In Memory of 'Bewitched' Actor George Tobias: Later a Sheriff, His Body Was Stolen After He Died

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

The Big Picture

Today marks the 60th Anniversary of Bewitched, the beloved supernatural sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 1964 to March 25, 1972. The show starred Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, the twitch-witch, and Dick York and later Dick Sargent as her mortal husband Darrin. Many supporting actors played various roles including George Tobias, who played the Stephens’ neighbor Abner Kravitz, married to the befuddled Gladys Kravitz, played by Alice Pearce, then Sandra Gould.

Here’s a look back at this life and career, which included a stint as a sheriff in later years. Then, after he died of bladder cancer on February 27, 1980, his body was stolen.

In the Beginning

George Tobias began a colorful life on July 14, 1901, in New York City, on the Lower East Side. Coming from a theatrical family, he began his career when he was 15 at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York.

At 19, he was cast in a Provincetown Playhouse production of The Hairy Ape, the play by Eugene O’Neil destined to become a classic.

Shortly after, Maxwell Anderson and Laurence Stallings selected Tobias for the original Broadway production of What Price Glory. He remained with the successful production from 1924 to 1926.

Tobias went on to appear in several other popular plays, including one with future Bewitched co-star Sandra Gould, and You Can’t Take It With You, one of Broadway’s all-time super hits.

Tobias eventually arrived in Hollywood, making movies for MGM, including the Oscar-winning Ninotchka (1939) which, in 1967, was made into a musical titled, Silk Stalkings (in which he was also featured).

Besides, Ninotchka, Tobias appeared in three other Oscar-winning movies, Yankee Doodle Dandy, (1942), Mildred Pierce (1945), and Sergeant York (1941). In the latter film, he starred opposite Gary Cooper, as did fellow-Bewitched actor Dick York in They Came To Cordura (1959).

Meanwhile, the title, Sergeant York, in Bewitched lore, always amuses fans as it utilizes some version of the last names of the actors who played Darrin.

Additional Cinematic and TV Travels with Tobias

George Tobias’ other films included Marjorie Morningstar (1958), and The Glass Bottom Boat (1966), in which he co-starred with Bewitched colleague Alice Pearce.

Tobias’ last screen appearance was in Tabitha, the TV sitcom spin-off from Bewitched, in which he reprised (with Sandra Gould) his Kravitz role.

He Was the Sheriff: A Brush with the Law on the Good Side

Bewitched co-star David White, who played Darrin’s self-absorbed Larry Tate, once recalled how George Tobias in his later years, had left Hollywood behind and worked in law enforcement.

“He was a sheriff out in Peach Blossom [CA] where he lived,” White said. “He had a badge and everything. If he ever saw something suspicious, he was told to call it in. He had a two-way radio in his jeep, and used to be quite a rambler out there.”

In the End: A Second Brush with the Law - After He Died

Though a lifelong bachelor, George Tobias was involved, on and off, with actress Milicent Patrick for 40 years until his demise in 1980.

Interstingly, when Tobias died, the hearse containing his body was stolen on the way to the mortuary. Involved in a fender bender, the vehicle was stolen by carjackers while information was being exchanged by the occupants of the vehicles. The car and the body were found shortly after.