Opening Sequence from 'Bewitched Series 1' HD
Seasons 1 and 2 were in Black and White
Having a problem with the HD Version? See it on:
YouTube in Normal Mode:
'Bewitched Series' Opening in Colour HD
From 1966 the series was in colour - Until 1969 Darrin was played by Dick York
Having a problem with the HD Version? See it on:
YouTube in Normal Mode:
'Bewitched Theme Song' & Elizabeth Montgomery Tribute HQ
The Pilot Episode Theme song was written by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller with Vocals by
Steve Lawrence.
See:
Witchcraft sung by Frank Sinatra
and the
Themes Section of the Notes
Having a problem with the HQ Version? See it on:
YouTube in Normal Mode:
Bewitched Pilot Original Theme - Witchcraft - Frank Sinatra HD
For the Pilot Episode it was originally planned to use Witchcraft sung by Frank Sinatra
but a new theme was rapidly commissioned as the Sinatra Royalties were considered too high.
See:
Pilot Episode Theme Song
and the
Themes Section of the Notes
Having a problem with the HQ Version? See it on:
YouTube in Normal Mode:
Bewitched Notes &Links:
Themes and Songs
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery Website Links
The two Darrins in Brief
The Series and Cast Links
Themes and Songs
The Pilot Episode Theme Song
For the Pilot Episode the producers originally planned to use Witchcraft sung by Frank Sinatra
but a new theme was rapidly commissioned as the Sinatra Royalties were considered too high.
Howard Greenfield
and
Jack Keller
,
were therefore assigned to view the pilot for "Bewitched" and within a week write a Theme Song, do
the demo, and get it out to California.
The Producers accepted the new theme, had it recorded with vocals by
Steve Lawrence
.
Who later released it as a 'B Side' on his 1964 Single "I Will Wait For You". But far as is known,
it was never released on any album.
Whilst it was used for the Pilot Episode, the Producers decided to go with an instrumental version
(see below) and this song was consigned to the 'dustbin of TV Themes', but 41 Years later was used
in the sound track of the Movie Version of Bewitched.
The Series Theme Tune
For the series, the Producers decided to use a purely instrumental version to fit in with the
Animated Title Sequence, so composer
Warren Barker
,
who was under contract to provide incidental
music for the series, produced a light orchestral arrangement of Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller's
music.
However due to Baker's clever use of 'exotic' instruments and pacing the music to fit the Animated
Sequence, it is difficult to see the link with the Greenfield and Keller original score!
Variations on a Theme Tune
Over the 8 Year run there were variations on the 'generic' theme. The original was used for the two
Black and White Seasons, then slightly changed for the transition to Colour and was the basic theme
until 1969, for the remaining seasons another variation was used. For English Speaking countries outside
the USA these were the only series themes used.
Within the USA the theme variations changed with the programme sponsors for the initial Broadcast
of Episodes. So there were various Quaker Oats and Pancake Variations, Chevrolet and others.
For syndication and repeats with the the USA, these Sponsor Variations are no longer used and are
replaced with the generic theme for the season!
For even more see:
About Bewitched Theme Music
International Variations
For Broadcasts in France, Germany,Israel and Japan, the basic themes were used, but often with voice
narration over the the tune and local titling on the Animation
See:
Bewitched Around The World
Elizabeth Montgomery
When
Bewitched first aired in Britain, my Mother and Father enjoyed it for what is was
a light romantic comedy sitcom, I enjoyed it for one reason only:
Elizabeth Montgomery!
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery
, was born on the 15th April 1933, the daughter of actor and later
producer, director and Television Host.
Robert Montgomery
and his wife
Elizabeth Allen.
With her younger brother Robert Jr, (Skip to the family), Elizabeth enjoyed a privileged childhood, but this was disrupted
when the family moved to New York in 1950 where her father was just beginning his television series
Robert Montgomery Presents
,
but this was not the most major upset in the Families Life as in December of 1950, Robert Montgomery divorced his wife and immediately married
Elizabeth "Buffy" Grant Harkness.
In 1951 young Elizabeth completed High School and to the concern of both her Parents, immediately
enrolled into the
American Academy of Dramatic Art
,
and in the same year made her first TV appearance on her Father's show. She became part of the show's 'stock company' in 1952.
From that time on Elizabeth was eminently employable actress with parts on both stage and TV.
In 1954 she Married Frederic Gallatin Cammann from a New York
'blue blood' family, who was expelled from the 'Social Register' for marrying her
(No Class System in America?). Today this would be considered a 'starter Marriage' for both parties
and it lasted less than a year.
Whilst continuing to be a fully employed actress, in 1956 she wed actor
Gig Young
.
This marriage was a turbulent one as Young was a chronic alcoholic and 23-year-old Elizabeth was unable to cope.
The situation was exacerbated in 1963 by meeting and starting a relationship with
William Asher
, sometimes called the 'Father of the Sitcom'.
This led to quickie divorce from Young and on the same day marriage to William. By this time Elizabeth
wanted to start a family and William wanted them to work together on a project called Bewitched
amazingly they were able to accommodate both seemingly incompatible wishes, as during the Filming of the
Bewitched Pilot Elizabeth was pregnant with their first Child
(William Allen Asher born 24 July 1964).
Elizabeth's other two pregnancies also occurred during the Bewitched run and were incorporated into the
scripts (Robert Deverell Asher born 5th October 1965 and Rebecca Elizabeth Asher born on 17th June 1969).
The ending of Bewitched, also signalled beginning of the end for the
Marriage, culminating in a divorce 1973.
Following Bewitched, Elizabeth made one TV Movie in 1972 and then did some TV
commercials in Japan, but effectively remained off US Screens until 1974, when during the filming
of the TV Movie Mrs Sundance, she met met actor
Robert Foxworth
and the two soon became a couple. They lived together for the rest of her life, but only married
in 1993.
For the rest of her acting career, Elizabeth tended only to take serious dramatic roles distancing
herself from the series for which she is most remembered. After her twenty second TV Movie in 1996,
Elizabeth was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer; exploratory surgery proved it had spread too
far and was beyond help. Just a few weeks later, on 18 th May 1995, Elizabeth passed away with
Foxworth and her children waiting in the next room at her request. She was 62 years old.
Elizabeth Montgomery Website Links
In my view the best of the Elizabeth Montgomery Tribute Sites is:
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery
But also see:
The Bewitched & Elizabeth Montgomery Web Site
If it didn't have an irritating Audio Intro every time you revert to the Home Page and better
Site Navigation, would be an excellent site.
Vics Bewitched Page
Again poor Navigation, interesting information and clips
Elizabeth Montgomery - Wikipedia Entry
The two Darrins in Brief
Dick York
,
the first and best Darrin, who played the part of Darrin Stephens, from 1964 until 1969, when he resigned from the series
whilst in Hospital. Both William Asher and Elizabeth Montgomery wanted to end the Series as they considered
Dick York irreplaceable, However the NBC Network did not want to lose the show, so they made them an offer they couldn't
refuse and
Dick Sargent
,
was drafted to take over. By the time of Dick Sargent's first appearance on British TV as Darrin, I
was no longer a regular viewer, but when occasionally I saw and episode I never got used to him
playing the part.
Although Dick York did make a partial recovery, but in the process became addicted to prescription painkiller pills.
However he did manage to make guest appearance on several US Prime Time shows.
Eventually became Bedridden and spent much of this time running his Charity: Acting for Life
and writing his Biography: 'The Seesaw Girl and Me' which whilst describing his life, battle with
his smoking habit and pill addiction, is in a large part an extended Love Letter to his
Wife Joan, the Seesaw Girl of the Title.
Dick Sargent was actually the orignal choice to play Darrin, back in 1964, but as he was under
contract to Universal, and had to decline. But five years later he did get to play Darrin and with
a contract running until 1974. However at the end of the 1972 Season, everyone involved realised
the show had run its course and the further Production was cancelled.
Dick Sargent was openly Gay and heavily involved in Gay Rights issues. He died in 1994 of prostate
cancer.
The Series and Cast Links
The best place to start for Information on Bewitched
is actually Wikipedia:
Bewitched
,
as this leads on to more detailed information on key characters such as :
Endora played by:
Agnes Robertson Moorehead
,
Aunt Clara played by:
Marion Lorne
,
Larry Tate played by:
David White
The complete Cast and Crew Listing can be found at
Full cast and crew for "Bewitched" on the IMDb
As for Bewitched the Movie made in 2005 which has been described as a re-imagining of the television series,
well if you are still interested see:
Bewitched 2005
