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myriad of characters with what appeared to be total ease.
    One of her more off-beat roles was that of private detective Sara Scott in the 1983 CBS TV-movie Missing Pieces , a mystery story that was adapted from Karl Alexander’s novel A Private Investigation . Similarly, this book detects and connects the missing pieces of a clandestine and extraordinary existence as it expounds on the amazing journey of a public figure who employed her widespread image for a better world. It’s for the multitudes who remain charmed by the contrasting work of an actress before, during, and after her superstar-making twitch as a witch named Samantha , a beloved character who retained a fiercely independent spirit amidst other unique roles that were brought to life by a majestic, courageous, and real-life heroine named Elizabeth Montgomery.
    At its core, Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery, is about a celebrated individual who, for the sake of clarity, simplicity, and intimacy, and in tribute to her unaffected demeanor, will from here on be mostly referred to as either “Elizabeth” or “Lizzie,” both which she so modestly and endearingly insisted on being known as at different times throughout her life and career.

PART I
Prewitched
    â€œI just never had the desire to be a star.”
    â€”Elizabeth Montgomery, Look Magazine , January 26, 1965

One

Once Upon a Time
    â€œI like to grow naturally instead of being pruned into formality.”
    â€”Elizabeth Montgomery, TV Radio Mirror Magazine , November 1969
    Elizabeth Montgomery literally grew up on television, making her small screen debut on December 3, 1951 in “Top Secret,” an episode of her father’s heralded anthology series, Robert Montgomery Presents , which aired on NBC between 1950 and 1957. She’d appear in a total of twenty-eight episodes, but it was in “Secret” that she played none other than the apple of her father’s eye. Written by Thomas W. Phipps and directed by Norman Felton, this episode also featured Margaret Phillips (as Maria Dorne ), James Van Dyk ( Edmund Gerry ), John D. Seymour ( Dawson ), and Patrick O’Neal ( Brooks ):
    Foreign service agent Mr. Ward (Robert Montgomery) brings his daughter Susan (Lizzie) on a mission to a country on the brink of revolution with spies on all sides complicating the matter at hand.
    The “Secret” title may have represented Elizabeth’s off-screen desire for privacy, while other Presents headings also proved significant, such as “Once Upon a Time,” written by Theodore and Mathilda Ferro; airing May 31, 1954. This time, Elizabeth played a newlywed who contemplates how different life might have been had she married someone else.
    In real life, Lizzie didn’t just contemplate that notion, she lived it … four times, with Fred Cammann, Gig Young, Bill Asher, and Robert Fox-worth.
    Ten years after the “Time” episode of Presents aired, Bewitched debuted with the Sol Saks pilot, “I Darrin , Take This Witch, Samantha ,” narrated by Jose Ferrer. The show opened with his first line, “Once upon a time …”
    Whether represented on Robert Montgomery Presents or recited on Bewitched , it was a fairytale phrase that Lizzie adored and which ignited her interest in both projects, especially Bewitched . As she recalled in 1989, Bill Asher was in the room when she first read that term in the initial Samantha script.
    â€œOkay, I love it!” she said.
    â€œThat’s it?” Bill wondered. “ Once upon a time , and you love it?”
    â€œYeah!” she mused. “Anything that starts out that way can’t be all that bad.”
    It was a spontaneous decision that intrinsically represented the essence of her carefree spirit which, in turn, contributed in no small measure to the show’s enormous success.
    In fact, before Jose Ferrer got the job, she had asked her