Still shot of Bewitched in front of The Witch House
In June 1970, Hollywood came to Salem with the filming of Bewitched. The cast and crew stayed at the Hawthorne Hotel while filming in the city and nearby Gloucester. They filmed some interiors in the Hotel, most notably a scene with the lobby’s elevators. The Hawthorne Motor Hotel, as it was called at the time, appears in name and can be seen in the background during travel scenes but the Hotel’s façade was replaced with a Hollywood set. Other notable Salem locations that appear in the Salem Saga episodes include: the Witch House, The House of the Seven Gables and Hawthorne Boulevard.
On July 15, 2005, a bronze Bewitched Statue of Elizabeth Montgomery’s character Samantha was unveiled in Lappin Park to a crowd of 1500 spectators. The unveiling was a collaboration between the city and the TV Land network. Bill Asher, the late Montgomery’s ex-husband was in attendance for the event, along with Erin Murphy, who played Tabitha.
*This article was written by Jen Ratliff for use by Salem State University Archives and Special Collections.
