Based on author Herbie J Pilato’s exclusive interviews with Elizabeth Montgomery prior to her death in 1995, Twitch Upon a Star includes insider material and commentary from several individuals associated with her remarkable life and career before, during, and after Bewitched, including her classic feature films The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (1963), and Johnny Cool (1963).
Two of Montgomery’s many popular TV movies, A Case of Rape (which remains one of the highest-rated TV-movies of all time) and The Legend of Lizzie Borden (which will soon be remade as a feature film), were groundbreaking and remain classics. But Twitch Upon a Star also goes behind the scenes to explore Montgomery’s political activism, including her early advocacy for AIDS sufferers and the peace movement; her support for all minorities, including the gay community and the disabled; and her controversial participation as narrator of the1988 feature film documentary Cover-Up and its 1991 Oscar-winning sequel, The Panama Deception (both of which chronicled the Iran/Contra scandal of the 1980s). The book also explores Montgomery's tumultuous relationships with her father, screen legend Robert Montgomery (she was a liberal; he was a staunch conservative), and her four husbands (including actor Gig Young, who later died in a murder/suicide). Through it all—and to family and friends such as fellow performers Ronny Cox, Sally Kemp, and Florence Henderson—she was just Lizzie: down-to-earth and unaffected, just like Samantha, the "witch-with-a-twitch" Stephens, her most famous role.
Herbie J Pilato is a writer, producer, actor, songwriter, and entertainment executive. The author of several media tie-in books (including Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door, NBC & Me, The Bionic Book, and many more), Pilato has also produced for the A&E, Bravo, TLC, Syfy, and TV Guide channels, as well as Sony, Warner Bros., NBC Universal, and other television networks and film studios. He now has several TV shows, books, and films in development and resides in Burbank, California, where he established Television, Ink. (a production company geared toward family entertainment) and The Classic TV Preservation Society (a nonprofit organization that seeks to close the gap between popular culture and education).
Table of Contents
Preface Introduction Part I. Prewitched Chapter 1: Once Upon a time Chapter 2: Grim Chapter 3: Elizabeth Montgomery Presents Chapter 4: Brush with Fame Chapter 5: The Equestrians Chapter 6: Training Days Chapter 7: The Europeans Chapter 8: Spirits and Demons Chapter 9: Two Plus Hundreds Part II. Bewitched Chapter 10: Lizmet Chapter 11: Remember the Mane Chapter 12: Double Double . . . Chapter 13: . . . Toil and Trouble Chapter 14: Public Broadcasting Part III. Disenchanted Chapter 15: To Twitch Or Not To Twitch Chapter 16: Temperatures Risingf Chapter 17: Post Serial Chapter 18: Awakenings Part IV. Reconciled Chapter 19: Spirits and Angels Chapter 20: Humanities Chapter 21: Political Science Chapter 22: Final Exams Chapter 23: Graduation Afterword Appendix Sources Bibliography Acknowledgments Suggested Reading Index About the Author
