Famous illustrators, music with vocals, Frank Sinatra, and lots of history.
Discover details about one of the most memorable opening credits in TV history!
On a starry night, a witch rides a broom across the moon and glides across the sky. With a magical gesture, she takes off her top hat and twitches her nose to appear in a kitchen. Then she transforms herself into a cat and jumps onto a man's lap, before returning to her human form as a cloud of smoke fills the kitchen.
For nearly six decades, viewers have been captivated by one of the most unforgettable opening credits in television history. The illustrations were created by Hanna-Barbera Productions, the studio behind world-renowned cartoons like Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Tom & Jerry, Wacky Races, The Flintstones, and numerous others. With this collection of success, the studio has won 7 Oscars, 8 Emmy Awards, and 1 Golden Globe.
Screen Gems, a subsidiary of Columbia Pictures, was responsible for producing Bewitched and also had a 20% stake in the animation studio. As a distributor of its cartoons, Screen Gems partnered with the animation studio. This explains the collaboration between the two studios. Additionally, the partnership resulted in a crossover when Samantha and Darrin appeared in an episode of "The Flintstones", which was also shown on ABC.
On October 22, 1965, the episode titled Samantha aired with the voices of Elizabeth Montgomery and Dick York voicing their characters.
It's interesting to note that some of the cast members from Bewitched provided their voice talents for Hanna-Barbera Productions. For instance, Sandra Gould, who played the nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz, voiced three different characters in episodes of The Flintstones. Agnes Moorehead lent her voice to the goose character, and Paul Lynde voiced the mouse Templeton in the 1972 film Charlotte's Web. Lynde also voiced the character Mildew in 17 episodes of Cattanooga Cats in 1969.
The animated opening credits were not a new idea. In fact, in 1951, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz from the classic show I Love Lucy also had their cartoon versions featured in the credits and advertisements. This was also the case for other sitcoms like The Danny Thomas Show (1953) and The Honeymooners (1955).
Although the illustrations in Bewitched were more elaborate than in its predecessors, Elizabeth Montgomery, the protagonist of the series and an illustration enthusiast, found the final result to be lacking in detail. She was never a big fan of the opening credits of the series.
On September 15, 1966, when the switch to color episodes occurred, the production team had to adapt to the new technology. This meant updating not only the production, sets and costumes, but also the opening credits. There were some noticeable changes in the show's opening titles, such as the color of the cat and the kitchen tiles.
In 1969, when Dick York was replaced by Dick Sargent in the role of Darrin, the opening sequence was modified. Additionally, the opening credits now included an introduction that announced the name of the show's protagonist, Elizabeth Montgomery, within the first few seconds. During the show's original run, ads were also inserted into the opening credits.
The studio initially wanted to use Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft" as the opening theme for their show, but the royalties were too high. Therefore, the task of composing the theme fell to Jack Keller and Howard Greenfield. They were known for creating pop music classics from the 50s and 60s, as well as composing music for popular TV shows such as "Flying Nun", "Gidget", and "Hazel". With a tight deadline, the duo had only one week to write the song, record a demo version, and send it to Los Angeles.
Bewitched's theme song was initially composed with lyrics to complement its captivating trumpet melody. However, the sung version was not prepared in time for the first showing and, as a result, the opening remained entirely instrumental. The orchestration for the instrumental version was done by Warren Barker, who was also the composer and conductor for the series.
In the second year of production, the creators of the show considered having a sung version in the opening credits. However, they decided against it when they found out that the singer Jerry Vale was charging US$2,500 for singing the short section presented in the opening.
Despite the show's resounding success, popular singers such as Jimmy Smith, Steve Lawrence, and Peggy Lee recorded the theme and released it on vinyl. However, their versions were never used in the opening credits, which remained instrumental throughout the show's 8-year run.
Warren Backer played a pivotal role by adding a musical soul to the show. He was responsible for the composition and orchestration of the songs, as well as the sound effects and striking xylophone playing that accompanies the magical movement of Samantha's nose, and perfectly captures the essence of the show.
A version of the show's opening theme was performed on The Hollywood Palace, a variety show that aired on ABC from 1964 to 1970. Each week, a different host presented the show.
On October 1, 1966, Elizabeth Montgomery hosted the third episode of the fourth season of the show.
During the episode, she made a stunning entrance accompanied by dancers, while the theme song Bewitched was played with lyrics.
Today, we honor the creative team behind the music and lyrics of Bewitched by remembering Elizabeth's performance surrounded by the show's corps de ballet.
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