'Bewitched' Actress Irene Vernon (The First 'Louise Tate') Was Fired From The Magical Sitcom

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

In the Bewitched Beginning

The beloved magical sitcom, Bewitched, originally aired on ABC from 1964 to 1972. The show starred Elizabeth Montgomery as twitch-witch Samantha Stephens, married to mortal advertising man Darrin Stephens, played first by Dick York and then Dick Sargent. The series featured a stellar supporting cast including Agnes Moorhead as Endora, Samantha’s feisty mother, and David White as Larry Tate, Darrin’s self-absorbed boss.

The Two Mrs. Tates

As with Dick York and Dick Sargent’s double portrayal of Darrin, Larry’s wife, Louise Tate, was played by two different actors. Irene Vernon played the part for the first two seasons, filmed in black and white. Kasey Rogers took over the role for the remaining six years of the show, which were filmed in color.

Fired and “Devastated”

As Vernon once recalled, however, she left the series at the end of the show’s second year because “I was fired.”

That transpired, Vernon explained, because “I was friends with Danny Arnold,” the show’s producer in the initial two seasons. “And he and Elizabeth Montgomery, and Bill Asher [Montgomery’s then-husband and the show’s producer/director) did not get along.”

“Needless to say,” Vernon concluded, “I was devastated by what happened, and I never returned to acting. I started a new career in real estate.”