Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery | |
---|---|
Samantha Stephens on Bewitched | |
Spouses | Frederick Gallatin Cammann
(m. 1954; div. 1955) |
Children | 3 |
Parents |
|
Relatives | Martha-Bryan Allen (aunt) |
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 – May 18, 1995)
The daughter of actor, director and producer
Throughout her career, Montgomery was involved in various forms of political activism and charitable work.
Early life
Montgomery was born on April 15, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, to Broadway actress Elizabeth Daniel Bryan Allen and film star Robert Montgomery. Montgomery's mother was a native of Kentucky and her father was a native of New York. She had an elder sister who was born in 1931 and died in infancy, Martha Bryan Montgomery (named after her aunt Martha-Bryan Allen) and a younger brother, Robert B. Montgomery Jr.[3] Montgomery was of Irish and Scottish descent. Her great-grandfather, Archibald Montgomery, was born in Belfast and he immigrated to the United States in 1849. Genealogical research which was conducted after her death revealed that she and Lizzie Borden, acquitted of the murder of her father and stepmother in 1893, were sixth cousins once removed; both of them were descended from 17th-century Massachusetts resident John Luther. Montgomery portrayed Borden in the television film The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975), unaware that Borden was her distant cousin.[3]
After attending the Westlake School for Girls in Holmby Hills, California,[4] Montgomery graduated from the Spence School in New York City. She studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan for three years.[5]
Career
1951–1963: Early work
Montgomery made her television debut in her father's series Robert Montgomery Presents and on later occasions, she appeared as a member of his "
Montgomery's early career consisted of starring roles and appearances in live television dramas and series, such as
Montgomery was featured in a role as a socialite who falls for a gangster (Henry Silva) in Johnny Cool (1963), directed by William Asher, and the film comedy Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (also 1963), with Dean Martin and Carol Burnett, this time directed by Daniel Mann. After her appearance on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 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 in the film Marnie (1964), but Montgomery was unavailable.[9]
1964–1972: Bewitched
In the ABC
Bewitched became a ratings success (it was, at the time, the highest-rated series ever for the network).
This situation caused severe friction in their professional relationship and it also ended any possibility of another season.[citation needed] As a consolation to ABC, Montgomery and Asher (under their company name Ashmont, which produced Bewitched) offered a half-hour sitcom, The Paul Lynde Show, to the network for the 1972–1973 season. Lynde's series only lasted one year.
In a parody of her Samantha Stephens role, she made a cameo appearance as a witch at the end of the beach party film How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965). The film was directed by Asher, her husband at the time. That same year she also provided the voice of Samantha for an episode of the animated series The Flintstones.
1973–1995: Later career
Montgomery returned to Samantha-like twitching of her nose and on-screen magic in a series of Japanese television commercials (1980–1983) for "Mother" chocolate biscuits and cookies which were produced by the confectionery conglomerate
In the United States, Montgomery spent much of her later career pursuing dramatic roles that took her as far away from the good-natured Samantha as possible. Among her later roles were performances that brought her Emmy Award nominations: a rape victim in A Case of Rape (1974), and the accused (but acquitted) murderer Lizzie Borden in William Bast's The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975). After the actress died, Rhonda McClure, a genealogist, discovered that Montgomery and Borden were distant cousins.[3]
Montgomery made many appearances on the game show Password. Allen Ludden, the show's longtime host, called her the "Queen of Password".[12] Montgomery later played a pioneer woman facing hardship in 1820s Ohio in the miniseries The Awakening Land (1978), for which she earned her ninth Emmy nomination.
In A Killing Affair (1977), Montgomery played the role of a police detective who has an affair with her married partner, played by
Personal life
In 1954, Montgomery married New York City socialite Frederick Gallatin Cammann;
According to author Herbie J Pilato, Montgomery had an affair with Alexander Godunov while she was living with Foxworth but was not yet married to him.[15][16] Godunov was found dead on May 18, 1995, the day Montgomery died,[17] but it is believed that he died several days before Montgomery.[18]
Throughout the run of Bewitched, many references to Patterson, New York, were made on the series. The Putnam County town was the site of the Montgomery homestead,[19] and it was also the place where she spent her childhood summers. In later years, her mother lived in the family farmhouse on Cushman Road.[20]
Political activism
Montgomery was personally devoted to
Charitable work
During the last year of her life, Montgomery volunteered at the Los Angeles Unit of Learning Ally, a nonprofit organization which records educational audio books for disabled people.[25] In 1994, Montgomery produced radio and television public-service announcements for Learning Ally's Los Angeles unit. The following January, Montgomery recorded the 1952 edition of When We Were Very Young by A. A. Milne.
On June 3, 1995, sixteen days after her death, Learning Ally's Los Angeles unit dedicated its 1995 Record-A-Thon to Montgomery. Twenty-one other celebrities lent their talents to a recorded version of Chicken Soup for the Soul, which was dedicated to her memory.[26]
Illness and death
Montgomery suffered from
With no hope of recovery and unwilling to die in a hospital, Montgomery chose to return to her
On June 18, 1995, one month after her death, a memorial service was held at the Canon Theatre in Beverly Hills. Herbie Hancock played music, Amanda McBroom sang, and Dominick Dunne spoke about the early years of their friendship when both of them lived in New York City, while Foxworth read many of the sympathy cards sent by fans. Other speakers included her nurse, her brother, her daughter, and her stepson.[31]
Montgomery had kept her parents' home in Patterson, Putnam County, New York. Roughly three years after her death, the estate was sold and became a part of Wonder Lake State Park.[32]
Legacy
- On April 19, 1998, Montgomery's family held an auction and a sale of her clothing in order to benefit the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles. Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha on the Bewitched television series, modeled the clothing that was auctioned.[33]
- In June 2005, a bronze statue of Montgomery as Samantha Stephens was erected in Salem, Massachusetts.[34]
- A star on the Hollywood Blvd.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1955 | The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell | ||
1958 | Bitter Heritage | Mary Brecker | Television film |
1960 | Bells Are Ringing | Girl reading book | Uncredited |
1960 | The Untouchables "The Rusty Heller Story" | Rusty Heller | Television film - Season 2 Episode 1 |
1961 | The Spiral Staircase | Helen Warren | Television film |
1963 | Boston Terrier | Millie Curtain | |
Johnny Cool | Darien "Dare" Guinness | ||
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? | Melissa Morris | ||
1964 | Bikini Beach | Lady Bug | Voice, uncredited |
1965 | How to Stuff a Wild Bikini | Bwana's Daughter, The Witches Witch | Uncredited |
1972 | The Victim | Kate Wainwright | Television film |
1973 | Mrs. Sundance | Etta Place | |
1974 | A Case of Rape | Ellen Harrod | Television film Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
|
1975 | The Legend of Lizzie Borden | Lizzie Borden | Television film Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program - Drama or Comedy
|
1976 | Dark Victory | Katherine Merrill | Television film |
1977 | A Killing Affair | Vikki Eaton | Television film |
1978 | The Awakening Land | Sayward Luckett Wheeler | Miniseries Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series
|
1979 | Jennifer: A Woman's Story | Jennifer Prince | Television film |
Act of Violence | Catherine McSweeney | ||
1980 | Belle Starr | Belle Starr | |
1981 | When the Circus Came to Town | Mary Flynn | |
1982 | The Rules of Marriage | Joan Hagen | |
1983 | Missing Pieces | Sara Scott | |
1984 | Second Sight: A Love Story | Alaxandra McKay | |
1985 | Amos | Daisy Daws | |
Between the Darkness and the Dawn | Abigail Foster | ||
1988 | Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair | Narrator | Documentary film |
1990 | Face to Face | Dr. Diana Firestone | Television film |
1991 | Sins of the Mother | Ruth Coe | Television film |
1992 | With Murder in Mind | Gayle Wolfer | Television film |
The Panama Deception | Narrator | Documentary film | |
1993 | Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story | Blanche Taylor Moore | Television film |
1994 | The Corpse Had a Familiar Face | Edna Buchanan | |
1995 | Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan | Edna Buchanan |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1951–1956 | Robert Montgomery Presents | Various roles | 30 episodes |
1953–1954 | Armstrong Circle Theatre | Ellen Craig | 2 episodes |
1954–1957 | Kraft Television Theatre | Various roles | 7 episodes |
1955–1956 | Appointment with Adventure | 2 episodes | |
1955–1958 | Studio One | Various roles | 3 episodes |
1956 | Warner Bros. Presents | Laura Woodruff | Episode: "Siege" |
Climax! | Betsy | Episode: "The Shadow of Evil" | |
1958 | Playhouse 90 | Mary Brecker | Episode: "Bitter Heritage" |
Suspicion | Ellen | Episode: "The Velvet Vault" | |
DuPont Show of the Month | Miss Kelly | Episode: "Harvey" | |
Cimmarron City | Ellen Wilson | Episode: "Hired Hand" | |
Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Karen Adams | Season 4 Episode 7: "Man with a Problem" | |
1959 | The Loretta Young Show | Millie | Episode: "Marriage Crisis" |
The Third Man | Lorraine | Episode: "A Man Take a Trip" | |
Riverboat | Abigail Carruthers | Episode: "The Barrier" | |
Johnny Staccato | Fay Linn | Episode: "Tempted" | |
Wagon Train | Julie Crail | Episode: "The Vittorio Bottecelli Story" | |
1960 | The Tab Hunter Show | Hilary Fairfield | Episode: "For Money or Love" |
1960 | One Step Beyond
|
Lillie Clarke | Episode: "The Death Waltz" |
The Untouchables | Rusty Heller | Episode: "The Rusty Heller Story" Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
| |
1961 | The Twilight Zone | The Woman | Episode: "Two" |
Thriller
|
Rosamond "Ros" Denham | Episode: "Masquerade" | |
Frontier Circus | Karina Andrews | Episode: "Karina" | |
1962 | Checkmate | Vicki Page | Episode: "The Star System" |
Alcoa Premiere | Iris Hecate | Episode: "Mr. Lucifer" | |
1963 | Saints and Sinners | Eadie Donelli | Episode: "The Homecoming Bit" |
Rawhide | Rose Cornelius | Episode: "Incident at El Crucero" | |
77 Sunset Strip | Charlotte Delaville | Episode: "White Lie" | |
The Eleventh Hour | Polly Saunders | Episode: "The Bronze Locust" | |
1963–1964 | Burke's Law | Various roles | 2 episodes |
1964–1972 | Bewitched | Samantha Stephens (and Serena) | 254 episodes Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best TV Star (Female) (1965, 1967 & 1969)
|
1965 | The Flintstones | Samantha Stephens | Voice, episode: "Samantha" |
1965–1975 | Password | Herself | 88 episodes
Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star |
1968 | The Carol Burnett Show | Herself | In the audience with William Asher |
1979 | Password Plus | Game Show Participant / Celebrity Guest Star | |
1995 | Batman: The Animated Series | Barmaid | Voice, episode: "Showdown" (posthumously released) |
Stage credits
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1953–1954 | Late Love | Janet Colby | Theater World Award for Best Actress
|
1956 | The Loud Red Patrick | Maggie Flannigan | |
1974 | 28th Tony Awards | Herself | |
1989–1990 | Love Letters | Melissa Gardner |
Narration work
- The Panama Deception (1992)
- Craven Street: Ben Franklin in London, a five-part radio drama (1993)
- Beauty's Punishment(1994)
- Beauty's Release(1994)
Television coverage
- In 1998, the Biographytelevision series about the life and career of Elizabeth Montgomery. The documentary first aired on A&E on February 15, 1999.
- In 1999, the E! cable channel produced a documentary for its E! The True Hollywood Story series titled "Bewitched: The E! True Hollywood Story." The documentary first aired on E! on August 22, 1999.
References
- ^ "Bewitched Photo: Elizabeth Montgomery 's(Samantha) Death Certificate".
- ^ a b c Saxon, Wolfgang (May 19, 1995). "Elizabeth Montgomery, 62, Star of the TV Comedy 'Bewitched'". The New York Times. New York. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ a b c Pylant, James (2004). "The Bewitching Family Tree of Elizabeth Montgomery". Genealogy Magazine. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
Rhonda R. McClure. Finding Your Famous (& Infamous) Ancestors. (Cincinnati: Betterway Books: 2003), pp. 14–16.
- ^ Pilato (2012), p. 49.
- ^ a b c "Elizabeth Montgomery Biography". The Biography Channel. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Elizabeth Montgomery Broadway Theatre Credits". Playbill Vault. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ R. E. Lee. "The Rusty Heller Story". Bob's Bewitching Daughter. Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
- ^ Pilato (2013), p. 32.
- ^ Moral (2013), p. 31
- ^ Mansour, p. 38.
- ^ a b c Gliatto, Tom (June 5, 1996). "That Magic Feeling". People. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
- ^ Pilato (2013), p. 95.
- ^ Cotter, p. 18.
- ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (May 19, 1995). "OBITUARY:Elizabeth Montgomery". The Independent. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
- ^ "Tumultuous life of 'Bewitched' star Elizabeth Montgomery's revealed".
- ^ "Tell-All Book Reveals 'Bewitched' Star's Troubled Personal Life". November 3, 2017.
- ^ Al Hunter (September 18, 2014). "The Curse of "Bewitched" Part 2". The Weekly View.
- ^ Levitt, Shelley (June 5, 1995). "Fallen from Grace". People. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015.
He had probably been dead for at least a couple of days before his body was discovered.
- ^ "Patterson Through the Years".
- ^ "Patterson Through the Years". Historic Patterson. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ a b Pilato (2012), pp. 320–321.
- ^ Folkart, Burt A. (May 19, 1995). "Elizabeth Montgomery Dies of Cancer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 7, 2016.
- ^ "Here's What RFK Did in California in 1968".
- ^ Pilato (2013), p. 85.
- ^ "Bewitched: Astonishing Facts Revealed About The Cast and Crew". trendchaser. August 30, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
- ISBN 9781589798250.
- ^ Folkart, Burt A. (May 19, 1995). "Elizabeth Montgomery Dies of Cancer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021.
- ^ "The Death of Elizabeth Montgomery". Archived from the original on October 30, 2021 – via YouTube.
- ProQuest 293213089.
Elizabeth Montgomery, the mischievous witch with the nasal twitch who brought her enchanting whimsy into America's living rooms for eight years, died Thursday morning. The star of "Bewitched," who later forsook her single-dimensional character and became one of the best known and diverse actors in made-for-TV movies, was 57, according to her family, but several film anthologies list her birth year as 1933. With her when she died at home in Beverly Hills was her husband, actor Robert Foxworth, and her three children from a previous marriage.
- ISBN 0-8065-2058-2.
- ^ Pilato (2012), p. xxv.
- ProQuest 442702798.
PATTERSON - Elizabeth Allen Montgomery, the mother of the "Bewitched" television series actress, died at home early on a cool, late-June morning in 1992. [...] Six years after her death, the state bought almost 1,000 acres from her family and created Wonder Lake State Park.
- ^ Dulin, Dann. "Witchful Thinking". Aumag.org. A&U Magazine. Archived from the original on December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
- ^ "A Bronze Statue Of Elizabeth Montgomery Is Dedicated". bewitched.net. 2005.
- ^ "Hollywood star is unveiled posthumously for TV's 'Bewitched' star Elizabeth Montgomery". Associated Press. January 5, 2008. Archived from the original on September 15, 2008. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
Bibliography
- Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful Words of Disney Television: A Complete History. Hyperion. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- Moral, Tony Lee (2013). Hitchcock and the Making of Marnie. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-81085-684-4.
- Mansour, David (2005). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-5118-2.
- Pilato, Herbie J. (2012). Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-589-79749-9.
- Pilato, Herbie J. (2013). The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery: A Guide to Her Magical Performances. Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 978-1-58979-825-0.
- Withycombe, E. G. (1977). The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names. Oxford University Press.
External links
- Elizabeth Montgomery at IMDb
- Elizabeth Montgomery at the Internet Broadway Database
- Elizabeth Montgomery at the TCM Movie Database