Once upon an enchanted spell, there was a winsome witch with a necromantic nose and a flare for mischief, who married a mere mortal named Darrin. They lived in the heart of suburbia at 1164 Morning Glory Circle in Westport, Connecticut. He was an advertising man, she a sexy floor scrubbing, laundry toting, child rearing, house witch. Or as Look Magazine put it, "Samantha is a clean-scrubbed, suburban Everywoman, with her caldron hooked to the rotisserie." (Look, 1965) Samantha Stephens had the ability to pop up anything she desired, but what she desired most was a quirky young man by the name of Darrin Stephens. This love story, which lasted for eight seasons, was originally aired from September 17, 1964 to July 1, 1972 on ABC networks as a Screen Gems Production. After each episode, the Bewitched audience anticipated what benign witchcraft antics Samantha (and/or relatives) would stir up next.
In the first pilot, "I Darrin, Take This Witch, Samantha," it is revealed that Samantha is a witch. Samantha's mother, Endora, visits her daughter on her wedding night. Regretting that her daughter has married a mortal, Endora becomes determined to break up the marriage. Samantha decides to tell Darrin that he has unknowingly married a witch. To convince him of her powers, Samantha performs a series of tricks. After she has shown him of her extraordinary powers, Darrin makes her promise never to use her witchcraft again. Later in the episode, a former girlfriend of Darrin's, named Sheila, invites the newlyweds over for a dinner party. This is done under the guise that Sheila wants to congratulate the happy newlyweds. Instead, Sheila makes every effort to humiliate Samantha. After enduring Darrin's ex-girlfriend's insults a number of times, Sam (nickname for Samantha) cannot resist the temptation to embarrass the host by employing the use of witchcraft.
The episodes that follow are a variation of the same theme. Darrin wants Samantha to stop practicing witchcraft and to settle into being a nice suburban homemaker. Samantha, on the other hand, is continually tempted to twitch her nose to clean up the kitchen when unexpected company arrives, to settle a score when she or Darrin is being insulted or embarrassed, or to save an advertising account for Darrin when a client is disgruntled.
The performers on Bewitched were impeccably cast in their respective roles. Their characters were flavorful and refreshing. Elizabeth Montgomery portrayed Samantha Stephens, the intelligent and beautiful housewife with a twitch; Dick York (1964-1969) and Dick Sargent (1969-1972) played the role of Darrin Stephens, the Madison Avenue ad man married to a witch. Agnes Moorehead played the egocentric, meddling mother-in-law named Endora; and David White played Darrin's greedy, hypocritical boss named Larry Tate.
Other brilliant performers included Marion Lorne as Aunt Clara, an aging, bumbling witch; Alice Ghostley (played a similar role to that of Marion Lorne's Aunt Clara after Lorne passed away), as Esmeralda, a shy witch maid; Alice Pearce (1964-1966) and Sandra Gould (1966-1972) as the Stephens' infamous nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz; George Tobias as the passive Abner Kravitz; Irene Vernon (1964-1966) and Kasey Rogers (1966-1972) as Larry Tate's worrisome and sensitive wife, Louise; Paul Lynde (1965-1972) as Uncle Arthur, Samantha's practical joking uncle who was a warlock; Bernard Fox as Samantha's family physician, “the witch doctor”; Maurice Evans played Maurice, Samantha's distinguished and proper father; Robert F. Simon and Roy Roberts sharing the role of Frank Stephens, Darrin's father; and Mabel Albertson as Phyllis Stephens, the easily upset and nerve wracked mother of Darrin.
Twins portrayed both of the Stephen’s children. Erin and Diane Murphy (1966-1972) played the role of Tabitha, the little witch daughter of Samantha and Darrin (Erin later resumed the role of Tabitha); and David and Greg Lawrence (1971-1972) portrayed Adam, the Stephen's warlock son.
There were also memorable characters who made recurring guest appearances on the show and they were: Aunt Hagatha, Samantha's aunt, played by Ysabel MacClosky and Reta Shaw (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ); Howard McMann, (Larry Tate's partner in the advertising firm, McMann & Tate) portrayed by Leon Ames and Gilbert Roland; Margaret McMann, Howard's wife, played by Louise Sorel; Betty, (Darrin's secretary) played by Marcia Wallace, Samantha Scott, and Jean Blake; the drunk Darrin meets at the bar, played by Dick Wilson; and the Apothecary, (the old warlock flirt) played by Bernie Kopell (Love Boat ).
