Which Witch Is Which?
It makes no difference-- they've all played Tabatha in "Bewitched"


Above are the three sets of twins that have variously played Tabatha on the ABC series Bewitched. The sets are, respectively: Short-haired models in front, Heidi and Laura Gentry; blondes behind, Diane & Erin Murphy; and the, er, chubby ones are Tamar and Julie Young. Don't ask which is who.


Why, you might ask, does Tabatha --wee witch on Bewitched-never look quite like she did the last time you saw her? Aha! you say, she's a master of an ancient illusionary art. No. It just ain't the same kid all the time. And the same kid just ain't the same kid all the time. She ... uh, they are (is?) twins--that is, triple twins. Confusion. Disorder! Wizardry!! No, it's just a long shooting schedule, and a law that say that a child under 6 can work only two hours a day-so producers and directors prefer to use twins. And the reason there are three sets of twins is again that long shooting schedule.
The Gentry twins Heidi and Laura, started on one show last season, and each earned $27 per day for a week. Because slightly older babies were needed, they were then replaced by the Young twins, Tamar and Julie, who "worked" for the remainder of the 1965-66 season. As "extras doing special business" they earned $85 per day because their roles were more clearly defined. Beginning this September Tabatha is Erin and/or Diane Murphy, whose ages coincide not at all with Tabatha's (the other children's did, more or less). They were 2 last June.
How do the children feel about all this? No one's asked them, but their respective parents have differing opinions. Mrs. Gentry wants her children to continue as thespians, "but not if it interferes with their schooling." The Young twins will be allowed to work only until they are 2. Says Mrs. Young. "The whole syndrome of child actors and parents bothers me." The Murphys have been doing commercials, but Bewitched is their first "dramatic" role. Their eyes an on the stars. and if the successful show continues, it might take them there.

TV Guide October 22, 1966


The audio you are hearing is from a cartoon commercial that was aired to promote the birth of Tabatha during the second season of Bewitched.





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