Bewitched and Beyond: The Fan Who Came to Dinner (16 page)

Later, we were shown around the wardrobe department. Being the two curious souls that we were, we asked if we could see what they had kept of Agnes’.

After looking through some dresses and boxes with her name on them, Kasey and I stumbled upon an
incredible
find! We had uncovered Agnes Moorehead’s last season “Endora” costume from
Bewitched
 — the last “flying suit” she ever wore! The studio didn’t even realize they had it, because it was not listed
anywhere
in their inventory!

As we peeked inside one of the last remaining boxes, THERE IT WAS… a neatly folded lavender chiffon gown, with an underskirt of fuchsia (which made it look darker in color and brighter than the earlier versions) tucked away, and hidden beneath some tissue paper; probably having been there since the last episode of
Bewitched
was filmed.

I was allowed the privilege of placing it on a mannequin and I took advantage of this rare opportunity by snapping tons of photos! Sony Pictures was glad we unearthed it as well. Since our “find,” they have made sure that Endora’s last flying suit is no longer quietly tucked away somewhere, but on display at various events.

For those die-hard costumers and seamstresses that are reading this, I know your next question: “How was it made?” The way the gown is fashioned is a bit deceiving and not exactly made as one might think. The purple collar isn’t actually part of the cape. It
is
in fact a part of the dress. The collar is split up the back and held together with hooks and eyes. I suppose they had their reasons for designing it that way, (but with my background in costume design, it would have been easier if it were part of the cape!).

Though these stories may shed some unknown details about our beloved “Endora,” another way to find out more about Agnes Moorehead is to read the book by Charles Tranberg, “
I Love the Illusion.
”

And giving credit where credit is due, I’d like to let you know that the title of his book came from Kasey herself during an interview with Charles. Once, while working on
Bewitched,
Kasey approached Agnes and asked her favorite thing about acting. Her response? “I love the illusion!”

At the corner of Hollywood and Vine there used to be a parking lot, and on the wall surrounding it, someone had spray painted “Agnes Moorehead is GOD!” It had been there since the late sixties, and every time they would try and paint over it, someone would come right along and put it back! The last time her name was spelled “Mooreheab,” but everyone still got the message.

February 23, 1996 Sony’s Wardrobe Dept. (and once M-G-M’s). Can you imagine the costumes once made here? We’re talking Ruby Slippers!

Agnes in her on-set Bewitched dressing room holding the Emmy she won for
The Wild Wild West.

Chapter 22

The Ides of March

In the spring of 1997, Kasey found a small lump in her breast. Wasting no time, we headed straight back to UCLA where Kasey had earlier gone through all the surgeries and radiation for her throat cancer. The biopsy was found to be cancerous.

I remember Kasey coming out to the waiting room where I was sitting and giving me the bad news. She wondered what she should do. We talked about the options she had discussed with the doctors with removal seeming to be the best option. I remember telling her that at 72 years of age, there was a lot left to do in life and that she should have it removed.

She took that advice but spent the next year trying different cosmetic procedures that always made her uncomfortable and unhappy. She later regretted those post-surgeries.

Kasey had many different surgeries while I was with her: cancer surgeries, knee surgery, breast surgeries, and “female” surgeries. Fortunately, they never seemed to affect her for very long. She was blessed with an incredible stamina and healing ability.

Kasey spent most of that December in the hospital, which left very little time to think about — much less get anything ready for the holidays. But after finding out she would be coming home in a day or two, I decided at the last minute to go find a Christmas tree for our condo.

It was a rainy, dreary December evening, but I found a HUGE Christmas tree at a great price. Our living room ceiling ranged in height from ten to sixteen feet, and this beauty was probably eleven feet tall! So I bought it, tied it to the roof of the car, got it home, and dragged that heavy, wet, dead-weight evergreen up the
thirty-six
steps to our condo. After I managed to get it over the railing (because it wouldn’t make the turn through the gate), I set it up, and strung what seemed like
hundreds
of lights. By the time I had finished, I was exhausted.

I made a quick call to Domino’s and then phoned Sandy Gould to tell her about my Christmas surprise for Kasey. She loved the idea and also gave me a piece of important advice — “Don’t plug in the lights until that wet tree has dried out!” HA!

After a short break, I got right back to work because I wanted to get the tree finished and the rest of the house decorated that night, because Kasey would be coming home the following evening.

That next night, I picked Kasey up at the hospital and drove straight to the condo. I could hardly wait to see the look on her face, and I’ll never forget her reaction when she walked through the front door. Not suspecting a thing, her mouth dropped open as she raised her eyes from floor to ceiling. “Welcome home!” I said. Immediately, she began to puddle up. We toasted each other with a glass of holiday cheer and just sat for the longest time, admiring our beautiful tree and eating apples, cheese and crackers!

Cancer touched my life twice that year. I was briefly acquainted with actress Gail Davis, who was best known for her 1950s TV role of “Annie Oakley.” She and her daughter came into the store where I was working and I helped them choose some fabric for her draperies. Later, I went to her small apartment and installed the cornice boxes that she herself had made.

Gail, who was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, had lost all of her hair. Fittingly, she wore a western bandana.

She and Kasey tried to sell a fantastic Western-themed script that Kasey had written called
The Great Republic of Rough & Ready!

Rough & Ready is a small town in Northern California that actually seceded from the union in 1850, becoming the world’s smallest nation within a nation! It’s an amazing story that is rarely taught in schools and has not yet been touched by Hollywood! After all, the entire Civil War was fought to keep the South from succeeding, so how did this little tiny, gold rich town manage it years before?

We eventually stopped hearing anything from Gail and later found out that she had suddenly passed away from cancer on March 15, 1997.

Chapter 23

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore…

My first encounter with Alice Ghostley happened in 1991, while I was still living in Georgia. Feeling empowered by my original, successful phone call to Kasey, I decided to try shouting out a “Yoo-Hoo” to Esmeralda. At the time, she was currently starring as the daffy but loveable Bernice Clifton on
Designing Women.

After reaching Alice on the phone, I described my project and asked if she’d like to be a part of
Bewitched… Again!

Very sweetly she declined, saying that she was under contract to her current show, and wouldn’t be able to participate. Extremely disappointed, I thought, “Oh well, that’s that,” having no idea that she would later become a part of my life.

Several years later, our paths would cross again when Kasey and I called her to participate in our
Bewitched
cookbook. Alice admitted that she didn’t cook, but her husband, Felice (Orlandi) did.
Designing Women
had ended by that time, and while Bernice Clifton was fondly remembered, Esmeralda was
revered
by countless fans all over the world! Fortunately, Alice understood this and was more than happy to participate.

After we had chatted more about the cookbook and it was time to hang up, she said to me, “Thank you, “Flower!” I have never before, nor since been referred to as “Flower,” but if Esmeralda wanted to call me “Flower” it was OK with me!!!

Through the years Kasey and I kept in contact with Alice and visited her at her home many times, once to even interview her on camera. Recently, I watched it again and noticed that I was so excited I couldn’t stop talking the whole time! But even with my mouth going ninety-to-nothing, I treasure that video interview with Alice.

After Kasey became sick for the fourth and final time, she and Alice would occasionally chat as Alice was having health issues too. We still hoped against hope that Sony would wake up and consider green-lighting
Bewitched… Again!
(talk about the project that wouldn’t die). Having rewritten it countless times, the final revision had Esmeralda playing her role from a seated position, since Alice could no longer walk without assistance due to a previous stroke. “It’s easier for her to just fade out sitting on a sofa arm and fade back in sitting on a desk chair,” Kasey would say. It helped keep them going.

We had even worked the script around Kasey’s inability to speak clearly, due to the tracheal tube in her throat.