: Elizabeth MontgomeryBirth nameElizabeth Victoria Montgomery Born April 15, 1933 Los Angeles, California, USA Died May 18, 1995Beverly Hills, California, USA Notable roles Samantha Stephens in BewitchedElizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 &nda
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995) was an American film and television actress best remembered for her leading role as the witch Samantha Stephens in the sitcom Bewitched.
Early Life and Early Career
Born in Los Angeles, California, she was the daughter of well-known actor Robert Montgomery and his wife, Broadway actress Elizabeth Bryan Allen. She had an older sister, Martha Bryan Montgomery, who died before Elizabeth was born, and a brother, Robert Montgomery Jr., who was born in 1936.
Montgomery made her television debut in her father's series Robert Montgomery Presents, and her film debut in 1955 in The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell. Her early career consisted of starring vehicles and appearances in live television dramas and series, such as Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, the Twilight Zone, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1954 she lost out on co-starring with Marlon Brando in the seminal film On The Waterfront directed by Elia Kazan . Kazan in his autobiography says that although Montgomery tested well in the role, she had an air of "finishing school" that troubled him. Montgomery never achieved the success on the big screen her talent, beauty, and style seemed to predict for it. She starred as a masochistic socialite with Henry Silva and Sammy Davis, Jr in the offbeat 1963 gangster film
Johnny Cool and, the same year, with Dean Martin and Carol Burnett in the motion picture comedy Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed?, directed by Daniel Mann. The latter film's poor reviews and scant box-office slowed down her film offers. Nevertheless, Alfred Hitchcock had her in mind to play the sister-in-law of Sean Connery who sees herself as a rival to the troubled heroine Marnie, but Montgomery was unavailable due to her commitment to a television show that would eclipse all her other work.
Becoming A Television Icon
She played Samantha Stephens, the witch who wasn't averse to using her magic to further her husband's career, in the ABC situation comedy Bewitched. This show, the highest rated series ever for the network, enjoyed an eight-year run from 1964 to 1972 and remains popular through syndication and DVD releases. Montgomery received five Emmy Award and four Golden Globe nominations for her role. The series was paid homage in the 2005 film that starred Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. At its creative peak, Bewitched was considered one of the most sophisticated sitcoms on the air and cleverly explored contemporary themes and social issues within a fantasy context. The classic show, however, was as much a curse as a blessing. It nearly type-cast her, and Montgomery refused to do Samantha's famous nose twitch for fans after Bewitched went off the air, and was reluctant to discuss this role. In the '60s, TV stars were rarely able to cross over to film stardom and, indeed, many critics believed the show's great success precluded the beautiful, versatile and highly intelligent Montgomery from getting the sorts of film opportunities she deserved.
Bothered and Bewildered by Bewitched
She spent the remainder of her career pursuing dramatic roles that took her as far away from the good-natured Samantha typecasting as possible. She received Emmy Award nominations for playing a rape victim in A Case of Rape (1974), for her portrayal of the notorious Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975), and for her role as a strong woman facing hardship in 1820s Ohio in the mini-series The Awakening Land (1978). In 1977 she turned heads when she played a police detective having a biracial affair with her partner in "A Killing Affair". She also made a chilling villain in the 1985 picture Amos, playing a nurse in a state home who terrorized residents Kirk Douglas and Dorothy McGuire. Her final acting role was in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series entitled "Showdown," in which she played a barmaid. She was the first series actress in television to broaden her career with television movies, and set the precedent for other TV series actresses, such as Farrah Fawcett, Jaclyn Smith, Melissa Gilbert, Carol Burnett, and Barbara Eden, to follow. She also had a long run as a guest performer on the game show Password, and host Allen Ludden referred to her as the best Password player ever on the show.
She had been discussed to star in the 1975 thriller based on the novel by Ira Levin, The Stepford Wives and, in 1994, Premiere magazine listed her as one of the stars considered to play glamorous, overbearing "Pearl Slaghoople" (Wilma's Mother) in the live-action film of The Flintstones.
Personal Life
Montgomery was first married to New York socialite Frederic Cammann in 1954; the marriage lasted barely a year. She was married to actor Gig Young from 1956 to 1963, and then to Bewitched producer William Asher from 1963 to 1973 with whom she had three children. She was married to actor Robert Foxworth (with whom she had been living for over 20 years) from 1993 until her death.
In the late 1980s, Montgomery gave the first interviews regarding her prior work on Bewitched to author Herbie J. Pilato for his book The Bewitched Book (1992) later revised as Bewitched Forever (1995).
In June 1992, Montgomery and her former Bewitched co-star Dick Sargent, who had remained a good friend, were Grand Marshals at the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade. Ms. Montgomery was an outspoken champion of women's rights and gay rights throughout her life. She narrated a series of political documentaries in the early 1990's, including
Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair (1988) [1] and the Academy Award winning The Panama Deception.
Her final television movies were the highly-rated Edna Buchanan detective series. Elizabeth Montgomery died of colorectal cancer on May 18, 1995, at age 62. She died just eight weeks after being diagnosed with the disease. Montgomery had ignored the symptoms of her illness until it was too late during the filming of "Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan."
Unwilling to die in a hospital, and with no hope of recovery, she elected to return to her Beverly Hills home that she shared with Foxworth; she died there with Foxworth and her children.
A memorial service was held on June 18 1995 at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills. Herbie Hancock provided the music, and Dominick Dunne spoke about their early days as friends in New York. Other speakers included Robert Foxworth, who read out sympathy cards from fans, her nurse, her brother, daughter and stepson.
On April 19 1998, an event auction/sale of her clothing was held by her family to benefit AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles.
In June 2005, a statue of Montgomery as Samantha Stephens was erected in Salem, Massachusetts.
[2]
Montgomery is expected to finally receive her star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame in a ceremony to be held before 2009.
Selected filmography
Narration
Two audio books in which Montgomery narrates the work of Anne Rice (writing as A.N. Roquelaure) are available as of 2005.
External links
es:Elizabeth Montgomery
fr:Elizabeth Montgomery
ja:エリザベス・モンゴメリー
pt:Elizabeth Montgomery
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