Acclaimed Black Actress Juanita Moore Praised Elizabeth Montgomery's pre-'Bewitched' Biracial Role

Juanita Moore (left) performed with Elizabeth Montgomery (right) in "White Lie," an historic episode of TV's '77 Sunset Strip'Photo byClassic TV Preservation Society

[Note: Unless otherwise indicated, commentary and quotes in this article are from interviews conducted by the author with those mentioned.]

The Big Picture

Elizabeth Montgomery, who died of cancer in 1995, became best known for her magical role as Samantha the witch-with-a-twitch Stephens on Bewitched, which premiered on ABC on September 17, 1964.

Montgomery filmed the pilot for Bewitched on November 22, 1963, the horrific day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

One month before, Montgomery appeared in a groundbreaking episode of 77 Sunset Strip, titled, “White Lie,” which debuted October 25, 1963.

Intermingling Fantasy with Reality

President Kennedy was a dedicated advocate for Civil Rights. Elizabeth Montgomery, who was friends with President Kennedy, also supported various minor groups and social causes. “Prejudice” was a key theme of Bewitched, which heralded diversity and true love and friendship among all cultures.

In the “White Lie” episode of 77 Sunset Strip, Montgomery portrayed Charlotte, a biracial small-town schoolteacher who must confront her past to assist a struggling African-American family headed by Celia Jackson, played by the Oscar-nominated African American actress Juanita Moore (Imitation of Life, 1959).

Telling Commentary

In an exclusive interview from 2012, Juanita Moore recalled working with Montgomery on 77 Sunset Strip:

“She was talented…she was an actress…a fine actress! She left this world too young…she was so gifted…such a divine person…so easygoing. At the time of 77 Sunset Strip we [as actresses] had limited parts. She told me concerning our parts, “Juanita, walk with it…feel free and walk with it.’ She looked me right in the eye and that’s what she said to me. And I had never had that said to me before as she said it. And we did just that in that episode…we walked with it.”

Moore, who had also worked with Montgomery’s Bewitched co-star Agnes Moorehead in the acclaimed 1966 film, The Singing Nun, also shared her thoughts on Elizabeth’s starring role as TV’s Samantha Stephens:

“Everyone said that she was stuck-up because of having her own show. but they [were] just jealous actors and naysayers. I think she was good [as Samantha], and I think she could have been better…if they [had] let her loose and allowed her to stretch herself…and you saw that [when she played] Serena [Samantha’s wilder twin cousin]…but [because of TV then] you had to tone things down.”