HOME WHAT'S NEW BIOGRAPHY PHOTO GALLERIES SCREEN CREDITS STAGE CREDITS ON THE RECORD MEMORABILIA SIX YEAR GIG ASHMONT A WORTHWHILE VENTURE LIZ'S DAD WANTED ITEMS LINKS GUESTBOOK MAILING LIST CONTACT THE WEBMASTER			WHAT MAKES SAMANTHA RUN? by Jack Holland TV Radio Mirror March 1968 Duck! Here come Liz Montgomery's candid answers to some highly personal questions!
			Liz Montgomery, despite all her publicity, remains something of an enigma to many people. She's lovely and talented, as every Bewitched fan well knows. She's extremely happily married, to director Bill Asher, and is the mother of two incredibly handsome young sons, William Allen, who is 3, and Robert Deverell, 2. Growing up in the shadow of her famous scree-star father, Robert Montgomery, she now casts quite a shadow herself. She's a gentle, friendly girl who--and here's the contradiction!--has learned how to keep her private feelings, private thoughts and private life very private indeed...while never letting interviewers catch on to that! This time, though...well, come closer and meet the real Liz!      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ TVRM: What, to you, makes for a complete person? LIZ: Happiness. TVRM: What, to you, constitues the successful wife and mother? LIZ: Loving and being loved, needing and being needed. TVRM: It is said that you now refuse to discuss your marriage or private life. If so, why? LIZ: Not true. I simply do not think that all of my private life need be revealed. Any actress--or actor--must retain certain privacies. TVRM: What is your natural temperament--easygoing, sensitive, moody? LIZ: I hope I'm sensitive. TVRM: What kind of faith to you live by? LIZ: I'm not sure. All I know is--it works! TVRM: For what things will you fight? LIZ: My husband, my family, my friends, and the Dodgers. TVRM: How do you overcome unhappiness, disillusionment? LIZ: I'm not unhappy and I'm not disilusioned. Oh, I've known unhappiness--just like anyone else--but I learned long ago that if you dwell on it too much you remain in that state for too long. TVRM: Do you trust people easily and quickly, or are you cautious and careful in letting them come into your life? LIZ: Depends on who the person is. TVRM: What was the soundest advice ever given you? LIZ: Marry me! TVRM: What is, basically, your goal in life? LIZ: For me and those I love to be happy and healthy as we are today. TVRM: By what principles were you raised? What kind of childhood did you have? LIZ: I had a very happy and healthy childhood and was spanked quite soundly whenever I deserved it, which was frequently. TVRM: What was the soundest lesson your father taught you? LIZ: To admit your own mistakes, to be a good listener (which I find rather difficult sometimes), and to love unselfishly. That is not only my father's advice, but it has been my mother's advice, as well. TVRM: What set of principles do you intend to raise your sons by? LIZ: Basicaly, the same I was raised by--with consideration of the fact that my children are also individuals. TVRM: In what ways do you feel the woman of today has become more emancipated? LIZ: They open doors for themselves, light their own cigarettes, and then complain when the man doesn't do it for them. TVRM: Do you regard women of today as wiser and happier than women of thirty years ago? LIZ: Not necessarily. I am, because I was only two (sic) at the time. TVRM: In your mind, does today's woman still have more goals to reach for complete fullfillment? LIZ: If more goals means she would like to be president of General Motors, or some such establishment, I suppose so, but heaven knows why she would strive for anything more than the satisfaction within herself as a person, wife, and mother. TVRM: What is your feeling about such youth movements as hippies? LIZ: I think teenagers are great! It is the few bad ones in any group that can cause them to have a bad reputation. Their enthusiasm for life is exciting and refreshing, and if they get a little impatient at times, it is understandable in the age in which we live. TVRM: Do you regard present-day youth as rebellious, or as taking a very real interest in the affairs of the world and wishing to make themselves heard? LIZ: I think the majority of them have a desire to help make the world a better place in which to live...which will be no easy task. TVRM: Does their attempt to withdraw from society seem healthy to you? LIZ: I don't think they're trying to withdraw from society--I think they're trying to thow off some of the bans society has put on them. TVRM: Were you a rebel while you were growing up? LIZ: Certainly, wasn't everybody? I, as all normal children, felt I knew more about everything than my parents did. I didn't, and don't. Luckily, I had enormous respect and love for them. TVRM: Do you feel religion today is meeting its challenges with the young? LIZ: Yes, and I think that's healthy, too. Asking questions never hurt anybody and can only mean they not only want to, but are willing to learn something from somebody. Inquiring, or doubting, minds can stimulate not only the questioner but the person who is being questioned. TVRM: What challenges are the young people overlooking? LIZ: None. They're even making up a few. TVRM: Have you any speical frustrations about the types of roles you'd like to play? For instance, do you envy actressess like Jane Fonda who break loose and go in for more daring roles, such as nudie parts? Can you see yourself in that image? LIZ: I have no secret frustrations about the types of roles I would like to play--or anything else for that matter. TVRM: Would you play a scene in the nude as many actresses do now? LIZ: No. I don't think it's necessary. TVRM: Do you feel the screen has become too lax in letting down the bars and permitting such things as nudity, strong language, emphasis on sex? LIZ: No. I think if it is done in good taste, as in A Man And A Woman, which is a perfectly beautiful picture, no one can object. After all, if anyone goes to a film and doesn't like it, nobody is forcing him to sit and watch! TVRM: What part in a recent film or series would you like to have done? LIZ: That's a tough question. When you see a role that is one you would have loved to have played, it is usually because the actress who's playing it is excellent. Therefore, it probably couldn't be improved upon and--who knows--perhaps if you'd been given the script you might have turned it down. I think quite often a performer is not the best judge of what is right for him. It is always good to have someone whose opinion you respect. TVRM: Can TV ever hope to deal with such controversial subjects as the movies did with, say, Virginia Woolf? LIZ: I'm not sure Virginia Woolf is "controversial." Thought-provoking, yes. Controversial? That's up to the individual. As far as TV is concerned, certainly some of the documentaries are controversial--the one on the homosexual for insance--and meant to be so. Very healthy, I believe! It doesn't do any harm for people to think! TVRM: Candidly speaking, are you happy with your TV career? LIZ: Candidly--extremely! TVRM: What is the most difficult part about doing a show that has such a long life? Boredom, perhaps? LIZ: There are different elements in each script, so naturally neither Samantha nor the show could in any way be boring to me. And--when you're happy doing something and working with people who make it a pleasure to come to work every morning, there is never any question of "keeping up your enthusiasm--getting bored--or having a sense of frustration." TVRM: What intrigues you about the show and the part? Why, do you feel, has it been a success? LIZ: The show, I feel, has been successful because it is based firmly on honest situations. It is a love story about two people. Samantha is 100% mortal female, except she is a witch. The thing that intrigues me and has helped Bewitched be a succes, at least partly, is that it appeals to almost every age group. It's both a fairy tale for children and a rather sophisticated comedy for adults. Also, every housewife would like to be able to do the dishes as quickly as Sam does at times, as long as her husband doesn't find out. And who knows, maybe some do!