Mini Biography
Sargent was a trim, handsome man with a longish chin. He played a variety of gawky businessmen roles in feature films before finding a niche in tv history as the second Darrin on "Bewitched". Shortly before his death, Sargent publicly proclaimed he was gay, and became what he called "a retroactive role model" in the battle for gay rights.
Mini Biography By:
Ray Hamel
Mini Biography
Congenial, mild-mannered Dick Sargent was a reliably bemused foil on film and TV for nearly four decades. He was born Richard Cox on April 19, 1930 in Carmel, California. His mother, Ruth McNaughton, was a minor actress who went by the stage name of Ruth Powell; his father, Colonel Elmer Cox, served in WWI and later became a business manager to such Hollywood alumni as Douglas Fairbanks and Erich Von Stroheim. Dick attended the San Rafael Military Academy in Menlo Park, California before majoring in drama at Stanford University. He finally got things rolling debuting in an uncredited role in the movie Prisoner of War (1954) starring Ronald Reagan. Using the stage moniker Richard Sargent, he would build up a reliable resume over the years on TV both in drama and comedy including work on "Gunsmoke, "Wagon Train," "I Dream of Jeannie" and "Adam-12." Regular co-starring roles in the series "One Happy Family" (1961) and "Broadside" (1964) kept him temporarily busy if not memorable. Now known as "Dick Sargent," the actor was a friendly but rather bland performer. On occasion he found redeeming support work in such hit movie comedies as Operation Petticoat (1959) and That Touch of Mink (1962) both with Cary Grant, but mixed in were mostly bottom-of-the-barrel "comedies" such as Fluffy (1965) with Tony Randall, Billie (1966) with Patty Duke, the Don Knotts vehicle The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966), the Elvis Presley starrer Live a Little, Love a Little (1968), and The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell with Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller. Most of his films ranged from fair to abysmal and Dick never advanced into the upper echelon of top players. A big chance for stardom dissolved after being paired with Tammy Grimes on her failed TV show in 1966. It lasted four weeks. It wasn't until 1969 when Dick, who was the original choice to play Darrin Stephens on the hit show "Bewitched," was given a second chance to play the bemused mortal husband of Elizabeth Montgomery after an ailing Dick York had to be replaced. The switch was done without any explanation. Dick's three seasons on the show (1969-1972) made him a household face, if not a household name. He continued on TV throughout the 70s and 80s with guest parts on "Taxi," "Alice, "Fantasy Island" and "Three's Company" without much fanfare. A better role came to him in George C. Scott's film Hardcore (1979) about pornography in which he played a not-so-reputable character. He also played a role in another witch-themed story line called Teen Witch (1990). In between he did voice work for commercials and performed occasionally on stage. In 1989, 'the second Darrin" was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He later revealed to the world he was homosexual after tabloid papers began to refer to his illness as AIDS-related. Sargent died in 1994, having lived out his last few years openly and contentedly.
Mini Biography By:
Gary Brumburgh / gr-home@pacbell.net
Stanford University Stanford, California
Actor
2 wins
&
1 nomination