Dick York, 63, Actor Who Was Husband In TV's 'Bewitched' (Published 1992) (2024)

Dick York, who played the befuddled husband of a nose-twitching witch in the 1960's ABC television series "Bewitched," died on Thursday at Blodgett Memorial Medical Center in Grand Rapids, Mich. He was 63 years old.

Mr. York had had emphysema and a degenerative spinal condition for several years, his family said.

For five years, Mr. York played Darrin Stephens, an advertising executive whose wife, Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery), was a witch who could work miracles with a twitch of her nose.

Agnes Moorehead played Mr. York's overbearing mother-in-law, also a witch, who perpetually mangled her son-in-law's name. A Child Actor on Radio

"Bewitched" was the second-highest-rated series of the season in its debut year, 1964-65, behind only "Bonanza," and remained in the top 10 through most of Mr. York's tenure on the show.

Mr. York was replaced on the show by Dick Sargent in 1969 when problems stemming from an old back injury, including overdependence on painkillers, forced him to leave. The show continued until 1972.

Mr. York was born in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Sept. 4, 1928. He began his acting career as a child, performing in radio shows in Chicago, where his family moved when he was young. One of his radio roles was Jack Armstrong, "the All-American Boy."

In the 1962-63 season, Mr. York appeared in a television series based on the 1944 film "Going My Way."

In addition to his television work, he appeared in several films, including "My Sister Eileen" and "Inherit the Wind," in which he played the schoolteacher whose teaching of evolution prompted the celebrated 1920's "monkey trial."

He also appeared on Broadway in the mid-1950's in "Tea and Sympathy" and "Bus Stop."

Despite his illnesses, Mr. York was active in raising funds for the homeless, working by telephone while largely confined to his home. He called his private fund-raising effort Acting for Life.