[TVparty] Why Were There 2 Darrins on Bewitched?
Ubiquitous
sitcom Bewitched - and then seemingly drop off of the face of the Earth?
The Dick York Darrin was the best as far as I was concerned, I liked his
skittish, perpetually-frightened reactions over the cocky, incredulous Dick
Sargent Darrin that followed. For my money, Dick York played panic better than
any other actor on television.
But Dick York had a secret that the producers didn't know when they hired him
- he was chronically ill and addicted to painkillers.
A severe back injury on the set of the film 'They Came to Cordura' in 1959
left the actor with a habit for pills to relieve the constant pain he would
have to endure for the rest of his life.
In 1962, Dick York was cast as a regular in the TV series 'Going My Way'. The
show starred Gene Kelly as Father O'Malley and Leo G. Carroll as Father
Fitzgibbon. The experience was a good one for York, but his back flared up
often during the series run.
During the production special ramps were built to make maneuvering the set
easier for the actor. Despite high critical acclaim for the show, 'Going My
Way' was cancelled in the fall of 1963.
In September, 1964 'Bewitched' debuted on ABC, with Elizabeth Montgomery as
housewitch Samantha Stephens and Dick York cast as her hapless husband Darrin.
The series shot to the number-two position in the Neilsen ratings by season's
end. 'Bewitched was so popular that ABC began re-running it during weekday
mornings for two years starting in 1968.
Dick York played the role of Darrin for five years, through black and white
and color, through the honeymoon, intense in-law meddling and on into
fatherhood.
For all of those years the show stayed in (or hovered around) the top ten and
through all of that time York suffered from a rollercoaster of pain and
painkillers.
Then the "attack" came.
With Dick York in so much pain, situations were contrived to allow him to be
lying down or reclining as much as possible. Because of the nature of the
program 'Bewitched', occasionally scenes arose that put a strain on York.
One day, the crew was setting up for a special effects shot with Maurice Evans
(playing Darrin's warlock Father-in-Law) and Dick York. York needed to be
suspended fifteen feet in the air for the scene.
It had been a bad day for the show's co-star, he went to the doctor earlier in
the day for the pain. He was on a cycle of taking pain pills at night to sleep
and shots of novocaine and cortisone in the back during the bad days. York
tells the story in his autobiography Seesaw Girl:
"They were setting an inky - that's a little tiny spot that's supposed to be
filling in my eyes. Someone kept passing his hand back and forth in front of
the light to see where the light was falling, all very difficult, but somehow
all that flickering made me feel weird and I'm sitting on this platform up in
the air and Maurice is sitting there too and I'm trying to go over my lines;
they don't mean a damn thing. But I know that they're a stickler for these
lines being exactly the way they're supposed to be. If this line is bibbetty
wham bang whoppo, that's what you better say. Anyway I'm running these lines
back and forth and they're making less sense to me and this light is
flickering off and on and I turned to Gibby, a friend of mine on the set, and
I say 'I have to get down', and I put my hand on his shoulder and he said,
'Sure, Dick'."
At that point the poor guy passed out and was rushed to the hospital. Let's
see - painkillers and witchcraft incantations - sounds like a lethal
combination to me! While recuperating in the hospital, Bill Asher ('Bewitched'
producer/director and Elizabeth Montgomery's husband) paid the stricken star a
visit. He asked York if he wanted to quit the show, and York said yes.
The actor remained on his back for the next year and fell on hard times soon
after. Bad investments left Dick York broke, his teeth rotted out (a common
problem for drug abusers), so he and his wife were reduced to cleaning houses
for a living.
Meanwhile on 'Bewitched', Dick Sargent took over the role of Darrin Stephens.
While he looked a lot like Dick York, Sargent played the part with a more
defiant stance against his witchy in-laws.
The first episode that Sargent filmed was called "Samantha's Better Halves" -
a remake of a Dick York episode. In the episode, Endora splits Darrin into 2
personalities - one gregarious, the other all business. It was decided against
using this as the first 'new Darrin' show broadcast because Sargent was so
nervous during the filming.
Another reason to delay the episode - Samantha utters the phrase, "But I only
want one Darrin" and other comments along those lines all throughout. There
are those who believe this script was a jab from the writers directed towards
the producers for not standing by Dick York.
In an effort to distract viewers from the switch in husbands, another baby was
added to the Stephens' household, Tabitha's little brother Adam.
Thereafter, character of Darrin Stephens became more of a puppet for Endora
(Agnes Morehead) as she (or the kids) cast the spell of the week on him or
conjured up some famous person from a book.
'Bewitched' dropped in the ratings from number 11 in 1969 (the last Dick York
Darrin year) to number 24 in 1970 (the first Dick Sargent Darrin year). The
next year, the show dropped out of the top thirty, and the next year
'Bewitched' ended an eight-season run.
In 1980, Dick York got his life together, got his teeth fixed and went back to
work, guest-starring on shows like 'Fantasy Island' and 'Simon and Simon'.
His comeback was short-lived and he devoted most of the rest of his life to
helping the homeless. Dick York died in 1992.
======================================================================
ISLAM: Winning the hearts and minds of the world, one bomb at a time.
Charlie
One represented heterosexuality and the other homosexuality. That's
why nearly everyone preferred the first Darrin. I think 2% preferred
the second one because in our society homo's make up for only 2% of
the total population. Of course with all the illegal immigrants coming
in it might get backed down to 1% eventually.
tonysin
Interesting analysis. What planet is it from?
tonysin
Wait, I know --- Uranus.
Ubiquitous
>One represented heterosexuality and the other homosexuality. That's
>why nearly everyone preferred the first Darrin. I think 2% preferred
>the second one because in our society homo's make up for only 2% of
>the total population. Of course with all the illegal immigrants coming
>in it might get backed down to 1% eventually.
Umm, yeah.
Obveeus
"Ubiquitous" <web...@polaris.net> wrote in message
news:acKdnYSc3_yUYULW...@giganews.com...
> redred...@aol.com wrote:
>
>>One represented heterosexuality and the other homosexuality. That's
>>why nearly everyone preferred the first Darrin. I think 2% preferred
>>the second one because in our society homo's make up for only 2% of
>>the total population. Of course with all the illegal immigrants coming
>>in it might get backed down to 1% eventually.
>
> Umm, yeah.
On the flip side, apparently all the illegal immigrants streaming into the
country are heterosexual. Who knew? Certainly not the right wing or they
would be supporting the influx of illegal aliens as something other than a
cheap labor source.
Charlie
Ding ding ding ding
Anim8rFSK
<6850bf4e-b350-4b59...@u21g2000vbr.googlegroups.com>,
Charlie <redred...@aol.com> wrote:
> On May 3, 5:55�am, Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
Thanks for posting.
> >
> > Meanwhile on 'Bewitched', Dick Sargent took over the role of Darrin
> > Stephens.
> > While he looked a lot like Dick York, Sargent played the part with a more
> > defiant stance against his witchy in-laws.
I'd call it 'strident' and 'bitchy'
> >
> > The first episode that Sargent filmed was called "Samantha's Better Halves"
> > -
> > a remake of a Dick York episode. In the episode, Endora splits Darrin into
> > 2
> > personalities - one gregarious, the other all business. It was decided
> > against
> > using this as the first 'new Darrin' show broadcast because Sargent was so
> > nervous during the filming.
Now, see, they should have done this ep with both actors, each playing a
different half, and ended up keeping his feminine side. That would have
been a classic TV ep!
> >
> > 'Bewitched' dropped in the ratings
Hardly a surprise, but it's nice to see the actual numbers.
--
As Adam West as Bruce Wayne as Batman said in "Smack in the Middle"
the second half of the 1966 BATMAN series pilot when Jill St. John
as Molly as Robin as Molly fell into the Batmobile's atomic pile:
"What a terrible way to go-go"
Ubiquitous
So to recap:
Iraq is imploding
Russia is expanding
The US is being invaded
Vets are dying
IRS is lying
And Obama is fundraising & golfing
anim8rFSK
Seems triply stupid for the first episode to be a remake!
Think how interesting it would have been to have had both Dicks play the
split Darrens, starting with York, and ending with Sargent.
--
Wait - are you saying that ClodReamer was wrong, or lying?
Ubiquitous
>Good article, thanks.
You're welcome, but I was looking for something else I read but
couldn't find.
>Seems triply stupid for the first episode to be a remake!
>
>Think how interesting it would have been to have had both Dicks
>play the split Darrens, starting with York, and ending with Sargent.
Obviously, we would end up with the fun-less Darin.
Bubba
was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
people not to smoke cigarettes, and Dick Sargent didn't have the
on-screen chemistry with Liz because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
--
Bub
Stan Brown
> I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
> was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
> people not to smoke cigarettes, and Dick Sargent didn't have the
> on-screen chemistry with Liz because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
>
I recall the transition (they, I'm old), and though it was a jolt it
didn't really make any difference to the show.
Danny Arnold, who a few years later would be creator and showrunner
of the excellent /Barney Miller/, was showrunner of /Bewitched/ for
the first one or two seasons. When I found that out recently, I
thought /Bewitched/ might be worth a re-watch after all these years.
I was wrong. :-) That show was LAME -- I don't think I laughed once
in the first episode.
--
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Tompkins County, New York, USA
http://OakRoadSystems.com
Shikata ga nai...
Ubiquitous
Ubiquitous
>I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
>was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
>people not to smoke cigarettes,
>and Dick Sargent didn't have the on-screen chemistry with Liz because he,
>no fault of his own, was gay.
version of Darrin so gruff and cranky.
anim8rFSK
> anim...@cox.net wrote:
>
> >Good article, thanks.
>
> I found the one I was looking for and posted it seperately.
anim8rFSK
> In article <eaf8e2a9b8f445c6...@dizum.com>, Bub@ba wrote:
>
> >I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
> >was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
> >people not to smoke cigarettes,
>
> That does sound familiar...
>
> >and Dick Sargent didn't have the on-screen chemistry with Liz because he,
> >no fault of his own, was gay.
>
> I think he wasn't a very good actor, or he made a poor choice in making his
> version of Darrin so gruff and cranky.
Ubiquitous
> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>> In article <eaf8e2a9b8f445c6...@dizum.com>, Bub@ba
wrote:
>>> because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
>>
>> I think he wasn't a very good actor, or he made a poor choice in
>> making his version of Darrin so gruff and cranky.
>
>Yeah, you can't play the gay card on this. Look at Rock Hudson!
A Friend
> Think how interesting it would have been to have had both Dicks play the
> split Darrens, starting with York, and ending with Sargent.
two Lois Lanes, and it never confused me. I don't think it confused
anybody. Are adults really that much stupider than kids?
Bubba
>On Wed, 24 Sep 2014 02:29:15 +0200 (CEST), Bubba wrote:
>> I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
>> was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
>> people not to smoke cigarettes, and Dick Sargent didn't have the
>> on-screen chemistry with Liz because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
>>
>
>Dick York didn't have any on-screen chemistry with "Samantha" either.
>I recall the transition (they, I'm old), and though it was a jolt it
>didn't really make any difference to the show.
>
>Danny Arnold, who a few years later would be creator and showrunner
>of the excellent /Barney Miller/, was showrunner of /Bewitched/ for
>the first one or two seasons. When I found that out recently, I
>thought /Bewitched/ might be worth a re-watch after all these years.
>I was wrong. :-) That show was LAME -- I don't think I laughed once
>in the first episode.
makes some old sitcoms, even the ones that were popular back in the day,
less appealing or easy to relate to. It's rather amazing to me that
certain old and popular series became much more popular long after they
were cancelled, I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, Star Trek, and so forth.
I remember watching the episode of Bewitched where Dick Sargent first
appeared. He was shown putting golf balls in their back yard and
Samantha calls to him "Darren..." I'll bet everyone watching had the
same dumbfounded look on their faces, asking "who in the hell is that?"
--
Bub
Michael Black
don't look that different, and they even had the same first names. I have
to think in order to get the right name with the right face.
Michael
Michael Black
> anim...@cox.net wrote:
>> Ubiquitous <web...@polaris.net> wrote:
>>> In article <eaf8e2a9b8f445c6...@dizum.com>, Bub@ba
> wrote:
>
>>>> and Dick Sargent didn't have the on-screen chemistry with Liz
>>>> because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
>>>
>>> I think he wasn't a very good actor, or he made a poor choice in
>>> making his version of Darrin so gruff and cranky.
>>
>> Yeah, you can't play the gay card on this. Look at Rock Hudson!
>
> And Liberace on Batman!
>
brother too, and that has none of Liberace's "flamboyance".
Michael
Adam H. Kerman
http://tvparty.com/mysdarren.html
>Why did Dick York quit one of the best jobs in television - co-star of
>the hit sitcom Bewitched - and then seemingly drop off of the face of
>the Earth?
York's interview from late in life. The stuff quoted below contradicts that.
>The Dick York Darrin was the best as far as I was concerned, I liked his
>skittish, perpetually-frightened reactions over the cocky, incredulous
>Dick Sargent Darrin that followed. For my money, Dick York played panic
>better than any other actor on television.
>Then the "attack" came.
>With Dick York in so much pain, situations were contrived to allow him
>to be lying down or reclining as much as possible. Because of the nature
>of the program 'Bewitched', occasionally scenes arose that put a strain
>on York.
you want to quit the show? That's getting fired.
As the old cliche says, The Show Must Go On. I'm not unsympathetic to
the producers, but let's not mince words: York was fired.
>The first episode that Sargent filmed was called "Samantha's Better
>Halves" - a remake of a Dick York episode.
>In the episode, Endora splits Darrin into 2 personalities - one gregarious,
>the other all business. It was decided against using this as the first 'new
>Darrin' show broadcast because Sargent was so nervous during the filming.
brains not to let Mr. Sulu freeze to death?
>Another reason to delay the episode - Samantha utters the phrase, "But I
>only want one Darrin" and other comments along those lines all
>throughout. There are those who believe this script was a jab from the
>writers directed towards the producers for not standing by Dick York.
>In an effort to distract viewers from the switch in husbands, another
>baby was added to the Stephens' household, Tabitha's little brother
>Adam.
with her third child, so Samantha had a second child.
Adam H. Kerman
>I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
>was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
>people not to smoke cigarettes, and Dick Sargent didn't have the
>on-screen chemistry with Liz because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
fault, together with Asher who insisted on hiring him. He gets paid to act.
Adam H. Kerman
>On Wed, 24 Sep 2014 02:29:15 +0200 (CEST), Bubba wrote:
>>I suppose my memory might not be so good, but as I recall Dick York
>>was shown on a TV commercial on his hospital death-bed warning other
>>people not to smoke cigarettes, and Dick Sargent didn't have the
>>on-screen chemistry with Liz because he, no fault of his own, was gay.
>Dick York didn't have any on-screen chemistry with "Samantha" either.
>I recall the transition (they, I'm old), and though it was a jolt it
>didn't really make any difference to the show.
season 5, his final season, he was lousy and the season was weak. In the
first two seasons, York was very believably playing Darren bewitched and
very much in love with Samantha.
Transition? Well, not really. York was absent at the very end of
Season 5, then Sargent's simply there in Season 6, and as Ubi reminds us,
redoing an earlier episode.
>Danny Arnold, who a few years later would be creator and showrunner
>of the excellent /Barney Miller/, was showrunner of /Bewitched/ for
>the first one or two seasons. When I found that out recently, I
>thought /Bewitched/ might be worth a re-watch after all these years.
>I was wrong. :-) That show was LAME -- I don't think I laughed once
>in the first episode.
RichA
Ubiquitous
Stan Brown
sitcom and get more of what they're used to. What would happen if
they replaced Penny or Leonard on /The Big Bang Theory/? It wouldn't
be the same show.
Remember the two Beckys on /Roseanne/?