Twitch Upon a Star, Herbie J Pilato
Twitch Upon a Star, Herbie J Pilato
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Twitch Upon a Star
The Bewitched Life and Career of Elizabeth Montgomery

Author: Herbie J Pilato

Narrator: Michael Butler Murray, Herbie J Pilato

Unabridged: 16 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 08/22/2023


Synopsis

Based on author Herbie J Pilato's exclusive interviews with Elizabeth Montgomery prior to her death in 1995, Twitch Upon a Star includes insider material and commentary from several individuals associated with her remarkable life and career before, during, and after Bewitched, including her classic feature films The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955), Who's Been Sleeping In My Bed? (1963), and Johnny Cool (1963).

Two of Montgomery's many popular TV movies, A Case of Rape (which remains one of the highest-rated TV movies of all time) and The Legend of Lizzie Borden, were groundbreaking and remain classics. But Twitch Upon a Star also goes behind the scenes to explore Montgomery's political activism, including her early advocacy for AIDS sufferers and the peace movement; her support for all minorities, including the gay community and the disabled; and her controversial participation as narrator of the 1988 feature film documentary Cover-Up and its 1991 Oscar-winning sequel, The Panama Deception. The book also explores Montgomery's tumultuous relationships with her father, screen legend Robert Montgomery (she was a liberal; he was a staunch conservative), and her four husbands. Through it all—and to family and friends—she was just Lizzie: down-to-earth and unaffected, just like Samantha, the "witch-with-a-twitch" Stephens, her most famous role.

About Herbie J Pilato

Herbie J Pilato is a writer, producer, TV personality, singer/songwriter, actor, and the author of over fourteen media tie-in/popular culture/celebrity biographies.

Those include Retro Active Television, which the Los Angeles Book Festival just named 2023's Book of the Year (subsequently making Pilato "Author of the Year").

Pilato's other books include Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story, which Pete Hammond of Deadline.com called ". . . another one of Herbie J Pilato's all-encompassing biographies."

Peter King of CBS News Radio hailed, "Herbie J Pilato is a true 'keeper of the flame' for classic TV. With Mary: The Mary Tyler Moore Story, he's given us an extensive, humanizing look at one of the medium's biggest icons; the good, the bad, and sometimes, the ugly. But it's real."

Pilato's acting credits include classic TV shows like The Golden Girls, a former stand-in-dancer for the '80s music series Solid Gold, and a former NBC page who worked on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

In his book NBC & Me: My Life as a Page in a Book, Pilato shares the various experiences of working on several classic TV shows of the 1980s.

As the author of two biographies of Bewitched TV star Elizabeth Montgomery (Twitch Upon a Star and The Essential Elizabeth Montgomery), Pilato has served as an executive producer, writer, and on-screen commentator for the acclaimed Reelz TV documentary, Elizabeth Montgomery: A Bewitched Life.

Pilato has been profiled in Remind Magazine (published by TV Guide), and Closer Weekly Magazine, among other publications.

In 2019, Pilato hosted and co-executive-produced his own classic TV talk show, Then Again with Herbie J Pilato, which streamed on Amazon Prime, Amazon Prime UK, and Shout! Factory TV. Guests included actors Ed Asner, Burt Ward, Cindy Williams, Robert Conrad, David Selby, and more.

In 2013, Pilato founded the Classic TV Preservation Society (CTVPS), a formal 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the positive social influence of classic television programming.

For more information, please visit herbiejpilato.com.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jay on December 24, 2012

The rating is not a reflection on the subject but the writer's style. Elizabeth Montgomery comes across as a decent, down to earth, caring, professional woman who gave freely of her time and money for worthy causes. The author obviously venerates her but his style is so mired in overly worded prose......more

Goodreads review by Rama on October 15, 2018

Elizabeth Montgomery: The portrait of a great soul This biographical work takes an in-depth and multi-dimensional look at the life of Elizabeth Montgomery. This is fascinating story that includes her childhood, career, her children, and her work with numerous charities. This book is based on author’......more

Goodreads review by ladywallingford on September 08, 2013

First of all, let me just say that this book could have really benefited from better editing. It contained way too many grammar mistakes and reflects very badly on the publishing company because of it. Second, as biographies go, this one wasn't the best I've ever read but it wasn't the worst either.......more