--- title: Bewitched 50th Anniversary: 5 Things You Didn't Know description: When were the producers trying to fool viewers with some TV magic? canonical: https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/ author: Laura Stampler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-09-17T15:30:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T10:06:43.896Z article:section: History og:title: Bewitched 50th Anniversary: 5 Things You Didn't Know og:description: When were the producers trying to fool viewers with some TV magic? og:url: https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81d647e0c4f08931/6986a3a635ba6f138dc03d5f/93404148.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2406 og:image:height: 1353 og:image:alt: BEWITCHED og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bewitched 50th Anniversary: 5 Things You Didn't Know twitter:description: When were the producers trying to fool viewers with some TV magic? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81d647e0c4f08931/6986a3a635ba6f138dc03d5f/93404148.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 5 Things Producers Didn't Want You To Know About _Bewitched_ > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Sep 17, 2014 3:30 PM UTC  BEWITCHED: Dick York (Darrin), Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha), Erin Murphy (Tabitha), Agnes Moorehead (Endora) BEWITCHED: Dick York (Darrin), Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha), Erin Murphy (Tabitha), Agnes Moorehead (Endora)ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images by [Laura Stampler](https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/) ## Laura Stampler Sep 17, 2014 3:30 PM UTC There was a time when a twitching nose only indicated that allergy season was starting. That changed 50 years ago Wednesday, on September 17, 1964, when ABC aired its first episode of _Bewitched._ The classic television show focused on Samantha Stephens (played by Elizabeth Montgomery), a witch-turned-housewife who prompted magical acts with a signature wiggle of her nose. But she wasn’t the only one with a secret to keep. Here are 5 times the producers used a little TV magic to hide things from viewers: Samantha spent much of the show trying to hide her true, witchy identity from her husband Darrin. **Producers, on the other hand, hoped that the audience wouldn’t notice when they changed Darrin’s identity**. Without warning or explanation, Dick Sargent replaced Dick York as Sam’s TV husband. The act of nonchalantly switching out actors has become playfully known as [“The Darrin Syndrome](http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx?news=275063)” — evidence that they didn’t exactly get away with the switcheroo. > [](https://twitter.com/SkinnyArbuckle/status/368378167662088193) **Darrin wasn’t the only character who got replaces** **_sans_** **explanation**. Nosey Gladys Kravitz was first played by Alice Pearce and then Sandra Gould. > [](https://twitter.com/SwedishCanary/status/380181832345460736) **Elizabeth Montgomery, on the other hand, was the exception to that rule:** the actress got to play two different characters. Sometimes she would play Samantha’s cousin Serena, a character flaunting short skirts and short black hair. While it wasn’t exactly a secret that Montgomery was playing Serena, the credit was given to a made up actress named “Pandora Spocks.” **People weren’t the only elements of the show that might have looked a little too familiar.** It turns out that Samantha and Darrin weren’t the happy TV couple living in their house. The facade appeared in shows including _Dennis the Menace_ and _I Dream of Jeanie._ **But perhaps the best bit of TV magic was related to the famous nose twitch**. Erin Murphy, the actress who played Samantha and Darrin’s daughter Tabitha, told [_Parade_](http://parade.condenast.com/337311/walterscott/the-magic-of-the-bewitched-nose-wiggle-revealed/) that “I’ve never tried \[twitching my nose\]! The producer didn’t think a baby witch should be able to.” Murphy added that Montgomery’s wiggle “was a camera trick.” [Look closely](http://giphy.com/gifs/bAQvooqC0BHjy) and you’ll see that her nose isn’t really moving at all — it’s her mouth. Need a drink after all of that? You wouldn’t be alone. Characters on _Bewitched_ drank so much, fans created a [drinking guide for the show.](http://www.harpiesbizarre.com/cocktailhour.htm#cc) In the words of Darrin Stephens, “Make it a double, Sam.” **_Read a 1964 profile of Elizabeth Montgomery, the star of the new show_** **Bewitched** **_, here in TIME’s archives:_** [The Girl with the Necromantic Nose](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,876339,00.html) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/"},"headline":"5 Things Producers Didn't Want You To Know About Bewitched","datePublished":"2014-09-17T15:30:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T10:06:43.896Z","description":"When were the producers trying to fool viewers with some TV magic?","url":"https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/","keywords":["Television"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81d647e0c4f08931/6986a3a635ba6f138dc03d5f/93404148.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Laura Stampler","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/laura-stampler/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt81d647e0c4f08931/6986a3a635ba6f138dc03d5f/93404148.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"BEWITCHED","caption":"BEWITCHED","creditText":"ABC Photo Archives/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3318876/bewitched-anniversary/","name":"5 Things Producers Didn't Want You To Know About Bewitched"}}]}] ```