Elizabeth Montgomery

Date of Birth: 04/15/1933 | Date of Passing: 05/18/1995 | Date of Funeral: 06/18/1995

Ms. Montgomery played the central role of lovable witch Samantha Stevens with Dick York(and later with Dick Sargent) as her husband in the ABC situation comedy Bewitched. Starting in the second season of the series, she also played the role of Samantha’s increasingly mischievous, sexy cousin, Serena, under the pseudonym of Pandora Spocks. The show became a rating success (it was, at the time, the highest rated series ever for the network). It enjoyed an eight-year run from 1964 to 1972 and remains popular through syndication and DVD releases. The show had been renewed for a ninth season to run from 1972 to 1973. Montgomery, however, wished to move on and backed out. In a parody of her Samantha Stephens role, she did a cameo appearance as a witch at the end of the beach party film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). This was directed by William Asher, her husband at the time. That same year she also provided the voice of Samantha for an episode of the animated series The Flintstones. Montgomery received five Emmy and four Golden Globe nominations for her role on Bewitched. In June 1992, Montgomery and her former Bewitched co-star Dick Sargent, who had remained good friends, were Grand Marshals at the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade. Montgomery had liberal political views, being an outspoken champion of women’s rights gay rights throughout her life. In the spring of 1995, Montgomery was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She had ignored the flu-like symptoms during the filming of Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan, which she finished filming in late March 1995. By the time the cancer was diagnosed, it was too late for medical intervention. With no hope of recovery and unwilling to die in a hospital, she chose to return to the Beverly Hills home that she shared with Foxworth. On May 18, 1995, Montgomery died at home in the company of her children and husband just eight weeks after her diagnosis. She was 62. An event auction/sale of Montgomery’s clothing was held by her family to benefit the AIDS Healthcare Foundation Los Angeles. Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha on the series, modeled the clothing that was auctioned. In June 2005, a statue of Montgomery as Samantha Stephens was erected in Salem, Massachusetts. A star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame was presented in honor of Montgomery’s work in television on January 4, 2008. The location of the star is 6533 Hollywood Blvd.