What Was Elizabeth Montgomery's Net Worth and Salary?
Elizabeth Montgomery was an American actress who had a net worth equal to $20 million at the time of her death in 1995, after adjusting for inflation. Montgomery was best known for starring as Samantha Stephens on the ABC sitcom "Bewitched" (1964–1972), a role that earned her five Primetime Emmy nominations and four Golden Globe nominations. Elizabeth had more than 60 acting credits to her name, including the films "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell" (1955), "Johnny Cool" (1963), and "Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?" (1963), the TV movies "The Spiral Staircase" (1961), "A Case of Rape" (1974), "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), and "Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story" (1993), the miniseries "The Awakening Land" (1978), and the television series "Robert Montgomery Presents" (1951–1956) and "Kraft Television Theatre" (1954–1957). Montgomery also performed on Broadway, playing Janet Colby in "Late Love" (1953), Maggie Flannigan in "The Loud Red Patrick" (1956), and Melissa Gardner in "Love Letters" (1989). She won a Theatre World Award for "Late Love." Sadly, Elizabeth passed away from cancer in May 1995 at the age of 62.
Early Life
Elizabeth Montgomery was born Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery on April 15, 1933, in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Elizabeth Daniel Bryan Allen, was a Broadway actress, and her father, Robert Montgomery, was an Academy Award-nominated actor. Elizabeth had a younger brother named Robert Jr., and her older sister, Martha, died at just 14 months old before Montgomery was born. Elizabeth's parents divorced in 1950. Montgomery attended the Westlake School for Girls before graduating from New York City's Spence School. She then spent three years at Manhattan's American Academy of Dramatic Arts. After Elizabeth's death, it was discovered that she was a sixth cousin once removed of Lizzie Borden, who she portrayed in the 1975 TV movie "The Legend of Lizzie Borden."
Career
In 1951, Elizabeth's father cast her on his NBC series "Robert Montgomery Presents," and she appeared in 30 episodes. She then appeared on "Armstrong Circle Theatre" (1953–1954), "Kraft Television Theatre" (1954–1957), "Appointment with Adventure" (1955–1956), and "Studio One" (1955–1958), and her first film was 1955's "The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell." Montgomery guest-starred on "Climax!" (1956), "Suspicion" (1958), "Cimmarron City" (1958), "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1958), and "Wagon Train" (1959) , and she appeared in the TV movies "Bitter Heritage" (1958), "The Spiral Staircase" (1960), and "Boston Terrier" (1963) and the film "Johnny Cool" (1963). She starred in the 1963 film "Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed?" alongside Dean Martin and Carol Burnett, and she received a Primetime Emmy nomination for guest-starring on "The Untouchables" in 1960. From 1964 to 1972, Elizabeth starred as witch Samantha Stephens on "Bewitched," which aired 254 episodes over eight seasons. Montgomery also played Samantha's cousin Serena on the show, and in 2002, "TV Guide" ranked the series #50 on its "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time" list.
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From 1965 to 1975, Elizabeth appeared in more than 80 episodes of the game show "Password." In the '70s, she earned Primetime Emmy nominations for the television films "A Case of Rape" (1974) and "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975) and the miniseries "The Awakening Land" (1978), and she starred in the TV movies "The Victim" (1972), "Mrs. Sundance" (1973), "Dark Victory" (1976), "A Killing Affair" (1977), "Jennifer: A Woman's Story" (1979), and "Act of Violence" (1979). Montgomery played the title role in the 1980 television film "Belle Starr," then she appeared in the TV movies "When the Circus Came to Town" (1981), "The Rules of Marriage" (1982), "Missing Pieces" (1983), "Second Sight: A Love Story" (1984), "Amos" (1985), and "Between the Darkness and the Dawn" (1985). Elizabeth narrated the films "Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair" (1988) and "The Panama Deception" (1992), and in the last few years of her life, she starred in the TV movies "Face to Face" (1990), "Sins of the Mother" (1991), "With Murder in Mind" (1992), "Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore Story" (1993), "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" (1994), and "Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan" (1995). She also lent her voice to an episode of "Batman: The Animated Series," which aired a few months after her death in 1995.
Personal Life
Elizabeth married four times, and her first marriage was to socialite Frederick Gallatin Cammann. The two married in March 1954 and divorced in August 1955. Montgomery then married actor Gig Young on December 28, 1956, and they divorced in early 1963. She wed director/producer William Asher on October 26, 1963, and they welcomed daughter Rebecca and sons William Jr. and Robert before divorcing in 1974 due to Elizabeth's affair with "Bewitched" director Richard Michaels. The affair led to the end of the series since Asher also worked on the show, both as a director and producer. Montgomery married actor Robert Foxworth on January 28, 1993, after nearly two decades of living together, and they remained together until her death just over two years later. Elizabeth was a Democrat, feminist, and gay rights activist, and she was an advocate for the disabled community and AIDS research. In 1992, Montgomery and her former "Bewitched" husband Dick Sargent served as grand marshals of the Los Angeles Gay Pride Parade. Elizabeth volunteered at the nonprofit organization Learning Ally and produced public-service announcements for the organization's Los Angeles unit. She also recorded a version of the A. A. Milne poetry book "When We Were Very Young" for Learning Ally.
(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Death
While filming "Deadline for Murder: From the Files of Edna Buchanan" in 1995, Montgomery began having flu-like symptoms, which she ignored. She was later diagnosed with colon cancer that had spread to her liver, and she chose to spend her last months at home instead of in the hospital. Eight weeks after the diagnosis, Elizabeth died at her Beverly Hills home on May 18, 1995, at the age of 62. A month later, a memorial service took place at Beverly Hills' Canon Theatre. Herbie Hancock performed at the service, and her widower, Robert Foxworth, read sympathy cards he had received from fans. Montgomery was cremated at L.A.'s Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery. In 1998, Elizabeth's family held an auction of her clothing to raise money for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation of Los Angeles, and her "Bewitched" co-star Erin Murphy modeled the items that were being auctioned off. In 2005, a bronze statue of Montgomery as her "Bewitched" character was erected in the town of Salem, Massachusetts, which was, of course, the location of the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s.
Awards and Nominations
Montgomery was nominated for nine Primetime Emmys: Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role for "The Untouchables" (1961), Outstanding Continued Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series for "Bewitched" (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, and 1970), Best Lead Actress in a Drama for "A Case of Rape" (1974), Outstanding Lead Actress in a Special Program – Drama or Comedy for "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" (1975), and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for "The Awakening Land" (1978). She received four Golden Globe nominations for "Bewitched," Best TV Star – Female in 1965, 1967, and 1969 and Best TV Actress – Comedy or Musical in 1971. "Bewitched" also earned Elizabeth a TV Land Award for Superlatively Supernatural (2004) and a nomination for Favorite Dual-Role Character (2003) as well as a TP de Oro (Spain) nomination for Best Foreign Actress (1973). In 1964, she received a Laurel Award nomination for Top Female New Face, and in 1995, she was honored by the Women in Film Lucy Awards. Montgomery was posthumously inducted into the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame in 2005, and she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008.
Real Estate
At the time of her death, Montgomery owned a 26-room mansion in Beverly Hills and a five-bedroom lakefront mansion in Agoura Hills that she built from scratch. She also owned her parents' 20-acre property in Putnam County, New York, which was once part of Wonder Lake State Park.
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