Bewitched: It was Gay All Along?
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- čas přidán 28. 02. 2021
- The sitcom Bewitched is one of the queerest shows I’ve ever seen - which is a little strange, since it’s about a straight couple. Just a few years later, Soap had gay characters; Mary Hartman Mary Hartman had a gay couple; MASH had a gay coming-out episode. Bewitched never had any of that. And yet … it somehow feels more queer than any of those other shows. So, why is that? Well, that’s what I want to show you.
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"It was raining cats and dogs and I stepped in a poodle."- Uncle Arthur
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'm a stew-away.
Uncle Arthur: Endora, when I think of you as a blood relative, I long for a transfusion.
@@tatbat6665 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The poodle is a German water dog, 'pudel' in German, which means puddle, so the joke is paradoxically obvious.
Liz Montgomery was very gay friendly and always disliked seeing any minority being discriminated against. This show is always in my top ten favourites.
I like to say that I believe and saw the same in that show. So I agree with you 1000 percent.
Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha, has also always been a vocal supporter of gay rights.
Elizabeth joined Dick Sargeant when he was the Grand Marshall in the 1991 Gay Pride Parade...
@@louiscaruso4167 soo cool
@@randyventresca4152 soo cool
I was alive then and, believe me, EVERYBODY knew that Pail Lynde was gay...and he was still well loved. It always made me laugh when he was cast as somebody’s father. You couldn’t stop the gay coming through, and it was great. Loved that guy.
You like him in Bye Bye Birdie?
Paul played Uncle Arthur.
"That feller's a little light in the loafers", as my boomer parents would say. "Templeton? Rats don't wear loafers..."
I love that he had a Halloween Holiday special with KISS!
Gay-obvious actors (Charles Nelson Riley is another in the era) were allowed to be successful as long as their sexuality was never uttered. As long as people are not put in a position where they are asked to imagine the sexuality of a gay character, they can be as flambotant as all get out. Androgyny is not threatening.
When I turned 21 in the sixties I met Paul at a gay bar in Hollywood, fun guy but a self loathing drunk and depressed. Drove him home many times to save his life, but I must admit he was naturally funny and a loyal friend. Had dinner with Paul and Richard deacon not long before he died, great loss to his close friends and fans
Wow! You are so lucky to have met that comedic legend! He was too funny!
Thanks for your account.
Thanks for being there for him when he needed it.
😢
Thank you for being there for him.
I love it!! As a mixed race person born in the 60s, I always thought that Bewitched was a commentary on "mixed marriages". I never realized the queer element, but that makes sense too. Bewitched was great. It made social commentaries without hitting you over the head with them like All in the Family.
Sometimes that’s the added benefit of euphemism and innuendo for progressive media. By not being explicitly about gay equality, you could apply its message to racial equality. Two for one!
I think it's both.
This was the 60s racism and feminism were the hot button issues.
That's a matter of interpretation, gay not at all,
Im glad I wasnt the only black person watching this show! The subtext went over my head but it TOTALLY makes sense. However my purpose for watching this show wasnt anything but feeling like Samantha was like me in the witch part which has always been of interest to me even though I never saw any women of color involved. She felt like a SIS to me and I still view her as such.
I gave my gay nephew my computer when his broke for school and I forgot to log out of my yt account. I got a text from him in all caps OMG YOU WATCH MATT BAUME TOO!
AAAAH that's amazing! Hello to both of you.
Oh wow. Your post got me all choked up!
LOVE THAT! so wholesome
All of us.
I've discovered dozens of 'old pals' who, years later, wondered why I never approached them.
I told a few of them that I thought that they would best me up. (I still think they might have)
Anyway, a half century later I'll just sit back and watch the kids play at #PennilessPolitics
FAB
I don't know how intentional it was, but I also see a lot of comparison to being Jewish or any other "passing" or "hidden" minority. So much of our modern witch imagery that Samantha decries as offensive comes from old stereotypes about Jewish people. In a lot of European myths, Jews and witches are practically synonymous. And much like the queer community, people will speak ignorantly about Jewish people as if there couldn't possibly be a member of that community in the room. I think Bewitched, much like X-Men, became applicable to lots of different minorities and groups by keeping it vague and fantastical.
Yes! My wife and I both thought this separately, even before we met. The witch world was sophisticated, urbane and worldly, European to colonials like us. The queer subtext is obvious to me now but the Jewish stuff even got through to our white-bread, boring existence in a time when people openly questioned whether Liberace was gay (imagine!).
Pl😊
Look at Paul Linda’s body language in Johnny Carson. He crossed his arms and legs defensively right as he said “coming out and being myself.”
BFD.
As a kid anout 5 we had a friend we called uncle Stanley. One day he was visiting and talking to my mom. I walked into the room and asked why you sitting like a lady ? My mom told me to go back and play. Fast forward it seemed he was gay all along. I always hit a vibe from him. Ha
i actually feel sorry for him here, It was pretty obvious he was gay but the need to hide at his age when hollywood would stop calling him for work and still not feel safe to come out. That just heart breaking
WELP I said "a speech in 1996" but I mean "a speech in 1966" so let's just pretend I didn't get that wrong
And I thought "He was born 14 years later, so he's now 11?"
It was probably given in 1996, too.
I thought you meant you saw the episode in 1996. Gotta love Nick-at-Night / TvLand Reruns.
Interesting, I definitely see touches of queerness but I always thought this show was about racism. I mean think about it, Samantha and her family are literally a different species but have the luxury of passing as human and while Darin loves his wife, he often forces her to pass whether she wants to or not. Her marriage is often referred to as a mixed marriage and in one episode it’s even mistaken as mixed ethic marriage when a black woman is mistaken for Samatha. The traits in the ad that Samantha referred to as being offensive were all physical traits which leads me to think they were going more for racial themes than sexual orientation ones. Not that it isn’t there but I can’t help but think race was at the front of the writer’s minds.
@@sweeney60 I just made a similar comment. I grew up seeing my parents struggle in a mixed marriage in the 60's and 70s, and I always loved Bewitched for that.
If Paul Lind was in the closet, that closet door was *WIDE OPEN*. Even as a kid watching him on Hollywood Squares, it was blindingly obvious to me.
Me too. I knew he was different when I was about seven. Back in 1970.
They showed a picture the inside of his house in TV guide once. It was all pink .
Even if it was blatantly obvious, they just didn't talk about it, because talking about it was what triggered the upsetero heteros.
@@kenhollis6197 actually it's more sophisticated than that. By not talking about it, Paul Lynde was able to be outrageous with his innuendo. You even saw the same thing in the fifties on television programs like, 'What's My Line', and hell, going back to the 1890's with Oscar Wilde. It was a game of wit, and that was a beautiful thing.
@@singlesideman Oscar Wilde was openly gay. He even went to jail for it.
Any time Paul Lynde was on the show, I was glued to the TV. He was one of the funniest men I ever saw!
Check out Alice Ghostly
Paul Lynde as Uncle Arthur was my first crush. He was so funny, I adored him.
I remember him mainly as the voice of the wolf in Chattanooga Cats' segment It's a Wolf!
@@BadWebDiver He was also the voice of Templeton in Charlotte's Web.
Paul and Dick Sargent were both gay.
Bruh, calling Paul Lynde closeted is a little misleading. My favorite story about him has a lady ask why he'd never married. Lynde waited a beat, then asked her if she lived in a cave.
He did live in the closet, the closet was just transparent
This is a generation that didn’t realize that Liberace was gay
@@mynameispeaches fair point, though I think most folks who knew at least two gay men had a pretty good idea.
He wasnt allowed to say he was gay, due to contracts he signed. its kindof too bad. they woukdnt let him out of it either, no way did they ever budge. but he wanted too.
That Darren reunion special actually got me a tiny bit choked up. That would have been adorable!
@@richparsons4205 In The video Matt says that the actor who played Darren wanted the reunion to be about witch families being accepted and for Darren to sort of get to be the leader of a pride initiative for spouses of Witches and finally feel open and confident.
Me too! I grew up watching this show and never realized until watching this video. Now I wonder if in some small way, watching Bewitched helped me to grow into the ally that I strive to be.
The show could also be interpreted as Samantha being Jewish and being in an interfaith marriage with Darren. She basically stopped practicing to be with him. They didn’t want people to discriminate. I don’t see it only interpreted just one way way. That’s what makes it a classic show: its relatability and universality.
@@bobtaylor170 That's incredibly rude. 😒
Nah, it has to be about being gay because we have to try to revise our view of everything in order to find progressive social politics in everything instead of just enjoying the show.
@@kolbywilliams7234 Not everything, but some things _should_ be revised.
@@kolbywilliams7234 I see your point
@@bobtaylor170 Straight people do get everything to be straight, straight, straight, nearly everywhere, nearly all the time, and gay people hardly ever get anything to be gay, and then when they do, people complain about it. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for gay people to want to see gay subtext in things because they almost never get gay overtones. (edit: fixed typos)
I. Love. This. The segment about Darren seeing Endora holding a sign telling the world she loved her mortal son in law made me bawl. This touched me deeply. Thank you for sharing this little bit of information. I had no idea of it, and it is so beautiful. I too wish it could have been made.
The episode where Tabitha and her friend declare they're sisters.. they're told by bigoted neighbors that they can't be sisters..her friend is black. Elizabeth Montgomery said in many interviews that that was her favorite episode. Check it out!
William J. Dove,Jr.. Good one!
@@shanibass211 As a Black Man, I can honestly say that I liked that as one of my favorite episdes
@@naheimjudane7617 thank you for responding
It was written by two black students who won a contest
@@juliannehannes11 are you serious?
"Bewitched" was at least partially inspired by the stage play, and then film, "Bell, Book, and Candle," from the late 50s. The witchcraft = gay metaphor is even stronger in this earlier piece. As in "Bewitched," a young witch falls for a mortal and struggles to hide her true self from him. She lives with her aunt Queenie (played by Elsa Lanchester, a clear inspiration for Bewitched's Aunt Clara), who has a lovely speech about "blending in" among the mortals on the bus. Jack Lemmon plays a mischievous young warlock who frequents nightclubs which cater to his own kind. The Zodiac Club, secreted down a secluded stairway in Greenwich Village, allows witches to gather safely with their own kind. The film is a striking metaphor for gay life. The playwright, John Van Druten, was gay and also wrote "I Am A Camera," the source material for the musical "Cabaret."
It was also inspired by "I married a witch" with Veronica Lake.
I find it amusing the way Jimmy Stewart views the people in the Village with suspicion.
See, I always thought Bewitched was based on the black and white movie with Veronica Lake called " I Married a Witch " . Samantha certainly resembles Veronica Lake.
John van Druten adapted "I Am a Camera" from Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories", so the gay pedigree runs deep.
@@lornadavis476 It was compared to a Black & White couple, alot, too.
Endora should be a drag icon if she isn't already. The big hair, the bright make-up, the gaudy outfits, the savage-level shade. QUEEN. Also, this definitely makes me think of WandaVision.
For REAL lol
Agnes Moorehead was a lesbian, too
@@LearnAboutFlow Agnes was NOT a lesbian. Paul Lynde spread that rumor.
@@Garsons-oq4lh Um, well, she's on the Castro Street hall of fame walk, and numerous friends and celebrities said she was.
She is.
As a straight male; I adore all your videos & proudly stand for ALL my 🏳️🌈 🏳️⚧️ brothers & sisters!! We're all in this crazy 🌎 together!
Gay, straight, bi, demi, ace... we can all be united in one thing: Matt makes great videos.
Thank you Matt. Im straight myself, but videos like this help me understand my lgbt friends better so I can be there for them when they need me. I feel this is one of my most important tasks right now! Also helps me be more aware of the issues I'd normally never think about. I don't think I'd be the man I am today if it weren't for your videos, so thank you for that! I always want to get better, and your videos help me with this :)
Thank u for taking the time to explore what your LGBTQ friends may need. Anyone would lucky to have you for a friend.
I'm also straight but as an opera composer and conductor I've been working with Gay men my entire career. I really enjoy Matt's channel and I learn a lot from his perspective.
We all have things that can be misjudged by the judgemental. I think Bewitched remains popular because it speaks to that inhibited being within all of us.
Another show that speaks to me is Frasier, because I fall into the category of a straight man who likes things that are thought to be typical "Gay man's interests". Individuality and being true to one's inner self is really important Life is short and there's no time to be repressed.
Somebody please reboot the dead-mom-is-a-car show.
I can see it now.... "ugh, she's DRIVING me crazy!!!!"
@@ferretappreciator The road to any great show is paved with puns, imho
Elon Musk’s mom accidentally copies her consciousness and it gets uploaded into his new prototype vehicle. She has an affair with Knight Rider. Sounds great to me!
@@TheWarrrenator BRILLIANT. Here's to six seasons and a movie where she's transferred into a SpaceX rocket
I bet I'd be a good car. ...Neil Cicierega, anyone?
“I’m proud of my mortal son-in-law, Derwood.” Am i the only one who teared up at that imagery?! 😭😭😭
no
(sniff)
Not gonna lie, I was already teary by that point because I was just thinking about how happy I am with how much better life is in today’s society.
There were some moments when Endora was kind and friendly to Darren. I think Agnes Moorehead played the role as an old women with prejudices but who was much more upset that her son-in-law hated people like her. It's throughout the series. There are moments at least during the first couple of seasons when Endora does nice things for Darren, or is about to do them, and he offends her by saying something nasty about witches or witchcraft and she lashes out. I think the messages in the series are more nuanced and human than a standard After School Special type of story and that's why the show endures. Darren really was the most prejudiced and unkind person on the show by far because of his fears of magic and people who are different than what he knows. He only made exceptions for Sam's magic when it benefited him and otherwise generally resented it.
more than anything else it was the expression on his face and the tone of his voice that made me well up.
that was charming.
What I love about this channel is how, ultimately, it's about accepting and celebrating cultural progress. No matter how small. Even if the people involved could have done more. Even moments that seemed regressive.
It's not about nostalgia or the fight per se. It's about really appreciating how people who preceded us did their best to make things better.
This is at least as acute in 'I Dream of Jeannie'. Tony is in the military, and if the unit's psychiatrist finds out who he goes home to, he'll lose everything.
The irony being that the actor who played Dr. Bellows was not just Gay, but openly Gay. The entire cast knew about it and loved the guy.
@@canalesworks1247I didn't know that at all. Thanks!
@@studogable IMHO Dr. Bellows makes the show. Jeanie is adorable and for us straight guys absolutely delicious to look at. Tony is of course the straight man. Roger is the rapey, worthless side kick but Dr. Bellows as the buffoon brings the comedy. His body language, timing, physical acting, voice...just everything about him...makes that show magic.
What make metaphors so much better then one off episodes, is that this can resonate and be re-applied to all sorts of different people. Anyone who feels like they have to keep in a dark secret, wether that is sexuality, ethnic background, occupation, or just life passion, can connect with this type of subtext.
"Applicability" Tolkien called. Allegory can be restrictive. It applies only to a single person or group or situation; applicability can apply to just about anything and, so, includes everyone and everything. _X-Men_ and its message(s) is another famous example.
@@scaper8 I was thinking of X-Men when during this video. I agree so much.
As someone that was a kid in the 60’s & 70’s when these episodes were in first run and African American I related to this show very early and they had a few groundbreaking episodes. 💕
@@funnymom7 One of my favorites was one of the later seasons (probably season 6 or 7) was where they actually addressed interracial and blended families. The advertising company has an African American on staff and he and his wife leave their daughter to stay over with Tabitha while they all go out of town for some business thing. One of their clients visits the house and has the African American girl answer the door and gets the impression she's Darren's daughter. He wants to drop the account and I think it's the only time in the series that Tate actually turns down an account.
@@lynnhezeltine3521 Although, its totally unrealistic LARRY would even think about dropping a client with her prowess.
That episode about the stereotypical witch on the candy packaging is one that's stuck with my throughout my life, the big takeaway being that you don't get to decide what is and is not offensive to someone else and need to consider the impact of how you represent people... also that it turned out people preferred the sexy witch design.
@zigmenthotep oh grow up whydontcha. The world is not responsible for or has to care about your feelings because you're fragile.
@Frenchie McDonald TRUTH SPOKEN AND SPOKEN WELL.
@@langlang420 Mighty strong words guv.
@@langlang420 It may be true that the world isn't responsible, however, you are responsible for your own words & actions, & you really do need to consider the consequences of them.
It's baked into our reality that there's always going to be a reaction for every action, and it is our job to ensure our actions don't cause ourselves unnecessary problems.
If you feel being more aware of how other people see you as being lame & weak, then you obviously don't have any idea how incredibly boring and uneventful your life could be if you actually do take other people's point of view into account when acting.
In fact, I choose when to add spice.
Even things happening on a wider scale can be accounted for if you're adept enough at calculating potential situations...
I'm actually incredibly bored because I am that good, and I am not even boasting...As I said. Everything can be accounted for if you're good enough, and I doubt you're going to surprise me with any replies.
I may learn new things, but that's expected...and if you attack me, well... that's not an unexpected option given the existing commentary...💁🏼♂️
Good luck.
@@BJCMXY you're also responsible for how you react to something you find offensive. To take offense at something is to *choose* to be offended. Could people be a little nicer and consider people's feelings before they speak? Sure... Absolutely. Could people choose to not be offended by their environment and choose joy? Yeah, I think so. I think we all would do well to consider how our actions affect people, and to consider the fact that we're not responsible for how others *feel*
Gilligan’s Island was another show of the era with a subtext about people from very different backgrounds thrown into a difficult situation having to survive and make the best of an existential reality in the context of a fantasy.
The sixties were a magical time.
My friend in case you didn't know just about everyone of these shows was produced by Lucy That's right The Lizzie studios produced pretty much all of these shows and Lucy was definitely gay
GI was a metaphor for the 7 deadly dins
Magical time? Not for Vietnam and every oppressed minority that's for sure.
@@charlesneely7995 THAT'S why she had so much "splainin' to do"!!!
I loved Bewitched and Gilligan's Island.
It is known that the reason that "Bewitched" was so loved by not only gay men, but by little boys who eventually came out as gay when they were grown, was that they could identify with Samantha's dilemma. She could never be honest with anyone about who and what she was for fear of being rejected and/or persecuted. Think about it.
❤
This show was so uneven, but Samantha's family was always a treat.
Also, even though she was a cis woman, Endora always felt like a drag queen to me.
Actually, in real life Agnes Moorehead was a well known lesbian
@@maureentrant5588 According to Wikipedia, several of her friends including Debbie Reynolds stated categorically that it was untrue and was just Lynde gossiping. But idk, it is pretty convincing that she may have been bi. On the other hand she did support Reagan in the 60s but idk if that really means much. Not very versed in 60s politics.
I see it
I just want to point out that drag queens aren't necessarily transgender.
@@kenhollis6197 Yeah but they are usually cis men or trans women, which is why OP specified.
I'm straight, but since the day I started senior school, I received homophic abuse. I became friends with real gays, and I am 100% on their side. Keep strong, and fight the homophobes! 🏳️🌈❤😎
I'm straight, catholic, 66 ,black my best friend is gay, and our friendship goes back to October of 1986 we're like brothers
I'm straight, but soft, sensitive and feminine. The meatwads at my school made my life unbearable. My father wanted to kill me for Jesus because I was so obviously queer he couldn't tolerate my existence. I have distanced myself from society because of the abuse. I only fall in love with women. Dude, WTF? This planet's in a bad neighborhood...
I loved Bewitched. Being a quiet, introverted kid who was picked on and bullied in school for being quiet and introverted, this show meant a lot.
It's funny how the media we consume as kids stays with us. When I came out (~30 years ago) it felt like there was split in the gay community between the semi-closeted (what friends called assimilationists) and Out and Proud folks. Sitting in a bar and talking with friends about this, one of them asked, "Well would you rather be Samantha or Endora?" We all knew what he meant, and we all agreed we'd rather be Endora.
I knew there was a reason I always preferred 'Bewitched' over 'I Dream of Jeannie'
I’m right there with you! For me it was Bewitched, hands down. 👍🏾❤️
Interestingly, I discovered very recently that Hayden Rorke, the actor who played Dr. Bellows, was gay.
Same! I loved Bewitched as a kid, but could never get into I Dream of Jeannie. Couldn't pinpoint why at the time, but now with the extra context it makes a lot of sense.
Also, Samantha and especially Endora were feminists, but Jeannie... I just couldn't get into all that "Yes Master" stuff.
See, I always thought Jeannie was more powerful than Samantha, because Sam always gave in to Darrin’s bigotry and control issues, whilst Jeannie, despite the use of the “Master” moniker, always did whatever the hell she wanted.
I'm straight, but u never saw Bewitched as a "gay show; I always saw it as about people who are different. I'm different because I'm disabled and legally blind, and that makes me more visible. But I am just me, and that's what matters most.
I think I cried a little bit when Dick Sargent said about Agnes Moorhead carrying the sign that read, "I'm PROUD of my mortal son in law, Derwood." It touches one.
Dick Sargent's idea of the 10% mortals married to witches was a wonderful one.
Elizabeth wanted Dick Sargent as Darren from day one, but he was on another tv show. Dick York wasn't her favorite choice. But I loved both Darren's.
Damn a little bit Montgomery she was my f****** fantasy
@@charlesneely7995 Thousands of lads, mate! LOL
I’m a straight white male... just giving you an idea how far your demo reaches... and I love your Channel. Always interesting and enlightening. Keep up the great work Matt!
Yea right, 🤫
I'm a straight white female and feel like we are the majority that are being shamed for being straight, white and fine with that 🤷🏼♀️ sorry... no guilt here ✌😎
@@StephFrandsen laughing hard at the idea that we straight / white people are somehow oppressed or being targeted by bullies for our straight orientation or "white" skin color... and then the laughter dies off a bit as I think about how attitudes like yours are regularly used to crap on the *actual* oppression, shaming, bullying and marginalization of people of color or people who are anything other than straight and cisgender.
If you're that addicted to titillating yourself with your fantasy of somehow suffering for being white or straight, I pity you - but I pity more everyone who has to deal with you.
@@StephFrandsen Are you out of your fucking mind? Have you ever been physically attacked because you're straight? No. When that happens, I might listen to you.
@@kenhollis6197 AMEN dude
You might want to read up on My Favorite Martian, which predated most of the "fantasy" comedies of the period and was a top 10 series in its first season, which may have been the reason shows like Bewitched, The Addams Family, The Munsters, etc., all got greenlit in the first place.
“We are quicksilver, a fleeting shadow, a distant sound...our home has no boundaries beyond which we cannot pass. We live in music, in a flash of color...we live on the wind and in the sparkle of a star!”
Absolutely magical
On Roseanne, the young daughter's actress was replaced. In that episode, the family was watching Bewitched, the episode where the new Darren appeared. Everyone says how much they preferred the OLD Darren. The new daughter says she liked the new one.
The older daughter, Becky. Good point.
I remember that... Clever!
I Remember That Too. That Was The Second Becky,Becky Number 2 Sarah Chalke Who Replaced Lecy Goranson.
@@gregoryjones9546 I liked Sarah Chalke. Better than Lacy
@@sheriheffner2098 Yeah,Me Too
The actor who played the uncle was in the closet? That's really sad. Even watching it on the 80s it was so obvious that the uncle is gay. The fun sweet gay uncle
Paul Lynn. A flamboyant regular on the Hollywood Squares
@@emjayay yes the show wrote all the jokes. I was a kid, I don’t remember details. I just remember the atmosphere of question, the implied and the hidden of individuals like him and Liberace. Obvious but never admitted. I as young. Thanks
Now he’s in HELL!
@@BlanketyBlank9050 did God tell you this ?
@@lordmarshall5239 yes he Most certainly did! And may I ask you a question? Did you give yourself that name or did another give it to you?
I think Dick Sargent’s vision of the spouse’s parade represents society, especially the families of Queer people, accepting and loving them wholeheartedly for who they are from the start. Isn’t that what everyone wants-not to have to “come out” at all?
I was 9 when this show premiered and I grew up watching it. By the time I did come out at 18 this show was off my radar. While I have always loved it I never gave it any deeper thought until now when I watched your video. What a revelation. Now that I see it I can only wonder how I could have missed the metaphors. It's so glaringly obvious. Thanks for opening my eyes.
Endora is basically a Drag Queen and I love it.
It seemed to me to be stealth feminism as well.
Oh, definitely. Endora's speeches to Samantha are straight out of "The Feminine Mystique."
Look at Paul Lynde's body language when he was being interviewed by Johnny Carson.
He really was terrified of opening up!
Peter Marshall: You are the world's most popular fruit. You are??
Paul Lynde: Humble, very humble.
Love this video! "Bewitched" was intended by season 1 producer Danny Arnold as a "springboard" to address social issues of the day like civil rights and gender roles, but it can absolutely be read as a gay allegory too, particularly in the latter seasons where Gladys Kravitz became more threatening in her quest to "out" Samantha, and the witches and warlocks got even more delightfully campy and clearly having a better time with their lives than mere mortals were.
TV Land had a documentary called "Tickled Pink" that had a segment on "Bewitched," which included an interview with writer Lila Garrett who said "it was understood that Uncle Arthur was gay" (despite him later trying to marry the haughty witch Aretha... it didn't work out). In her and Bernie Kahn's episode "Samantha's Power Failure," he even quotes Oscar Wilde: After Uncle Arthur pops up in the toaster, Samantha suggests he try the waffle iron next time because "it leaves a more interesting pattern." He replies, "Very good, Sammy. Wish I'd said that." Samantha replies, "You will, Uncle Arthur. You will!"
Sargent's proposal for a follow-up is really gorgeous.
Watch the A & E Biography on Elizabeth Montgomery. Her agent said when he asked her why the gay pride parade? She replied "for the love of Dick"!
I love how Samantha's entire family just wants her to come out already
My parents should not have been surprised when I told them I was gay. I grew up watching Bewitched and could twitch my nose since I was 6.
YOu could twitch you nose? I spent a lot of time trying to do that! and never suceeeded!
I love Elizabeth Montgomery so much, and this is just one of the many reasons.
Bewitched was for a long time my favourite sitcom from America and I've always loved its charms and warmth. The film with Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell just didn't cut it for me.
there's only one Elizabeth Montgomery and she was Samantha.
That Film FLOPPED!!! It Had NONE Of The MAGIC That The Bewitched Series And Elizabeth Montgomery Had!!!
@@gregoryjones9546 Nicole Kidman should just stick to her step Ford wife role, or that weather lady who had her husband killed
@@thecoldglassofwatershow Yes,No One Can Hold A Candle To Elizabeth Montgomery,She Will ALWAYS Be Samantha Stephens,She Was The HEART And SOUL Of Bewitched!!!
Nothing with Will Ferrel cuts it for me.
A television gay couple you might like to look into is Marty Morrison and Darryl Driscoll, two reoccurring characters on 'Barney Miller'. One or both were on all 8 seasons of the show. Whilst they were stereotypically campy, they were shown to be devoted to each other and a long term couple.
"TV shows were talking about civil rights issues like never before. For example, here's this one about a guy whose mother's a car."
"And they were stoned for a week!" - Uncle Arthur.
Uncle Arthur (appears in the oven):
"Samantha, you really turn me on."
One of my favorite episodes was when Endora wants to move to the Neighborhood and Uncle Arthur has the baby out for a stroll on red carpet! "Look at him. He's practically cake walking!"
@@PaulThompsonPaulyWog And then Endora says, "Ooh, he is SUCH an exhibitionist!"
Theres this straightforward sexism in Bewitched too- the husband so threatened by his wife’s power to the point he’d make their lives more difficult in the attempt to have power over her. And then in this power she passes to her children, and so their own father wants them to suppress that part of themselves. It has allegory of being an ethnic minority, religious minority, or queer. Not fitting the surburbia
I’m at the beginning so Matt may address this- but I also always picked up an allegory about women’s lib and women beginning to have their own lives, jobs, etc... like Darrin wants Samantha to leave behind her identity as a witch and be completely Mrs Darrin Stevens, while her single, liberated mother is livid that he’s asking her to basically put away who she is to be just a wife and mother.
@@JC-yy8iv My daughters couldn´t believe this show with the subservient wife was from as late as the 60s. So much has changed, fortunately.
Also, what about classism and racism? We were just watching our Bewitched DVD sets a few weeks ago, and were struck by a few things. Firstly, my sister and brother-in-law basically became the Stevens': My brother-in-law had an office job, and both he and my sister played golf at the country club and hung out with the big wigs in blissful white suburbia. Devoid of magic, though, hate-to-say, and dreadfully stifling and narrow-minded. As it turns out, her brother was the one sprinkled with pixie dust! :) Secondly, if i'm not mistaken, there were two episodes where they had black people featured, and though i was both moved and grateful they'd done that and addressed racism (very BLM!), i was disappointed that they didn't take it to heart and have more races represented on a regular basis. That would have truly been ground-breaking, but that "crown" goes to Star Trek which also addressed the "Those Who Are Different" button on a regular basis. Bewitched was on the very threshold of these issues, but i suppose they didn't wish to push the envelope? Hmmm...Well, in my humble opinion, the world needs all the love and understanding it can get, especially these days! Too rare are these commodities, and far too many battle-lines are being drawn. Almost makes you wish to live in those "simple" times in the tumultuous 1960s again!
Yes! This is what I picked up on when I watched it in the 70s... amazing how it has something for everyone!
don't you think that's more about power?
I absolutely loved Paul Lynd! He was my favorite character on the show. The show started when I was just a year old, so I grew up with it. It never occurred to me that it was a metaphor for being gay. But maybe it’s the reason I have a healthy attitude about gay people today. I was never forced to develop discrimination against people who were different from me. Thanks Bewitched!
I was born a few years later, and recall the reruns a kid.
I was living in West Hollywood and was at the National Coming Out Day Celebration in 1991 when Dick Sargent officially came out. I was always a huge Bewitched fan, and loved being present that day. Dick did seem truly happy when he was speaking to the crowd.
I never understood why the witches on bewitched were so afraid of being burned at the stake. They had such vast, limitless powers they would have been completely invincible. With a snap of fingers or blink of eyes, they could teleport to Australia or turn a person into a chair.
maybe fire interferes with their powers?
it's not that it's hard to hide. it's that they have to.
Bewitched essentially copies from the play/movie "Bell, Book, and Candle." The author of that was gay, and used witches in a similar metaphor/allegory. You should give that movie a watch. It has many scenes that hint in a similar vein.
Bewitched creator Sol Saks has said he was inspired by "Bell, Book and Candle".
@@Lupin788 I know
Im 68 now and watched Bewitched from an early age. Just seeing someone different, with a secret, made me fall in love with the show. I didn't realise why at the time but 50 years later you just opened my eyes to how powerful that show was.
Thankyou from the bottom of my heart!
While I really loved all the characters, my favourites were The Kravitz’s!
“Albert, there’s an Elephant in the Stevenson’s driveway”. “That’s nice dear” 😆😆😆
"Abner, there's an ...!" "That's nice dear."
Everyone knew that Paul Lynne was gay. EVERYONE!!!!!!
Pretty much, he didn't really hide it, like so many did (Rock Hudson). He just never formally said it and damned, he was so effin' funny, in everything he did.
He was an open secret for sure. My favorite memory of him was from Hollywood squares...”what’s one thing you shouldn’t do in the bedroom”
Paul: “Point and laugh!”
@@jaakpotts Peter Marshall: You're the most popular fruit in the world. What are you?
Paul: Humble.
I wonder if the bicycles could be a stealth bisexual pun. The word definitely existed at the time, but it didn't have much cultural penetration yet.
Mmm, cultural penetration
🤯
"but it didn't have much cultural penetration yet." lol great pun
Great thread folks😏
A feminist symbol as well. There was a time when only the wrong kind of woman rode a bicycle. And yeah, the lesbian panic was there.
I was a big “Bewitched” fan when I was young. I absolutely loved it. A few years ago I discovered where Endora was buried, and on my many trips between ATL and DTW, I stopped in Dayton Ohio to visit her. She’s in a mausoleum not far from I75, just north of the city. She’s there, along with her father, her sister (who died in her 20’s), and her mother who lived many years after her daughters death. One question I have for everyone though is, does anyone remember a very short lived Norman Lear sitcom titled “All That Glitters”? It aired only a few episodes before being canceled. It centered around the premise of role reversal where men took the passive role, and women the more aggressive. In the show women were the corporate leaders, and men stayed home doing housework, gossiping on the phone, and they also were the secretaries. Gary Sandy from WKRP played a secretary who more often than not had his rear end in a close up for the women in charge to ogle. I even remember one episode where a pro football team was playing, yes all the players were women, and the cheerleaders were sexy guys. It was so far ahead of its time, which also meant it’s time slot was AFTER “Mary Hartman”.
Bewitched was a good show. 🙂 Never realized how coded it was, but you're right!
I’m so glad you did this episode. I was a kid when I saw these shows in their first run and even though I was an African American little girl in the 60’s, I was sharp enough to pick up that special something only I couldn’t find the words to describe it. And many of the example could also be applied to the African American experience as illustrated in one particular landmark episode. I never forgot all the big deal and buzz about it. And I used to look forward to my favorite character Uncle Arthur. I really loved that character. You just confirmed so many thoughts I had about this show. R.I.P. to all of the fantastic people in front of and behind the camera.
Excellent points, but really hit home for me watching this show was when Samantha went back in time to the Salem Witch Trials and gave a speech in her own defense to the elders about why just because someone is perceived of as different that they have to be judged and persecuted for it. One of the best moments in the series.
I used that presentation in a speech to local healthcare providers about transgender healthcare.
I remember that episode, also she was proud of it and she admitted being a Witch.
Absolutely! Just saw that episode a few weeks ago. We haven't learned these lessons, have we? How long does it take to become an adult?
I also love they way she shows the trial couldn't recognize a real witch when they saw one.
@@serenasmuckers9310 So awesome!! Thank you for sharing !!
"I'm proud of my mortal son, Derwood" loved it
I didn’t expect to cry, but I’m crying.
All I want in this world is a Bewitched reboot where it’s a lesbian couple with gay uncles.
Not a gritty reboot, still a sitcom and the witch still hiding her magic. Just now they are lesbians and have gay uncles.
We kind of got it with WandaVision.
@@Bfdidc No, no we did not.
I've always thought that it's a bit of an odd coincidence that the kids who were watching the Munsters and The Addams Family came of age in the late '70s when goth/emo/punk etc. culture first emerged.
I'm a Doors/Moody Blues fanatic who grew up on The Addams Family, Dark Shadows, and The Twilight Zone!
@@VallinSFAS "For seven years I dwelt
In the loose palace of exile,
Playing strange games
With the girls of the island.
Now I have come again
To the land of the fair, & the strong,
& the wise.
Brothers & sisters of the pale forest
O children of Night
Who among you will run with the hunt?
Now Night arrives with her purple legion.
Retire now to your tents & to your dreams.
Tomorrow we enter the town of my birth.
I want to be ready."
Have you ever done a video on Barney Miller? It always made me laugh how ridiculous it was that the big strapping cops with guns would back away from Marty whenever he was arrested for something,. Like they were afraid they could catch his gay!
I watched these when they were released and I dreamed of what could be. It would be over 20 years before I had the grit to come out.
Samantha explained to Darrin that suppressing adam's Talent (witchcraft) could be not just unfair, but harmful.
But bewitched was more about any minority group that deals with prejudices and hate.
It always gets to me that she died so damn young. She really was such a beautiful lady. Inside as well as outside. I watched her in all of those made for TV movies back in the day. She was a great actor too.
Funny, I always thought that show was secretly about mixed marriages
Dr. Bombay was one of the most hilarious characters on the show.
How about Aunt Clara?
There's a gay indie film called "It's in the Water" which has a scene at a hospice facility where you hear over the intercom "Paging Doctor Bombay", and it is never remarked on, even in the DVD commentary, but it stands out so much, not least of all because there's another scene where one of the gay characters flicks his hand to pretend to make something happen magically and you hear the magic jingle that plays whenever the witches do magic in Bewitched. I think he even has a line in the film, if I'm remembering correctly, where he asks "where's Endora when you need her?" Clearly the folks behind that film are also big fans of Bewitched and the gayness it posessed.
Dr. Bombay! Dr.Bombay! emergency! come right away!!!
He had a cameo in a soap featuring a 300 year old witch named "Tabitha". I can't remember the name of the show but I luckily got to see Dr Bombay one more time decades after Bewitched, and that made my day.
I had a crush on Dr. Bombay.💞💕💖
I'm 27 and my boomer mother raised me on Bewitched and I was drawn to it and all the magic. Endora was my fave because she was so flamboyant. I think I was able to read the subtext before realising that I myself am queer.
im 17 and my story is pretty much the same! was raised on all the old tv shows but was drawn to the ones with queer subtext before i knew it about myself. I loved Endora and Serena for their spunky authentically themselves attitude
@@justynjonn lol I was wondering the same thing.
Probably between 35 and 45-or 48?
(It happens now and then!)
Absolutely loved this Matt. Great job! Bewitched has been and will always be one of my absolute faves. Keep rockin out the great work!
That moment Dick Sargent described of Endora holding up the sign at the imaginary Bewitched reunion is so touching, I wanted to cry. I've always loved Bewitched. I never noticed the subtext til now but it makes perfect sense.
There is a VERY tiny “My Mother the Car” Easter egg in Arrested Development.. coming into a scene Job is watching tv and you can faintly hear the theme song!! I googled it way back then and share your sentiment. Someone bought a pool with that idea!
Endora and Dr Bombay dropping in every now and then was my faves 😬
Wonderful video!! This was (while growing up), and still is, my all-time favorite show. I used to always imagine myself as Samantha as a kid, long before I knew any deeper meaning. Flashing back to so many home movie episode remakes with me playing Samantha & Endora LOL. My dad still says I, “went to the Endora school of acting.” 😂 Such a GREAT video, Matt! Thank you for making this. Bewitched was certainly instrumental in making those of us who “live on the wind & in the sparkle of a star” - feel loved & seen. How beautiful to see that Elizabeth Montgomery lived and loved as a supportive ally. 💙
"I wish I had half the confidence of the guy that pitched the idea for 'My mother is a car'" 😂
my favorite show of all time.....I was born in 1960 --- this gay kid LOVED BEWITCHED !
Me too! Born same year.
💋❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🥰
4/21/60. I have the same birthday as Queen Elizabeth II. My 2 favorite Elizabeth's.
@@serenasmuckers9310 -- Absolutely!! Elizabeth Montgomery and Elizabeth Windsor. ❤👍😁🌈
@@markmh835 um...ok
As a closeted gay kid, Bewitched was my favorite tv show. I always had to watch it. Later, as I got older it all made sense. ✨🌈
Tony Randall played the first title character who was gay on "Love Sydney" in 1980.
He was the Uncle to one of the other main characters. The show was about his relationship with his niece and sister.
I Remember That Show From When I Was In Elementary School In The 80's.
To y Randall also played in the “ODD COUPLE “ where he lived with another man
💜🙏🏽Rest In Peace Paul Lynde💜🙏🏽
not gonna lie, the imaginary reunion bit got me teary eyed
Darrin was trying to suppress who Sam really was. "No witchcraft!" Yet, witchcraft always saved the day.
Can we talk about Endora's fabulous wardrobe?
I never understood how Darren has the balls to think he could control someone who could turn him into a toad! That's some kind of nerve!
@@bunkyman8097 That was the thinking of the average American man in the 1960's: I'm the king of my castle. All must obey me because I'm God.
Mr. LA Tours I'm not sure if it was the men themselves or society. I well remember my mother saying we had to clean up and dress for dinner. Specifically, we needed to be looking nice for "when Daddy comes home." But I don't remember my Dad ever lording it over us. A few moments to put down his briefcase & loosen his tie, and he was in the family swim. That's how I remember the neighborhood houses, as well, but no real guarantee we were representative, I guess ...
@@ellariel7457 It was understood in my neighborhood, too, that "Dad wore the pants" and "laid down the law" back then.
@@caraqueno Yes, but as time went on, I began to see that it was actually Mom who “ruled the roost.” Feminine wiles were, I think, a given (it was the South, after all). But there were also some pretty unhealthy, passive-aggressive, here’s-the-dark-side-o’-wiles tools on her arsenal, as well.
I actually (fondly & with laughter) recall her apologizing to adult me for having taught me the “kill them with kindness” lesson when I was all of age four. In retrospect, she felt that was probably a *little* young. ROFL 🤣 Is it any wonder I wound up alphabetical? LOL 😉 (jk - we all do know it’s first and foremost genetic, right?)
Dick Sergent’s imagined reunion made me tear up, how beautiful, too bad we didn’t get something like that.
I think these shows like Bewitched influenced a generation to be more open and accepting of differences between people. I was too young to see the subtext, but the concepts become a part of you. Art has a way of disrupting conventional thought in a less direct way than listening to sermons. I remember being excited every week to see Samantha let loose her magic and get so mad that Darin wanted to stop her from being her magical self. Loved Endora swooping in with her fired hair, purple negligee, outrageous makeup - all out there and ready to rumble with the mortals. My God that show was everything.
One of my friends and I used to play “Bewitched” and dress as the female characters claiming we were witches. We would put spells on each other and calI “Dr. Bombay”. We would act out what we saw on tv and once in a while I would play Uncle Arthur. Funny, we never had a Darrin in our skits....it was about witches and warlocks.
While it was all so very innocent, there was something in those characters that our 6-9 year old selves resonated with. Now I understand that now better seeing it in this light. Of course, the funny part is we are both gay as adults.
In retrospect, it was a show that gave us hope we didn’t know we needed.
I love that you covered bewitched. I’ve always loved bewitched for many reasons, but also because Samantha Stevens was strong and independent during an era where she really had to conform. I’m just a millennial lesbian, but I loved that she was a real character and despite being forbade to do witchcraft (which sux cuz it’s who she is! Hmm sounds familiar...) she found ways to be herself and still maintain the grace and charm. It always felt really gay to me and she was one of very few role models in that context. Still remains that way today sadly. Great video, thanks!
Twilight Zone also addressed social issues in a subtle nuanced way that could get past tv station censors.
Is that why I LOVED Bewitched as a child and didn't know it?❤️🧡💛💚💙💜