‘Bewitched’ Star Erin Murphy’s BTS Memories: ‘Back in the ’60s, They Got Away With a Lot’ (Exclusive)

Mike Pingel October 29, 8:17 pm

BEWITCHED, Dick York, Elizabeth Montgomery, Erin/Diane Murphy, 1964-72 — Everett Collection

As Halloween looms ahead, it’s the perfect time to catch up with one of America’s favorite TV witches, Erin Murphy of Bewitched. Murphy played the pint-sized witch Tabitha for six seasons and 103 episodes. And, as she told ReMIND in the second half of our exclusive interview, she connected with one cast member on a deeper level than any other — and it wasn’t her TV mom!

Read on to find out more about that, as well as other BTS memories. And on Friday, October 31 Antenna TV is celebrating TV’s most charming supernatural family with an all-day Bewitched Witch-O-Ween Marathon beginning at 5 a.m. ET on Friday, October 31. Fans can catch the show’s beloved Halloween episodes, including “The Witches Are Out,” “Trick or Treat,” “Twitch or Treat,” “A Safe and Sane Halloween,” “To Trick or Treat,” and “The Ghost Who Made a Spectre of Himself.” Be sure to check your local listings for more information.

BEWITCHED, <a href=

ReMIND: How does it feel being named one of America’s favorite witches?

Erin Murphy: It’s awesome. I’m on a list with some great other witches. It’s always nice to be remembered fondly.

How was it working with your sister at the time? [21 episodes of Bewitched were shot with her sister, Diane Murphy, sharing the role of Tabitha]

It was fine. I love my sister, so it was always nice having her on set. But it was only really the first season, and then she went away, and I was there by myself.

So, the things I’ve been told that I didn’t remember or know at the time, [producer/ director] Bill Asher, who was married to Liz [Elizabeth Montgomery], said that they would bring me off set and then bring me back on set. And basically, they’d walk me off stage and say, “Okay, bring Diane,” and then they would walk me back because I was so well-behaved.

So even when we were working together, and I’m doing air quotes, we weren’t actually working together. They were kind of double-using me, which they couldn’t do today. Back in the ’60s, they got away with a lot.

BEWITCHED, <a href=

Do you have a favorite episode?

I don’t have one. It’s going to sound so conceited: I like every episode I’m in the most. I like the episodes where I turned Amy into a butterfly, when my character went to preschool, and episodes with the storybooks like Jack and the Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel. And any time where there were other kids or animals there, because it was the most fun to film.

How was it working with Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York & Dick Sargent?

It was great. Nice people. Looking back, they treated me like a contemporary in many ways. I was expected to know my lines and expected to behave and act like a little actress. They loved me and I felt like they were family members in many, many ways. But I feel like in some ways they treated me like an equal, which in retrospect is kind of cool because I was so young when I started on the show.

BEWITCHED, <a href=

Any memories of Agnes Moorehead?

Many, many. She was my favorite. I haven’t always said that because I’m really, really diplomatic, but she was far and away my favorite because I loved her like a grandma. She treated me like her grandchild. I loved hanging out in her dressing room and she would draw me little cartoons. I still have some of them, like little animation things that she drew for me. I loved her so much.

Did any of them give you any advice, you know, as a child or actress, or just for life?

I don’t know if I’d call it advice. I mean, Agnes Moorehead had an acting school where she taught acting, and she always talked about how when I was a little bit bigger, she would teach me fencing. Because it’s all about the back and forth and it’s such an important thing to know as an actor. I always thought about that, as I got older.

As a little actress, did you ever think you were a real witch?

No. There’s a story that it was a weekend, and my mom asked what I wanted for breakfast, and I said I wanted eggs. And she said, well, we don’t have any eggs. And I said, I’ll just twitch some up. But I was joking. I knew I couldn’t do magic.

Did you make up Tabitha’s using her finger to move her nose for her powers?

No, Bill Asher came up with that. And since I was a baby witch, I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own, so it’s kind of like learning to making my nose move, because that’s where the magic generates from. So, they just came up with it as something they thought was adorable.