Brenda Benet

[IdolFan]

Hi everyone. Most of you probably know that Bill Bixby was married to Brenda Benet. I know she was on one episode of The Courtship Of Eddie's Father. Does anyone remember ner being on the episode? Can you tell me who she was? Thank you so much.

[Living In a '70's Dream]

Originally Posted by IdolFan

Hi everyone. Most of you probably know that Bill Bixby was married to Brenda Benet. I know she was on one episode of The Courtship Of Eddie's Father. Does anyone remember ner being on the episode? Can you tell me who she was? Thank you so much.

The episode was called The Lost Weekend and Brenda played a girlfriend of Tom's..also during that time period Benet was Bill's fiancee and they later married and had a son. Brenda Benet was a 1960s starlet; she was briefly married to Paul Petersen (Donna Reed Show) and appeared in a lot of popular television shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Courtship of Eddie's Father. Benet and Bixby divorced in 1979, after 8 years of marriage, then Brenda Benet landed a role in Days of our Lives..then tragedy struck as her only child Christopher died of a rare throat infection in 1981 and a year later..Brenda committed suicide..she was only 36 years old.

[hillbilly]

Brenda Benet was also in Walking Tall ,the first one that came out.

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by Living In a '70's Dream

The episode was called The Lost Weekend and Brenda played a girlfriend of Tom's..also during that time period Benet was Bill's fiancee and they later married and had a son. Brenda Benet was a 1960s starlet; she was briefly married to Paul Petersen (Donna Reed Show) and appeared in a lot of popular television shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Courtship of Eddie's Father. Benet and Bixby divorced in 1979, after 8 years of marriage, then Brenda Benet landed a role in Days of our Lives..then tragedy struck as her only child Christopher died of a rare throat infection in 1981 and a year later..Brenda committed suicide..she was only 36 years old.

She also guest starred in "The Psychic," a standout episode of THE INCREDIBLE
HULK, in which her character (in a scene that is now strangely ironic) persuades
David Banner that suicide is not the answer to his dilemma. How sad that her
own life ended the way it did.

[EmpressDR]

I think she also guest starred on Bixby's 1973-4 show The Magician. I can't recall the name of the actress who guest starred in the ep where a woman was trying to escape from gangsters, and had to go into the witness protection program. She pretended to be dead, and was lying in her coffin, while his character was sad. I am not sure if that was Benet.
The two appeared on Tattletales together.

[jogo85]

Brenda and Bill starred in show called Three is a Crowd where he marries her. But on the honeymoon she ends up lost. So Bill marries another women. Brenda comes back so he juggles two marriges without each wife not finding out. Bill and Brenda also did a episode on the Love Boat

[dawsongirl]

Originally Posted by EmpressDR

I think she also guest starred on Bixby's 1973-4 show The Magician. I can't recall the name of the actress who guest starred in the ep where a woman was trying to escape from gangsters, and had to go into the witness protection program. She pretended to be dead, and was lying in her coffin, while his character was sad. I am not sure if that was Benet.
The two appeared on Tattletales together.

That was Brenda.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by hillbilly

Brenda Benet was also in Walking Tall ,the first one that came out.

So was Elizabeth Hartman, another suicide victim. There is more on Brenda Benet's story in the book Soap Opera Babylon (I forget the author's name but it was published in the late 80s), and also Bill and Susan Hayes (her Days co-stars) wrote lovingly about her in their book, Like Sands Through The Hourglass.

[OnTheMarkTexas]

Originally Posted by Living In a '70's Dream

The episode was called The Lost Weekend and Brenda played a girlfriend of Tom's..also during that time period Benet was Bill's fiancee and they later married and had a son. Brenda Benet was a 1960s starlet; she was briefly married to Paul Petersen (Donna Reed Show) and appeared in a lot of popular television shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Courtship of Eddie's Father. Benet and Bixby divorced in 1979, after 8 years of marriage, then Brenda Benet landed a role in Days of our Lives..then tragedy struck as her only child Christopher died of a rare throat infection in 1981 and a year later..Brenda committed suicide..she was only 36 years old.

I always thought Bill Bixby was an excellent actor, sorely underrated if you ask me. I did not realize until after his death that he had been married at one point to Brenda Benet.

There have been conflicting accounts over the years regarding the deaths of Benet and Christoper.

In a tribute to Mr. Bixby that I saw shortly after is death on some show (perhaps it was "Entertainment Tonight" or a similar show) they stated that Christopher had gotten stung by a bee and that caused an Anaphalactic reaction that caused his throat to swell up. He suffocated shortly thereafter. Neither one of his parents knew he was allergic to bee stings. I suppose that could account for the "rare throat condition" mentioned as his cause of death.

With Ms. Benet, I have read 3 seperate accounts of how she died -- 2 involved suicide (1 via pills; the other via self-inflicted gun shot) and a heart condidtion that caused her to die in her sleep. At least that's what the folks at DOOL said upon her death.

I find it so sad that repeated tradegy struck a seemingly happy family. I remember reading that Bixby and Benet remained on friendly terms after their divorce and that his son's death, followed by hers just a few months later nearly killed Bixby.

[catlover79]

Any way you look at it, it's such a sad, sad story...for all involved.

[Theda Bara]

Originally Posted by OnTheMarkTexas

I always thought Bill Bixby was an excellent actor, sorely underrated if you ask me. I did not realize until after his death that he had been married at one point to Brenda Benet.

There have been conflicting accounts over the years regarding the deaths of Benet and Christoper.

In a tribute to Mr. Bixby that I saw shortly after is death on some show (perhaps it was "Entertainment Tonight" or a similar show) they stated that Christopher had gotten stung by a bee and that caused an Anaphalactic reaction that caused his throat to swell up. He suffocated shortly thereafter. Neither one of his parents knew he was allergic to bee stings. I suppose that could account for the "rare throat condition" mentioned as his cause of death.

With Ms. Benet, I have read 3 seperate accounts of how she died -- 2 involved suicide (1 via pills; the other via self-inflicted gun shot) and a heart condidtion that caused her to die in her sleep. At least that's what the folks at DOOL said upon her death.

I find it so sad that repeated tradegy struck a seemingly happy family. I remember reading that Bixby and Benet remained on friendly terms after their divorce and that his son's death, followed by hers just a few months later nearly killed Bixby.

WOW, I have never heard of those other accounts in regards on Benet's death. The story I read, was that, she waited for a friend to leave the premises of her residency; after, she was sure that her friend was gone. Brenda pulled out a gun, and committed suicide. Which is and was a shame, because she was such a stunning woman.

[AB]

^She was so beautiful, and such a sad story.

[Theda Bara]

Originally Posted by annball1957

^She was so beautiful, and such a sad story.

What I also read, Benet did not really have much of a happy life, to begin with; she was married and divorced a couple of times; and losing her only child, was just the icing on the cake. I always thought that she and Bill Bixby were an amazing couple. And, they looked GREAT together!

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Hollywood Rock Chic

What I also read, Benet did not really have much of a happy life, to begin with; she was married and divorced a couple of times; and losing her only child, was just the icing on the cake. I always thought that she and Bill Bixby were an amazing couple. And, they looked GREAT together!

Yes, they did! The photos of them as a couple are incredible...they looked so much in love. Who would've thought things would turn out the way they did??

[Theda Bara]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Yes, they did! The photos of them as a couple are incredible...they looked so much in love. Who would've thought things would turn out the way they did??

I believe the successs of The Incredible Hulk put a major strain on their marriage. Bill, was rarely home. And, he was super busy (and involved) in a highly successful television show. That is a lot of ways, took him away from his family.