Many reboots have been in the works to resurrect the TV sitcom Bewitched, but it has been a difficult feat. The character of Samantha Stephens is difficult to reproduce. She’s light-hearted, loyal, smart and funny. Samantha a happy housewife but has a strong business sense. She’s gentle but certainly not a pushover. In short, Samantha was a character that Elizabeth Montgomery was born to play.
1964 – Samantha’s Nose Begins to Twitch in Bewitched
Inspired by the 1942 film I Married a Witch and the Broadway play, Bell, Book and Candle, ABC presented the first episode of Bewitched on this day. The sitcom involves advertising executive Darrin Stephens (Dick York) who accidentally falls in love and marries Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery), a witch and only hears the truth during their honeymoon.
From the very first episode, Samantha vows to never use her magic skills ever again, only to “slip up” every now and then. The main villain of the series is Samantha’s mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead) who can’t stand to see her daughter fall for a mortal man. And while Samantha agrees to serve as an all-American housewife who cooks and cleans, she clearly isn’t a doormat. In fact, she often rescues her husband from one curse or another that Endora has put on him.
In this series, witches and warlocks are basically another race of people, not an activity or religion that one subscribes to. Samantha didn’t “become” a witch, she just was. She was born in 1606 and has different ailments than humans do.
The Two Darrins
Bewitched is also famous for having two different actors portraying the same character without negatively affecting the show. After sustaining a terrible back injury during the filming of the movie They Came to Cordura in 1959, York didn’t appear in eight of that season’s episodes. By the end of the year, his pain was so great, he had to quit the series entirely. For seasons 6-8, the role of Darrin was played by Dick Sargent who many fans ended up liking better as he was less “whiny”.
Danny Arnold, the show’s head writer and producer, dreamed up Bewitched as a romantic comedy, so he kept the “witchcraft and spells” down to a minimum. Many of the episodes were allegorical in nature about the trials of living in a mixed marriage. However, despite it being the #2 show during its first year, ABC wanted more spells and magic. This might have been the show’s undoing.
Though it stayed on the air for an impressive eight seasons, Bewitched ended its run on March 25, 1972, having dropped down to the #72 spot!
More Magic?
A spinoff series based on the Stephens’ daughter, now all grown up premiered on ABC on September 10, 1977. Lisa Hartman starred in Tabitha along with Robert Urich, Mel Stewart, Karen Morrow and Mary Wickes. Neither Montgomery nor Sargent appeared on the show. In fact, the only actor who appeared in both series was Bernard Fox who played Dr. Bombay. The cast of Tabitha was great, but the storylines were lacking. The show ended its short run on January 14, 1978.
In 2005, a movie version of Bewitched opened in theaters. The romantic comedy was co-written, co-produced, and directed by Nora Ephron. This movie was an odd one. It deals with Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell) taking the role of Darrin for a remake of the classic TV series. Nicole Kidman plays Isabel Bigelow is cast to play Samantha. But here’s the twist – Isabel is actually a witch!
The movie also starred Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine, Jason Schwartzman, Stephen Colbert, David Alan Grier, Steve Carell, Nick Lachey, Kate Walsh, Amy Sedaris, Richard Kind and Kristin Chenoweth in her first movie role. But despite the movie’s star power and inspired choices, it was a box office dud.
There have many attempts to reboot the TV series, but none have gotten off the ground. However, there is one in development with Sony Pictures Television Kids with Flying Bark Productions. This would more than likely be centered around Tabitha or a young Samantha, and it may or may not be animated.
1986 – Smarties Unite in ‘Head of the Class’
Before becoming an actor, Michael Elias served as a substitute teacher. What he learned then help prepare him when he created the TV show, Head of the Class. Set at Millard Fillmore High School in Manhattan, the show followed a group of gifted students led by history teacher Charlie Moore (played by former WKRP’s Dr. Johnny Fever, Howard Hesseman).
The students included nerdy Arvid Engen (Dan Frischman), smart aleck computer whiz Dennis Blunden (Dan Schneider), preppy, politically-minded Alan Pinkard (Tony O’Dell), spoiled rich kid Darlene Merriman (Robin Givens), perfectionist Maria Borges (Leslie Bega), exchange student Jawaharlal Choudhury (Jory Husain), 10-year-old Janice Lazarotto (Tannis Vallely), poetry-loving Simone Foster (Khrystyne Haje), tough guy Eric Mardian (Brian Robbins) and Sarah Nevins (Kimberly Russell), the down-to-Earth student of the bunch.
Although the show was a reasonable hit and the show had its fans, Hesseman wasn’t one of them. He even called it a “disposable frivolity.” Hesseman left the show after the fourth season. In the fifth season, Charlie Moore was replaced by new teacher Billy McGregor (Billy Connolly) explaining that Mr. Moore had gotten his big break to appear in a touring show of Death of a Salesman.
Head of the Class ended its run on June 25, 1991, but Billy McGregor lived on. Connolly starred the spinoff Billy in 1992 which entailed the character to move to Berkeley, California, marry a single mom (Marie Marshall) with many kids just so he could get his green card. That show ran for only one season.
1949 – The Coyote and the Road Runner’s First Race
Movie-goers were first introduced to cartoon characters Wile E. Coyote and the simply named Road Runner in their first short film titled, Fast and Furry-ous. Before the cartoon premiered, Warner Bros. cartoonists toyed with calling the coyote “Don Coyote”. In one Looney Tunes comic book, it was revealed that the “E” in his name stands for “Ethelbert”.
The characters were created by Chuck Jones and have appeared together 48 times. Wile is known for building outrageous traps in hopes of capturing the fast bird for dinner buying many of his supplies from ACME. He mostly appears mute but occasionally speaks describing himself as a genius. Wile has co-starred in five Bugs Bunny shorts and in 2013, TV Guide named him one of the nastiest of villains of all time.
The duo’s last short film, Flash in the Pain was released way back on June 10, 2014, but they also appear in the live action/animation movie, Coyote vs. Acme which after a long battle with the studio, opened in theaters on August 28, 2026.
1983 – The First Black Miss America
Vanessa Williams is a singer, actress, producer and former fashion model, but she might not have become as famous as she is today if she didn’t win the Miss America crown in 1983.
Williams was the first African American to win the title, but it was short-lived. Ten months after being crowned she learned while doing an interview that Penthouse magazine had purchased compromising photographs of Williams and planned to release them. Shortly after, the pageant officials told her that she had 72 hours to resign.
In interviews, Williams has explained that the photos had been taken two years before the pageant. At the time, she was a teenager working as a photographer’s assistant and the photographer asked her to pose sans clothes. He assured her that they would only be silhouettes and that the photos would never leave the studio. Well, they did.
For the first time ever, a Miss America was targeted with hate mail and even death threats. Williams stepped down from her title on July 23, 1984, and was succeeded by the first runner-up, Suzette Charles of New Jersey. She is recognized as “Miss America 1984-b.”
Despite all of this, Williams has been noted to have become the most successful Miss America of all time. On September 13, 2015, during the live telecast of the 88th pageant, Miss America CEO Sam Haskell apologized to Williams “for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less than the Miss America you are and the Miss America you always will be.”
2009 – TV’s First Community College Sitcom
Similar to the roots of Welcome Back Kotter and Freaks and Geeks, Community was inspired by the creator’s own community college experiences. Dan Harmon also served as the showrunner for the show’s first three seasons. The sitcom took place at the fictional Glendale Community College in Glendale, Colorado.
The cast of school clowns included Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) a former lawyer suspended for falsely claiming to have a bachelor’s degree from Columbia University, atheist Britta Perry (Gillian Jacobs), film student Abed Nadir (Danny Pudi), divorced mother and devoted Christian, Shirley Bennett (Nicole Brown), overachiever Annie Edison (Alison Brie), former high school quarterback Troy Barnes (Donald Glover), unstable Spanish teacher Ben Chang (Ken Jeong), the dean of Greendale Craig Pelton (Jim Rash) and millionaire Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase).
Community was praised by critics and has been nominated for many awards. However, like other great shows, the series struggled with the ratings. In 2015, the show was moved to the now-defunct streaming service Yahoo Screen where the school stayed open until June 2, 2015.
SATURDAY MORNING TV
Remember watching your favorite cartoons with a bowl of cold cereal? Here are some that began airing on this day. How many do you remember?
1983: The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show
Created by Charles M. Schulz, this show was similar to the popular CBS Peanuts specials of the day, but instead of one storyline, each episode featured numerous shorts based on storylines from the Peanuts comic strip.
1983: Mister T
Former wrestler Mr. T played a gymnastics coach who solved mysteries around the world with his team of teens. Mr. T voiced his own character for this Ruby-Spears Enterprises show. He also introduced each episode and finished with a moral lesson.
1983: Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince
This live action CBS show was bizarre. Created by Joe Camp (who made a number of Benji films) and produced by Hanna-Barbera, the show starred the stray Benji who befriends alien Prince Yubi and Zax, his droid protector.
1983: Alvin and the Chipmunks
This NBC show is based on Ross Bagdasarian’s gimmick of speeding up his voice to become three Chipmunks in the 1960’s. The show starred Alvin, Theodore and Simon (all voiced by Ross Bagdasarian Jr.) and introduced the Chipettes.
1988: Garfield and Friends
This CBS show was based on the comic strips Garfield and U.S. Acres. Garfield’s storylines often included Jon and his simple-minded dog Odie. U.S. Acres featured stories on the farm with book-loving Orson the pig and prankster Roy the Rooster.
Other TV Shows That Debuted on This Day:
- 1983: The Biskitts, Saturday Supercade, Dungeons & Dragons
- 1988: The Adventures of Raggedy Ann and Andy, Superman, Hey Vern, It’s Ernest!
- 1994: Skeleton Warriors
Movies Released
- 1999: Blue Streak
- 2010: Catfish
- 2010: Easy A
- 2010: The Town
- 2012: Cry Macho
- 2012: The Mob Doctor
- 2014: The Guest
- 2015: Captive
TV Series Debuts
- 1957: Sugarfoot (ABC)
- 1960: Checkmate (CBS)
- 1961: Car 54, Where Are You? (NBC)
- 1961: Follow the Sun (ABC)
- 1962: Saints and Sinners (NBC)
- 1963: The Fugitive (ABC)
- 1965: Camp Runamuck (NBC)
- 1965: Hank (NBC)
- 1965: Honey West (ABC)
- 1965: Tammy (ABC)
- 1965: The Wild Wild West (CBS)
- 1966: Mission: Impossible (CBS)
- 1966: Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats (CBS)
- 1968: Julia (NBC)
- 1970: Flip (NBC)
- 1970: Nancy (NBC)
- 1971: McMillan & Wife (NBC)
- 1971: The Chicago Teddy Bears (CBS)
- 1971: The D.A. (NBC)
- 1972: M.A.S.H. (CBS)
- 1976: Spencer’s Pilots (CBS)
- 1978: Battlestar Galactica (ABC)
- 1979: Joker! Joker!! Joker!!! (Syndication)
- 1982: The Powers of Matthew Star (NBC)
- 1990: The Trials of Rosie O’Neill (CBS)
- 1991: Home Improvement (ABC)
- 1995: Almost Perfect (CBS)
- 1995: The Client (CBS)
- 1996: Promised Land (CBS)
- 1996: Something So Right (ABC)
- 1996: Spin City (ABC)
- 2002: 8 Simple Rules (ABC)
- 2002: Life with Bonnie (ABC)
- 2002: Push, Nevada (ABC)
- 2005: Johnny Test (Cartoon Network)
- 2007: K-Ville (FOX)
- 2009: Archer (FXX)
- 2012: The First Family (The CW)
- 2012: The Mob Doctor (FOX)
- 2012: Revolution (NBC)
- 2013: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (NBC)
- 2013: Dads (FOX)
- 2014: Red Band Society (FOX)
- 2014: The Mysteries of Laura (NBC)
- 2021: Squid Game (Netflix)
- 2024: High Potential (ABC)
Famous Birthdays
- 1859: Billy the Kid (gangster)
- 1923: Hank Williams (singer)
- 1928: Roddy McDowell (actor)
- 1931: Anne Bancroft (actress)
- 1947: Jeff MacNelly (cartoonist)
- 1953: Rita Rudner (comedian)
- 1962: Baz Luhrmann (film director)
- 1962: BeBe Winans (singer)
- 1965: Bryan Singer (film director)
- 1971: Nate Berkus (interior designer)
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