Elizabeth Montgomery - Mainy

When I was a kid, my buddies I used the term 'mainy' to describe an actress or pin-up gal we especially liked. It was slang for a 'favorite' or 'main gal'.

For whatever reason, the term stuck and spread to other friends, and some of us still use it. As in a recent conversation with an old Portland friend where I described Kate Winslet as 'a mainy'.

Without a doubt, my #1 Mainy was always Elizabeth Montgomery. And not just because she was so damn good lookin'. If that was a qualifier, all mainys would be Super Models.

'Betwitched' was on the air pretty much my entire childhood. So it wasn't until the later seasons and syndication that I began to appreciate her. I think I also saw all of her TV movies and she made a lot of them.

But it was as Samantha that I fell for Elizabeth. And not because of the witchcraft gimmick. It was because she was smart, sweet, mischievous and sexy.

What's cool about her, too, is that she made a flawless transition from the popular curvy body/hair flip look of the early 60's to the thin body/straight hair look of the late 60's. Both looks suited her, but I preferred the later look like in this interesting promo shot for 'Betwitched's' last season (when they put it up against 'All in the Family'...talk about culture clash).

I always loved the episodes where she played her lookalike cousin Serena. Playing opposite of sweet Samantha, Serena was a wild hippie and played sitar and talked about her 'guru'. Fun stuff. And seeing Liz play the sexy dark haired, mini-skirt wearing character was turn-on.

Elizabeth Montgomery is the only person I ever wrote a fan letter to. And I got an autographed picture back (I still have it and it's a real signature to boot). I also saw her in the early 90's performing the play 'Love Letters' in a small theater in San Francisco. It was a thrill to see her in person. And yes, she was still great looking.