‘Bewitched’ star Dick York was ‘financially destitute’ after horror on-set injury: author

nypost.com:

told Fox News. “He just did not have the money anymore. His career had dried up. He was in very poor health. There were no more calls for acting.

It was tough to watch.”“Now here I am, just a fan, and then later a friend.. to see him in such a horrible situation,” he said. “He forced himself to be positive, but he also knew he had to still make money.

So, he would end up cleaning apartments to make money.”“He became a cleaning man. He went from being a star of one of the biggest TV shows in the history of television to cleaning toilets.

It was humbling for him, and he never complained about it, but . . . it should not have happened,” Pilato added.York’s life began to unravel in 1959 when he was on the set of the Western film “They Came to Cordura.”The actor, along with some of his co-stars, were shooting a scene on the second to last day of production that saw them lift a railroad handcar, according to the Los Angeles Times.When the director yelled “cut,” York was the only one not to let go, prompting the vehicle to fall on him.The horror accident resulted in his spine twisting, and a tear in the surrounding muscles, the outlet notes, adding that the actor did not seek medical attention and instead worked through the pain for years to come.Eventually, his spine discs failed — leaving him hunched for life.“He never really recovered from the pain,” Pilato said. “He missed 14 episodes.