'''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''.
Life and career
Born in Los Angeles, California, she was the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery and his wife, Elizabeth Bryan Allen.
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 then languished, consisting of supporting roles and appearances in television series.
She played Samantha Stephens in the ABC situation comedy ''
Bewitched''. This show was a huge success during its eight-year run from 1964 to 1972 and remains popular through syndication. Montgomery received five Emmy Award and four Golden Globe nominations for her role as Samantha. The series was remade as a 2005 film that starred Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman.
Montgomery refused to do Samantha's famous nose twitch for fans after ''
Bewitched'' went off the air, and was reluctant to discuss this role. 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). 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 married to actor Gig Young from 1956 to 1963; to ''
Bewitched'' producer William Asher from 1963 to 1973, with whom she had 3 children; had an affair with Richard Michaels the director of ''
Bewitched'', for a year before they finally came out with the truth. Her marriage to William Asher ended and so did ''
Bewitched'' (through Asher's own admission that he was involved with a woman named Nancy Fox who was an extra on the set). She moved out of her house, moved in with Michaels, and they lived together for two years before they broke up because of guilt. She was married to actor Robert Foxworth (with whom she had been living for over 20 years) from 1993 until her death.
She
