Who was the better Darrin Stephens on “Bewitched”?

Dick York was funnier IMO especially with Endora.

York was always a great “threat” to Liz’s ‘Samantha’ who would react comically beautifully in response when he discovered Samantha using witchcraft or having something to say about (to)?her supernatural relation visitors, the perfect frazzled husband. Sargent was a serviceable ‘Darrin’ character, yeah—but he was so much more laidback, making it difficult to believe he would or could piss off Endora or send Samantha into a frenzied worry.

Darrin 1 was lovably goofy. Darrin 2 was boring and severe-looking.

Dick Sargent always had a sneer on his face, like he didn’t even like Samantha.

Wow, he seriously looks just like Osgood "Oz" Perkins there, albeit skinnier.

Both

They never explained the new Darrin.

Who gives a shit about this ancient show?

I remember when Elizabeth Montgomery rode in a gay pride parade in support of Dick Sargent, and she said she did it for her love of Dick.

Everybody loved it.

Then Dick died of dick cancer and Elizabeth died of ass cancer.

Be warned!!

I hated Dick York. He was angry and bombastic all the time. Couldn't figure out what had attracted Sam to him. I was happy when he left and Sargent took over.

^^That was a million years ago. I'll have to check my pictures,

I attended when Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick Sargent were co-Grand Marshals of the Los Angeles Pride Parade on Sunday, June 28, 1992. They appeared together as grand marshals of the parade in West Hollywood, California to support Dick Sargent, who had come out as gay in 1991.

The crowd greeted them wildly and enthusiastically. Watch the video...

And nobody fucking remembers them in 2025 r12,

York was a straight man. The other one not.

When I was a kid, I thought York was weird looking and preferred Sargent. Now I think DY was kinda sexy.

DS winced and had no sex threat.

How is this even a question? YORK.

You want me to choose which dick I preferred?!

I hated Dick York. He was angry

R10 You would be too with all the shit he had to put up with.

Not this again. York was a skilled ctor. Sargent wasn't.

R13

You don't have the key to life. Proved by the fact that many people remember them, and fondly. Just because they weren't in your life or that you don't remember them doesn't mean they never existed.

There was life before, and despite you.

[quote]They never explained the new Darrin.

I'll explain it for you. The role was recast because of Dick York's health problems. Darrin was a character on a TV sitcom. What sort of explanation would you have expected? "He was burned in an oil rig fire and needed a new face. The fire also made him thinner and taller and changed his voice."

r22 You were hoping to be witty? No need to come into a thread and be an asshole for no reason. Go outside.

r8 / r11 / r13

You ok?

The producers once explained the difference. York: "SAM!!!!!" Sargent: (Lower register rising) "Sam?"

I really hate both those Dicks. Someone as beautiful, witty, funny as her surely would have found a more attractive and less always-angry husband. They were both atrocious looking.

York was the best one. I always loved how he looked like he was on the verge of a coronary when Endora started fucking with him, mad at Larry, or things were going unexpectedly bad at home or work. Most DLers probably know Sargent was the first choice for the role when the show began, but he was already committed to another job. Sargent had his moments though. His silent moments of resigned bitchiness and the looks he would get on his face were priceless. I think they probably did the best they could replacing York and going back to their first choice. But in retrospect, it was emblematic of the show not being as good the final three seasons, with a Darrin who wasn’t as good.

Both sucked because the character sucked but it didn’t help that the actors who played him were so miscast.

I always thought Samantha was crazy to fall for either Darren much less put up with his demands to stop practicing witchcraft.

Even if Darren had been handsome and sophisticated she would have been crazy to tolerate his bullshit.

Dick York was perfect as the befuddled, exasperated Darren. He was also known for being a lovely, kind person. He left us too early.

That said, Sargent had a tough job, and he did a credible job.

I know I’m in the minority, but I preferred Sargent over York. York as Darren was too mean and angry all the time.

The first Dick was too hard on Sam, I liked the second softer Dick.

[quote] How is this even a question? YORK.

To me, it's as obvious as who the better Gladys Kravitz was.

Older Dick Sargent looked like he could have been Sheila Kuehl's brother.

The movie version was a disaster. I think a lost opportunity was to have Jim Carrey as Darren and then twenty minutes before the end Greg Kinnear walks in in the door as Darren and it's never mentioned.

I would have been perfect for the role of Tabitha. Still am.

Sargent was under contract to Universal and committed to a a sitcom, “Broadside”. It lasted a season and later he did the “Tammy Grimes Show”, which famously went off the year in a month. He and Grimes were original choices for Bewitched. They would have been terrible and the show would have sucked.

I think York was perfect and it was unavoidable and unfortunate that he had to leave. But I did appreciate Sargent’s Darrin as sick of Endora’s shit. He had more backbone. .

Dick York had a really nice ass. I never noticed Sargeant's.

They were both horrid.

That show was so long ago I can't remember.

r40 What a fascinating contribution

Since we’re on the subject of second and first

I liked the second Mrs. Kravitz better than the first. She was weird and sickly ( no pun intended) looking.

Dick York seemed manic and I liked that. He knew that he had married a witch, but he was not prepared for what that really involved, so he was freaking out due to his naivety. Dick Sargent was more of a straight man to the supernatural shenanigans.

Elizabeth Montgomery was stunning. I always thought she was lowkey elegant as a child seeing the old episodes in the 90s.

This feels unfair to those of us who watched it first-run. I remember the B&W episodes when they went househunting. York was convingingly in love with Sam. Edora is the fly in the ointment.

The NEW Durwood was accepted when we knew Dick York was ill.

[quote] I liked the second Mrs. Kravitz better than the first.

Said no one who was a first-run viewer.

Dick York was more goofy and awkward. Much better in the role.

You could see how the first Darrin morphed into the second Darrin: Dick York's Darrin was furious with Endora all the time, and so she punished him accordingly for his presumption. The second Darrin (Dick Sargent's) had seen it all and was unable to fight back with anything other than sarcasm, but Endora enjoyed tormenting him so much she kept at it. The first Darrin was wildly in lvoe with samantha, while the second still adored her but had become used to her--which is sort of the way most happy marriages go.

The two actresses who played Gladys Kravitz were just not a good fit with one another, though. Alice Pearce's Gladys was basically a benevolent person, but she just couldn't help being nosy, and you sensed Sam and Darrin liked her despite her constant snooping. It wasn't Pearce's fault that the second Mrs. Kravitz (Sandra Gould) was a whiny, self-justifying bitch, and she wanted to expose Samantha--you could tell the Stephenses couldn't stand her, but Sam was just too polite to punish her.

If you watch the first two seasons of Bewitched (the B&W ones, that were later colorized), you see why the show clicked so much with viewers: it had great characters that were very well cast, including Dick York. IMHO, York and Elizabeth Montgomery had excellent chemistry on screen. They were a believable married couple in an extraordinary situation-the ultimate “mixed marriage”.

York’s depiction of Darren did intensify in later seasons, especially his last, Season 5. York is skinnier and comes across as kind of tweaky, like he’s on something, which he was. His back problems were very bad, and he evidently got hooked on pain meds. He had a seizure on set, after which he left the series. So I think his addiction, and declining back and physical state, likely affected his acting performance by playing Darren over the top. It’s possible that’s why Dick Sargent, as Darren #2, toned it down considerably from York.

As far as Gladys #1 vs #2, I go with Alice Pearce. She MADE that character. So well in fact, that she won a posthumous Emmy for it, and people still remember her Gladys Kravitz 60 years later. Alice Pearce’s Gladys was “ bewitched, bothered, and bewildered” while Sandra Gould’s Gladys was just a bitch!

Both of the Dicks were rather poor in the role. We gay children loved Elizabeth Montgomery. She was stylish, she had a secret, she could make bad things disappear with a twitch of her nose - in other words, a gay child's dream. Endora was campy and funny. Larry (the boss) was kind of stupid and dorky and his wife was something of a non-entity. The first Gladys was pretty good as the snoopy neighbor. Paul Lynde was great and campy as the gay Uncle Arthur. He and Endora had the funniest lines. Aunt Clara was just a little TOO befuddled to be comic. Doctor Bombay was a bit silly too. Darrin's mother always seemed a bit snobbish - I'm not sure she was written that way or the actress who played her had those mannerisms.

Liz Montgomery was a cold bitch to York, never acknowledged nor contacted him after his illness got him effectively fired. When he being carried to hospital from the set, was the last time he ever saw her. Agnes Moorehead said "I don't like change" at the first read-thru when Sergeant showed up. She never bothered to develop any relationship with him other reading her lines.

Agnes was the only woman powerful enough to disagree w/Montgomery. The rumors of her lesbianism started in earnest in the Bewitched set. Previously when asked asked - she didn't have children, had a doctorate degree, a radio voice - she answered obliquely like she wasn't beautiful enough to be an active lesbian. Paul Lynde was the source of the rumors. He wasn't a regular and his gossiping was viewed as way of currying favor with Montgomery.

Montgomery was aware York was living in destitution, surviving on welfare, working menial jobs to pay for medicine and very small disability benefits. He never had a crush on Montgomery, he was deeply in love with his supportive wife. There has been an effort to clean up her image, due to continuing residuals from Bewitched. Residuals only she, her then husband received and their estates.

Something of a Sarah Jessica Parker of her era.

That's disappointing and awful to hear R52.

Darrin's mother

I don't remember her? But then I am not a Bewitched cultist.

Looked it up - it was Mabel Albertson. For some reason I thought she was the second Gladys.

I love the fact that Dick Sargent's real surname was Cox.

Dick Cox.

They couldn't have killed off dick York because everyone would say Samantha could have revived him.

Also, the premise of the show would have been lost, R57.

R49 is right. Although he was neither the Director (Montgomery's husband, Bill Asher) or the creator (Sol Saks & Harry Ackerman), Danny Arnold produced the first season and had a unique vision for the show, subtlety addressing the issues of prejudice and nixed marriage. Jerry Davis produced the 2nd season (he later did a season of "That Girl") and continued this but without Arnold's manic need for control. By the time the show was in color, the network was providing more direction about the show and you get more gimmicks and recurring cliches. The early casting was near perfect with York, Moorehead, Pearce, Marion Lorne, Maurice Evans, etc. The replacements all sucked, including the more indirect ones like Alice Ghostley for Marion Lorne. Lorne's own eccentricities were part of her character and she had great heart that could overcome a weak script. Ghostley just did schtick.

Mabel Albertson was the sister of Jack Albertson.

And her daughter-in-law - for a while - was Cloris Leachman

It’s not talked about out enough, but Dick York was thicker than a Snicker.

Mabel Albertson was not exactly snobbish as Mother Stephens--it was more like nothing Samantha ever did could be good enough for her. She was exacting in her standards.

She was hilarious, though: "Frank, I 'm coming down with one of my sick headaches."

[quote]Dick York was thicker than a Snicker.

What does this mean R61?

r63 I think it was trying to be clever - and failed.

OK thanks R64. Yes failed. I'm sure R61 meant something specific - but it's beyond me.

R63, it means that he was bottom heavy with a thicc ass. Watch any episode of BW where York is without a sport jacket and you’ll see.

I like it when they don't acknowledge the change.

Mrs. Stephens once had a bird and she said proudly "I taught that bird everything he knows". The bird then says "Frank, I have a sick headache."

I liked them both and never really had an issue with the switch.

However, the later episodes suffered because by then they were repeating stories, and the stuff with Tabitha and Adam got a little boring.

Kind of astonishing to think they made 30+ episodes a SEASON for most of the run of this show.

[quote] They never explained the new Darrin.

She used her witchcraft to change his appearance. And made him gay.

Mabel Albertson probably played more battle axes than anyone in Hollywood.

Mabel Albertson was hilarious on The New Dick Van Dyke Show. Here she is after smoking pot. In a tight sweater and no bra.

Mabel Albertson as the bigoted mother on the New Dick Van Dyke Show. It's actually a pretty daring episode and Albertson is brilliant.

Mabel Albertson was hilarious in her final role as the wealthy Mrs. Van Hoskins in the 1972 "What's Up Doc?", with her predilection for inappropriately mod clothing (like Pucci prints). The scene where she discovers her jewels have been stolen from her room and she runs down into the lobby in a hot pink nightie and has a fit is one of the movie's highlights (as is the scene where she and Sorrell Booke wrestle in the hotel hallways when he has to keep her from getting to her room).

R52- This video explains the REAL reason Montgomery wanted nothing to do with Dick York.

R75 beat me to it for r52. Montgomery wasn’t going to disrupt a successful show if York had no back problems to get him fired. She was too much of a professional. But she had no qualms on seeing him leave when he could no longer work.

Dick York was repulsive

r52 has offered no proof whatsoever for his extraordinary claims which I've never heard before.

But I've heard many times Dick York was in love with Liz Montgomery and that it irritated her no end, just as her producer claims at r75,

York was better.

Sargent was better.

Dick York was a big blinker. It's distracting.

Dick York was the better actor, but looking at his face for too long gave me a sick headache.

If you can find the pilot, it’s much sexier than the show turned out to be and Dick York and Elizabeth Montgomery had chemistry off the chart.

York was better with all his mugging, etc. but really? It’s almost always going to go in favor of whoever originated the role unless it was a short original run like Shirley Stelfox on “Keeping Up Appearances”.

Sarah Chalke showed off great acting chops on “Scrubs” but I think most people would be hard pressed to say she was a better Becky. Or Daphne Maxwell-Reid as Aunt Viv on “Fresh Prince”.

Elizabeth did her share of mugging too.

[quote]Elizabeth did her share of mugging too.

And then there was Paul Lynde . . .

Montgomery started to look ever so slightly dowdy toward the end with the same hairdo and blouses but then in the final season, she grew her hair longer with a center part and wore minidresses and boots and looked the best she ever had.

I loved Montgomery’s muggjng (and she did it a lot) because she was pretty and it made her funnier.

Like bookends for a collection of booze-and-gay-sex paperbacks.

When I think of Bewitched, I think of the guy on the left, whoever he is. Never the one on the right.

r90 You tried

Tried what?

To comment on a thread of 90 posts whilst only reading the opening one. Well done. You succeeded.

York apparently was difficult to work with, criticizing Elizabeth every chance he got. Here is rare footage him assessing her kissing.

Try this link

Darrin 1 looked handsome enough to ve with the beautiful Samantha and seemed like he wud blow a fuse if he caught Samantha doing magic. Darren 2 was Not pretty to look at. He just always made me miss Dick York.

[quote]Darren 2 was Not pretty to look at. He just always made me miss Dick York.

And yet you thought Darren 1 was handsome enough to vie with the beautiful Elizabeth Montgomery?

According to Bernie Kopell, everyone loved Liz Montgomery. Paul Lynde, not so much, a really nasty piece of work. Kopell initially found Moorehead to be forbidding, but she appreciated a good character player (being one herself) and they got along fine.

I don't understand why they cast a pushing 40, below average in looks guy wearing bad dentures to play the husband of barely 30 beautiful Elizabeth Montgomery. Elizabeth's real life husband William Asher was no looker either and did the casting, was he too insecure to cast a handsome actor in the role?