‘Bewitched’ Star Erin Murphy Says On-Screen Mom ‘Wasn’t as Soft and Kind’ as Her TV Counterpart

Nowadays, Elizabeth Montgomery might be remembered as one of TV’s most beloved on-screen moms from her starring role on Bewitched, but former child actress Erin Murphy has recently revealed there was far more to the sitcom icon that met the eye.

In a recent interview with The Magnificent Others podcast, the 61-year-old Murphy shared her personal experiences working with Montgomery, the latter of whom famously starred in ABC‘s Bewitched from 1964 up to 1972.

“She was nothing like Samantha,” Murphy revealed. “Just like in a weird way, Lucille Ball was not I Love Lucy, even though that’s who we love and that’s what we kind of want them to be. She was a businesswoman. Liz and Lucy were businesswomen actively involved with the production of their show.”

Observing Montgomery’s active participation on the show, Murphy went on to say she initially perceived the actress as a stay-at-home mom, slowly realizing over time how much work Montgomery put in to the show’s success.

“I spent a lot of my life thinking, ‘Well, I wanna be a stay-at-home mom because my two biggest role models, my mom and Elizabeth Montgomery, were stay-at-home moms.’ It took maybe being a teenager to a young adult to realize Elizabeth Montgomery was the furthest thing from a stay-at-home mom,” she said.

As for the particulars surrounding Montgomery’s actual personality, Murphy shared that there was much more to the actress than most people might have expected, with Murphy herself still wondering about her former co-star’s personal and professional life.

“It’s like I saw her as kind of it’s like how you see your mom, and they look different at home than maybe when they go out to dinner with somebody,” Murphy said. “So I saw her as that. I also saw her side where, she wasn’t necessarily as soft and kind as Samantha.”

“She was a businesswoman and she was serious and definitely had that side,” the actress continued. “She was also, and I’ve said this, she had a very dirty sense of humor, and so do I. I know I got that from her. She was a guy’s girl.”

This story was originally published by Parade on May 13, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.