Bewitched and Beyond: The Fan Who Came to Dinner (14 page)

I have some incredible footage that was edited into a half hour DVD of Kasey, Sandra, and Bernard being interviewed on the back lot. Some of the tidbits include Sandra “whisper-yelling” “Abner!” (because the
Home Improvement
crew were filming across the street) from the front door of the exterior used for the Kravitz (and later,
The Partridge Family)
house.

Some other footage I captured that day also includes our good Dr. reciting the following incantation:

“As Faierie Queen I must away,

Where mortals are, I cannot stay!”

And with his trademark Bombay gesture and the aid of some old-fashioned FX, he pops right out of the scene!

Speaking of “Dr. Bombay,” Bernard fashioned his character based on a man he knew in the navy during World War II. His signature “pop out” gesture was his own invention.

Bernard also holds an interesting position in motion picture history. He’s the only actor to play a survivor of the infamous
Titanic
in not one, but
two
film adaptations! In 1958’s
A Night to Remember,
he played the character of “Lookout Fleet.” Fleet was an employee of the Cunard Line and was in the crow’s nest that fateful night. It was he who first spotted the enormous iceberg! It was also he who rang the bell and quickly alerted the captain. Fleet survived the sinking, but later became depressed over lack of work and being one of many, who were branded “bad luck.” Sadly, he hanged himself in his brother-in-law’s back yard sometime later.

In James Cameron’s 1997 epic
Titanic,
Bernard again appeared on the big screen this time as “Col. Archibald Gracie,” a man who actually went down with the ship only to resurface moments later. He was plucked out of the icy water and climbed aboard an overturned lifeboat. The all-male survivors spent the next several harrowing hours standing together in a huddle on the back of the boat while Second Officer Lightoller kept it in balance.

Once onboard the rescue ship
Carpathia,
Gracie went about collecting every survivor’s story and immediately set it to paper. His was the first book ever published recounting the horrific night of April 15th 1912.

Col. Gracie would succumb to illness that he incurred from exposure after many hours in the wet and icy sea and never see his book hit print.

In 2006, only one month before Kasey suffered her fatal stroke, Valerie Fox, Bernard and Jacque’s youngest daughter, passed away quite suddenly. Bernard and Jacque are like second parents to me and it was an incredibly devastating time, but one that has brought us closer together.

Ahhh, the nights I spent at Amanda’s drinking, enjoying the hot tub, and sampling Lisa’s incredible cooking.

And then there was the time that Kasey and I were at a party thrown by Amanda and Lisa. It was June and we were having an incredible time enjoying delicious food, and plenty of cosmopolitans! Kasey, being caught up in the “gaiety” of it all, suddenly leaned over and nibbled Amanda’s ear. That was the first time I had ever seen Amanda speechless! It was all in good fun and Kasey later called them to say, “It looks like I
out-ed
myself at your party yesterday!” Amanda and I still get a kick out of that story!

In 1995, Bernard, Sandra Gould, Kasey and I went to what was then the Warner Bros. Ranch where the original façade of the Stephen’s home used in
Bewitched
still stands. I know! I know! The hair!

With Tim Allen the day
Home Improvement
blew up the house!

In 1995 Mrs. Kravitz had her last snoop into the front window of the Stephens’ home.

Me interviewing Bernard by the Fergus the Frog (OK, OK, Friends) Fountain!

Five years later, in 2000, a year after Sandra had passed away, we went back to the Ranch with Alice Ghostley and added more video footage to the collection.

It’s GREAT to watch “Esmeralda” pathetically utter her infamous, “Oh dear!” while standing on the front doorstep of the Stephens’ home.

Bernard “zaps” the spot in the Stephen’s front yard where Samantha’s weeping willow once stood.

Chapter 19

An Adventure in Ventura

During that same year, Kasey opted to have more neck surgery to remove a string of lymph nodes that could possibly cause more trouble down the road. Days after the surgery we found ourselves on the road to Ventura, a little beach town to the north. We used to go there a lot, as it was only forty-five minutes up the road, but felt worlds away from where we lived in the Valley. In summer, Ventura could be a good twenty degrees cooler than the Valley!

At the time, Kasey was sporting what we called her “Bride of Frankenstein” gash that ran all the way up her neck to her ear and back down under her chin! And all held together with staples! She covered it with a scarf!

Oddly enough, we happened to park the car just outside a small tattoo and piercing parlor. Immediately I could see the wheels turning in Kasey’s head.

True to form, she walked in, whipped off the scarf and asked, “Could you guys do this on the other side for me?” Everyone just stopped and stared, but Kasey loved it.