Ten TV Series That "Everybody" Watched Including Me: Bewitched (#7)

Tweet

Amid watching severe weather coverage I'm also watching myLot and baseball. Multi-tasking! I'm continuing my series of classic TV series that even I watched. This is a follow-up to the list of ten "classic" series that I didn't watch. Here's the next blast from the past. #7: Bewitched And you know what? I'm old enough to have seen it in the original run!! Funny thing about TV series in the 60s: there were a number of "dueling" shows, and people usually tended to like one or the other. The first and greatest was The Addams Family vs. The Munsters (I was an Addams Family fan). In this case, Bewitched had a "competitive" series in I Dream of Jeannie. I'm sure the guys liked Jeannie better because of her manner of dress but I preferred Bewitched. Why? Two words: UNCLE ARTHUR. Paul Lynde's iconic role as Sam's wisecracking, practical joke-playing warlock uncle was THE highlight of the series for me. I also liked Sam's father, Maurice (beautifully played by British actor Maurice Evans, best-known as a Shakespearean actor). Now, I didn't care for bootlicking Larry Tate (played by David White, who was a much better actor than this show indicated based on guest starring roles I've seen him in in other 60s shows). There's only so much of that milquetoast that even a kid can tolerate, and I got my fill courtesy of Emmy winner Werner Klemperer on Hogan's Heroes (and at least Klemperer's character, Colonel Klink, did show backbone on occasion). Of course, one of the things that everyone talks about is the two Darrins, with no explanation as to the change when Dick York left the series due to a chronic back injury and was replaced by Dick Sargent (who was taller than York). But hey, this was a fantasy sitcom, and it's easy to assume (as the producers apparently let us do) that Endora (played by Agnes Moorehead, who got her start in the classic Citizen Kane film) changed him. (Funny that nobody ever mentioned the two Gladys Kravitzes: Alice Pearce played the nosy neighbor in the first two seasons, dying from cancer as the second season finished and replaced for the remainder of the series by Sandra Gould.) Bewitched continues in syndication today on a number of stations. It's a fun throwback to more innocent times. Oh, and a musical PS: the theme song to Bewitched was composed by Howard Greenfield, who was Neil Sedaka's songwriting partner for decades! Bewitched Aired on ABC 1964-1972 Endora (Agnes Moorehead) and Maurice (Maurice Evans) showing a little affection in this late-series clip: