Biography
Elizabeth Montgomery was born into stardom, growing up in Los Angeles as the daughter of notable actor Robert Montgomery. While she studied acting as she grew up, she wound up catching her break on her father's variety show "Robert Montgomery Presents" (NBC 1950-57). Appearing intermittently on that program allowed Montgomery to also perform on Broadway, specifically the show "Late Love," which earned her a Theater World Award. She made her feature film debut with "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955). Most of her early work was on the small screen, however, as she drew an Emmy nominee for her work on "The Untouchables" (ABC 1959-1963) and also appeared on episodes of "The Twilight Zone" (CBS 1959-1964) and "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (CBS 1955-1962). After that steady work, Montgomery landed her biggest role to date: the starring witch Samantha Stephens in "Bewitched" (ABC 1964-1972). Over the show's run, it was one of the most popular TV series of the era, netting Montgomery numerous Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. By the time the series ended, Montgomery was known across the country as the good witch Samantha, so her work afterwards tried to reject her potential typecasting as much as possible. In the mid-1970s, she starred in a pair of TV movies that earned her more award buzz: "A Case of Rape" (NBC 1974) and "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (ABC 1975). Over the last decade or so of her career, she regularly appeared in TV movies and mini-series, though her last Emmy nomination was in 1978 for "The Awakening Land" (NBC 1978). She kept working up until she lost a battle with colon cancer in 1995, passing away at her Beverly Hills home at the age of 62.
