Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery

Birth:	Apr. 15, 1933
Death:	May 18, 1995
Actress. best remembered for her leading role as Samantha, the beautiful witch who cast spells by twitching her nose on the top-rated ABC Sitcom "Bewitched" (1964-1972). Montgomery was born in Hollywood, California in April of 1933, the daughter of actress Elizabeth Allen Montgomery and actor-director Robert Montgomery. Montgomery attended Westlake School for Girls and Spencer School in New York. She then enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Arts. Montgomery's TV debut was in 1951 on her father's show, Robert Montgomery Presents. Her first Broadway show, "Late Love," won her a Theater World Award. On TV, a role in "The Untouchables" (1959) marked Montgomery's first Emmy Award nomination. TV highlights also included roles on "Studio One,"" Kraft Theater," "G.E. Theater," "Alcon Theater," "the Twilight Zone," "Thriller," "77 Sunset Strip," "Rawhide" and "Wagon Train." Montgomery's film debut was in "The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955), with Gary Cooper, followed by "Johnny Cool" (1963), starring Sammy Davis, Jr., and "Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed" (1963), with Dean Martin. On the TV show "Bewitched," Montgomery played Samantha Stephens, a witch married to Darrin, a mortal, first portrayed by Dick York and then Dick Sargent. The antics of the well-meaning Samantha and her quirky relatives wreaked havoc for Darrin, who tried to conceal all the strange goings-on from nosy neighbors and from his stuffy boss. "Bewitched" was the number-one rated sitcom for four of its eight years, with Montgomery being nominated for an Emmy Award five times for her portrayal of Samantha. After "Bewitched" she played dramatic roles in TV movies, including "A Case of Rape" (1974), "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), "Black Widow Murders" (1993), "The Corpse Had A Familiar Face (1994), and "Deadline For Murder" (1995). Montgomery also narrated the movie "The Panama Deception," which won an Academy Award in 1993. Married four times, her first husband was the French businessman Frederick Gallatin Cammann (1954-55). Her second husband was actor Gig Young (1956-63). In 1963, Montgomery married William Asher, the producer-director of "Bewitched." The couple divorced amicably in 1973. They had three children. She moved in with fourth husband Robert Foxworth in 1975, and was with him until her death from cancer at her Los Angeles, California home on May 18, 1995. Among Montgomery's personal crusades was AmFAR, The American Foundation for AIDS research, and she regularly supported liberal causes. In 1998, Montgomery's children and husband donated her wardrobe for auction so that money could be raised for AIDS charities.  Cause of death: Colon cancer