# Dick Sargent
**Dick Sargent** (born Richard Stanford Cox; April 19, 1930 – July 8, 1994) was an American actor best remembered for playing Darrin Stephens, the mortal husband of [Elizabeth Montgomery](https://www.edgepedia.org/elizabeth-montgomery)'s witch Samantha, on the ABC sitcom *Bewitched* from 1969 to 1972, taking over the role from [Dick York](https://www.edgepedia.org/dick-york).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) • [2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) Twenty years after the series ended, he drew renewed public attention by announcing that he was gay, an announcement he made on [National Coming Out Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-coming-out-day) in 1991.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | Richard Stanford Cox, April 19, 1930, Carmel, California[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) |
| Died | July 8, 1994, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, of prostate cancer first diagnosed in 1989[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) |
| Signature role | Darrin Stephens on *Bewitched*, seasons 1969–1972, replacing Dick York[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) |
| Earlier offer | He had been the original choice for Darrin in 1964, but was under contract at Universal Studios and could not take the part[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) |
| *Bewitched* ratings | In his years on the show it was screened twice daily in the US with a combined audience of 55 million and kept a 35-percent share of the entire television audience[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) |
| Came out | Announced on National Coming Out Day, 1991, citing the high rate of suicide among young homosexuals and calling himself a "retroactive role model"[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/) |
| Charity work | Special Olympics, World Hunger, AIDS Project Los Angeles, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) |
## Early life and family
Sargent was born into a show-business family in Carmel, California. His mother, Ruth McNaughton, was an actress who appeared in films such as *Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse*; his father, Colonel Elmer Cox, a World War I veteran, was a business manager whose clients included [Douglas Fairbanks](https://www.edgepedia.org/douglas-fairbanks).[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/) He attended the San Rafael Military Academy before majoring in drama at Stanford University, where he acted with the Stanford Players.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) Sources differ on how his Stanford years ended: The Independent states that he took a film part on graduation,[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) while the Los Angeles Times and the glbthistory account say he left Stanford to pursue acting.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html)
His screen debut was a bit part in *Prisoner of War* (1954), a Korean prison-camp drama starring [Ronald Reagan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronald-reagan), and he adopted the professional name Sargent, though he continued to be credited as Richard for many years.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) Between acting jobs he dug ditches, worked as a department store salesman, and ran an import-export business in San Miguel Allende, Mexico, where he began collecting Mexican art.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html)
## Film and television career before *Bewitched*
His first significant film role was as Jo Jo Wilson in *Bernardine* (1957) opposite [Pat Boone](https://www.edgepedia.org/pat-boone); his performance in the film won him a Laurel Award from US film distributors.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) Further films included *Mardi Gras* (1958), *Operation Petticoat* (1959) with [Cary Grant](https://www.edgepedia.org/cary-grant) and [Tony Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-curtis), *That Touch of Mink* (1962), *For Love or Money* (1963), and *The Ghost and Mr. Chicken* (1966).[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) On television he appeared in series including *Medic*, *Playhouse 90*, *Gunsmoke*, *Ripcord*, and *West Point*, and was a regular in the 1961 sitcom *One Happy Family* and the *McHale's Navy* spin-off *Broadside* (1964–1965).[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) A 1966 series with Tammy Grimes, *The Tammy Grimes Show*, lasted only four episodes.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dick-sargent/)
## Bewitched
The role that defined Sargent's career almost came five years earlier. According to his IMDb biography, he was the original choice to play Darrin Stephens when *Bewitched* began in 1964, but he was under contract at Universal Studios, so Dick York was cast instead.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) When York left the series in 1969 after five seasons, suffering from a debilitating back injury and an addiction to painkillers, Sargent took over; the recasting was done without any on-screen explanation.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) • [1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/) As Darrin, he played a [Madison Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-avenue) advertising executive coping with marriage to Samantha and the intrusions of her supernatural family, particularly her disapproving mother-in-law.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html)
By the time Sargent joined, the comedy was being screened twice daily in the United States with a combined audience of 55 million, and it held a 35-percent share of the entire television audience for the last three years of its run.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) The series ran until 1972 and has been repeated around the world since the final episode.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html)
## After Bewitched
After the series ended, Sargent worked steadily in guest roles and television movies. His appearances included *[Rich Man, Poor Man](https://www.edgepedia.org/rich-man-poor-man-miniseries)*, *Fantasy Island*, the pilot of *Family Ties*, *Columbo* (playing himself), and the series *Down to Earth*, in which he starred with an angel as his maid.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) Guest spots also included *Taxi*, *Murder, She Wrote*, and *L.A. Law*.[7](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9407/940709/07120089.htm) His later films included *[Hardcore](https://www.edgepedia.org/hardcore-1979-film)* (1979), *The Clonus Horror* (1979), and *[Teen Witch](https://www.edgepedia.org/teen-witch)* (1989), in which he played the father of the title character.[2](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dick-sargent/)
## Coming out and advocacy
On National Coming Out Day in 1991, Sargent publicly announced that he was gay, ending what he described as a facade maintained throughout his professional life.[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/) • [7](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9407/940709/07120089.htm) He said the high rate of suicide among young homosexuals was his main reason for coming out, and he referred to himself jokingly as a "retroactive role model."
> "It was such a relief," he told an interviewer that year. "I lived in fear of being found out. Now it's given me a whole new mission in life."[7](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9407/940709/07120089.htm)
He became a visible advocate for gay rights, and conceded that coming out may have cost him work. "I'll probably never be allowed to play a father symbol again," he told a reporter in 1991, adding that the personal rewards outweighed the professional risk.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) In 1992 he was grand marshal of a gay pride parade and festival in [Orange County, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/orange-county-california), telling the crowd, "We won't be ignored. We deserve to be heard."[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) He also addressed speculation about his illness directly: "I don't have AIDS. I am HIV-negative. But if I did I would wear that badge as proudly as everybody else who has it."[3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/)
## Illness and death
Sargent's prostate cancer was diagnosed in 1989, and doctors were initially optimistic because it was caught early; the disease continued to spread, and by early 1994 he was seriously ill, further weakened by daily radiation treatments.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) He died on July 8, 1994, at [Cedars-Sinai Medical Center](https://www.edgepedia.org/cedars-sinai-medical-center) in Los Angeles at age 64.[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html) • [3](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/)
## References
1. [Dick Sargent biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/bio/)
2. [Obituary: Dick Sargent, Anthony Hayward, The Independent, 12 July 1994](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-dick-sargent-1413330.html)
3. [Actor Dick Sargent Dies, Associated Press via The Washington Post, 9 July 1994](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1994/07/09/actor-dick-sargent-dies/e497a34e-b3c5-49f7-a61f-3dbb4f8518fe/)
4. [Dick Sargent, 64; 'Bewitched' TV Actor, David E. Brady, Los Angeles Times, 9 July 1994](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-07-09-mn-13478-story.html)
5. [Dick Sargent, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0765102/)
6. [Dick Sargent, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/dick-sargent/)
7. ['Bewitched' Hubby No. 2 Dies at 64, Roanoke Times, 9 July 1994](https://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/ROA-Times/issues/1994/rt9407/940709/07120089.htm)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames Q to St*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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