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ASHMONT

A look at Elizabeth Montgomery's marriage to William Asher, their family and their professional collaboration. October 26, 1963 - 1973

BEGINNINGS

William Asher was born on August 8, 1921 in New York. He and his older sister were raised in California where his father, Ephraim M. Asher was a film producer whose credits include Dracula (1931) and Frankenstein (1931) and his mother Lillian Bonner was an actress. When his father died suddenly of a stroke in 1937, the Asher family moved back to New York.      As a teen-ager, Asher returned to Hollywood where he worked in the mailroom at Universal studios and aspired to become a filmmaker in his own right.      During WWII Asher served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps and was stationed stateside in Astoria, New York. After the war Asher returned to Universal where he worked as an assistant cameraman and editor.      In 1948, Asher co-wrote, co-produced and co-directed a low-budget boxing drama, Leather Gloves in collaboration with actor Richard Quine. But he soon found himself drawn away from feature films and into the new medium of television.      After working as a director on series such as Big Town and Racket Squad, Asher directed the pilot and first ten episodes of Our Miss Brooks starring Eve Arden. He was then hired to direct I Love Lucy in 1952 and remained with the series for several years.      In 1951, Asher married actress Dani Sue Nolan (you may remember her from the I Love Lucy episode with William Holden; Nolan was the secretary.) He and Nolan had two children, Liane (b. 1952) and Brian (b. 1954.)      Throughout the 50's Asher's career as a television director prospered, he also directed three feature films in this decade; Mobs, Inc. (1956,) Shadow on the Window (1957) and The 27th Day (1957.)

THE MARRIAGE

William Asher met Elizabeth when she auditioned for the feature film Johnny Cool which he was producing and directing. After obtaining divorces from their respective spouses, Asher and Elizabeth were married in El Paso, Texas on October 26, 1963. The marriage was not made public until January of 1964 when Liz was pregnant with her first child, William Allen Asher, who was born on July 24 of that year.      Also in 1964, Asher and Elizabeth began the blockbuster series Bewitched with Elizabeth as star and Asher as producer/director.      Two more children were born to the couple; Robert Deverell on October 5, 1965 and Rebecca Elizabeth on June 17, 1969.      Asher again returned to feature films in the mid 60's with a series of "beach pictures," one of which (How to Stuff a Wild Bikini) featured a cameo appearance by Elizabeth.      After Bewitched ended in 1972, the Asher's marriage came to an end and they were amicably divorced shortly thereafter.

AFTER LIZ

After the divorce, Asher continued his television work with such series as The Paul Lynde Show (1972) and Alice (1976.)      Also in 1976, Asher married for the third time, to actress Joyce Bulifant ('Marie Slaughter' on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.) He also adopted Bulifant's young son John, who went on the star in the USA network's Weird Science series.      Asher returned again to features in the 80's with Night Warning (1981) and Movers and Shakers (1985.)      Divorced from Bulifant, Asher has since remarried for a fourth time. His last film work was the television "reunion" of the Green Acres cast in the television movie Return to Green Acres in 1990.

THE ASHER FAMILY PHOTO GALLERY

FILMS OF WILLIAM ASHER AS DIRECTOR Leather Gloves (1948) Mobs, Inc. (1956) Shadow on the Window (1957) The 27th Day (1957) Johnny Cool (1963) Beach Party (1963) Muscle Beach Party (1964) Bikini Beach (1964) How to Stuff a Wild Bikini (1965) Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) Fireball 500 (1966) Night Warning (1981) Movers and Shakers (1985)

FILMS OF WILLIAM ASHER AS PRODUCER Leather Gloves (1948) Johnny Cool (1963) Movers and Shakers (1985)

TV SERIES - WILLIAM ASHER AS DIRECTOR (Please note that the dates represent the series debut and not necessarily the year(s) in which Asher was associated with the program.) Big Town (1950) The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) Racket Squad (1951) I Love Lucy (1951) The Dinah Shore Show (1951) Our Miss Brooks (1952) Make Room For Daddy (1953) The Ray Bolger Show (1953) December Bride (1954) Willy (1954) The Lineup (1954) The Thin Man (1957) The Donna Reed Show (1958) Fibber McGee and Molly (1959) The Twilight Zone (1959) The Patty Duke Show (1963) Bewitched (1964) Gidget (1965) Temperatures Rising (1972) Alice (1976) Tabitha (1977) The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) Flatbush (1979) The Bad News Bears (1979) Crazy Like a Fox (1984) Kay O'Brien (1986)

TV SERIES - WILLIAM ASHER AS PRODUCER The Land of Oz (1960) The Patty Duke Show (1963) Bewitched (1964) The Paul Lynde Show (1972) Here's Boomer (1980) Kay O'Brien (1986)

TV MOVIES - WILLIAM ASHER AS DIRECTOR I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985) Return to Green Acres (1990)