“There was no goodbye,” the actress behind Tabitha Stephens recalled.

Why* Bewitched* star Erin Murphy was ‘excited’ after the show ended when she was 8

"There was no goodbye," the actress behind Tabitha Stephens recalled.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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May 8, 2026 6:26 p.m. ET

Erin Murphy on 'Bewitched'; Erin Murphy in 2026. Credit:

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty; Erin Murphy/Instagram

- Erin Murphy said that *Bewitched* ended abruptly after planning to return for another season after a hiatus.

- However, she said she was "excited to go to school full-time" when the show concluded.

- Murphy also said that she enjoyed auditioning for other projects when the series was over.

Erin Murphy is reflecting on *Bewitched* ending when she was 8 years old.

The actress discussed playing Tabitha Stephens, the daughter of Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) and Darrin (Dick York/Dick Sargent) on the sitcom during a conversation with Billy Corgan on his podcast *The Magnificent Others*.

When Corgan asked if it was difficult for her to "detach" from her working family when the show ended in 1972, Murphy replied, "It was and it wasn't."

Dick York, Erin Murphy, and Elizabeth Montgomery on 'Bewitched'.

ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

The actress explained that the show went on hiatus with the expectation of another season approaching, but the show's creative team ultimately decided not to return for more episodes, which meant that she never had an opportunity for a proper farewell.

"We went on our break, and I had plans to go to Girl Scout camp, hang out with my friends," she explained. "So we all got telegrams and letters saying, 'We have decided to not to do the show.' [Director] Bill Asher and Liz were going through a divorce, and she especially decided not to do the show anymore. So there was no goodbye."

The unusual circumstances of the show's conclusion softened the emotional blow for Murphy. "It was hard maybe in the way that, 'Oh, I miss those people. I wish I saw them more,'" she reflected. "But I was 8 years old. I was excited to go to school full-time. I liked being a kid. So that part didn't hit me maybe until later."

Murphy also said that she was glad that she was free to pursue other acting opportunities once the show ended. "The way my contract was written, and maybe some of the others at the time — I wasn't allowed to do other acting jobs while I was on *Bewitched*," she said. "So I couldn't audition for other shows or movies or commercials or anything. So that's why during the time on the show, I only did the show. So when *Bewitched* ended, then I started auditioning for commercials."

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Auditions proved to be a positive experience for Murphy on the whole, in part because of the socializing that transpired in casting offices. "I liked doing it," she said. "I liked that there were friends that I would only see at auditions, like, 'Oh, Jodie Foster is here! Kim Richards is here!' That kind of thing. So I did like it."

Murphy also said that she felt a degree of autonomy over her acting career from a young age. "There were times I felt like I had a say," she explained. "When *Bewitched* ended, I went to Girl Scout camp. A call came in to do *The Waltons*, and I don't remember the exact conversation, but it was almost like, 'We can pick you up at camp to go do this!' And I chose to stay at camp, and they let me do that."

Erin Murphy on Feb. 9, 2026.

Erin Murphy/Instagram

Child stardom didn't faze Murphy because she has no memories prior to becoming a household name. "Anywhere I would go as a child, people knew who I was, like 'Hi, Erin!' Like, everyone knew who I was," she said. "And that seemed normal because that's all I knew."

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The actress never felt any negative social implications from her time on the show. "Maybe it was because *Bewitched* was a show people loved so much: I never had bullying," she said. "Kids at school were nice to me. And I have always felt almost an obligation to maybe be nicer than others because of that."

You can watch the full conversation between Murphy and Corgan above.

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Source: “AOL Comedy”