Bewitched
 Bewitched
lasted eight seasons and sparked a trend for supernatural sitcoms
in the 1960s.
Produced and directed by William Asher, the director of various
beach party movies (and husband of the show's star, Elizabeth
Montgomery) it was the story of a pretty young white witch who decided
she'd rather be an average housewife.
Samantha Stephens tried her hardest to keep her powers under
wraps, but frequent appearances by her mother, Endora (Agnes
Moorehead) and other relatives meant she was always trying to get
out of some mess.
Samantha's husband, Darrin
(an accountant at New York advertising agency, McMann & Tate) also tried to keep the
witchcraft under control, but with one wiggle of her nose,
Samantha invariably made all the best-laid plans go awry.
 Each episode ran basically the same premise: Sam - or one of
her relatives - would get Darrin (or another mortal) into trouble
and then have 30 minutes to restore normality and sanity.
There
were no end of excuses for the neighbours, boss and in-laws for
the weird events .
Samantha's relatives included her mother Endora (who
disapproved of Darrin and called him "Durwood"), her father
Maurice, practical-joking Uncle Arthur, forgetful Aunt Clara and
Serena, Sam's mischievous look-alike but badder-than-bad cousin
(also played by Elizabeth Montgomery).
Esmeralda the housekeeper was also a witch, albeit a timid soul
with diminishing powers.
Other characters included Tabitha and
Adam (The Stephens' children), nosy neighbours Gladys & Abner
Kravitz, Larry Tate (Darrin's long-suffering boss at the New York
advertising agency of McMann and Tate) and Larry's wife, Louise.
Many visitors popped into the Stephens' household including
Julius Caesar, George Washington and Henry VIII.
 An unseen star of the show was special effects man Dick
Albain,
who invented Samantha's "magic" self-operating vacuum
cleaner (it was remote controlled) and suitcases that packed and
unpacked themselves (via invisible wires).
Other effects were
slightly less high-tech: For example, when objects had to
disappear from Samantha's hand, Elizabeth Montgomery would freeze
and Albain would remove the object from her hand. The footage of
Albain was then edited out later.
Similarly, Sam's magical cleaning of the kitchen via witchcraft
would be achieved by Samantha saying "swoosh", raising
her arms and standing absolutely still while the crew quickly
swept and dusted the set to make the kitchen immaculate before the
next shot was filmed!
The young witch, Tabitha, received her own
TV show in 1977 - 1978 (although played by a different actress).
Dick York left Bewitched due to a drug addiction to
painkillers. Bad investments left Dick broke, his teeth rotted out
(a common problem for drug abusers), and he and his wife were
reduced to cleaning houses for a living.
 In 1980 Dick got his life together, had his teeth fixed and
went back to work, guesting on shows like Fantasy Island
and Simon and Simon.
His comeback was short-lived and he
devoted the rest of his life to helping the homeless. He died in
1992.
TRIVIA NOTES
It's a little known fact that the theme from Bewitched
(written by Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield) actually has
lyrics. Don't believe us? Click Here!
The first TV couple to share a bed - not counting Fred
and Wilma Flintstone (who weren't real!) - were Darrin and
Samantha Stevens in Bewitched. Producers felt they could
get away with it because Sam wasn't human, she was a witch.
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