Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 19, 1995 TAG: 9505190107
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
Elizabeth Montgomery, who charmed 1960s television viewers as a nose- twitching suburban sorceress married to a wary mortal in ``Bewitched,'' died Thursday after a battle with cancer.
She was 62, according to numerous reference books and old clippings, though her family maintained that she was 57.
Montgomery died at her home surrounded by husband Robert Foxworth and her children, said family spokesman Howard Bragman. The actress underwent surgery in April to remove what was described only as a small malignant tumor.
Montgomery's post-``Bewitched'' career focused on TV movies, including ``Deadline for Murder,'' broadcast on CBS just last week. It was her second TV film based on the career of reporter Edna Buchanan.
The daughter of Hollywood star Robert Montgomery appeared in a few films in the 1950s and '60s, including ``The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell.'' But television was her medium of choice. ``I guess you'd say I'm a TV baby,'' she once told an interviewer.
``Bewitched,'' which ran on ABC from 1964 to 1972, was her only series. It was an instant hit, ranking second only to ``Bonanza'' in its first season.
Montgomery also played Samantha's mischievous look-alike cousin, Serena. Agnes Moorehead played her mother. Samantha and husband Darrin (played by Dick York, then by Dick Sargent) first became script parents in 1966 with the birth of daughter Tabitha. The pregnancy coincided with a real-life pregnancy for Montgomery.
Montgomery went on to star in made-for-TV movies that often won her critical acclaim and earned her nine Emmy nominations.
Her mother, Elizabeth Allen Montgomery, also was an actress. Her father first gained fame as a suave leading man in the 1930s and later also won praise as a director. In the 1950s, he produced and was host of a TV playhouse series, ``Robert Montgomery Presents.'' His daughter made her television debut on that series and went on to appear in more than 200 live TV programs.
by CNB