Howard Greenfield -- Bewitched

Wikimedia Commons 

For this week's Reminiscings of Youth, I'm going way back. In fact, it was before I was even a gleam in my mother's eye because September 1964 was when the famed "Bewitched" first premiered on ABC. As I remember sitcoms back then, a lot of them were very much of the zany variety involving magical figures having to deal with life on Earth.

Star Elizabeth Montgomery was one of the first television-occupying women that I could recognize as a kid alongside Mary Tyler Moore, Barbara Feldon and Lucille Ball. By the time, I could acknowledge the TV set as a source of entertainment, "Bewitched" had already been on for a few seasons so Montgomery's character of Samantha Stevens was a weekly and familiar face. But it would be many years later when I finally got a chance to watch that first season which had originally been filmed in black and white. It was rather fascinating to see nose-twitching Sam back then in those mid-60s fashions and hairdo when I was accustomed to seeing her looking nearly hippie-like near the end of the series in the early 1970s.

I also have to give my props to Dick York who played the long-suffering google-eyed Darrin and Agnes Moorehead as the delectably sardonic Endora. Those two in-laws going against each other were also part of the fun of "Bewitched" especially when Darrin had to react to being victimized over and over through magic.

But as much for the television-viewing population here in Canada and America where "Bewitched" has been beloved by certain generations, it really left an impression in Japan. Known there as "Okusama wa Majo"（奥さまは魔女）, the show was so popular that it kept getting rerun until 1980, several years after it had finished its run in the States. Montgomery even made a few commercials there in character as Sam.

I also remember an adaptation of the show being made in Japan starring Ryoko Yonekura（米倉涼子）back in the 2000s. I never bothered watching it myself but when I heard that veteran entertainer Mari Natsuki（夏木マリ）had been cast as the Endora character, I thought it was perfect. As well, though I have yet to cover it on the blog, singer-songwriter Kaela Kimura（木村カエラ）did her tribute to "Bewitched" with the song "Samantha".  I also noted it almost a decade ago on KKP but the 1966 anime "Mahotsukai Sally"（魔法使いサリー） had been inspired by the show as well. In fact, I'm wondering if "Bewitched" may have even had an influence on the whole magical girl genre including "Sailor Moon" and the "PreCure" franchise.

Of course, there is the theme song by Howard Greenfield and Jack Keller. Originally performed as a fairly subdued theme with those shimmering strings and muted horns, I preferred the later version of it when it was rearranged into something more Big Band swing. Either way, the "Bewitched" theme is one of the earliest songs that I know along with the themes for "Star Trek", "Mannix" and "Get Smart".

Anyways, a few months into its original run, the usual Japanese music awards were being handed out. I've got the two Best New Artists from the Japan Record Awards.

Harumi Miyako -- Anko Tsubaki wa Koi no Hana （アンコ椿は恋の花）

Teruhiko Saigo -- Kimi dake wo（君だけを）

By the way, before I finish up, I wonder whether "Bewitched" was also behind the whole sexy concept of Hadaka no Apron（裸のアプロン）?