and its Flintstones hosted a Samantha crossover in 1965.

Bewitched switched from black-and-white to colour starting in which year of its run?

For years syndicators skipped the two monochrome seasons entirely, believing viewers found them less appealing.

Who is credited as the creator of Bewitched, having written only the pilot?

His inspirations were a 1942 film about a witch's romance and the play Bell, Book and Candle, both properties of Columbia, which owned the show's producer Screen Gems.

Rehearsals for the pilot began on November 22, 1963 - the day of what event?

Director William Asher knew Kennedy personally; he had produced the 1962 birthday gala where Marilyn Monroe sang 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President'.

Which Oscar-winning actor narrated the first episode, uncredited?

Elizabeth Montgomery's father Robert had been asked first and turned it down.

In its first season, Bewitched was second in the ratings only to which show?

It aired Thursdays at 9 pm, sandwiched between My Three Sons and Peyton Place in ABC's strongest block.

Which two actresses won posthumous Emmys for their Bewitched roles?

Pearce won for Gladys Kravitz after dying in 1966; Lorne won in 1968 for Aunt Clara. William Asher took the show's other Emmy, for directing, in 1966.

Who took over the role of nosy neighbour Gladys Kravitz in 1966?

Ghostley was offered it first but declined out of respect for her friend Alice Pearce; she later joined the cast as the inept witch-nanny Esmeralda.

Aunt Clara, played by Marion Lorne, was a lovable witch whose spells kept going wrong for what reason?

Lorne only made her feature-film debut in her late sixties, in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

Before he became Uncle Arthur, Paul Lynde first appeared on Bewitched in 1965 as what mortal character?

Harold Harold went over so well that Montgomery and Asher created the recurring role of Endora's practical-joking brother for him.

How many appearances did Paul Lynde make as Uncle Arthur?

Lynde is probably better remembered for sitting in the centre square on The Hollywood Squares from 1968 to 1981.

Under what fake name was Elizabeth Montgomery sometimes credited when playing Samantha's cousin Serena?

Scenes with both cousins on screen used her stand-in Melody McCord.

Erin Murphy played young Tabitha, but for 18 early episodes she shared the role with whom?

The twins were similar enough in size and looks to swap; Erin went on to play the role solo in 103 episodes.

The show's only location shoot, a 1970 witches' convocation arc, took the cast to which Massachusetts town?

The trip came about because the Stephenses' home set had burned in a fire; the episodes gave the sagging ratings a boost.

TV Land unveiled a statue of Samantha in Salem in 2005 to mark which anniversary of the show?

Bernard Fox, Erin Murphy and Kasey Rogers were on hand along with William Asher.

Which car company sponsored the show for its first five seasons, its vehicles turning up in storylines?

Co-sponsor Quaker Oats explains all the breakfast scenes; later sponsors included Kodak and Oscar Mayer.

Which rival NBC show, produced by the same studio, did Bewitched inspire?

Both came from Screen Gems; the Bewitched living-room set even turns up in Jeannie episodes.

In 1965, Samantha and Darrin turned up as new neighbours on which animated series?

York and Montgomery voiced themselves; the crossover was possible because both shows aired on ABC.

In the 1977 spin-off Tabitha, the grown-up Tabitha worked at a television station with which name?

Lisa Hartman starred; the show ignored continuity by making Adam her older mortal brother, and it was cancelled after 12 episodes.

Who played the real witch cast as Samantha opposite Will Ferrell in Bewitched (2005)?

Nora Ephron wrote and directed it; The New York Times called it 'an unmitigated disaster' and it lost $22 million domestically against its budget.

Samantha's actress was the daughter of which Hollywood star and director?

She made her TV debut on his anthology series Robert Montgomery Presents and won a Theatre World Award for her 1956 Broadway debut.

How many Emmy nominations did Elizabeth Montgomery receive for playing Samantha?

She also earned four Golden Globe nominations for the role, and later Emmy nods for A Case of Rape and The Legend of Lizzie Borden.

Genealogists found Elizabeth Montgomery was a distant cousin of which notorious figure she played in a 1975 TV film?

They were sixth cousins once removed, both descended from a 17th-century Massachusetts man named John Luther - a fact she never knew.

William Asher, who directed most of Bewitched, had earlier directed 110 episodes of which sitcom?

He also directed the Beach Party films for AIP; his and Montgomery's company Ashmont (ASHer + MONTgomery) co-produced Bewitched.

The actress who played Endora developed cancer after filming which 1956 John Wayne movie near a Utah test site?

She later said she regretted appearing in the Howard Hughes-produced film, in which Wayne played Genghis Khan.

How many Academy Award nominations did Endora's actress earn during her film career?

She never won an Oscar but did take an Emmy - not for Endora, but for a guest role on The Wild Wild West.

In 1991, on National Coming Out Day, the second Darrin did what?

He cited the suicide rate among young gay people; the next year he and Elizabeth Montgomery were joint grand marshals of the Los Angeles Pride parade.

David White's son Jonathan, after whom Larry Tate's baby was named, died in which 1988 tragedy?

White himself died two years later; before Bewitched he had served in the Marines in World War II and made his Broadway debut in 1949.

In which 1960 film did Dick York play the teacher on trial for teaching evolution?

Bertram Cates was modelled on John Scopes; York later spent his final years, bedridden with emphysema, running a charity for the homeless.

In a 1992 interview, Elizabeth Montgomery agreed the show could be read as an allegory about what?

She said the cast discussed it on set: 'this was about people not being allowed to be what they really are.'

Which sitcom did William Asher create as a replacement for Bewitched in its old time slot in 1972?

It reused parts of the Stephenses' house set and even named its law firm McNish and Simms in a nod to McMann and Tate.

Which second-season Bewitched episode made TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes list?

'A Is for Aardvark', directed by Ida Lupino, is another fan favourite about the show's central theme of achievement versus instant gratification.

Bewitched inspired 'Sally the Witch', the manga and anime credited with launching which genre?

Samantha's influence in Japan predates Sailor Moon by decades.

Which 1942 Veronica Lake film about a sorceress was one of Bewitched's inspirations?

Veronica Lake starred; the other inspiration, Bell, Book and Candle, was a 1958 Kim Novak film from a Broadway play.

Which actor played the witch doctor Dr. Bombay?

Bernard Fox played the eccentric physician from 1967 to 1972 and later reprised the role on the soap opera Passions.

Alice Ghostley played which shy, inept witch who babysat Tabitha and Adam?

Ghostley had earlier appeared as Naomi, an incompetent maid, in a season-two episode before returning as the family's nanny in season six.

The Stephens house facade was a reversed replica of a real house from which 1959 film?

The original house stood on 18th Street in Santa Monica; the replica on the Columbia Ranch later doubled as Dr. Bellows' home on I Dream of Jeannie.

In January 1972 the show was moved to Saturdays opposite which number-one program?

The move was the final blow to a show already losing viewers, and it never made a ninth season despite ABC being willing to renew.

On WandaVision, the exterior of the Stephens house served as the home of which character?

The Marvel series paid homage to Bewitched in several episodes, and even used the interior set briefly for Wanda and Vision's ever-changing home.

What was the name of Elizabeth Montgomery and William Asher's production company?

The name fused ASHer and MONTgomery; the couple separated before the show ended and divorced in 1974.

Where did Bewitched finish in the season ratings for its final year on the air?

The show had been the number-two program in America in its debut season and stayed in the top ten for three years before its long slide.

Which first-season head writer set the show's tone and developed Larry Tate and the Kravitzes?

Arnold, a McHale's Navy veteran, saw the show as a romantic comedy about a mixed marriage and kept the magic to a minimum, clashing with ABC.