Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery (April 15, 1933 –
May 18, 1995) was an American movie and television actress.
Born in Los Angeles, California, she
was the daughter of actor Robert Montgomery and his
wife, Elizabeth Bryan Allen.
She is best remembered for her leading
role as the witch Samantha in the ABC situation comedy
Bewitched. This show was a huge success during its
eight-year run from 1964 to 1972 and remains popular
through syndication and the 2005 movie remake starring
Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman. Montgomery received
five Emmy Award and four Golden Globe nominations
for her role as Samantha.
Montgomery made her television debut
in her father's series Robert Montgomery Presents,
and her film debut in 1955 in The Court Martial of
Billy Mitchell. Her early career then languished,
consisting of supporting roles and appearances in
television series.
Montgomery refused to do Samantha's
famous nose twitch for fans after Bewitched went off
the air, and was reluctant to discuss this role. She
spent the remainder of her career pursuing dramatic
roles that took her as far away from the good-natured
Samantha typecasting as possible. She received Emmy
Award nominations for playing a rape victim in A Case
of Rape (1974), for her portrayal of the notorious
Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975),
and for her role as a strong woman facing hardship
in 1820's Ohio in the mini-series The Awakening Land
(1978). She also made a chilling villain in the 1985
picture Amos, playing a nurse in a state home who
terrorized residents Kirk Douglas and Dorothy McGuire.
Her final acting role was the Barmaid in an episode
of Batman: The Animated Series entitled "Showdown".
She was married to actor Gig Young
from 1956 to 1963; to Bewitched producer William Asher
from 1963 to 1973, by whom she had 3 children; and
to actor Robert Foxworth, (with whom she had been
living for over 20 years) from 1993 until her death.
She had an older sister, Martha Bryan
Montgomery, who died before Elizabeth was born, and
a brother, Robert Montgomery Jr., who was born in
1936.
Elizabeth Montgomery died of colorectal
cancer on May 18, 1995, at the age of 62. She died
just eight weeks after being diagnosed with the disease.
At the time of her death, the media widely reported
that she had ignored the symptoms of her illness until
it was too late, as she was caring for Robert Foxworth,
who had had hip replacement surgery. Unwilling to
die in the hospital and with no hope of recovery,
she elected to return to her Beverly Hills home she
shared with Foxworth, and died there (aged 62) with
him and her children by her side.
Her remains were cremated shortly
after her death.
Selected filmography
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
The Twilight Zone (1961), alongside Charles Bronson.
Johnny Cool (1963)
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
The Victim (1972)
Mrs. Sundance (1974)
A Case of Rape (1974)
The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975)
Act of Violence (1979 movie) TV (1979)
Belle Starr (1980)
When the Circus Came to Town (1981)
The Rules of Marriage (1982)
Amos (1985)
Face to Face (1990)
Narration
The Panama Deception (1992)
Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair (1988) (voice)
Two audio books in which Montgomery narrates the work
of Anne Rice (writing as Anne Rampling) are available
as of 2005.
source from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
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