Agnes Moorehead rare interview on Bewitched set
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 17 ต.ค. 2023
- Lu Ryden interviews actress Agnes Moorhead on the set of the television show "Bewitched," in a segment from Ryden's show on San Jose's KNTV Channel 11. Moorhead responds to questions about behind-the-scenes interviews ("I don't believe in them, it breaks the illusion.."); the time element of theater vs. television; lack of discipline in television; her teaching school.
Part of a collection of films from Ryden's shows and interviews on KNTV between 1965-1970.
This material is from History San Jose's permanent collection. I just uploaded it here so more fans can access this rare material.
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Agnes Moorehead was so classy, and so smart. A legend in theater and radio. THIS was an entertainer.
Yes, she was!
A fantastic lady and brilliant as well!!!!!
Love her on Bewitched - her emotions, her rapport and love for Samantha, her adoration of Tabitha, the way she detests Darren. The perfect mother-in-law
@@ZestySea Agnes Morehead was a brilliant actress, glamorous and excellent in every aspect of the industry, most actor/actresses today can't even come close to her abilities, she is very sadly missed!!!!!
She was in Citizen Kane for God's sake and a four time Oscar nominee. She knew a thing or two about the craft.
Todays Hollywood stars would be well advised to take her advice. The illusion is what made old Hollywood magical!
So true, Very well put.
Today’s Hollywood stars are so full of themselves they haven’t the self-awareness to realize how badly they are in need of Moorhead’s advice. They would think of her as nothing more than a quaint relic who’s opinion is as dead as she is. And *that* is why Hollywood has become impotent.
Very true …. Look behind 5he curtain and it’s just an ordinary man… to use a Wizard of Oz reference
Old Hollywood was about illusion aka non truth.
Celebrity worship especially by Americans, is appalling. It squeezes the last drop out of the actor's humanity. I do not want to know how many partners the actor has had. Why they are a mess in their so called private lives. e.g. For me Robyn Williams apparent suicide also killed his wonderful humour for me. That is for their friends and family. It's like a gift that latter is shat upon. NO fault of the performer but the insatiable media feeding celebrity worship.
I love the diction and enunciation of the old stars. You could understand every word they spoke. No mumbling!
That Brando guy mumbles when he sang and is considered the greatest. Didn't he stick it to the rest.
Well said / stated (no pun intended). 👍🏻
Speaking of that, @2:30 what in the world did the interviewer say so quickly? I couldn’t make heads nor tails of it. But it seemed to catch Agnes off guard.
Yes. I was thinking this sounded like an interview from the 30s. The microphone had a little bit to do with it but mostly her diction.
It’s also the grammar - proper English.
She was old school. Prepared principled professional . Great actress. A Hollywood legend.
"I don't have to take 25 minutes to find out whether I'm Endora or not." Old school sensibility.
😂😂😂😂 👏👏👏👏
A pure class act. Recorded around Sept 67. During season 4. Agnes was sixty seven here. Tragically she died seven years later from cancer apparently developed from exposure to radioactive fallout from atmospheric atomic bomb tests on location during the making of The Conqueror with John Wayne in the Fifties. Up to a hundred of the crew including Wayne in the following decades died from various cancers highly likely due to this incident.
I had no idea! ( Or have forgotten!) Thank you for sharing this information.
And it was one of the worst movies anyone ever made. John Wayne as Gengis Khan?
The idea that testing nuclear weapons above ground ANYWHERE in the continental United States somehow ever made sense is hard to fathom.
That's a stretch
Her mother outlived her by 16 years and died in 1990 at the tender age of 106.
Agnes moorehead was pure class and hysterical on that show.
She was really expressive and funny.
Always looking like quality and beautifully costumed, regardless of the scene
She took the comedic role seriously, giving it her expertise & full attention - and it shows.
She had a lot to do with that show's success.
Her performances were Emmy quality.
@@scottjones1109 Seriously. The episodes without her weren't nearly as good.
@@n7y8c7 Well, Samantha married out of her 'kind', a lowly mortal after all, and for the rest of his life Andorra forced Darren to pay for the indiscretion.
With non-stop disrespect.
You're right, that tense mother-in-law/son-in-law relationship gave the series some seriously frictional humor. .
THEY , the actors had to pay for their own wardrobe, except for Samantha's I think...the director was very cheap! Also, her Aunt Agatha's door knobs polished, were really here collection! and really did polish them. Off stage and in real life Larry and Agnus were the best and dearest friends@@scottjones1109
She was perfect in the role !
Yet, she did not want the part when it was offered to her. Glad she took the part, though, as it introduced her to a new generation of fans even though she did not like playing a witch.
@@SashineB Why didn't Moorehead want the part of Endora?
@@marcosvalenca Agnes was a very fine actress, and she felt that playing the part of a witch was beneath her. And she was right. It was not a challenge, and she said she didn't want to be known as being a witch on the show. But, it also opened her to a new generation of fans, and it was a steady job, which was good considering her age at the time. BTW, she was the first female to host the Academy Awards (she was a co-host), and I think it was 1948. She was nominated four times for Best Supporting Actress, but she never won the award. She was highly regarded by other actors and actresses for her serious movie and stage roles. So, playing a comical witch was fun to so many who loved Bewitched, even though she had originally refused the offer to take the part of Endora.
her performance on Twilight Zone was gripping. such a simple character in that story and she conveyed absolute fear and terror of the unknown without speaking a single word. And Endora, a classic. Cheers Ms. Moorhead.
Now THAT was acting!
I love the response she gave when asked if she had to prepare to get into her Endora character on Bewitched. "Never!" Lol. She was an actor's actor....the consummate professional: show up on time, know your lines, hit all your marks, and don't ad lib. She always flew under the radar....but her supporting characters in all of movies, plays, and television appearances made them all that much better because of her performances. She knew how to work a scene and said as much with facial expressions and body language as with the scripted word. One of the most regal and respected actresses of old Hollywood who not only knew her craft......but was truly great at it.
Indeed, she was amazing in the Twilight Zone. Speaking of the Twilight zone, practically every person who appeared in Bewitched also appeared in an episode of the TZ, including both actresses who played Gladys Kravitz!
Ironically, Elizabeth Montgomery did a similar role of little to no dialogue in another Twilight Zone episode with Charles Bronson.
A disciplined actress. There is nothing wrong with expecting excellence.
There's nothing wrong with expecting honesty,quality and to care about what your doing three things you can't teach.
Very rare, indeed, and very much appreciated. There aren't many interviews with this lady.
A brilliant actress . Very well said . I could listen to her all day .
Agnes Moorehead was certainly a consummate actress. When she talks about discipline and love for one's craft, it makes me think about Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Crawford, and Bette Davis which were very, very devoted, disciplined professionals. Mrs. Moorehead was certainly intelligent, talented, and the legacy she left was extraordinary. Thank you so much for sharing this interview. It is a gem! She gave a honest and fascinating talk.
When Orson Welles has you as a permanent member of his own repertory company, well...that about says it all.
Then there is John Wayne who said about acting, " Stand where they tell ya to stand, do what they tell ya to do, say what they tell ya to say. What's so hard about that? "
John Wayne wasn’t an actor…he was a movie star…there’s a difference..@@Mozart1220
Indeed. If she thought discipline was bad then, Agnes if she was alive would be appalled at current standards today.
@@Mozart1220😂
Agnes Moorehead was great in radio, movies, theater, TV- the woman could do it all and did it magnificently. I recommend seeing and listening to everything there is available.
thank you
Love the confidence & no nonsense attitude. She was awesome!
She got Agnes Moorehead eyes.
She made the character of Endora a timeless, enduring TV character. I watched some original Bewitched shows last night. Always loved her accent and intonation.
Agnes making it evident she had to be the clear choice to play Endora- such a commanding and fascinating prescene. Just watched her again in "The Magnificent Ambersons," wherein she proves her dedication to acting to the nth degree, giving one of the greatest emotionally-driven performances on film.
Now she’s what I call a real pro; no nonsense & no Method!
Agnes Moorehead did describe using Method acting through. 🤔 I am not sure what part of what she described you thought wasn't the Method. 🤔 As she explained, all the work on finding the character, and knowing Endora was done at the start. Then, with a script, she knew Endora, from the inside out, to know exactly how the character would respond to all situations. That exactly describes Method acting.
@@daniellamcgee4251Although I thought it was also embodying the character and staying in character at all times when working on project. So still being Endora on her dinner break, at home at night etc. 24 hours a day being. In character. I could see that for a movie part for a couple months, but not an 8 season tv show. Their seasons were longer too. By a lot. I have the Bewitched box set. There are either 32 or34 (maybe even up to 36) episodes per season. Modern shows like Big Bang etc only have 22 per season.
@@lisascorp You are certainly more of an expert on Bewitched, and the characters, and probably the actors, than me!
My father was a committed Method actor, and trained in Israel with the early teachers as a young man in the late 1950s. Method acting certainly didn't, and doesn't involve being in character outside of the rehearsal and performance time. Some actors do stay in character for the whole time on set, and even in their home life for the duration of the run of their performance, because they believe embodying their character completely, for the duration will help them with a more authentic performance. However, that is just their individual way of doing things, and is not part of Method acting. I hope that clarifies things for you! 😊
She absolutely, right. Love the fantasy of these shows. Lucy, The Andy Griffith Show, Perry Mason when the reality of what type of people our favorite characters really are. Some of the terrible things they went through in their lives. Like she said it "breaks the Illusion" Changes your enjoyment of the show.
She and Lucille Ball and Bette Davis all gave similar interviews about the acting profession: Be on time, know your lines, rehearse until it's right, be a professional, acting is a serious business.
Never, ever, look behind the scenery! Once you do, the illusion is shattered and the magic destroyed, and we need a certain amount of pleasant illusions and magic to make it through the day. Oh, we have illusions, they are all around us, but they are of a darker nature, magic that is of a darker turn, spells that ensnare and bind us, instead of setting us free to soar, and I'm not talking about Endora turning Durwood, I mean Darrin, into a chimpanzee.
@@jeraldbaxter3532Suspend their disbelief.
Such professionalism. Total respect for this legend.
This is the perfect example of a true professional!
What a wonderful intelligent woman a total professional….. I have much respect for this lady. A no nonsense lady.
My first impression is that black and white film looks amazing, even on the small iPhone screen. Second, I love the honesty from the veteran actress.
What an intelligent, poised, classy, lovely lady she was!! 👏👏👏👏 Thank God we still have the recorded images of her work to enjoy!!! Rest in peace, dear Miss Moorehead!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️🌹
Amazing- honest to the point and no nonsense.
A million miles away from the current crop who are forever trying to find themselves and have no room or mental space for developing their craft
Today's " actors " only want to make instant cash, never mind the kraft of acting. And how many people they can take to bed. Scandal driven profession.
Ahh yes! The typical "I can't express love for something old without shitting on something new" comment.
Disregarding an entire industry based solely on age is peak dick!
I agree with the late Agnes Morehead, when people knows how things are made, it breaks the illusion, flatten out the experience. Is like when you know a magician’s trick, doesn’t matter how amazing, once you know how they do it, it becomes just a “another normal thing”.
This is how an interview is done. Both people here are class personified, especially when compared to what passes for the medium today.
Old school bad assery on full display! A very talented and seasoned actress. She knew her powers. Having a few drinks and dinner with Agnes and hear her stories would have been a lotta fun.
Not too far removed from Endora in real life, either!
Agnes sounds really down to earth 💯💯💯💯💯💯🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
Wow so very interesting Loved her character n Bewitched, they don’t make shows like this anymore
Ms. Moorehead was a class act.
Should have won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Hush, Hush,Sweet Charlotte!
Wasn’t she wonderful in that?! Velma!
Or anything else. Cannot completely respect the Academy due to the lack of wins for this legend 😊
Yes!!!
She is someone who could help someone else be much better, even the way she talks and handles herself, she understands the illusion and presentation!
I would love to know the people lucky enough to attend her school.
@@n7y8c7yes, I was wondering That too. If she had turned out some famous actors.
This was a treat and I loved hearing her insight! A gem of a bygone era!
She was great and Endora was the perfect character for her to play every episode she was in was elevated thanks to her.
She was a true professional in her craft❤
The woman you are looking at worked with Orson Welles and was part of the original Mercury Theater. She was in Citizen Kane. I'll say that again: Agnes Moorehead was in Citizen Kane. That is about the greatest, most rarefied credential any actor is likely to have. Ms. Moorehead was classy and a wonderful talent.
Charles Kane's mother.
Could anyone have played a colder Mary Kane?
I understand Ruth Warrick was also in it. She portrayed Pheobe Tyler Wallingford on the soap opera All My Children, for many years. So Yes, a soap actress was in it. I did like the soaps. They are the hardest working actors there is. Learning pages and pages of dialogue daily. Often being told to make the scenes with only 1 take, routine 12 to 16 hour days. (Main characters) I miss the genre.
I have never seen her be interviewed before! This is wonderful. Agnes is very smart indeed!
She was great. A consummate professional.
A veteran stage actress in the new age of TV. Very much an anachronism.
My favorite roles of hers are Aunt Fanny in "The Magnificent Ambersons", Baroness Aspasia Conti in "Mrs. Parkington" and Velma Cruther in "Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte", their extremely wide rage show what a great actor she was
Ms. Moorehead is so articulate, confident and well spoken! Thank you for posting this clip! She was a straight shooter no doubt!
She was so perfect for the role. Classy lady.
Love her 💯 totally speaks her mind
I absolutely love her. Just puts it out there matter of fact.
One of the best actresses ever.
She was a great performer!!!!
Fascinating. Really enjoyed the interview and it gave great insight into the actress's character.
There are only a few actors and actresses today who show such dedication and professionalism.
Right on, Agnes, couldn’t agree more!
I love women, and actresses, of her generation. They were so classy, smart, passionate and fiercely dedicated to their profession. I can't imagine anyone else playing Endora as well as her, and she would have made an amazing teacher too !
Kamela Harris would be able to play the part of Endora; but she wouldn't have to rehearse. 😂
MRS. AGNES MOOREHEAD IS A SUPERB ACTRESS. ACTORS FROM THE PAST ARE TRULY MAGICAL, INTELLIGENT, NO NONSENSE, TRUTHFUL, TALENTED, INTERESTING.
What was great was that she NEVER spoke about her personal life, just the craft. She was Andorra giving a lesson. Didn't break the magic.
Loved this lady. She was great in Bewitched ,Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , the Bat & so many other roles.
My favorite was Mrs. Parkington...she was gorgeous even when Walter Pigeon saw her in the light without makeup...still beautiful and marvelous French accent ❤
A true actress of class and knowledge.
She is giving class here. I love her.
Endora Is 💯 PERCENT AWESOME!!!!
Fabulous interview. Old school, professional and disciplined, that was Agnes Moorehead. Absolutely love her.
A classy lady, a classy actress, an overall demeanour about her from a bygone era. I watched reruns of this in the 80's as a kid. Also when watching historical classic films; she had such a distinctive name - it stood out. There she was in Citizen Kane, much younger, playing a young Charlie Kane's mother. I watched it because I heard it rated as one of the greatest films ever made. After watching it I understood why people say that! Superb!
Yes, the kitchen of a restaurant can be something you don't ever want to see. My Granny never ate at restaurants for that very reason. She'd say, "You will never know if someone did something yucky to your food."
Outstanding actress. Superb as Endora, Samantha's mother. RIP Miss Agnes and Miss Elizabeth (Samantha).
I listen to a lot of Old Time Radio shows wherein Agnes Moorehead was the queen of the show “Suspense” back in the 40’s and 50’s. She was a guest more than anyone else and she was excellent. Could play any role, voice or accent. Those old radio shows are still compelling & very entertaining because it truly is “the theatre of the mind”…The old sitcoms like “Bewitched” were great - so much better than the trash that’s on these days.
I would agree with you about Moorehead being a consummate actor. However, I feel it unfair that you dismiss the sitcoms of today. Then and now there is rubbish. I "Dream of Genie" never stood up to time as well as Bewitched. I could list the sitcoms that were of quality but actors like Agnes set a standard that without her, Bewitch would have been very ordinary. Also the scripts behind EVERYTHING they speak and move to are essential and Bewitch had very good script writers.
She was in the infamous broadcast of "War of the Worlds" and was Kane's mother in "Citizen Kane".
There was trash then as well. "My Mother the Car"? Come on.
@@Mozart1220Don't knock Ann Sothern.
Very entertaining, though only a vocal performance.
Check out her work, from Congo Maizie to the Whales of August.
Stellar performer.
Don't forget her Twilight Zone performance. No words...
Moorehead died of uterine cancer on April 30, 1974, in Rochester, Minnesota, aged 73. Her sole immediate survivor was her mother, Mary, who died in 1990 at the age of 106. Moorehead had joined Orson Welles' Mercury Players, as one of his principal performers in 1937. She also had notable roles in films such as Citizen Kane (1941), Dark Passage (1947), Show Boat (1951), and All That Heaven Allows (1955). Moorehead garnered four nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for her performances in: The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), Mrs. Parkington (1944), Johnny Belinda (1948), and Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964). She is also known for the radioplay Sorry, Wrong Number (1943). She gained acclaim for her role as Endora on the ABC sitcom Bewitched which she played from 1964 to 1972. Her performance earned her six nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. For her role on the western series The Wild Wild West she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She should have received an Academy Award for The Magnificent Ambersons.
Absolutely agree. She was a tremendous actor
That is purely speculation on your part. No one knows for certain how someone develops cancer.
Have you written her biography? I have. @@rah62
Agnes is a legend! I remember having a nightmare as a child and Endora was in it.
I wanted Endora to be my Aunt! My Mom was great but my Aunt was a nightmare!
She scared me a bit too when I was a small child catching the show in reruns. It was my favorite show. Me and my mother often watched it together during the day when I had half day kindergarten or just after grade school let out. Great memories watching with my Mom. She loved the show too.
Growing up, I only knew Agnes Moorehead from Bewitched.
Now I've heard her on a few Old Time Radio shows and know what an incredible talent she was.
It's the same with Howard McNear (Floyd on the Andy Griffith Show).
He was my least favourite character.
Hearing him play so many different kinds of roles on OTR really surprised me. Another great talent.
She did a great episode on the original Twilight Zone.
@@mrxman581Elizabeth Montgomery also did an episode of Twilight Zone (as a brunette) She was gorgeous either way.
Many times TV sitcom actors are underappreciated. Agnes Moorehead made me believe she was Endora. It's odd seeing this interview where she is herself.
Agnes...was a Very Talented Actress, very eloquent and had alot of learned common sense about Hollywood & the industry. If only we could go back to these times, alas.
This is a time, when our spoken English; was very much aligned.
It changed probably late 1970s and early 1980s. Into what it has become.
It means nowadays, I have to more often than not; put subtitles on the screen.
Best wishes, from Kensington and Chelsea; in London
🇬🇧 🤝 🇺🇸
I'd love to know who her students were. Fantastic interview
I heard that in one class she ran her amazing Twilight Zone episode for the students to watch. In another class she spent a good portion of it standing on one foot, having studied yoga. She showed an example of discipline with that and mastering one’s physical instrument. An inspired, inspiring artist.
I agree with Ms Moorehead. She was a very good actress in the old time theater and knew her business. She seems to me to be a good ole be on time ole gal. Im in total agreement, BE ON TIME DAMMIT!!!!
Great words! She is absolutely right. - Well, what she would say about today, on the other side? Hahah. - Bless her - she was really great actress.
It's clear from this video that Miss Moorhead did not suffer fools gladly.
Absolutely right you definitely would come off worst if you managed to pi$$ her off
Wow! Loved it. She sounded like a very intelligent woman who was tough.
What a Star an exceptional actress
Love her. Greatest actress of her time.
Thank you for sharing this video. Agnes Moorehead was a fabulous actress.
What an amazing woman and actress, straight to the point, no fu#king around and so true to herself!
I loved her in the original Twilight Zone. Great episode.
She was awesome back in the days. Loved her ❤🌹
OMG I love her. I wish I could go back in time and take classes from her.
Agnes Moorehead was so wonderfully frank and talented. She was a consumate actress and has left behind such remarkable performances. It is very hard to imagine Bewitched without her. She really made the show.
True legend! Hollywood at one time was magic..full of glamorous legends ..true talent...great screen writers..no computers no cgi ..the only magic trick back then was great talent...and today we have none of those attributes.. thank god, the works of great legends like anges moorehead are available for people like myself whom don't identify with any of today's so called talent...
She speaks the truth...
I love old movies, and she played in one of my favorites..
Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte...
love it. She worked for her craft
I loved everything she had to say about everything!! THAT is a great example of a PROFESSIONAL.
A classy lady AGNES😁🇨🇦🇨🇦
Agnes Moorhead never gave a poor performance in her career and this interview gives clue to it; her absolute passion for acting. Her mime study with Marceau I believe allowed her to say so much without uttering word. Her performance in "The Invaders" on Twilight Zone is mesmerizing. An excellent interview straight from the heart without being coy that only increases my admiration for her.
I think she’s right.
She was awesome.
May God rest her soul.
A Legendary Actress. A real pro. ❤
A consummate professional who took her work seriously! Love to see her speak on these topics.
The interview by itself was a master class. As much as I have always enjoyed Ms Moore heads work now I am enchanted by her . Talking about discipline, preparation, and punctuality leads me to believe she would have been an excellent military drill sergeant....well done and thank you for the post
What Agnes says about the lack of discipline in acting, at the time, could be said of the music industry as well. When one thinks about classically trained artists who spent years developing their talent into true ability compared to those individuals who can barely carry a tune getting up on stage to shout to music. . . and that sells. It is all a matter of discipline in both areas. That can be said for anything, really, if people want to be great at what they do.
I totally agree. Music tastes do change and that is for the better but you can tell the crafted from the generic straight up. I listened to Taylor Swift the other day and her pleasant girly voice doesn't match with the adoration of millions for her material. Her staging is generic. Her lyrics are off and somewhat cruelly narcissistic. Perhaps that explains her popularity, the rise and rise of the narcissist.
The great long lasting acts from that era, like the Rolling Stones & The Who, had initiative, discipline, and professional follow through when it came to writing, recording, & performing their music.
Later bands and/or musicians like Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Bob Seeger, & Linda Rondstadt possessed the necessary & proper work ethic too.
You're so right. No one can stay on top in ANY profession without good discipline & a consistent willingness to work hard.
@@scottjones1109They say Steven Tyler of Aerosmith was a strict taskmaster and perfectionist, often irritating his band members with saying how much they had to practice and perfect their craft.
100%!
@@michael1345always whining about being butt hurt or fighting back.
LOVED AGNUS MOOREHEAD!!!!!!!! One of the last great actresses!!!
Total professional and so very talented , she added something special to Every line of dialogue . She made the part her own , so delicious . She’d po no I’m at Darwood- so funny yet you knew she deep down knew Farren loved her daughter. Great stage actress .
Wow !!! Great interview and thank you so much for sharing this. It really gives a keen insight into Agnes Moorehead's thoughts about her craft. Excellent !!!!!
From MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS to Endora to Velma Cruthers, Agnes dazzled as an extremely versatile actress!
So talented, iconic, and brilliant.
Agnes Moorehead was the epitome of a serious actress. And she was so elegant!
I love her..She was a lady of great talent and dignity
Treasure. True actor.
🎭
Agnes Moorehead was the queen of character actresses IMO. Listening to this interview is a revelation.