Trivia

During the filming of They Came to Cordura (1959), Dick was seriously injured during a railroad handcar scene. He and Gary Cooper were propelling a handcar down a railroad track with other men when he accidentally lifted the mechanism without his comrades' help and wrenched his back, tearing the muscles along the right side of his back. For him it was the beginning of the end. He grew addicted to painkillers and struggled valiantly another decade before retiring in 1969.

Was left impoverished in 1976 after a real estate investment failed, and was on welfare for a time.

The Bewitched (1964) TV comedy series was originally a vehicle for Broadway star Tammy Grimes as the lovely witch Samantha. She had recently scored in the Broadway musical comedy "High Spirits," based on the Noël Coward play "Blithe Spirit," in which she played the deceased Elvira, who comes back to haunt her former husband. Dick Sargent was chosen to play her mortal mate Darrin Stephens. When Grimes passed on the series, Elizabeth Montgomery was cast in the role. By that time, Sargent had other acting commitments and was forced to bow out of the pilot. York came into the picture after Richard Crenna of The Real McCoys (1957) fame turned the role down. Of course, Sargent wound up replacing York as Darrin in 1969, after York suffered a seizure on the set and was rushed to the hospital. He never returned to the show, and the "second Darrin Stephens" was never explained.

Started a charity called "Acting for Life". He spent most of his time on the telephone raising money for the homeless and getting people to donate food and clothing.

Despite their antagonistic roles on Bewitched (1964) as Darrin and Endora, York grew quite close to actress Agnes Moorehead off camera.

Developed emphysema after years of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day and became dependent on oxygen tanks in his last years. Died of complications from emphysema at a Grand Rapids, Michigan, hospital.

Director Stanley Kramer allowed Dick to write his first scene in the movie Inherit the Wind (1960), in which his character, educator Bertram Cates, goes on trial for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. This was his last film role. He subsequently concentrated on TV.

He and his family suffered during the depression from starvation and lack of money. York said that what had inspired him to start his charity Acting for Life, which helped the homeless.

Special furniture was used on the set of Bewitched (1964) for him owing to his back problems. Other cast and crew members also helped him get around on the set. He was terminated from the show, when he suddenly collapsed on the set in 1969.

His very revealing autobiography is entitled "The Seesaw Girl and Me".

Moved to Michigan in the mid '80s to care for his wife's ill mother and was diagnosed with emphysema shortly after.

Made a brief comeback on TV in the 1970s in episodes of Fantasy Island (1977) and Simon & Simon (1981).

Appeared six times on the Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) TV series, but never met the famed director in person.

Was nominated for Best Actor in a Comedy Series during the fourth season of Bewitched (1964). Lost to Get Smart (1965)'s Don Adams.

Moved to New York in 1951 and took a room at a YMCA. He eventually became a working New York radio actor on a number of series.

He and his family moved to Rockford, Michigan, in the 1980s to care for his wife's ailing mother. When she died, they stayed on in her house.

Was first influenced to become an actor when he saw the Cecil B. DeMille film The Crusades (1935).

First work on Broadway was a supporting role in "Tea and Sympathy" starring John Kerr and Deborah Kerr. The play opened on September 30, 1953. His success in this play led to a contract with Columbia Pictures.

Buried at Plainfield Cemetery, Rockford, Kent County, Michigan.

York first injured his back while working on the 1959 film They Came to Cordura (1959).

Met future wife, Joan Alt, while doing radio's "Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy". Joan came in to do a commercial on the show.

At the age of 15, York was the star of the network radio program "That Brewster Boy".

When Dick Sargent took over the role of Darrin Stephens for Bewitched (1964), York, who left the show at the end of the fifth season, didn't mind his playing the role.

Appeared in three films with Jack Lemmon: My Sister Eileen (1955), Operation Mad Ball (1957) and Cowboy (1958).

His father, Bernard, was a salesman. His mother worked as a seamstress and later operated a beauty shop. The family moved from Indiana to Chicago when he was ten.

After his termination from Bewitched (1964), Elizabeth Montgomery who played his TV wife in the series, wasn't just not very close to him, she also didn't keep in contact, afterwards and before his death. He said in an interview, he called her only once, and had prior commitments.

Best remembered by the public for his co-starring role as Darrin Stephens in Bewitched (1964).

Was enrolled in The Jack and Jill Players, a children's acting school, in Chicago. This training led to his first professional break with a two-year stretch as "That Brewster Boy" on radio during WWII while a teenager. "That Brewster Boy" was inspired by the success of "The Aldrich Family". He then went on to join the radio series "Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy" playing Billy Fairchild, Jack's friend, for six years (until 1951).

He starred in the radio show, "The Brewster Boy" at age fifteen after a Catholic nun alerted him of his vocal gift.