York Dick

American actor who played the first Darren in "Bewitched," a popular long-running fantasy sitcom starring Elizabeth Montgomery. He left the show because of illness, and though the series continued, it fell dramatically in the ratings until it was ultimately cancelled. Yorks career did not begin with the show. His family had moved to Chicago when he was five, and when he was niine his parents enrolled him in a childrens dramatic school and he landed roles on local radio shows. In 1943, at age 15, got his first professional role in a show called "That Brewster Boy." From there he landed a role in "Jack Armstrong" and ultimately had his own weekly variety show in 1946 for a teenage audience. In 1950, he moved to New York, moving into the YMCA. He played a young drug addict in a radio show, "Michael Shayne" and his performance was so impressive that he was sent to Elia Kazan who was casting for "Tea and Sympahty." He got a part and made his stage debut in 1953. In 1955 he began to appear on TV programs while continuing his work on radio and on stage.His first movie was "My Sister Eileen" in the mid-50s, followed by "Three Stripes in the Sun." He balanced stage and screen appearing in TV, movies, and plays. In 1959, during a production of "They Came to Cordura" he injured his back, and during the rest of his career, he worked with great pain from the injury which never healed properly. He battled an addiction to painkillers. He landed the part in a new series, "Bewitched" in 1964 and starred as the main characters husband for four years until 1968 when his back injury and emotional problems forced him to resign. His life after that seemed to be in a downward spiral. He gained weight, at one time ballooning to 300 pounds. He was nearly broke and had to resort to cleaning houses for a living. Just as he began to land a few parts in TV episodes, he was diagnosed with emphysema. Home-bound, he founded an organization, Acting For Life, a private fund-raising effort for the homeless He married his wife Joan on 17 November 1951 and during their 39-year marriage, they had five children. He died on the afternoon of 20 February 1992 from emphysema. He was 63. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less