Bethesda
Published October 30, 2025 at 5:00AM
Courtesy Hocus Pocus/Disney
With Halloween on Friday, it’s a good time to remember that Sean Murray, who played Thackery Binx (the 1600s teen before he’s turned into a cat) in Disney’s cult classic Hocus Pocus, was born at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Montgomery County.
Murray’s brief but memorable appearance in the 1993 film helped launch a career most fans now associate with his long-running role as Special Agent Timothy McGee on NCIS. A fun bit of trivia for local fans… while Murray appears on-screen as human Binx, the character’s speaking voice in the movie was actually dubbed by Jason Marsden.
Hocus Pocus famously took years to evolve from a summertime box-office underperformer into October comfort-movie royalty, and Disney has even confirmed an upcoming third installment is in development, proof that the Salem spell shows no signs of fading.
So as you queue up the Sanderson sisters for your Halloween watchlist tomorrow, add a local note: that heroic 17th-century brother trying to save his sister? He was born right here in Bethesda, before growing up on military bases around the world.
