York appeared in dozens of episodes of now-classic television series, including Justice, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Untouchables, Rawhide, The Americans, Wagon Train, Father Knows Best, and CBS's The Twilight Zone and Route 66. If they had gotten the full story, they might have been a bit more forgiving of the swap. Sargent took another job while the pilot was in search of a new Samantha, and interestingly enough he would go on to play Tammys twin brother on her short-lived show. After Darrin in a fit of frustration says that they should tell everyone about Sam being a witch, she makes him dream about that very situation and the reactions of their friends and the US Government. How Would a Fallout Television Series Work? I've been surrounded by people in radio, on stage, and in motion pictures and television who love me. What inspired Cold Chisel's hit Flame Trees? Sargent stepped into Yorks role of Darrin Stephens toward the end of the shows run and would forever be considered the new Darrin by fans. While it wasnt exactly a secret that Montgomery was playing Serena, the credit was given to a made up actress named Pandora Spocks.. The truth, unknown to audiences for years after York left the sitcom, is far less salacious, yet just as mortal as the character Darrin was envisaged for television: injury and addiction were the catalysts that prompted Yorks departure from Bewitched. He ended up developing a reliance on painkillers, which ended up affecting his physical abilities. How would you rate this article? This later led to a dependency on painkillers and to York missing a handful of Bewitched episodes in seasons 3 and 4. Darrin hails from Missouri and served in the United States Army. Somehow though, if one can believe this, a lot of people barely noticed when York was replaced by Sargent, as the different apparently wasnt so great that people were willing to complain about it. It seems Dick had a debilitating back condition that stemmed from an injury he suffered while filming a movie in Canada. Born September 4, 1928, in Fort Wayne, Indiana to a salesman father and seamstress mother, it was a parochial school nun who first spotted his talent for acting and encouraged York to seek coaching. The child is finally named Adam. The story is actually quite sad. Yet in season six of the show's eight-season run, York. Supa Fluffy - Cute Animals & Pets. He then quit drugs cold turkey, which led to six months' difficult withdrawal and recovery. RELATED: Bewitched Stole Certain Plotlines From I Love Lucy Because Of One Sneaky Producer. Elizabeth Montgomery with Dick York's replacement, Dick Sargeant. "Do you want to quit?" Darrin Stephens, son of Frank and Phyllis Stephens, (originally Dick York, seasons 1-5; later Dick Sargent, seasons 6-8) is a mortal married to Samantha.He did not know she was a witch until she told him after they got married, and tries to dissuade her from using witchcraft as much as possible, preferring to live an ordinary, mortal life. It came to everyone's notice, and to help the suffering actor, it became routine to have scenes and plots contrived and written in which poor Darrin was sitting down, lying down, or reclining (usually sitting at his office desk at work, or in bed or on the couch at home) as much as possible. Characters on Bewitched drank so much, fans created a drinking guide for the show. The new show will feature Samanthas granddaughter, who is also a witch but who finds her magic useless when it comes to finding true love. The 1942 picture, directed by French filmmaker Ren Clair, tells the story of a woman named Jennifer, who just so happens to be a witch living in 1600s New England. York became addicted to his prescriptions by 1968 and, in 1969, he passed out on the Bewitched set and had to be hospitalized. But he did not raise his voice quite like Yorks Darrin. What's your excuse? Then married to Asher, Montgomery won out and portrayed the iconic character for all eight seasons of the show. But because of the slapstick nature and physical comedy required on such a show, occasionally situations arose that would tax even a man in good physical condition. This website uses cookies to improve user experience. She also admired his acting talent and was not at all pleased when he was replaced with Dick Sargent. The Reason The First Darrin Left the TV Show Bewitched, How I Met Your Mother 7.10: Tick Tick Tick Review, Game of Thrones Spin-Offs Are Expected to be Big-Budget, How to Physically and Mentally Prepare for the This is Us Finale, Grandfathered Season 1 Episode 13 Review: Tableside Guacamole. The show was a ratings hit and delivered York a steady paycheck, but his chronic back pain resulting from the Cordura accident and reliance on prescription painkillers continued to worsen and began to affect his physical abilities. On the day of filming the Daddy Does His Thing episode, he skipped lunch to see his doctor, who was out. The Harpies Bizarre name is in reference to a prop from the Bewitched TV show. According to York, "Somehow all that flickering made me feel weird." [2] By 1989, he was using an oxygen tank to help him breathe. That's about all I remember of the incident and I'd managed to bite a very large hole in the side of my tongue before they could pry my teeth apart. York was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana to Bernard York, a salesman, and Betty, a seamstress. Bernard Fox, who played Dr. Bombay, reported that hed gotten some minor surface burns on occasion from the pyrotechnics that were used to pop him into various scenes. The Ashers thought the show had possibilities, and Liz signed on to be Samantha. And that was the start of it all the pain, the painkillers, the addiction, the lost career. I had a temperature of 105, full of strong antibiotics, for almost 10 days. They knew I was feeling pretty rotten, and they tried to give me time to rest. York was in too much pain, most of the time, to continue in the role. She just always seemed to be having more fun. Origins: Whenever two or more celebrities who have appeared in the same television series or movie die either within a short time of one another or are regarded as having expired well before their. Cordura and Inherit the Wind (1960) were his biggest film successes, but it was an accident during shooting on the former that would inform and influence the remainder of his life. But she wasnt the only one with a secret to keep. "I had a band playing in my head, bagpipes night and day," York recalled. According to Biography.com, the reason behind York's exit ties back to a previous injury that he sustained and subsequent addiction problems that he reportedly dealt with. Yorks seizure stemmed from a long history of painkiller use. The actor reportedly continued to take his medications, but he quit cold turkey in 1971. At this point, the shaky actor collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. Which Darrin did you prefer? I used to make a tape recording of rain so I could listen to the rain lying in bed at night to drown out those damned bagpipes."[3]. Both he and the producers tried to stay together but after so long, York had to bow out of the cast. The show ran from 1964 to 1972 and had a hugely successful 8-year run. Contracted to Columbia Pictures soon after, York was soon in front of big-screen audiences in the western drama They Came to Cordura (1959), starring with .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Tab Hunter and Van Heflin. [3] In his memoir, The Seesaw Girl and Me, published posthumously, he describes the struggle to break his addiction and come to grips with the loss of his career. Long before he appeared onBewitched, York had been injured on the set of a film. He did guest spots on Fantasy Island, Simon & Simon, and a TV movie called High School, USA. The replacement doctor instead gave him B-12, and while filming a scene with Maurice Evans on a scaffold 15 feet in the air, the hot lights, exhaustion and medications combined to send York into a seizure. That way when he returned hed be standing in exactly the same spot. Adam was the name of Darrin and Samantha's second child, but only son. Your email address will not be published. A few years prior to production on the first season of Bewitched, Dick had suffered a debilitating and permanent back injury on the set of the film They Came to Cordura. Distractify is a registered trademark. I was just lifting the handle up as the director yelled 'cut!' Darrin Stephens. . Sargent was originally offered the role of Darrin in 1964, but declined in favor of a part in the short-lived sitcom Broadside.[7]. Sargent played a calmer Darrin who certainly reactioned to Samantha and her familys supernatural hijinks. It's like a squeaky piece of chalk scratching on my nerves.". Sony Pictures TV recently green-lighted a pilot for a revamped version of the supernatural classic sitcom Bewitched. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window). But in the late 1980s, Dick turned himself around, losing the weight and getting his teeth fixed. But when I grew older, my allegiances turned more to Endora. But his career had already waned in his absence from television, as had his economic situation, forcing him and his family to rely on welfare, unemployment checks and odd jobs to make ends meet over the following decade. "Yeah," he says, "she's quirky and nosey and every time she's nosey, she gets her comeuppance. They would plant someone on the other side of a door in case it was too heavy for me to open by myself." Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, 5 Things Producers Didn't Want You To Know About. Enthusiastic Bewitched writer Herbie J Pilato has covered the show and its stars from multiple angles in multiple books. All Rights Reserved. Magic stuff happens, Darrin's boss/client/etc sees it, and Samantha saves the day with a catchy jingle to tie up the freaky loose ends. Lets have some Endora . Sometimes they took the concept, sometimes you would hear exact dialogue, revealed Pilato. A visit fromBill Asher, the producer ofBewitched, sealed his fate. [3], Despite his suffering, York said, "I've been blessed. In September, 1964 'Bewitched' debuted on ABC, with Elizabeth Montgomery as housewitch Samantha Stephens and Dick York cast as her hapless husband Darrin. Shed had surgery, but the doctors informed her that her case was terminal. For audiences used to seeing York, no onscreen explanation was given, or even alluded to. It's always jarring when a show recasts a familiar character with a new actor, but it's been done since the early days of television for myriad reasons. He signed a contract with Columbia Pictures shortly after appearing on Broadway with Deborah Kerr in Tea and Sympathy. Additionally, Sargent overall felt, To tell you the truth, I think there was a stronger sense of warmth between Samantha and Darrin when I did the show. Endora is Samantha Stephens' mother and Maurice's wife. In the words of Darrin Stephens, Make it a double, Sam., Read a 1964 profile of Elizabeth Montgomery, the star of the new show Bewitched, here in TIMEs archives: The Girl with the Necromantic Nose, BEWITCHED: Dick York (Darrin), Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha), Erin Murphy (Tabitha), Agnes Moorehead (Endora), The MacArthur 'Genius' Grants: How They Started, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Many have speculated through the years that Dick York's departure from the show had to do with either a dispute with the network or show executives or a clash with the cast, but nothing could be further from the truth. "[5], York died of complications from emphysema at Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids, Michigan, on February 20, 1992, at age 63. Thanks for the article. I was too young to watch the show on first run, but syndication in the 70's branded its theme song into my brain. She sometimes casts spells on Darrin for her own amusement, but mostly to try to drive Darrin away from Samantha. It could also have been because Vi Alford, who handled the ladies' wardrobes, wasn't interested in using color as a storytelling tool. 'Bewitched' Star Dick York: Why the Actor Who Played Darrin Stevens Exited the Series, 'Fatal Attraction' Reboot for Paramount+ Trailer and Release Date, Major NBC Show Moves to New Night, Suffers Big Ratings Drop, 'House of the Dragon' Season 1 Timeline, Explained, Candice Patton Has Filmed Her Final 'The Flash' Scenes, Rachael Ray Launches Major New Venture as Her Show Ends, Classic CBS Sitcom Leaving HBO Max This Month, 'That '90s Show': Laura Prepon Had a Special Role Behind the Scenes, and You Might Not Have Realized It, Ronda Rousey Reportedly Injured Just Weeks Before WrestleMania. When Larry and Louise Tate were blessed with a son on Bewitched, the child was named Jonathan at Whites request. For Darrin's "daydream daughter", see Little Endora. But Dick York, the first Darrin on Bewitched, thankfully didnt have any of that, at least not that people heard of, as his exit from the show came due to an injury and the results that came later as a result of the injury. 'Bewitched was so popular that ABC began re-running it during weekday mornings for two years starting in 1968. He has warmly treated Samantha as if she were his daughter, but mostly, he reacts with disdain to Phyllis's delusions and hallucinations, unaware that these events are caused by Samantha's witchcraft. Bewitched only filmed two seasons with Sargent as Darrin before the show was canceled due to fallen ratings as well as star Elizabeth Montgomery's wish to move on. Some Darrin-less episodes were filmed until Dick Sargent took over the role. To hear Sargent tell it, Asher offered him the part during the shows initial casting. I went to work that day, but I was sick. But the story idea and basic script was written by 22 African-American 10th graders in Marcella Saunders English class at Jefferson High School in South Central Los Angeles. Why did they replace Darren on Bewitched? To deal with the chronic pain he was experiencing due to the Cordura accident, York was prescribed several painkillers, including codeine, muscle relaxants, and sleeping pills (he stressed that he avoided drugs while working). He was rushed to the hospital and never returned to the Bewitched set. Sandra Gould took over the role of Gladys Kravitz for the remainder of the series. York continued medicating until 1971 when he decided to quit cold turkey. His 1959 role in They Came To Cordura changed his life forever. Copyright 2023 Distractify. Bad investments had left him broke, and his teeth rotted out (a common problem for drug abusers), so he and his wife were reduced to cleaning houses for a living. We bring you the neatest, weirdest, and On the hit 1960s sitcom Bewitched, Dick York played Darrin Stephens, the long-suffering mortal married to witch-turned-housewife, Samantha. Some theorizing he had a dispute with the network, clashes with his fellow cast members, or a difference of opinion with the showrunner. Required fields are marked *. In 1982, Dick York finally got his life back together, got his teeth fixed, and went back to work. The show's producer, Bill Asher (who was Montgomery's husband in real life) visited York in the hospital as he was recuperating. The biggest change to the series was the replacement of York withDick Sargent. Meanwhile, that co-workers daughter was Tabithas close friend and was spending the weekend with the Stephens. Tammy Grimes, whod won a Best Actress Tony Award in 1961 for The Unsinkable Molly Brown, was under contract to Screen Gems in 1964 and was the studios first choice for the role of Cassandra (as the lead character was named at the time). Dick Sargent replaced York in the role of Darrin Stephens, taking over the role at the start of the series' sixth season (19691970) and continuing in the part until the series ended after its eighth season (19711972). [2], The crew built York a slanted wall on which he could lean between scenes; during the first two seasons, this allowed York to manage his back injury with little difficulty. Specialty T-Shirts: The two Andrews girls are named Tabitha and Abigail. This was the middle of the summer and I was wearing a sheepskin jacket and I was chilling. In fact, she almost cast a spell on the new Darrin and turned him into a little gay rat shrouded in smoke. The muscles along the right side of my back tore. Enter Dick Sargent. Because of this back injury however his time on Bewitched was great affected as he couldnt walk fast or run anywhere and he had to spend a lot of time seated in many scenes. [3] He began his career at the age of 15 as the star of the CBS radio program That Brewster Boy. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. For example, if Samantha wanted to quickly tidy up the living room for a surprise visit from her in-laws, shed raise her arms in the air and zap the room clean. Elizabeth Montgomery and her then-husband, producer/director William Asher, were looking for a television project they could work on together, and Harry Ackerman encouraged them to look at Saks Bewitched pilot script. He had appeared in a movie in 1959 called They Came to Cordura, and during filming he had severely injured his back. When the show returned for its sixth season, Darrin was portrayed by Dick Sargent. Endora disapproves of her daughter's decision to marry a mortal. His reliance on pills was too great at that point to mount any sort of a comeback and the actor even admitted to having hallucinated more than once thanks to so much of the stuff that was in his system. Today, we'll recall his biggest overreactions. It turns out that Samantha and Darrin werent the happy TV couple living in their house. Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 - February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. York went on to star with Gene Kelly and Leo G. Carroll in the ABC comedy-drama Going My Way (1962). The producer didnt think a baby witch should be able to. Murphy added that Montgomerys wiggle was a camera trick. Look closely and youll see that her nose isnt really moving at all its her mouth. Within a decade he had moved to New York City, was working on radio soaps and had married his childhood sweetheart Joan Alt, with whom he had five children and remained wed to until his death. Still, fans of the series insist that Sargent and Montgomery didnt have a ton of chemistry. Big & Tall and Curvy Tees are our specialties! When Dick Sargent joined the show, it lasted another 3 years so it was not "soon" cancelled as it's described in the article. So, they redid some scenes with Sargent reading lines already spoken by York as Darrin Stephens. Alice Pearce played the part of a nosy busybody so well that even today the local neighborhood buttinski is referred to as a Gladys Kravitz. When Pearce was 9, she fell from a playground swing and landed on her chin, stunting its growth. I lay in my dressing room after being in make-up, waiting to be called on the set. However, Sargents former co-star, Tammy Grimes, apparently was the first choice forSamantha StephensonBewitched. I had always assumed it was because of creative differences or whatever term Hollywood likes to use, but Icouldnt have been morewrong. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. "Bewitched" is not "Breaking Bad" you can't track a character's mood or situation in life through the colors they're wearing. Can you blame the second Darrin for the show's troubles? Eventually, Sargent was allowed to bring his acting style to the role, which felt more natural. Richard Crenna was the next actor offered the part of Darrin, but hed just spent several years on The Real McCoys, so he passed as well. The actor explained to PEOPLE in 1989, "I had a board in my trailer where I would flatten out. Homes & Hues - Home design, decor and gadgets He is buried at Plainfield Cemetery in Rockford, Michigan.[8]. The characters unusual fascination with door knobs was based on Lornes real-life fetish; she had a collection of over 1000 antique door openers. Aunt Clara was so endearing that even Darrin (who despised most of Sams relatives) loved her, even when her spells went wonky and turned him into a chimpanzee or a seal. He eventually quit the drugs, enduring a horrific withdrawal complete with auditory hallucinations. Other effects included fast-motion film, backward-motion film, and invisible wires for levitation. He eventually quit the drugs, enduring a horrific withdrawal complete with auditory hallucinations. He also appeared in hundreds of other radio shows and instructional films before heading to New York City, where he acted on Broadway in Tea and Sympathy and Bus Stop. With Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York, Agnes Moorehead, Erin Murphy. Sadly, Dick's health did not improve after he stepped away from Bewitched. York said yes. He said he had to turn it down because he was already under contract. While his career was something of a tragedy the upside, one of the few that people choose to remember these days, is that he didnt quit Bewitched and there was no real desire to replace him until there was no other choice. Eventually York would struggle with an addiction to painkillers that would in a sense keep him from the show and would end up getting him replaced as he couldnt fulfill his obligations. The show revolves around a witchwho marries a regular, human man and promises to lead the life of a typical housewife. Anime Big & Tall T-Shirts (3XL to 10XL), Check out these new sites: Much of his final years were spent working to help bring awareness to and outreach for the plight of homeless people in the United States, a cause he felt he understood having grown up during the Great Depression. With that, York left the sitcom to devote himself to recovery, never to return. His life had already become a daily ritual of drugs, pills, and painkillers. Four months prior to receiving a phone call from her agent telling her that William Asher wanted her for a role on his new TV show, Pearce was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. There was a time when a twitching nose only indicated that allergy season was starting. Anyway, there was one thing I never knew about the show - why they suddenly replaced Dick York, the actor who originally played Samantha's husband, Darrin. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. I had a board in my trailer where I would flatten out, he told People in 1989. BUS STOP, from left: Kim Stanley, Dick York, 1955-1956 / Everett Collection. Darren was also missing from the opening but Samantha just did her normal acts as if he were there anyway. I imagine most people at the time thought that as well. It came to everyone's notice, and to help the suffering actor, it became routine to have scenes and plots contrived and written in which poor Darrin was sitting down, lying down, or reclining (usually sitting at his office desk at work, or in bed or on the couch at home) as much as possible. Along with the chronic back pain, he had developed a powerful addiction to prescription drugs that consumed his life for the next two years. Enter Dick York, who had an impressive list of acting credits in film, on Broadway and on TV. His last two credits were on two primetime television series, Simon & Simon and Fantasy Island. In the 1960's sitcom Bewitched, Sam's magical roots have a habit of causing chaos in not only her own life, but also in her mortal husband's. . Is Shirley Manson from Garbage a natural redhead? Sol Saks, credited onscreen as the creator of Bewitched, has admitted in several interviews that his script for the pilot episode was inspired by the films I Married a Witchand Bell, Book and Candle. [3] While bedridden in his Rockford, Michigan, home, he founded Acting for Life, a private charity to help the homeless and others in need. He started to help me down and that's the last thing I remember until I woke up on the floor. Dick Sargent took up the role of Darrin Stephens after York left because Sargent was actually the second choice for the role anyway. Of course mean ol Brockway immediately saw the error of his ways and not only asked Darrin to handle his account, he also shared Christmas dinner with an ethnically diverse group of guests. "And that was the start of it all the pain, the painkillers, the addiction, the lost career. I kept having chills. 254 half-hour episodes were produced. Fans of the hit sitcom were scratching their heads at the beginning of season six when a new actor stepped into the role of Darrin. York died February 20, 1992, at age 63. While under care York knew his ability to continue working on the series was finished due to his worsening health and reliance on pain medication, prompting show producers to recast Sargent in the role for the sixth, seventh and eighth seasons, ahead of the series end in 1972. "Bewitched," Pilato discovered, also depicted a strong work ethic. During his time on They Came to Cordura, York sustained a back injury that would influence the rest of his life and career. But the question remains in every person's head who has watched or been a fan of Bewitched: why the two different Darrins? Dick York, the original Stephens, endured immense pain following an injury while filming They Came to Cordura (1959). Public speculation regarding the abrupt recasting included a dispute with the network, clashes with fellow cast members or disagreements with showrunners. The 1960s sitcom, Bewitched, is one of the most beloved shows in television history. Grimes was not a fan of the premise, asking why she wouldnt use her powers to stop wars or deal with Los Angeles traffic. I continued to work through it." He staged a brief comeback, with guest appearances on Fantasy Island and Simon and Simon, but soon the calls stopped again, and Dick dedicated his last years to teaching acting and working with the homeless. I honestly hadn't really thought about it, but always had assumed Dick York had had a falling out with producers. Kept in the dark though, they could only use their gut to determine if they could follow the show with such a drastic change of casting. Originally starring Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York, the series went through a bit of a metamorphosis during its eight-season run. His teeth rotted and he put on over 100 pounds and found it difficult to find other work. York was cast as Darrin Stephens in the 1960s sitcom Bewitched as Samantha's (Elizabeth Montgomery) mortal husband. A lof of the original episodes were well-thought-out stories about acceptance and tolerance. most wonderful stuff from all over the People werent the only elements of the show that might have looked a little too familiar. For Endora as a child on Halloween, see Young Endora. The Real Reason There Were Two Darrins On Bewitched YouTube By Karen Corday / Jan. 15, 2021 4:50 pm EST It's a question that continues to puzzle people 50 years after it happened: why did the TV show Bewitched suddenly and seemingly inexplicably replace the actor who played Darrin in the middle of its run? At 15 he had a regular role on the radio show That Brewster Boy. However, according to Pilato, the show cut a few corners after the cast change. Richard Allen York (September 4, 1928 February 20, 1992) was an American radio, stage, film, and television actor. 10 Things You Never Know about Portlandia, Queen Season 1, Episode 7 Who Shot Ya? And on the set the crew would help me. She is an extremely powerful witch. Bewitched is an American fantasy situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972. Yet in season six of the shows eight-season run, York was replaced in the role by actor Dick Sargent. And on the set, the crew would help me. Creator Sol Saks Stars Elizabeth Montgomery Dick York Dick Sargent See production, box office & company info Watch on Freevee S1-3 Watch Free on Freevee More watch options Add to Watchlist 104 User reviews 26 Critic reviews Thanks for reading! The seizure may have ended his time onBewitched, but industry insiders claim the ousting was a long time coming. Pop Culturista - Pop Culture Along with the chronic back pain, he had developed a powerful addiction to prescription drugs that consumed his life for the next two years. You can't sleep. No wonder Napoleon wasn't in the mood for Josephine - he was busy! All Rights Reserved. Funny T-Shirts | Horror T-Shirts | Video Game T-Shirts. He is the only child of Frank and Phyllis Stephens. Elizabeth Montgomery, on the other hand, was the exception to that rule: the actress got to play two different characters. He revealed that York had been the first choice for the part. I had always assumed it was because of creative differences or whatever term Hollywood likes to use, but I couldn't have been more wrong. One of the most memorable recastings in TV history is also one of the oldest: the two Darrins of Bewitched.