The Infamous ‘Bewitched‘ Scene That Ended a Beloved Show
The Magic Fades: What Led to Bewitched‘s Sudden Cancellation
When Bewitched aired its final episode on March 25, 1972, fans were shocked and dismayed. Though the show was still performing strongly in the ratings at #11 nationally, the tone of the last episode felt unusually final. Why would such a beloved staple of 1960s and 70s pop culture come to an abrupt end when it seemingly still had life left?
As it turns out, Bewitched fell victim to a confluence of behind-the-scenes issues – strained personal relationships, cast changes, and most impactfully, Elizabeth Montgomery‘s desire to move on after eight years of playing Samantha Stephens.
A Dream Role Turns into a Creative Prison
For Montgomery, the role that made her a household name had become creatively limiting. She felt hemmed in by the dated sitcom format and Samantha‘s domestic situations. Off-screen she was an activist and aspiring film actress unfulfilled by Bewitched.
Montgomery had embarked on her acting career almost accidentally after initially pursuing painting and modeling. The free-spirited daughter of Hollywood star Robert Montgomery, she studied at the Academy of Dramatic Arts before finding early success on Broadway.
When offered Bewitched, Montgomery worried about typecasting but couldn‘t pass up the starring role. Sol Saks‘ script charmed her – she admired Samantha‘s wit and subtle social commentary. She also welcomed the opportunity to appear regularly on television.
In the first few seasons, playing Samantha was still exciting, fresh and challenging. Montgomery relished creating Layered comedic performances and building chemistry with Broadway actor Dick York as Darrin. She also enjoyed the technical aspects required to "twitch" her nose and interact with magical elements that weren‘t really there.
But after years stuck playing variations on the same domestic situations, Montgomery felt creatively stymied and constrained by the sitcom structure. Off-screen she grew increasingly politically active, even being arrested at a Vietnam War protest.
By Season 5 Montgomery knew continuing Bewitched wasn‘t right for her evolveing passions – but financial pressures and contract obligations kept her playing Samantha through Season 8.
Behind the scenes, another nail was being hammered into Bewitched‘s coffin….
A Show Run on Real Relationships
Montgomery wasn‘t the only one feeling trapped. Her marriage with producer William Asher had deteriorated past the point of rescue. Volatile even in the happy early days, their messy breakup infected the collaborative environment needed for Bewitched.
Asher similarly had creative frustrations mounting. A respected TV comedy director, he‘d helped craft I Love Lucy and The Patty Duke Show before Bewitched. Though he appreciated the opportunity to innovate, as with Montgomery the formula grew tiresome. He‘d taken the producer job partially to be closer to his wife and three children. When that marriage corroded despite couples counseling, his enthusiasm drained.
The complications didn‘t stop there – even the show‘s early directors had unusual influence thanks to loose oversight by studio executives. Upon his late arrival, Asher was caught between loyal long-term crew accustomed to the freewheeling environment and his own new ambitions for the show.
Many personalities and relationships collided to make Bewitched‘s magic. When its key players soured on each other, the trick was lost.
The Illness That Threatened Bewitched‘s Magic
However, the first and most impactful "relationship" breakdown threatening Bewitched happened years earlier and much closer to home for Elizabeth Montgomery.
In early seasons, Montgomery‘s commitment to Samantha was bolstered by her joyful creative partnership with Dick York as Darrin. The two formed an instant rapport as actors and friends. York had made a name for himself working in television and theater since leaving the Army. Several promising film opportunities were interrupted when injury-related illnesses forced him to take a break from acting in the early 1960s.
By the mid-1960s, York reignited his career with Bewitched. But off-camera he was fighting devastating, mounting pain from a back injury suffered years earlier on a film set. As the only consistent breadwinner for his young family, York felt obliged to soldier on despite agonizing back spasms. He began taking increasing amounts of prescription pain medication to keep working.
Despite medication, York‘s pain escalated. By Season 5 more scenes required him to be shown lying down. Shooting days dragged longer and longer as his agony distracted his performance. York‘s dependence on barbiturates and other sedatives also increased as he chased relief.
Things finally came to a head in Season 6 when York collapsed mid-scene, suffering a visible, debilitating seizure with the cameras rolling. Production immediately halted.
Losing Darrin
York‘s seizure was later cut from the episode. But having raw footage of such personal suffering circulated against his wishes added insult to York‘s literal injury. It was the last straw completing his resignation from the show in 1969.
Scrambling to continue, the studio pressured Montgomery alongside Director William Asher to hire a new Darrin Stephens over many in the cast‘s objections. Scrapping a well-liked lead and disrupting an iconic character dynamic was hugely controversial. But the decision had dark consequences beyond just ratings.
A portion of viewers proved scathingly loyal to Dick York, disgusted by his replacement with Dick Sargent. Some wrote racist hate mail directed at supporting actress Agnes Moorehead simply due to her loyalty toward York. Moorehead‘s friendship with Montgomery also chilled over perceived ‘betrayal.‘
The studio disputed accusations they‘d coldly forced York out due to poor health. But the truth around York‘s departure remained murky…as did York‘s own future.
Dimming Stars: Challenges Beyond Bewitched
Sadly, York rapidly declined without steady work and income. Within several years, he was bankrupt and living on disability checks despite attempts at a musical career.
Years later at a Bewitched fan convention, a wheelchair-bound York praised Sargent‘s performance but confessed regret at leaving a role he loved. After decades struggling with chronic pain and unstable health York died in 1992, the bittersweet magic of Bewitched forever colored by its contributions to his suffering.
The ripples of York‘s departure highlighted a harsh reality – Bewitched relied upon on the sparks between its stars to work magic. With Montgomery checked out and no chemistry flowing between her and the new Darrin, the show‘s light dimmed.
The Tragic Curse of The Stephens Family
Part of the enduring myth suggesting Bewitched‘s cancellation directly linked to its last scene also stems from the belief that a "curse" hung over its production after York‘s departure. A disturbing number of recurring Bewitched cast members experienced early deaths or misfortune:
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Dick York left the show struggling with crippling lifelong pain and an inability to work consistently.
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Alice Pearce, the first nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz, died from ovarian cancer in 1966 at age 48.
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Marion Lorne, beloved Aunt Clara, died suddenly from a heart attack just months after York left the show in 1968 at age 84.
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David White, Larry Tate, suffered a fatal heart attack in 1990 at age 74. His son died tragically years earlier in the 1988 Lockerbie plane bombing.
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Paul Lynde, fan-favorite Uncle Arthur, died unexpectedly of heart disease in 1982 at only 55.
By the early 1990s, as fans learned of former cast members‘ premature passings, a dark aura seemed to hang over the long-canceled show. The incidence of cancer and heart problems inspired speculation about an otherworldly ‘curse‘ or even smoking-related ‘Bewitched lung disease‘.
Tragically cancer also claimed Bewitched‘s star Elizabeth Montgomery in 1995 at only 62 years old. She had continued smoking as a lifelong activist until her shocking colon cancer diagnosis the year prior.
Between Montgomery passing at a relatively young age, recurring cast members rapidly leaving, and Dick York‘s awful luck, it was as if the magic of Bewitched‘s own mortality-defying, timeless tone turned against it.
With so much death shrouding show alumni, the creepy implications of Bewitched‘s last scene seemed newly cursed – Samantha uses dangerous grand magic with unknown consequences. Perhaps so many fans clutched at an occult ‘Bewitched curse‘ explanation simply to make sense of tragedy claiming cast members in their prime years after the show ended.
Escaping a Creative Straightjacket
But in the final analysis, the reasons for Bewitched‘s not-so-magical end remain more human than supernatural, if no less sad.
For Elizabeth Montgomery the show‘s conclusion came as a relief. It represented escaping a lucrative but creative straightjacket constraining her aspirations. Free from Samantha‘s wiggle, she began pursuing more varied acting gigs in TV movies, mini-series like The Legend of Lizzie Borden, films, and activist documentary work.
In the late 1980s Montgomery even directed several episodes of the Bewitched remake starring her real-life daughter Rebecca Asher. She welcomed the opportunity to reinvent and experiment with the iconic franchise she‘d stepped away from 15 years earlier.
The bittersweet Afterlife of Bewitched‘s Magic
Though gone before its time, Bewitched lives on through nearly constant syndication and retains devoted multigenerational fans.
Pop culture still emulates and references its magic, influencing shows like Sabrina and WandaVision. Practitioners cite it as an early paranormal-themed hit helping pave acceptance for real-life Wicca.
Bewitched also advanced social issues like racism, disability awareness, and women‘s equality early on through Samantha‘s metaphorical witch-next-door struggles.
Bittersweet real-world impacts also outlived Bewitched‘s fantasy world. Dick York raised awareness for chronic pain issues by openly discussing his injuries. Dick Sargent lent groundbreaking visibility to gay actors by bravely coming out.
Yet for all the progress it captured through supernatural metaphor, Bewitched stumbled when its actual diverse personalities collided. Behind the magic, a daughter sought freedom from an iconic role suffocating her growth. A passionate director felt constrained by the limits of formulaic TV. And an actor nearly undone by pain had to escape caretaker burdens for his own health.
Bewitched‘s potent escapist alchemy so resonated thanks to the cast‘s joyful chemistry, especially between Montgomery and beloved Darrin #1, Dick York. When that human emotional magic faded, the spell collapsed.
Ironically Bewitched‘s iconic last moment channels complex real emotions. Samantha smiles through sadness and exhaustion – much like Montgomery herself by the final season.
With a wistful, resonant wave of her arms, Bewitched‘s magical era ends on a human note. Elizabeth Montgomery‘s bittersweet farewell shines through Samantha‘s teary smile. An intimate story that defined 1960s sitcoms winks out to move in step with a changing world.
Bewitched’s Influence Lives On
Although Bewitched ended abruptly after eight years and 254 episodes, the show’s influence persisted long after its final encore faded. Despite personal clashes, production challenges, and the tragic loss of many talented cast members, Bewitched still made an indelible mark on both 1960s popular culture and future TV hits.
At the 1964 debut, Bewitched stood out as a novelty by depicting a mixed supernatural-human marriage in a standard sitcom structure. While I Dream of Jeannie featured a similar magical woman premise, Bewitched broke ground by using Samantha’s witchcraft as a metaphor to gently examine racial and gender inequality issues.
Audiences quickly connected with Samantha’s struggles juggling her duties as a housewife with retaining a sense of empowered self – dilemmas many women related to. By 1972, shifting cultural tides and second-wave feminism made this originally unique appeal more mainstream. But in the mid-1960s, seeing a subtly discontented housewife practice magic captured viewers’ imagination.
While not an overtly political show, Bewitched did reference current events more than its fantasy format would suggest. Scenes incorporated real-life events like the Vietnam War, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., and Nixon’s presidency. Racism and prejudice were explored through metaphors like a client rejecting mixed-species wood nymph models or all-warlock company resisting a witch secretary.
By skirting weightier drama with humor, Bewitched became known for a smart, whimsical charm balanced between escapism and social commentary. This brand of socially-conscious comedy later influenced shows like Benson, Who’s The Boss and even Modern Family.
Technically Bewitched also broke new ground in sitcom production. Clever practical effects turned memorable magical hijinks like disappearances and transformations. Directors relied on camera trickery, perspective manipulation, tight editing and actor coordination to create an illusion of witchcraft more than flashy special effects. This inventive simplicity helped the show’s production value resist aging.
Behind the scenes, Bewitched battled network interference and clashes over censorship throughout its run. Creator Sol Saks fought to maintain the show’s initial concept positioning witches as just another ordinary minority group facing prejudice. He also depicted natural witch behaviors like riding cleaning broomsticks to positively portray magic compared to stereotypical warted hags.
ABC objected to overt witchcraft through much of Season 1 and references to Tabitha’s baby magic. But as ratings outpaced competition, the showrunners negotiated more creative freedom driving scripts in unique directions. Plots soon incorporated more supernatural beings like apothecaries, warlocks, ghosts and mythic figures alongside realistic family stories.
By having Samantha juggle the magical with everyday domestic life, Bewitched forged a winning balance still inspiring fantasy hits today. It made the extraordinary into something familiar and fun generations continue enjoying through syndication and nostalgia.
That beloved alchemy turned Bewitched into the longest-fantasy themed sitcom until Bewitched descendant Sabrina’s 7 season run. Fantasy/family mashups like Once Upon A Time, Wizards of Waverly Place and WandaVision all echo Bewitched’s runaway success marrying the supernatural with light comedy.
Bewitched also normalized positive witchcraft themes on TV long before dark fare like American Horror Story and The VVitch. Series from Charmed to Hocus Pocus popularized good or glamorous witches which help counterbalance centuries of misogynistic persecution against spiritual women labeled ‘witches.’
By giving America its first glimpse at a relatable witch devoted wife and mother, Bewitched magic reached far beyond 1960s sitcom tropes. Samantha and Tabitha left behind a spellbinding legacy still netting new fans and influencing pop culture today. Their eight enchanting seasons forever opened doors for witches and magical misadventures on television.