Brenda Benet
Brenda Benet | |
---|---|
Born | Brenda Ann Nelson August 14, 1945 Hollywood, California, U.S. |
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. West Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Resting place | Cremation |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1964–1982 |
Spouse(s) | Paul Petersen (1967–70) Bill Bixby (1971–79) |
Brenda Benet (August 14, 1945 – April 7, 1982) was an American television and film actress. Benet was best known for her roles on the soap operas The Young Marrieds and Days of Our Lives.
Early life and career
Benet was born Brenda Ann Nelson in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. She attended UCLA for a time. Her first acting roles were in 1964, with appearances on Shindig! and The Young Marrieds. She eventually became an actress very much in demand for roles in episodic prime time television in the 1960s and 1970s, including I Dream of Jeannie, Mannix, My Three Sons, Hogan's Heroes, Love, American Style, and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She also had a major feature role in the film Walking Tall (1973).
Although many of the characters she portrayed seemed to be either sweet or seductive, she became perhaps best known for her role as scheming villainess Lee Dumonde on the daytime serial Days of Our Lives, a role she played from 1979 until her death in 1982.
Personal life
Benet's first marriage was to The Donna Reed Show actor Paul Petersen in 1967. In 1969, Benet left Petersen for actor Bill Bixby.[1] After her divorce from Petersen became final, she married Bixby in 1971. The couple had a child, Christopher, in 1974, and then divorced in 1980.[2] After the divorce and up until her death, Benet was in a relationship with pundit Tammy Bruce (b 1962).[3]
Benet experienced a number of personal and professional challenges after her divorce from Bixby. Her role on Days of our Lives made her extremely unpopular with fans; Benet's character was breaking up one of the show's popular couples, Doug and Julie, and fans were outraged. In the book Like Sands through the Hourglass, actress Susan Seaforth Hayes, who played Julie, recalled conflict between her and Benet that intensified as the storyline progressed.[clarification needed]
However, Benet's most personal challenge occurred when her son Christopher died in 1981. While on a skiing vacation, he experienced a sudden illness and went into cardiac arrest after doctors attempted to insert a breathing tube. Benet was devastated by her son's death and sank into a severe depression. On April 7, 1982, Benet took her own life by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. She was 36.
In her book The Death of Right and Wrong, talk radio host Tammy Bruce writes of her personal involvement with Bixby and Benet. Benet and Bruce were romantically involved for a time, and Benet killed herself in a home she had previously shared with Bruce. Bruce had moved out two weeks prior to the suicide. On the day of Benet's suicide, Bruce thought that she would be meeting Benet for lunch. According to Bruce, Benet was locked inside the bathroom of her home when she arrived. Bruce sensed something was wrong and went to get help. After Bruce stepped outside, Benet shot herself.[4] The book Soap Opera Babylon said that Benet was actually involved with a male costar on Days of our Lives that ended right before she killed herself.
Filmography
Film | |||
---|---|---|---|
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
1965 | Beach Ball | Samantha | |
Harum Scarum | Emerald | Alternative title: Harum Holiday | |
1967 | Track of Thunder | Shelly Newman | |
1973 | Walking Tall | Luan Paxton | |
Television | |||
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1964 | Wendy and Me | Shamir | 1 episode |
1965 | McHale's Navy | Karema | 1 episode |
1965–1966 | The Young Marrieds | Jill McComb #2 | Unknown episodes |
1966 | The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. | Gizelle | 1 episode |
Daniel Boone | Princess Little Fawn | 1 episode | |
1966–1970 | My Three Sons | Elyse Maureen |
2 episodes |
1967 | The Iron Horse | Kitty Clayborne | 1 episode |
The Green Hornet | Girl | 1 episode | |
I Dream of Jeannie | Eleanor | 1 episode | |
1968–1969 | It Takes a Thief | Nicole Angela Peters |
2 episodes |
1968–1970 | Hogan's Heroes | Janine Robinet Marie Bizet |
3 episodes |
1969 | The High Chaparral | Anita de Santiago y Amistad | 1 episode |
To Rome With Love | Tina | 1 episode | |
The F.B.I. | Stewardess | 1 episode | |
Where the Heart Is | Sally Moore | Unknown episodes | |
1969–1972 | Love, American Style | 3 episodes | |
1970 | Death Valley Days | Chela | 1 episode |
Paris 7000 | 1 episode | ||
1971 | The Most Deadly Game | Mindy | 1 episode |
The Courtship of Eddie's Father | Brenda | 1 episode | |
The Virginian | Susan Masters | 1 episode | |
1971–1975 | Mannix | Ellen Parrish Edie |
2 episodes |
1972 | Wednesday Night Out | Television movie | |
Search | Carol Lesko | 1 episode | |
1973 | The Horror at 37,000 Feet | Sally | Television movie |
The Magician | Joanna Marsh/Osborne | 1 episode | |
1977 | The Love Boat | Maureen Mitchell | 1 episode |
1978 | Wonder Woman | Morgana | 1 episode |
Fantasy Island | Ginny Winthrop | 1 episode | |
1979 | Carter Country | Natalya | 1 episode |
1979–1982 | Days of Our Lives | Lee DuMonde Carmichael Williams | 255 episodes |
1980 | The Incredible Hulk | Annie Caplan | 1 episode |
1982 | Father Murphy | Rachel Hansen | 1 episode |
References
External links
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Wikipedia articles needing clarification from May 2014
- Actresses who committed suicide
- American film actresses
- American television actresses
- American soap opera actresses
- Bisexual actors
- LGBT entertainers from the United States
- Actresses from Los Angeles, California
- University of California, Los Angeles alumni
- Suicides by firearm in California
- 1945 births
- 1982 deaths
- Bisexual women
- 20th-century American actresses