After mesmerizing audiences as America’s favorite witch, Elizabeth Montgomery was ready for a fresh start.
Despite being “fascinated” Having been renewed for Seasons 9 and 10, its stars wanted out. And there was more to it than just a drop in ratings.
Peter Ackerman was only 10 at the time, but he would later learn about the drama that went on behind the scenes. His father, Harry Ackerman, was the executive producer of several hit shows, including “Bewitched.” The younger Ackerman recently wrote a memoir about his Hollywood upbringing, “Mom, Dad, Me and Classic TV – Growing Up with Classic Television’s Harry Ackerman and Elinor Donahue.”
Ackerman explained that the story behind Montgomery leaving the popular show is much deeper than that. (Getty Images/BearManor Media)
‘Bewitched’ star Erin Murphy: ‘Elizabeth Montgomery had a dirty sense of humor and so do I’
“I think the ratings were going down,” Ackerman told Fox News Digital. “I remember someone at the time commented on how silly it was getting — it was something I heard adults say. So there was a discussion about, ‘Is there going to be a second season?’ Elizabeth had calmed down a little bit. And then for one particular episode, it wasn’t her husband Bill Asher Directing. It was a different person.”
Akerman said there was a huge difference on set, even without Asher’s direction. And he was there to see it.
“I think she was wearing jeans at the time,” Akerman claimed. “She was quite hunched over. So her backside was sticking out a little bit. The director said, ‘Oh Liz honey, I can look at this all day.’ Everybody laughed at that. I was, as you say today, weird. My mother was an actress. And this was my Aunt Liz. How could anybody make a comment like that? I thought, ‘Surely, nobody would ever make a comment like that to my mother on the set.'”
“That bothered me a lot,” Ackerman admitted. “I don’t know how long it was, but I heard my dad talking to my mom after he took a phone call from Liz. It was on a Saturday morning. He was very adamant about how the conversation went. My mom walked up to him after he hung up and asked, ‘What was that about?'”
Ackerman said he was shocked when a new director spoke rudely to Montgomery on set. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“(Montgomery) told my father, as she told my mother, that the studio wanted to continue the series,” she continued. “The network wanted to continue the series. However, they would only do so if my father agreed to fire her soon-to-be ex-husband. They had just broken up at the time and they had hired a new director, the other guy who directed that episode. My father said, ‘Liz, Bill Asher is my partner. I’m not going to do this with him.’ And she said, ‘Well then, ‘Bewitched’ is complete.’ That’s what my father said to my mother.”
Montgomery and Asher’s marriage was falling apart. By then, Montgomery was ready to move on as an actress. “Bewitched” ended in 1972 and the couple divorced a year later.
Author Herbie J. Pilato, writer of “Twitch Upon a Star” and executive producer of “Elizabeth Montgomery: A Bewitched Life,” previously alleged to Closer magazine that Asher “had an affair that broke Elizabeth’s heart.”
As The Guardian reports, Asher married Montgomery while directing the 1963 film “Johnny Cool,” in which she played a gangster’s girlfriend. At the time, both actors were recently divorced. According to the outlet, Asher had a huge influence on “Bewitched” and even had Montgomery perform her trademark nose twitch, which her character used to perform magic.
Montgomery with her husband Bill Asher. The star reportedly gave Harry Ackerman an ultimatum to return to the show after he refused to remove her estranged husband from his position as director. (Martin Mills/Getty Images)
“There was a kind of devastation. You didn’t want it to end,” Ackerman said.
Ackerman has fond memories of “Aunt Liz,” who became her family.
“She was probably the first actress I met and knew she was so similar to her character,” he laughed. “She had an angelic attitude. Her eyes sparkled and sparkled. Maybe they were childhood memories… but she was really Samantha. When I see Samantha on screen today, I see Elizabeth, Aunt Liz.”
“She was a practical joker,” he said. “She loved playing practical jokes. I remember she played a character called Serena in the series, wearing a black wig. As a child, I didn’t know she was Aunt Liz. She came up to me, got to my eye level and said, ‘Who are you? Who else is on this show?’ I introduced myself and told her how nice Elizabeth was. She went along with it and said, ‘That’s nice to hear.’ It took me years to figure out that it was actually Aunt Liz! She was very playful and kind with me.”
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Ackerman remembers Montgomery as the playful “Aunt Liz” who loved practical jokes. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
After “Bewitched,” Montgomery was ready to change her squeaky-clean image. She focused on Dramatic TV moviesShe also worked with her fourth and final husband, actor Robert Foxworth.
The star died of colon cancer in 1995 at the age of 62.
Ackerman still vividly remembers the last time she saw “Aunt Liz.”
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“By this time my father was working on the Paramount lot,” he said. “I stopped by and met Liz who was shooting a TV movie. I think by then all was forgiven between my father and Aunt Liz. I remember her saying, ‘I’m so glad your father didn’t bring you yesterday – I was doing a nude scene!’ And then she suddenly covered herself with her hands as if she was without clothes.”
Ackerman remembers the last time he saw Montgomery before he died in 1995. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“Then she put her hands on her hips and said, ‘I heard from your dad that you’re taking tap lessons. Let’s see what you can do!’ So I showed her my moves. I remember she laughed, hugged me and said, ‘It’s so good to see you.’ And that was the last time I saw her, with that smile on her face.”
“When I see her on TV today, I still see Aunt Liz,” Ackerman said. “She was really sweet. She made people feel good. She was magical. My father knew that — we all knew that.”
