Bewitched wasn’t cancelled because of low ratings. Elizabeth Montgomery, the show’s star, was the reason.
Bill Asher, her husband, told her, “Don’t quit – you have too much ability.”
After the fifth season, Elizabeth wanted to leave Bewitched, but ABC offered her so much money she couldn’t refuse.
By the final season, she was plodding through each episode bra-less – a nod to women’s liberation – and didn’t want to be there.
ABC offered her another fortune, but she declined. She longed to escape Samantha Stephens.
She owned 20% and received residuals after quitting the show. In 1995, she died of cancer at 62.
