NEED TO KNOW
- Fans are excited about the new Bewitched series, reportedly in development.
- Bewitched star Erin Murphy – who played young Tabitha Stephens in the original series – is keen to be involved.
- On the show for six years, upon reflection, Erin reveals it was “like Disneyland” for her.
- Erin confesses she loves reality TV and would like to be on I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here! Australia
Although it’s been 60 years since Erin Murphy became Hollywood’s most famous nose-twitching tot after landing the role of Tabitha Stephens on TV’s Bewitched, memories of the show remain joyously vivid.
“Working on Bewitched was so much fun. I recall most of my six years on the show with great clarity,” Erin, now 61, says, from her beachside home in California’s Malibu.
“People wonder how could I remember anything as I was so young, but I have great recollections of most of it. As it was a series with magic, it was like Disneyland for a wide-eyed kid like me,” she explains.
New Idea is chatting with Erin following the news that a new Bewitched series is in development.
Understandably, some people are trepidatious about another remake – especially given the flop of the 2005 film that starred Nicole Kidman – and are worried it could even tarnish the show’s legacy.
However, Erin, who enjoyed the movie, is also “excited” by the reboot.
“The writer, who is great, is a friend,” she shares.
“If they asked me to appear on the show, absolutely I would! I’d love to be included in some way, and I know fans of the original Bewitched would enjoy that fun reference to the past.”
Reflecting on her co-stars, Erin beams the warmest smile when discussing her TV mum, Elizabeth Montgomery.
“She was so kind and so beautiful. Liz loved the horse races and had a form guide with her on the set.
“When she died of colorectal cancer in 1995, it was devastating. She was like my second mum.”
Erin says the two actors who played her TV dad, Darrin, were both lovely too.
Original star Dick York quit the series in 1969 after enduring years of agonising back pain, and was replaced by Dick Sargent.
“Bewitched was one of the happiest shows I’ve worked on,” says Erin, who began her showbiz career when she was 11 months old.
“I was spotted by an agent and wound up doing TV commercials. I landed the role on Bewitched because I had blonde hair, blue eyes, and looked like Elizabeth Montgomery,” she explains.
Initially, Erin shared the role with her twin sister Diane because, she says, “of laws governing how many hours a child could work”.
When Bewitched ended in 1972, Erin worked as a fashion model before putting showbiz on hold to focus on “being a schoolgirl and cheerleader”.
Erin has also worked as a make-up artist, fashion stylist, motivational speaker, and stunt double.
On the family side, she is a proud mother of six sons, from her three marriages, and is now a grandmother of five.
“After Bewitched, it was great to lead a normal life. Motherhood is a hectic juggling act, but I’m now back working in the biz,” she says.
“On my bucket list is a trip to Australia. I’d love to take part in the Aussie I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out Of Here!, or Dancing with the Stars.
“I love reality television and the challenge of being out of my comfort zone.”
