The classic TV show "Bewitched" originally aired on ABC
from 1964 to 1972. A hit in reruns and never off the air, the show featured
Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, the witch-with-a-twitch.
Author Herbie J Pilato interviewed
and befriended the multi-Emmy-nominated actress a few years before she
succumbed to colon cancer in 1995. Montgomery granted to him exclusive
interviews, and he went on to write twin biographies about the beloved actress:
TWITCH UPON A
STAR: THE BEWITCHED LIFE AND CAREER OF ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY, an
intimate chronicle [in hardcover and trade paperback]
and
THE ESSENTIAL
ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY: A GUIDE TO HER MAGICAL PERFORMANCES, an
encyclopedia of her personal and professional life [in trade paperback].
Published by Taylor
Trade Publishing/Rowman & Littlefield, and available on Amazon.com (which
see the two links below), and wherever quality books are sold, both books are
fully-illustrated with color and black-and-white photos, and compelling, straightforward,
magical and mesmerizing prose that addresses information such as:
Before, during and after
"Bewitched," Montgomery made over 500 appearances on the big and
small screens and the stage, including TV’s "The Twilight Zone" and
"The Untouchables" (the latter on which she played a prostitute — and
for which she earned her first of several Emmy nominations); and the
ground-breaking mid-1970's TV-movies, "A Case of Rape" and "The
Legend of Lizzie Borden" — both of which shocked her fans and infuriated
her movie-star father Robert Montgomery.
The first two of her
four marriages failed: New York high-roller Fred Cammann and troubled actor Gig
Young, due in part to the personal vendetta the liberal-minded Montgomery held
against her strict Republican father (who never wanted her to become an
actress).
Her second two
marriages, to "Bewitched" director William Asher and actor Robert
Foxworth, encompassed the two true romantic loves of her life.
Montgomery met Asher on
the set of "Johnny Cool," the 1963 feature film that he directed, and
in which she starred, and Foxworth on the set of the 1974 TV-movie "Mrs.
Sundance," in which they co-starred.
Montgomery rebelled
against her father’s conservative politics and demanding nature, and never
forgave him for divorcing her mother (Broadway actress Elizabeth Allen). It was
a daddy-daughter complex that went on to shape every personal and professional
relationship she had.
She shunned the advances
of Gary Cooper (her co-star in her first feature film "The Court-Martial
of Billy Mitchell," released in 1955), while her second husband Gig Young
was infuriated when she charmed Elvis Presley (on the set of "Kid
Galahad," the 1962 feature in which Young and Presley co-starred).
Montgomery relished the
regular life, such as sharing a pizza with the crew of "Bewitched" —
a mainstream delicacy she never experienced growing up in her prestigious
family household).
She loved her birth
mother, but not so much her step-mom, heiress Elizabeth “Buffy” Harkness (and
made sure to give the name “Buffy” to one of Samantha’s rivals on
"Bewitched").
In the final season of
"Bewitched," where she at times battled with co-star and her
on-screen feisty-witch-mother Agnes Moorehead (a.k.a. “Endora”), Montgomery
took off to Europe during a torrid affair with "Bewitched" director
Richard Michaels which infuriated Asher, the show’s main creative force and
Michaels’ mentor).
Montgomery enjoyed
playing a good-witch Samantha but later resented it when people asked her to
twitch her nose. She reveled more in portraying ax-murder Lizzie Borden and
spoke with authority but at times had a wicked wit and tongue.
She was a champion for
several charities, advocated for the disabled, and was one of the first
supporters of those suffering from AIDS.
She received death
threats for protesting the Vietnam War and was devastated, along with the rest
of the world, when John F. Kennedy was assassinated — on the day
"Bewitched" began rehearsals. JFK a friend to both she and William
Asher (who had produced the 1962 Democratic Rally at which Marilyn Monroe sang
a breathy Happy Birthday to Kennedy).
And that all fit as
Kennedy rallied for civil rights and against prejudice (the main theme of
"Bewitched").
Years after
"Bewitched" ended its initial iconic run, Montgomery became the first
“Queen of TV-Movies,” but turned down the role of American royalty when she
opted not to play Krystal Carrington on TV’s "Dynasty" nighttime
soap.
Herbie J Pilato explores
all of that and more, in both TWITCH UPON A STAR and THE ESSENTIAL ELIZABETH
MONTGOMERY, each featuring Montgomery's exclusive commentary, as well as rare
memories from friends and co-stars like actors Florence Henderson, Ronny Cox,
Cliff Robertson, and Sally Kemp (her best friend), and more.
Of TWITCH UPON A STAR,
She Knows Book Lounge says: “Pilato’s respectful, yet truthful portrait of the
woman who will forever be remembered as the beautiful witch Samantha Stephens.”
Entertainment journalist
Matthew Worley calls THE ESSENTIAL MONTGOMERY, “the ultimate resource for
Montgomery fans.”
And those are just two
of the countless words of praise both TWITCH UPON A STAR and THE ESSENTIAL
ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY have received from critics and readers alike.
To order TWITCH UPON A
STAR: THE BEWITCHED LIFE AND CAREER OF ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY, click on the
following link:
https://www.amazon.com/Twitch-Upon-Star-Bewitched-Montgomery/dp/1589797493/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
To order THE ESSENTIAL
ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY: A GUIDE TO HER MAGICAL PERFORMANCES, click on the
following link:
https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Elizabeth-Montgomery-Magical-Performances/dp/1589798244/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
To contact or schedule
an interview with Herbie J Pilato, visit www.HerbieJPilato.com or
email HJPilato@yahoo.com.
