The title of this posting might sound a little disturbing if the photo at left didn’t make it obvious that we were talking about the TV show Bewitched. Although in the great I Dream of Jeanie vs. Bewitched debate, I come down on the side of Jeanie as being the better of the two shows, Bewitched is quite fun nonetheless. As a fan who caught the series in reurns, I own all of the episodes on DVD and am anxious to dig into them in the near future. Unlike the cast of Jeanie, I never got to meet any of the principles on Bewitched, but during my visit to the Hollywood Show on October 9, 2010 , I was able to get to meet the actors and actress who played Samantha and Darrin’s children Tabitha and Adam.
During the sixth season of the show, Samantha became pregnant with her second TV child. The character Adam was just an infant in the this season, but his character returned for the seventh and the final eighth season as a young boy. The photo at the top of the posting is interesting as it is captioned as showcasing David Mandel as Adam. “David Mandel” is the name that “David Lawrence” later adopted. During the run of the series Adam was credited to David Lawrence – and in fact, David Lawrence signed the photo. But that’s not him in the photo.
It is actually Greg Lawrence (Mandel), his twin brother, in the picture. As many who know anything about child actors, oftentimes twins would be hired to play the same part to get around the child labor laws that only allowed children to work limited hours. Incidentally, David and Greg both claim to be the unacknowledged sons of actor Tony Curtis. But that’s neither here nor there.
David and Greg were both at the show, and yes, they looked alike. I chatted mostly with David and I asked him to show me which was him and which was his brother in the photos that they were selling. He identified himself in this photo:
And he identified his brother (despite the notation on the photo as it being “David”) in this photo:
Although the role was solely credited to David, that’s actually Greg in this photo, and it was Greg who signed it
When I questioned it, he said that the label incorrect, but he would gladly throw in an additional photo and would sign it as well. So that’s the story on the twin Adams, both who were nice enough to pose in a couple of great photos with me.
Greg Lawrence, me, and David Lawrence
We’re all mixed up
Junior nose-twitcher Tabitha had a much more prominent role in the Bewitched, as the daughter of Darrin and Samantha Stephens. Like her younger TV brother, she also shared the role with her twin – at least for a short time. After being portrayed by no less than five other young girls for a while, Erin Murphy shared the role with her fraternal twin sister Diane for much of the third season. Eventually though, she assumed the role for the remaining five seasons.
Adorable Halloween shot of Erin Murphy with Elizabeth Montgomery and Agnes Moorehead
Promo photo signed by both Erin Murphy and Johnny Whitaker
My friend Bob has gotten me one signed photo from Erin Murphy and I had purchased one from Johnny Whitaker during a previous show, but I had always wanted the chance to meet her in person, the least of reasons not being that she is incredibly attractive. Fortunately, she is equally kind and friendly. After watching her tolerate an over-zealous fan for about five minutes, she also tolerated me asking for a photo with her even though I wasn’t purchasing anything additional. She was also nice enough (as were the Lawrence brothers) to get a nice big group shot with all of us.
Finally meeting the beautiful Erin Murphy
It was a cool opportunity, and although Erin had some photos available that were signed by her sister Diane, it would have even been cooler if she had made it to the show as well. Maybe next time, with a little luck and a twitch of the nose, it’ll happen.
Four black and blue bewitched children
Celebrities of the Fall 2010 Hollywood Show will continue…
Awesome!
Bev
June 1st, 2011
I loved this show and really happy to see these these pictures of them all grown up.We need a new series of bewitched with the kids now!
Carole
January 30th, 2013
A great idea for series would be that the kids of Samantha meet up with their lookalkes who don,t have powers and they switch places, like a Prince and Pauper!
Carole
January 30th, 2013
They look like a really great bunch of people.I wish I could get to know them.Never knew they used twin children for the roles.That was a great idea.
wadehucks
August 25th, 2014