The Bond Between 'Brady Bunch' Star Florence Henderson and 'Bewitched' Icon Elizabeth Montgomery
[Note: This article is an edited excerpt from the book, Twitch Upon a Star: The Bewitched Life and Career: The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery by Herbie J Pilato. Unless otherwise indicated, all commentary that appears in this article is from interviews conducted by the author with those mentioned.]
Florence Henderson died from heart failure in 2016, and actress Elizabeth Montgomery died of cancer in 1995. Henderson became best known as the matriarchal star of The Brady Bunch (ABC, 1969–1974). Montgomery made her magical mark as the leading lady on Bewitched (ABC, 1964–1972). Off-screen, they shared a special bond. Both attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City before achieving stardom. Here’s the story.
A Closer Look
On The Brady Bunch, Florence Henderson was the optimum mom, Carol Brady. On Bewitched, Elizabeth Montgomery was Samantha Stephens, the adorable witch-with-a-twitch.
In the early 1950s, before these charismatic leading ladies found fame, they studied acting, music, and dance at New York’s American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Henderson once recalled:
“When I first met Elizabeth at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, I thought she was so beautiful and elegant. But she was also so sweet and friendly. Her friend Sally Kemp was also so nice and friendly with a great smile. I thought they were the best dressed and most sophisticated girls in the school.”
Years after they graduated from the Academy, Henderson, as opposed to Montgomery, seemed more at peace with the sitcom characters that later brought them fame. Following the demise of the original Brady Bunch series in 1974, Henderson would reprise her performance as Carol Brady in several sequels to the show.
Montgomery, however, would work hard to distance herself from her most recognizable performance as Samantha on Bewitched. She would star in very non-Samantha, more-issue-oriented TV-movies such as The Victim (ABC, 1972), A Case of Rape (NBC, 1974), A Killing Affair (NBC, 1977), An Act of Violence (NBC, 1979), and more. Montgomery would eventually come to terms with being best known as Samantha, but either way, as Henderson observed, “She was a terrific actress and a fascinating person.”
After later meeting Montgomery’s daughter, Rebecca Asher (one of three children Montgomery shared with Bewitched director/producer William Asher), Henderson, who played TV’s ideal mother, thought Montgomery must have been “a wonderful mom” in real life.
Although Henderson never made a guest appearance on Bewitched, she did have a guest spot on another high-concept ABC comedy, titled, ironically, Samantha Who? (2007–2009). As fate would have it, Rebecca Asher (now an acclaimed director like her father) was hired as a script supervisor on Samantha Who?. “She was lovely, and we had some wonderful conversations,” Henderson recalled of Asher.
They Never Acted Together, But At Least Played Password
Years after Florence Henderson first played Carol Brady and Elizabeth Montgomery last played Samantha Stephens, the actresses played together in a week-long celebrity-geared group of episodes on Password, the famed game show, then hosted by Allen Ludden (who was married to future Golden Girls star Betty White).
Henderson’s partner in the game was actor Robert Reed, her TV-husband from The Brady Bunch. Montgomery’s team player was actress/comedian Carol Burnett, who was a dear friend, with whom she had co-starred in the feature film, Who’s Been Sleeping in My Bed? (which premiered in 1963, one year before Bewitched).
It was a grand reunion of classic TV personas across-the-board-game-show-come-to life.