Who was Dick York? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Richard Allen York

Died At Age: 63

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Joan Alt

father: Bernard York

mother: Betty

children: Christopher York, Kim York, Mandy York, Matthew York, Stacy York

Actors American Men

Height: 6'1" (185 cm), 6'1" Males

Died on: February 20, 1992

place of death: East Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States

Cause of Death: Emphysema

City: Fort Wayne, Indiana

U.S. State: Indiana

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Childhood & Early Life

Born on September 4, 1928, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA, Dick York was the son of Betty and Bernard York. His mother was a seamstress, while his father worked as a salesman.

At some point after his birth, his family moved to Chicago, Illinois, where York grew up. It was a Catholic nun in Chicago who first recognized York’s vocal talent.

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Career

When he was 15 years old, Dick York began performing on CBS radio program ‘That Brewster Boy’. He was also featured in over hundreds of other radio programs and instructional films before moving to New York City. Two of his earliest Broadway plays were ‘Tea and Sympathy’ and ‘Bus Stop’.

In 1945, Dick York debuted on the small screen in the short film ‘Insomnia’. In the next few years, he appeared in several other short films before making a guest appearance in a 1953 episode of ‘Omnibus’.

In 1954, he made his big-screen debut in ‘Them!’. York also played various roles in films like ‘My Sister Eileen’ (1955), ‘Three Stripes in the Sun’ (1955), and ‘Operation Mad Ball’ (1957).

During the filming of his 1959 movie ‘They Came to Cordura’, Dick York sustained a permanently disabling back injury. It did not initially put an end to his career. He continued to act as the pain was manageable. In 1960, a year after he suffered the injury, he portrayed Bertram Cates in the cinematic rendition of ‘Inherit the Wind’.

Between 1957 and 1962, he portrayed six different characters in that many episodes of ‘Alfred Hitchcock Presents’. The ABC fantasy sitcom ‘Bewitched’ was the most successful outing of his career. In the first two seasons of the show, the pain was tolerable. However, by the third season, it had become excruciating. Dick York was forced to quit the show after the fifth season, and he was replaced by Dick Sargent from season six onwards.

After leaving ‘Bewitched’, Dick York spent the next 18 months bed-ridden. He developed an addiction to prescription painkillers. In his memoir, ‘The Seesaw Girl and Me’, published in 2004 through New Path Press, York wrote about his struggles with pain and addiction and described how he finally accepted the loss of his career. “The Seesaw Girl” of the title was his wife, Joan, who stayed with him through the tough times.

From 1962 to 1963, York portrayed Tom Colwell, who runs the secular youth centre in the neighbourhood, in the ABC comedy-drama series ‘Going My Way’.

Major Works

Dick York was cast as Darrin Stephens, the mortal husband of Elizabeth Montgomery's Samantha Stephens in ‘Bewitched’. His performance in the show earned him an Emmy nomination in 1968. He was part of the cast from 1964 to 1969 before leaving the show due to his back pain.

Family & Personal Life

Dick York met fellow radio performer Joan Alt while he was acting in the radio program ‘Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy’. She had arrived to perform in a radio commercial. The couple exchanged wedding vows on November 17, 1951, and had five children together: daughters Kim, Mandy, and Stacy, and sons Matthew and Christopher.

Death & Legacy

A chain smoker, Dick York was forced to combat emphysema in the later part of his life. By 1989, he had been making use of an oxygen tank to breath. On February 20, 1992, York passed away due to complications related to emphysema at Blodgett Hospital in East Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was 63 years old at the time. He is interred in Plainfield Cemetery in Rockford, Michigan.

Despite being bedridden in his Rockford, Michigan home, York set up Acting for Life, a charity initiative that supports the homeless and others in need. Reaching out to politicians, business people, and the general public through his phone, he convinced them to donate money and food to the cause.

Dick York Biography