Editing Bea Benaderet

{{short description|American actress (1906–1968)}}
{{Infobox person
| name           = Bea Benaderet
| image          = Bea Benadaret 1966.JPG
| alt            = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption        = 1966 publicity photo
| birth_name     = Beatrice Benaderet
| birth_date     = April 4, 1906
| birth_place    = [[New York City]], U.S.
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1968|10|13|1906|4|4}}
| death_place    = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]], U.S.
| resting_place  = [[Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery]], [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles]], California, U.S.
| occupation     = {{flatlist|
* Actress
* comedienne
}}
| years_active   = 1917-1968
| spouse         = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Jim Bannon]]|1938|1950|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Eugene Twombly]]|1958}}
}}
| children       = 2, including [[Jack Bannon (American actor)|Jack Bannon]]
}}

'''Beatrice Benaderet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|b|ɛ|n|ə|ˈ|d|ɛr|ə|t}} {{respell|BEN|ə|DERR|ət}}; April 4, 1906 – October 13, 1968) was an American actress and comedienne. Born in New York City and raised in [[San Francisco]], she began performing in [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] theatre and radio before embarking on a [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] career that spanned over three decades. Benaderet first specialized in voice-over work in the [[Golden Age of Radio|golden age of radio]], appearing on numerous programs while working with comedians of the era such as [[Jack Benny]], [[Burns and Allen]], and [[Lucille Ball]]. Her expertise in [[dialect]] and [[characterization]] led to her becoming [[Warner Bros.]]' leading voice of female characters in their animated cartoons of the early 1940s through the mid-1950s.

Benaderet was then a prominent figure on television in [[Sitcom|situation comedies]], first with ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]'' from 1950 to 1958, for which she earned two [[Emmy Award]] nominations for Best Supporting Actress. In the 1960s, she had regular roles in four series until her death from [[lung cancer]] in 1968, including the commercial successes ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]'', ''[[The Flintstones]]'', and her best-known role as Kate Bradley in ''[[Petticoat Junction]]''. She has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] honoring her work in television.

== Early life ==
Beatrice Benaderet was born on April 4, 1906,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/caldeaths?c=search&first=Beatrice+&last=Twombly&spelling=Exact&5_year=&5_month=0&5_day=0&6_year=&6_month=0&6_day=0&4=&7=&8=&SubmitSearch.x=30&SubmitSearch.y=11&SubmitSearch=Submit|title=California Deaths, 1940–1997|work=Familytreelegends.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002193000/http://www.familytreelegends.com/records/caldeaths?c=search&first=Beatrice+&last=Twombly&spelling=Exact&5_year=&5_month=0&5_day=0&6_year=&6_month=0&6_day=0&4=&7=&8=&SubmitSearch.x=30&SubmitSearch.y=11&SubmitSearch=Submit|archive-date=October 2, 2013|access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="stein">{{cite web|url=http://petticoat.topcities.com/scrapbook21.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523043122/http://petticoat.topcities.com/scrapbook21.htm|title=The Henning Family Scrapbook|author=Dave Stein|date=1999|archive-date=May 23, 2012|page=4|access-date=January 29, 2020}}</ref><ref name="TCM">{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/13475%7C18383/Bea-Benaderet/|title=Bea Benaderet – Biography|work=[[TCM.com]]|access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|Birth year varied in census records.<ref name="thirty">{{cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCN4-899|title=United States Census, 1930|work=FamilySearch.org|access-date=July 15, 2017}}</ref><ref name="forty">{{cite web|url=https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MT-N7MN?cc=2000219|title=United States Census, 1940|work=FamilySearch.org|access-date=July 18, 2017}}</ref>|group="note"}} in New York City.<ref name="thirty" /><ref name="gabriel" /><ref name="aaker345">Aaker (2000), pp. 34–35</ref> Her mother, Margaret ({{nee}} O'Keefe), was Irish American,<ref>J. Cox (2000), pg. 191</ref><ref name="RMaug1955">{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Site-Early-Radio/Archive-Radio-Mirror-IDX/IDX/50s/55/Radio-Mirror-1955-08-OCR-Page-0010.pdf|title=Information Booth|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=Radio Mirror|date=August 1955|access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref> and her father, Samuel David Benaderet,<ref>[http://www.imgrum.org/media/1341013789784778724_1797116743 Crypt of Samuel D. Benaderet (1884–1954)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923004455/http://www.imgrum.org/media/1341013789784778724_1797116743 |date=2017-09-23 }}, imgrum.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.</ref> a [[Sephardic Jews|Sephardic Jewish]] [[Emigration|emigrant]] from what is now [[Turkey]],<ref name="blythe">Blythe & Sackett (1989), pp. 70–72</ref> was a [[tobacconist]] who relocated the family from New York City to San Francisco in 1915 after his participation in the [[Panama–Pacific International Exposition]].<ref name="ristow">Ristow (1980), p. 251</ref> The same year, he opened a smoke shop that operated for 65 years, making it the oldest such retailer in California at the time of its closure in 1980.<ref name="ristow" />

Benaderet was raised in her mother's Catholic faith and attended grade school at a [[Dominican Order|Dominican]] convent.<ref name="akron" /> She studied voice and the [[piano]];<ref name="millie">{{cite magazine|title=Meet Millie and Her Friends|magazine=Radio-TV Mirror|date=June 1953|volume=40|issue=1|page=19|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/53/Mirror-1953-Jun.pdf|access-date=November 28, 2014}}</ref> her first acting performance came at 11 when she portrayed a bearded old man in a school play.<ref name="akron" />

The following year, her participation in a children's production of ''[[The Beggar's Opera]]'' resulted in a local radio station manager inviting her to a one-time performance on one of his programs, for which she was paid $10.<ref name="akron" /> Benaderet made her professional theatre debut at 16 in a production of ''[[The Prince of Pilsen]],''<ref name="welles">{{cite web|url=http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html|author=Ecksan, K.L.|title=Untitled|work=[[Oakland Tribune]]; reprinted on yowpyowp.blogspot.com|date=September 1, 1935|access-date=July 24, 2017}}</ref> and, after graduating from the Academy of St. Rose, a private, all-girls' high school,<ref name=nd>{{cite magazine|last1=Westhoff|first1=Jeffrey|title=From A to Bea|magazine=Nostalgia Digest|publisher=Funny Valentine Press|date=Winter 2014|volume=40|issue=1|pages=42–48}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bayareasportsstars.com/Counties/Celebs%20copy%202.pdf|title=Celebs & Notable Alumni|work=bayareasportsstars.com|page=13|access-date=July 18, 2017|archive-date=September 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923050722/http://www.bayareasportsstars.com/Counties/Celebs%20copy%202.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> she attended the Reginald Travers<!--NOT Travis; that is incorrect--> School of Acting and joined his [[Repertory theatre|stock company]] The Players' Guild,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/sanfranciscothea194012sanf#page/n338/mode/1up/|title=Little Theatres|first=Alan|last=Harrison|work=San Francisco Theatre Research|date=1940|volume=12|page=160}}</ref> appearing in stage productions of works such as ''[[Polly (opera)|Polly]]'', ''[[Lysistrata]]'', and ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/pacificcoastmusi5127sanf#page/n32/mode/1up|title='Polly' – Players' Guild Opera|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=Pacific Coast Music Review|page=14|date=November 5, 1926|access-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/insidefacts12-1930-09-13#page/n6/mode/1up|title=Greek Play Given at Tiny Theatre|first=Harold J.|last=Bock|work=[[Inside Facts of Stage and Screen]]|date=September 13, 1930|page=7|access-date=August 20, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Reginald Travers Repertory Players announce an extraordinary attraction ... a gala revival of Uncle Tom's cabin : a drama in six acts and eighteen scenes|date=1939|via=WorldCat.org|oclc = 874727574}}</ref>

== Career ==
=== Radio ===
[[File:Gale Gordon Bea Benaderet Granby's Green Acres 1950.jpg|thumb|200px|Benaderet and [[Gale Gordon]] on ''[[Granby's Green Acres]]'' in 1950]]
In 1926, Benaderet joined the staff of San Francisco radio station [[KFRC (defunct)|KFRC]], which was under the new ownership of [[Don Lee (broadcaster)|Don Lee]] and where her duties included acting, singing, writing, and producing.<ref name="broadcast">{{cite web|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1935/Broadcast-Weekly-1935-04-14.pdf|title=Stars of the Radio Theatre: Beatrice Benaderet, Comedienne|work=Broadcast Weekly|date=April 14, 1935|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref><ref name="schneider">{{cite web|url=http://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kfrc1.shtml|title=The History of 610 KFRC Radio|first=John F.|last=Schneider|work=bayarearadio.org|access-date=July 19, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526043446/https://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kfrc1.shtml|archive-date=May 26, 2018}}</ref>

Initially seeking work as a dramatic actress, she switched to comedy and performed on multiple programs, in particular the ''[[Blue Monday Jamboree]]'' [[variety show]],<ref name="broadcast" /> where her castmates included [[Meredith Willson]], [[Elvia Allman]], and future ''[[I Love Lucy]]'' producer [[Jess Oppenheimer]].<ref name=gabriel>{{cite news|last1=Gabriel|first1=Walter|title=Why There're No Blues on Mondays|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Guide/1935/Radio-Guide-35-05-18.o.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2016|work=Radio Guide|date=May 18, 1935|pages=3, 22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radioarchives.com/Komedy_Kingdom_p/ra068d.htm|title=The Komedy Kingdom|work=Radio Archives|access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="opp">Oppenheimer (1999), p. 124</ref> Benaderet honed a variety of [[dialect]]s such as French, Spanish, [[New York City English]], and [[Yiddish]], the latter from voicing a character named "Rheba Haufawitz".<ref name="gabriel" /><ref name="broadcast" /> She additionally hosted the musical variety show ''Salon Moderne'' and gained attention for her work as a female announcer,<ref name="schneider" /><ref name="DHG">{{cite magazine|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-01-11.pdf|title=Program Reviews: ''Salon Moderne''|author=D.H.G.|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|The Billboard]]|date=January 11, 1936|page=8|access-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> a rarity in 1930s radio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ncrtv.org/wp-content/uploads/DialsChannels/VOL-10-No-4-Radio-Television-Museum-News-December-2004.pdf|title=Early Radio Announcers|first=Brian|last=Belanger|work=Radio and Television Museum News|date=December 2004|page=6|access-date=July 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127091404/http://ncrtv.org/wp-content/uploads/DialsChannels/VOL-10-No-4-Radio-Television-Museum-News-December-2004.pdf|archive-date=January 27, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Benaderet relocated to Hollywood in 1936 and joined radio station [[KHJ (AM)|KHJ]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1939/1939-10-01-BC.pdf|title=Purely Previews: For Night Listeners |work=Broadcast Advertising|date=October 1, 1939|page=60|access-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> making her [[Radio network|network radio]] debut with [[Orson Welles]] for his [[Mercury Theatre]] repertory company heard on ''[[The Campbell Playhouse (radio series)|The Campbell Playhouse]]''.<ref name="TCM" /><ref name="orsonwelles">{{cite web|url=http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html|title=Betty Rubble Meets Orson Welles|work=yowpyowp.blogspot.com|date=September 9, 2010|access-date=July 19, 2017}}</ref> The following year she received her first big break in the industry on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'', where she played Gertrude Gearshift, a wisecracking [[Switchboard operator|telephone operator]] who gossiped about [[Jack Benny]] with her cohort Mabel Flapsaddle ([[Sara Berner]]).<ref name="maguire">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-11-09.pdf|title=Benny's Switchboard Sweeties|last=Maguire|first=Judy|date=November 9, 1947|work=Radio Life|page=7|access-date= July 16, 2017}}</ref><ref name="berner">{{cite web|url=http://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2012/05/rise-of-sara-berner.html|title=Transradio Star Gazer|first=Bob|last=Kalb|work=source unknown; reprinted on tralfaz.blogspot.com|date=January 21, 1949|access-date=July 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>Busch, Noel F. (February 3, 1947). "Jack Benny, Inc.: Comedian mixes a fiddle, a feud and stock characters in formula which has paid off for 15 years". ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'', pg. 85. Retrieved July 16, 2017.</ref> Intended as a one-time appearance, the pair became a recurring role starting in the 1945–46 season, and in early 1947, Benaderet and Berner momentarily took over the NBC [[Telephone switchboard|switchboards]] in Hollywood for publicity photos.<ref name="maguire" /> She performed in as many as five shows daily,<ref name="erskine">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/54900025/|title='Higgins' Keeps ''Petticoat Junction'' Cast on Its Toes|first=Erskine|last=Johnson|author-link=Erskine Johnson|agency=Associated Press|publisher=[[North Adams Transcript]]|page=24|date=November 19, 1964|access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> causing her rehearsal dates to conflict with those of ''The Jack Benny Program'' and resulting in her reading live as Gertrude from a marked script she was handed upon entering the studio.<ref name="erskine" />

Other recurring characters Benaderet portrayed were Blanche Morton on ''[[Burns and Allen#Radio|The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]''; school principal Eve Goodwin on ''[[The Great Gildersleeve]]''; Millicent Carstairs on ''[[Fibber McGee & Molly]]''; maid Gloria on ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'';<ref name="leonard">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/149359703/|title=Boss at Shady Rest|first=Vince|last=Leonard|work=The Pittsburgh Press|date=May 31, 1964|access-date=August 6, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/10/18/page/295/article/display-ad-229-no-title|title=Voice as Famous as Face|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|first=Larry|last=Wolters|date=October 18, 1964|access-date=August 6, 2017}}</ref> and Iris Atterbury on the [[Lucille Ball]] vehicle ''[[My Favorite Husband]]'', opposite [[Gale Gordon]]. Benaderet voiced various one-time parts before joining the main cast as Iris, neighbor and friend of Ball's character Liz Cooper.<ref name="opp" /> The 1950 CBS program ''[[Granby's Green Acres]]'', a perceived spinoff of ''My Favorite Husband'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mercurie.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-50th-anniversary-of-green-acres.html|title=The 50th Anniversary of ''Green Acres''|work=A Shroud of Thoughts|first=Terence|last=Towles Canote|date=September 15, 2015|access-date=July 17, 2017}}</ref> was her one radio lead role and reunited her with Gordon as a husband and wife who abandon city life to become farmers, but it lasted only eight episodes.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Granby%27s+Green+Acres|title=Granby's Green Acres|author=J. David Goldin|work=radioGOLDINdex|access-date=July 17, 2017}}</ref>

=== Voice acting ===
Beginning in 1943, Benaderet became Warner Bros.' primary voice of adult female supporting characters for their ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'' and ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' [[Animation|animated]] shorts, initially sharing duties with [[Sara Berner]].<ref name="orsonwelles" /> Her characterizations included an obnoxious teenaged [[bobbysox]] version of [[Little Red Riding Hood]] in ''[[Little Red Riding Rabbit]]'' (1944);<ref name="goldmark">Goldmark & Granata (2002), pg. 146 (Segment by [[Kevin Whitehead]]: "Carl Stalling, Improviser & Bill Lava, Acme Minimalist")</ref> [[Witch Hazel (Looney Tunes)|Witch Hazel]] in ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' (1954);<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/which-witch-is-which/|title=Which Witch is Which?|first=Michael|last=Mallory|work=[[Animation Magazine]]|date=October 23, 2014|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> the spinster hen [[Miss Prissy]] in several [[Foghorn Leghorn]] cartoons;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-lovelorn-leghorn-1951/|title=Robert McKimson's "Lovelorn Leghorn" (1951)|first=Devon|last=Baxter|work=Cartoon Research|date=February 10, 2016|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> [[Tweety]]'s owner "[[Granny (Looney Tunes)|Granny]]" including the [[Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film|Academy Award]]-winning ''[[Tweetie Pie]]'' (1947);<ref name="nd" /> and Mama Bear in a series of [[The Three Bears (Looney Tunes)|Three Bears]] shorts, which animator [[Chuck Jones]] called one of his favorite portrayals.<ref>Jones & Furniss (2005), p. 80</ref> Benaderet did not receive onscreen credit for her work because she was employed by Warner Bros. as a freelance actor{{#tag:ref|Her occupation is listed as such in the 1940 U.S. census.<ref name="forty" />|group="note"}} who voiced peripheral characters, and unlike [[Mel Blanc]], was not under contract with the studio.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mel-blanc-from-anonymity-to-offscreen-superstar-the-advent-of-on-screen-voice-credits/|title=Mel Blanc: From Anonymity To Offscreen Superstar (The advent of on-screen voice credits)|first=Keith|last=Scott|author-link=Keith Scott (voice actor)|work=cartoonresearch.com|date=September 12, 2016|access-date=July 21, 2017}}</ref> In 1955, she was succeeded by [[June Foray]] as Warner's premier female voice artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nerdist.com/june-foray-animation-legend-rip/|title=Remembering Animation Legend June Foray (1917–2017)|first=Kyle|last=Anderson|work=[[The Nerdist]]|url-status=dead|date=July 27, 2017|access-date=July 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616035337/http://nerdist.com/june-foray-animation-legend-rip/|archive-date=June 16, 2018}}</ref>

=== Television ===
Benaderet was Lucille Ball's first choice as [[Ethel Mertz]] for the sitcom ''[[I Love Lucy]]''; Ball said in a 1984 interview that she had "no other picture of anyone" for the role.<ref name="K&E">Edelman & Kupferberg (1999), pp. 140–141</ref> However, Benaderet had to turn down the offer since she was contracted to the television adaptation of ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', so [[Vivian Vance]] was eventually cast. Benaderet guest-starred on the January 21, 1952, first-season episode "Lucy Plays Cupid" as the character of Miss Lewis, a love-starved spinster neighbor.<ref name="TCM" />

Benaderet continued her ''Burns & Allen'' radio role of the Burns' neighbor Blanche Morton, Gracie's friend and staunchest supporter in her escapades.<ref>Irvin (2014), pg. 17</ref> She was the only secondary cast member who appeared in every episode<ref name="nd" /> and the first six shows were shot live in New York, resulting in Benaderet commuting to Los Angeles, where she was working several radio assignments at the time.<ref name="gill">{{cite web|url=http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html |title=Oil Wells and Gold Mines|first=Alan|last=Gill|work=Unknown|via=yowpyowp.blogspot.com |date=July 29, 1963|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

Blanche Morton's long-suffering husband, Harry, was played by four actors over the show's eight-year run; the last, [[Larry Keating]], was introduced on the October 5, 1953 fourth-season premiere when [[George Burns]] entered the set and halted a scene of an angered Blanche preparing to hit Harry with a book. Burns introduced Keating to Benaderet and the audience, and she broke character to exchange pleasantries with Keating. The segment then resumed and Benaderet struck Keating with the book.<ref>Blythe & Sackett (1989), pp. 127–129</ref> Benaderet and [[Gracie Allen]] regularly shopped for their own on-set wardrobe<ref>Blythe & Sackett (1989), pg. 141</ref> and she developed a high-pitched laugh for Blanche that became a staple of the character and was used for comic effect: "When we had a scene with some silent spots in it, George would say to me, 'Laugh there, Bea.{{'"}}<ref>Karol (2006), pg. 53</ref><ref name="witbeck">{{cite web|url=http://fultonhistory.com/newspaper%2010/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201963%20%20Grayscale/Yonkers%20NY%20Herald%20Statesman%201963%20%20Grayscale%20-%205819.pdf|title=Bea Benaderet Gets Own Series|first=Charles|last=Witbeck|work=[[The Journal News|Herald Statesman]] (Yonkers, NY)|date=July 1, 1963|access-date=August 15, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet garnered two [[Primetime Emmy Award]] nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in [[6th Primetime Emmy Awards|1954]] and [[7th Primetime Emmy Awards|1955]].<ref>Tucker (2007), pg. 10</ref> Following Allen's retirement in 1958 at the end of the eighth season, the program continued as ''[[The George Burns Show]]'' in 1958–59 with Blanche repackaged as George's secretary, but it was canceled after one season due to low ratings.<ref name="nd" /> Benaderet worked sparsely in 1959,<ref name="resnik">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30663734/|title=''Petticoat Junction'' Lead Actress Claims She's 'Character'|first=Bert|last=Resnik|work=[[Independent Press-Telegram]]|page=189|date=July 4, 1965|access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> filming one-time appearances on ''[[General Electric Theater]]'' and ''[[The Restless Gun]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bea Benaderet On 'Restless Gun'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2727292/the_progressindex/|work=The Progress-Index|date=May 2, 1959|access-date = July 1, 2015}}</ref>

Benaderet became a fixture on television in the 1960s, which included working on two shows simultaneously from 1960 to 1964.<ref name="peterson" /> She played housekeeper Wilma in the lone season of the 1960 sitcom ''[[Peter Loves Mary]]'', a part she received because of references from Burns.<ref name="hefernan">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/147815302/|title=Stardom, Phooey!|first=Harold|last=Hefernan|work=[[The Pittsburgh Press]]|date=February 12, 1961|access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet considered herself "lucky" to be cast in another series out of fear that she had become too closely associated with ''Burns & Allen''.<ref>Tucker (2010), pg. 199</ref> The same year, she was then cast as the voice of [[Betty Rubble]] in the [[Hanna-Barbera]] primetime animated series ''[[The Flintstones]]''. Benaderet auditioned with past radio coworker [[Jean Vander Pyl]] for Betty and [[Wilma Flintstone]] by exchanging dialogue before the show's co-creator [[Joseph Barbera]], who asked afterward what part they preferred. Vander Pyl recalled in 1994: "I said, 'Oh, I want to be Wilma!' [and] Bea said, 'That's fine with me.{{'"}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-318/|title=Wilma Speaks!|first=Mark|last=Voger|work=[[Asbury Park Press]]|via=Cartoon Research|date=May 29, 1994|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet voiced guest spots on the side for fellow Hanna-Barbera productions ''[[Top Cat]]'' and ''[[The Yogi Bear Show]]'' during 1961 and 1962.<ref name="nj">{{cite web|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/10/the_hangover_part_iii.html|title=Dean Martin, 'Hangover III,' 'Beverly Hillbillies,' 'Petticoat Junction' on DVD|first=Mark|last=Voger|work=[[nj.com]]|date=October 11, 2013|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref> While filming the debut season of her show ''[[Petticoat Junction]]'' the next year, she continued voicing Betty by recording her part alone or with her ''Flintstones'' castmates during evening hours<ref name="orsonwelles" /> until scheduling conflicts forced her to drop the role at the end of the fourth season in 1964. She was replaced by [[Gerry Johnson]].<ref name="peterson">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/98897661/|first=Bettelou|last=Peterson|title=2 Shows, 2 Stars, But Only 1 Voice|work=[[Detroit Free Press]]|date=March 25, 1964|page=18|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref>

==== Collaboration with Paul Henning ====
In the late 1940s, Benaderet befriended [[Paul Henning]], a scriptwriter on the radio production of ''Burns & Allen''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.museum.tv/eotv/henningpaul.htm|title=Paul Henning|work=The Museum of Broadcast Communications|access-date=August 1, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730080400/https://museum.tv/eotv/henningpaul.htm|archive-date=July 30, 2018}}</ref> She appeared on the 19 episodes of the show he had written between 1947 and 1951.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Henning,%20Paul&ArtistNumber=36979|title=Paul Henning|author=J. David Goldin|work=radioGOLDINdex|access-date=September 20, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200109172644/http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Henning,%20Paul&ArtistNumber=39754|archive-date=January 9, 2020}}</ref> She became one of his regular players in the first two seasons of ''Burns & Allen'', a two-episode guest appearance on ''[[The Bob Cummings Show]]'' in 1956–57, and her involvement in three of the most successful sitcoms of the 1960s.<ref>Gitlin (2013), pg. 292</ref><ref name="LATobit">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-mar-26-me-henning26-story.html|title=Paul Henning, 93; Created 'Beverly Hillbillies,' Other Comedies for TV|first=Dennis|last=McLellan|website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=March 26, 2005|access-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref> After reading the 1961 first script for ''The Beverly Hillbillies'', Benaderet wanted to [[audition]] for the role of [[The Beverly Hillbillies#Granny|Granny]]. Despite considering her to be too buxom for his vision of the character as a small and wiry woman, Henning allowed her to test anyway.<ref name="cox7">S. Cox (1993), pg. 7</ref> [[Irene Ryan]] ultimately won the role; according to Henning, "Bea took one look at the way Irene did the part and said to me, 'There's your Granny!{{'"}}<ref name="marc58" /> He additionally took Benaderet's suggestion of casting [[Harriet MacGibbon]] as Granny's rival Margaret Drysdale.<ref name="sc93">S. Cox (1993), pg. 89</ref> Henning created for Benaderet the supporting character of Cousin Pearl Bodine, the middle-aged widowed mother of Jethro Bodine ([[Max Baer Jr.]]) and cousin of main character Jed Clampett ([[Buddy Ebsen]]), whom she convinces to move from his humble home in the [[Ozarks]] after he strikes oil on his property and becomes a millionaire. Prior to shooting the [[Television pilot|pilot]], Benaderet enlisted a [[dialect coach]] to help her learn a [[hillbilly]] accent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/44381704/|title=Bea Benaderet Worked to Perfect Cousin Pearl Role|work=[[The Ottawa Journal]]|date=April 20, 1963|access-date=August 12, 2017}}</ref> Impressed with her performance while screening the pilot to potential sponsors,<ref name="nd" /> Henning made Cousin Pearl a recurring character in the 1962–63 first season as she moved into the Clampetts' [[Beverly Hills]] mansion, feuded with Granny, and pursued oil tycoon Mr. Brewster ([[Frank Wilcox]]) as a love interest.<ref name="nd" /> [[Bluegrass music|Bluegrass]] duo [[Flatt and Scruggs]], who performed the show's [[The Ballad of Jed Clampett|opening theme]], recorded a comedic [[serenade]] in 1963 titled "Pearl Pearl Pearl" and Benaderet was pictured on the single's cover.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/countrymusichof/status/800926803359633409|title=We couldn't do #MemberMonday on Flatt & Scruggs without the Beverly Hillbillies! Who was 'Pearl Pearl Pearl' used as a love song for?|work=[[Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum|Country Music HOF]]|publisher=[[Twitter]]|date=November 21, 2016|access-date=September 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101194727/https://twitter.com/countrymusichof/status/800926803359633409|archive-date=January 1, 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> Benaderet described Pearl's curly hair as "just my mental image of the character. ... Pearl played the piano for the [[Silent film|silent movies]] and she saw such high fashion and ridiculous hairdos. She could read and write, and the curled hair seemed to Pearl the height of smartness."<ref name="witbeck" />{{#tag:ref|In the 15th episode of the first season, "Jed Rescues Pearl" (aired January 2, 1963), Pearl plays the piano during a screening of the 1925 [[Rudolph Valentino]] film ''[[The Eagle (1925 film)|The Eagle]]''.|group="note"}}

Henning had long admired Benaderet's talents and strove to create a starring vehicle for her, as he felt she was worthy of headlining her own series after years of supporting parts.<ref name="marc58">Marc (1996), p. 58</ref> When CBS granted him an open time slot after the massive success of ''Beverly Hillbillies'', he crafted the 1963 rural sitcom ''Petticoat Junction'' around Benaderet, starring as Kate Bradley, the widowed proprietor of the Shady Rest Hotel.<ref name="chicago">{{cite web|url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1963/11/20/page/75/article/display-ad-68-no-title|title=Character Actress Finally Is a Star|first=Marion|last=Purcelli|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=November 20, 1963|access-date=August 11, 2017}}</ref> Cousin Pearl was consequently written out of the ''Beverly Hillbillies'' storyline as having moved back home.<ref>Mansour (2005), p. 356</ref>{{#tag:ref|Benaderet made one final appearance as Pearl in the October 11, 1967 fifth-season episode "Greetings From the President".|group="note"}} The character of Kate represented Benaderet's first [[Straight man|straight role]]: "Kate Bradley is different from the characters I've played in the past. She has to walk a fine line between being humorous and tender. The other women I've played were strictly for laughs."<ref name="chicago" /> Benaderet and director [[Richard Whorf]] auditioned the young actresses who would play Kate's three teenaged daughters;<ref name="kulzer">Kulzer (1992), pp. 55–57</ref> she persuaded Henning to let his 18-year-old daughter [[Linda Kaye Henning|Linda]] read (successfully) for the role of Betty Jo Bradley.<ref name="king">{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-dec-16-et-petticoat16-story.html|title=Back to the 'Junction'|first=Susan|last=King|work=Los Angeles Times|date=December 16, 2008|access-date=May 15, 2017}}</ref> Linda Henning and Benaderet's son, [[Jack Bannon (American actor)|Jack Bannon]], were members of a young actors' theater group at the time.<ref name="kulzer" /> CBS promoted the show's September 22, 1963, premiere with a print ad featuring an [[Al Hirschfeld]] caricature of Benaderet as Cousin Pearl.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/142121823/ "8:00–8:30 pm on CBS: ''Petticoat Junction''], ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' (September 22, 1963), pg. 256. Retrieved August 10, 2017.</ref> ''Petticoat Junction'' was an immediate hit, [[Top-rated United States television programs of 1963–64|peaking at fourth]] in the [[Nielsen ratings]], and remained in the top 30 during Benaderet's four full seasons on the show from 1963 to 1967.<ref>Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present'' ([[Ballantine Books|Ballantine]], 2007), pp. 1683–85.</ref> Her former ''Flintstones'' costars [[Alan Reed]] and Jean Vander Pyl filmed guest spots in later seasons.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Henning was again given free rein for a new show with no pilot needed, which he bestowed to colleague [[Jay Sommers]] due to his busy schedule. Sommers created the 1965 sitcom ''[[Green Acres]]'', adapted from his 1950 radio program ''[[Granby's Green Acres]]'' that had starred Benaderet, thus making it a spinoff of her own television show.<ref name="nd" /> Benaderet filmed six appearances as Kate in the first season as both shows' casts intermingled on several episodes in a process dubbed "cross-pollination".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-02-05-ca-19451-story.html|title=The Way We Rural : 'Hillbillies' Creator Paul Henning, to Be Honored in Santa Ana, Looks Back|first=Randy|last=Lewis|work=Los Angeles Times|date=February 5, 1994|access-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref>

=== Film and other works ===
Benaderet played bit parts in six motion pictures from 1946 to 1962, four of which were uncredited. She was chosen from 200 actresses for the part of a government file clerk in [[Alfred Hitchcock]]'s ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]'' (1946) and completed filming in half an hour, but her scenes were cut from the final print.<ref name="tod">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/46/Radio-Life-1946-07-07.pdf|title=Nice Work...If You Can Get It|first=Tod|last=Fredericks|work=Radio Life|page=33|date=July 7, 1946|access-date=August 4, 2017}}</ref> She told ''Radio Life'' magazine that year that after having struggled to remember her lines, "Mr. Hitchcock looked me right in the eye and asked 'You want to go back to radio?' I said yes".<ref name="tod" /> Her first onscreen appearance, also uncredited, was in the film ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]'' (1949), as one of two women whom the main characters (played by [[Gene Kelly]] and [[Frank Sinatra]]) encounter while riding the subway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/355/On-the-Town/notes.html|title=On the Town (1949) – Notes|work=TCM.com|access-date=September 3, 2017}}</ref>

In 1945, Benaderet and fellow voice actresses [[Janet Waldo]] and [[Cathy Lewis]] were to appear on a televised fashion show on her former KFRC employer Don Lee's [[KCBS-TV|W6XAO]] network before the project fell through.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-judy.html|title=Happy Birthday, Judy|work=yowpyowp.blogspot.com|date=February 4, 2010|access-date=July 25, 2017}}</ref> On [[Irving Taylor (songwriter)|Irving Taylor]]'s novelty album ''Drink Along with Irving'' (1960), she duetted with Elvia Allman and Mel Blanc, respectively, on tracks titled "Sub-Bourbon Living" and "Separate Bar Stools".<ref>Karol (2006), p. 130</ref>

== Personal life ==
Benaderet and her first husband, actor [[Jim Bannon]], met while employed at [[KHJ (AM)|KHJ]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="aaker345" /> They married in August 1938 and had two children: [[Jack Bannon (American actor)|Jack (1940–2017)]],<ref name="THR">{{cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-bannon-dead-lou-grant-actor-was-77-1052238|title=Jack Bannon, Actor on 'Lou Grant,' Dies at 77|first=Mike|last=Barnes|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=October 26, 2017|access-date=October 26, 2017}}</ref> and Maggie (b. 1947).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-03-16.pdf|title=Off Mike: Miss Bannon Debuts|work=Radio Life|page=13|date=March 16, 1947|access-date=August 3, 2017}}</ref> However, Bannon's heavy filming and touring schedule required for his portrayal of fictional cowboy hero [[Red Ryder]] took a toll on their marriage and she filed for divorce in September 1950.<ref name="aaker345" /> In 1958, Benaderet married [[Eugene Twombly]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://petticoat.topcities.com/scrapbook20.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120523043115/http://petticoat.topcities.com/scrapbook20.htm|title=The Henning Family Scrapbook|author=Dave Stein|date=1999|archive-date=May 23, 2012|page=3|access-date=March 29, 2021}}</ref> a sound-effects technician for movies and television who had worked on ''The Jack Benny Program'', and they remained together until her death in 1968. Her son Jack became an actor, making his television debut in bit parts on ''Petticoat Junction'' (and working on the show as a dialogue coach), later appearing in ''[[Lou Grant (TV series)|Lou Grant]]''.<ref name="THR" />

In 1961, Benaderet dressed in a ''Flintstones''-inspired leopard-print costume to collect donations for [[City of Hope (charity)|City of Hope]] and [[March of Dimes]]<ref name="freep">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/98356087/|title=Knock, Knock, Who's There?|work=[[Detroit Free Press]]|date=March 12, 1961|access-date=August 8, 2017}}</ref> and worked with [[Welcome Wagon]] in the [[San Fernando Valley]].<ref name="orsonwelles" /> On February 5, 1964, she was named an honorary [[sheriff]] of [[Calabasas, California]], with her daughter Maggie accepting a badge on her behalf that was presented by her ''Petticoat Junction'' co-star [[Edgar Buchanan]] in a public ceremony.<ref name="sheriff">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/22960578/|title=Calabasas Inaugurates New 'Sheriff'|work=Van Nuys News|page=77|date=February 6, 1964|access-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref>

== Illness and death ==
[[File:Bea Benaderet Grave.JPG|thumb|200px|Bea Benaderet's crypt at [[Valhalla Memorial Park]], with incorrect year of birth]]
During a routine [[Physical examination|checkup]] in 1963, a spot was discovered on one of Benaderet's lungs.<ref name="playground">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/54194641/|title=Benadaret Licks Tumor, Looks Forward To Petticoat Junction|first=Bob|last=Thomas|agency=Associated Press|publisher=[[Northwest Florida Daily News|Playground Daily News]]|date=March 25, 1968|access-date=August 24, 2017}}</ref> It was no longer visible at the time of her follow-up visit, but by November 1967, it had returned and grown in size.<ref name="playground" /> She resisted immediate exploratory surgery, as she was filming the [[List of Petticoat Junction episodes#Season 5 (1967–68)|fifth season]] of ''Petticoat Junction'' and feared the show would be affected by her absence.<ref name="playground" /> On November 26, she underwent the surgery at [[Good Samaritan Hospital (Los Angeles)|Good Samaritan Hospital]] in Los Angeles, when it was discovered the tumor could not be removed. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Benaderet underwent six weeks of [[Radiation therapy|radiation treatment]] via a [[linear particle accelerator]] at [[Stanford University Medical Center]].<ref name="playground" /> A longtime [[Tobacco smoking|smoker]],<ref name="nd" /> she cut down her multiple-pack-a-day habit following her initial checkups<ref name="playground" /> and quit entirely after her surgery.<ref name=
"heisner">Heisner, John (October 15, 1968). "Bea Benaderet Remembered". ''[[Democrat & Chronicle|Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]]'' (p. 49). Retrieved June 24, 2017.</ref>

Benaderet's treatment was initially successful and concluded in January 1968. She had missed 10 episodes of the show as she recuperated, during which her character of Kate Bradley was vaguely described in the storyline as being out of town.  Expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn88074101/1968-01-24/ed-1/seq-16/ |title=Preminger tags Carol for role |first=Dorothy |last=Manners |newspaper=[[Press-Republican]] |date=January 24, 1968 |access-date=May 15, 2017 |via=NYS Historic Newspapers}}</ref> [[Rosemary DeCamp]] (Kate's sister Helen) and [[Shirley Mitchell]] (Kate's cousin Mae Jennings) filled in as temporary mother figures during her absence; Mitchell had previously worked with Benaderet on ''The Jack Benny Program'' in 1954–55 as Mabel Flapsaddle.<ref name="enquirer">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/100781630/|title=Gertie and Mabel|work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|date=April 25, 1967|access-date=August 4, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/62935192/|title=Reunion at Switchboard|work=San Bernardino County Sun|date=April 2, 1967|access-date=August 4, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet returned for the March 30 fifth-season finale "Kate's Homecoming",<ref>"Bea Benaderet Returns to Role". ''[[The Examiner (Missouri)|Independence Examiner]]'' (p. 8). March 30, 1968. Retrieved June 24, 2017.</ref> but five months later, after shooting the first three episodes of the [[List of Petticoat Junction episodes#Season 6 (1968–69)|sixth season]], she took leave from the series due to being too ill to continue.<ref name="heisner" /> Initial plans were for her to record her voice to be inserted into future episodes.<ref name="sanantonio">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/77648902/|title=Bea Benaderet May Tape Voice|work=San Antonio Express-News|date=September 8, 1968|access-date=August 26, 2017}}</ref> However, her condition dramatically declined; on September 26, chest pains related to her illness forced her to return to the hospital for the final time.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30357084/|title=Last Rites Set Tomorrow for Bea Benaderet|work=Valley News (Van Nuys, CA)|date=October 15, 1968|access-date=August 26, 2017}}</ref> The fourth show of the sixth season, "The Valley Has a Baby", marked Benaderet's last episode and featured only her voice with her [[stand-in]] filmed from the rear.<ref name="king" />

Benaderet died on October 13, 1968, of lung cancer and [[pneumonia]], at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles.<ref name="hagerstown">{{cite news|title=Pneumonia, Cancer Kills 'Petticoat Junction' Star|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2725954/the_daily_mail/|agency=Associated Press|work=[[The Herald-Mail|The Daily Mail]]|date=October 14, 1968|page=8|access-date=July 1, 2015}}</ref> She was entombed in [[Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery]] in [[North Hollywood, Los Angeles|North Hollywood]].<ref name="stein" /> On October 17, four days after her death and the day after her funeral, her husband Eugene Twombly died at the age of 54 from a massive [[heart attack]]<ref name="twombley">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8867523/jack_bannon_resident_son_of_bea/|title=E. Twombley, Widower of Actress, Dies|work=Los Angeles Times|date=October 18, 1968|access-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref> and was interred beside her.

== Acting style and reception ==
{{quote box|align=right|width=25%|quote="I think it is the most wonderful profession in the world. I can walk on the set in the morning not thinking I can put one foot in front of the other, and then on stage, something happens. You come to life right away. I would die if I didn't work."|source=—Benaderet in 1965 on her love of acting.<ref name="resnik" />}}
When Benaderet was cast in ''Petticoat Junction,'' she was hailed as having "finally" become a star.<ref name="chicago" /><ref name="express news" /><ref name="decatur">{{cite news|last1=Langley|first1=Frank|title=Star System Ended|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/2727368/the_decatur_herald/|work=The Decatur Herald|date=September 6, 1963|page=26|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|access-date = July 1, 2015}}</ref><ref name="inquirer">{{cite web|url=https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2018/04/mama-bea.html|title=Bea Benaderet: Mama of the Year|first=Harry|last=Harris|work=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]|via=tralfaz.blogspot.com|date=May 10, 1964|access-date=April 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="akron">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/151246960/|title=She's Finally Top Banana|first=Jack|last=Major|work=[[Akron Beacon Journal]]|via=newspapers.com|date=September 29, 1963|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref> She had previously played [[supporting role]]s throughout her career, usually as a next-door neighbor,<ref name="hefernan" /><ref name="express news">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/29602797/|title=Bea Benaderet's Own Star Shines Brightly As Any|work=[[San Antonio Express-News]]|page=84|date=January 19, 1964|access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref><ref name="humphrey">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/15832276/|title=A Long-Term Next-Door Neighbor Gets Own Show|first=Hal|last=Humphrey|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]; reprinted in the Beckley Post-Herald|date=July 15, 1963|access-date=July 20, 2017}}</ref> and had been openly averse to leading roles.<ref name="hefernan" /><ref name="freep" /> However, in January 1963, following CBS' acquisition of ''Petticoat Junction'', she enthused to columnist Eve Starr of ''[[The Mercury (Pennsylvania)|The Mercury]]'': "Isn't it nice? After all these years. ... [It] just never occurred to me that it might...golly, my own show!"<ref name="pottstown" /> Benaderet often discussed facets of the acting profession in promotional interviews for the show,<ref name="decatur" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/68857572/|title=Bea Benaderet 'Airs' a Theory|work=[[El Paso Herald]]|page=27|date=January 21, 1967|access-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/40712379/|title=Bea Benaderet Hates to See Anyone Lose|work=[[Salina Journal]]|page=11|date=March 14, 1967|access-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/113217382/|title=Bea Likes Canadian Methods|work=[[The Tennessean]]|page=140|date=October 2, 1966|access-date=September 2, 2017}}</ref> and believed that leading a series required a "feeling of responsibility", including her being more observant of on-set activity and her costars' performances, while continuously evolving her character.<ref name="macminn">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/161157652/|title=Stardom: Bea spells it out|first=Aleene|last=MacMinn|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=February 13, 1966|access-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref><ref name="herman" />

Benaderet garnered praise for her mastery of [[dialect]]s<ref name="hagerstown" /><ref name="rochester">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/137081190/|title=The Lady with the Versatile Voice|work=Rochester Democrat and Chronicle|page=116|date=January 31, 1965|access-date=August 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/71723247/|title=Bea Benaderet's Dialect Returns Her to TV Work|work=The Cumberland News|page=15|date=December 22, 1962|access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=4724698&fcfToken=7477436c695637355065424a4647447a79474f5a795069784e6f4568526d773577506f7a4d4744425a4f644b6f5855426d73762b6775514c474837733343524d|title=Comedy Veterans Head Cast of ''Petticoat Junction''|work=[[Standard-Speaker]]|page=19|date=October 5, 1963|access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref> and her work as a comedienne and [[Character actor|character actress]],<ref name="karol15" /><ref name="herman">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48713241/|title=''Petticoat Junction'' Star Likes Activity|first=Edna Mae|last=Herman|work=Daily Independent (Kannapolis, NC)|date=August 13, 1967|access-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/24086078/|title=Star of TV, Radio Bea Benaderet Dies|work=[[Press-Telegram|The Independent]]|page=2|date=October 14, 1968|access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref> while she is recognized for her voice [[characterization]]s in animation.<ref name="goldmark" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.awn.com/animationworld/voices-experience|title=Voices of Experience|first=Martin|last=Goodman|work=[[Animation World Network]]|date=April 1, 2000|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-june-foray-appreciation-20170727-story.html|title=June Foray: From Rocky the flying squirrel to Cindy Lou Who, she was a master|first=Robert|last=Lloyd|work=[[Los Angeles Times|latimes.com]]|date=July 30, 2017|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-hot-job-in-hollywood-voice-overs/2013/08/07/27ee2160-fb7e-11e2-9bde-7ddaa186b751_story.html|title=The hot job in Hollywood? Voice overs.|first=Roger|last=Moore|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 10, 2013|access-date=August 7, 2017}}</ref> [[MeTV]] considered her an "icon" of 1960s television.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metv.com/stories/bea-benaderet-was-both-the-best-and-the-worst-guest-ever-on-password|title=Bea Benaderet was both the best and the worst guest ever on ''Password''|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=[[MeTV]]|date=July 13, 2017|access-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref> [[Donna Douglas]] said, "Watching her [[Comic timing|timing]] is like watching a ballerina. She's so effortless."<ref name="pottstown">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48388923/|title=Inside Television|first=Eve|last=Starr|work=[[The Mercury (Pennsylvania)|The Mercury]]|page=4|date=January 28, 1963|access-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet credited [[George Burns]] with mentoring her in comedy acting,<ref>Staff (September 1, 1965). "Today's Channel Check". ''[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]'' (p. 16). Retrieved September 21, 2017.</ref> but claimed that television scriptwriters focused more on her voice and delivery than her characters, which she believed stunted opportunities for her to play more dramatic roles.<ref name="chicago" /><ref name="inquirer" /> For her contributions to television, Benaderet received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] in 1960, on 1611 Vine Street,<ref name="walk">{{cite web|title=Bea Benaderet|url=http://www.walkoffame.com/bea-benaderet|work=Hollywood Walk of Fame|access-date=July 1, 2015}}</ref> and she was the recipient of a Genii Award in 1966.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/161681028/|title=Stars Join to Fete Genii Winner|work=Los Angeles Times|date=April 11, 1966|page=76|access-date=August 31, 2017}}</ref>

She is credited with over 1000 combined radio and television episode appearances,<ref name="karol15">Karol (2006), p. 15-16 ("One of the most prolific actresses ever, she appeared in more than 600 series episodes — all sitcoms, one [''The Flintstones''] as a voice actor only.")</ref><ref name="radioGOLD">{{cite web|url=http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Benaderet,%20Bea&ArtistNumber=03486|title=Bea Benaderet|author=J. David Goldin|work=RadioGOLDIndex.com|date=April 27, 2017|access-date=July 28, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114210141/http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Benaderet,%20Bea&ArtistNumber=03486|archive-date=January 14, 2019}}</ref> which earned her the nickname of "Busy Bea" from members of the press.<ref name="akron" /><ref name="tod" /><ref name="herman" /><ref name="sgordon">{{cite web|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/44/Radio-Life-1944-05-14.pdf|title=Busy Bea|first=Shirley|last=Gordon|author-link=Shirley Gordon (writer)|work=Radio Life|date=May 14, 1944|pages=29, 31|access-date=January 27, 2020}}</ref><ref name="el paso">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/68879887/|title=Somebody Built a Hotel around Bea Benaderet|work=[[El Paso Herald]]|date=July 29, 1967|access-date=August 21, 2017}}</ref>  ''[[The Pantagraph]]'' columnist Ernie Kreiling remarked in 1965 that "probably no Hollywood personality has spent as many hours in our homes".<ref name="pantagraph">{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/70721006/|title=''Petticoat's'' Aunt Kate Gaining in Stardom|first=Ernie|last=Kreiling|work=[[The Pantagraph]]|page=26|date=July 3, 1965|access-date=August 23, 2017}}</ref> Benaderet was good friends and a frequent collaborator with [[Mel Blanc]], who wrote in his 1988 biography ''That's Not All Folks!:'' "[We] spent so much time together in studios that I used to refer jokingly to her as the 'other woman' in my life."<ref>Blanc & Bashe (1988), p. 81</ref>

Keeping the spelling of her surname, which has been misspelled as ''Benederet'' or ''Benadaret'',<ref name="inquirer" /> was a choice she insisted on.<ref name="blythe" /><ref name="playground" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/77245953/|title=Bea Benederet Dies|agency=Associated Press|work=The Evening Times|location=Sayre, Pennsylvania|date=October 14, 1968|access-date=July 28, 2017}}</ref> She first resisted requests to change it early in her radio career: "[T]hey'd say, 'Anything's better than Benaderet—How about Smith?'"<ref name="inquirer" /> When she was introduced to [[Orson Welles]] in 1936, he remarked that her name "sounded like something you [[Ad libitum|ad lib]] in a mob scene."<ref name="orsonwelles" /> It was misspelled in a 1946 press release created specifically about its proper spelling,<ref name="name">{{cite web|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-01-05.pdf|title=Don't Care|author=<!--Not stated-->|work=Radio Life|page=11|date=January 5, 1947|access-date=September 6, 2017}}</ref> and ''Radio Life'' wrote in 1947: "If someone were to conduct a survey to decide the radio personality with the most frequently misspelled name, Bea Benaderet would probably win hands down."<ref name="name" /> Early in the first season of ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show'', her full name appeared as "Bee Benadaret" in the closing credits.<ref name="blythe" />

== See also ==
{{Portal|Biography|New York City|California|Los Angeles|Radio|Film|Television|Comedy}}
* [[List of comedians]]
* [[List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame]]

== Selected filmography ==
=== Radio ===
<ref name="radioGOLD" />{{#tag:ref|Click on archived link for complete listing.|group="note"}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|
* ''[[Blue Monday Jamboree]]'' (1927–1936)
* ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]'' (1937–1955)
* ''[[Fibber McGee and Molly]]'' (1939–1951)
* ''[[The Campbell Playhouse (radio series)|The Campbell Playhouse]]'' (1939–1940)
* ''[[Lux Radio Theatre]]'' (1940–1944)
* ''[[Burns and Allen#Radio|The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]'' (1942–1949)
* ''[[Cavalcade of America]]'' (1942–1944)
* ''[[A Date with Judy]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Mayor of the Town (radio program)|Mayor of the Town]]'' (1942)
* ''[[Lights Out (radio show)|Lights Out]]'' (1943)
* ''[[Command Performance (radio series)|Command Performance]]'' (1943–1946)
* ''[[Suspense (radio drama)|Suspense]]'' (1943–1944)
* ''[[The Great Gildersleeve]]'' (1943–1949)
* ''[[The Red Skelton Program]]'' (1944)
* ''[[The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet]]'' (1944–1945)
* ''[[The Adventures of Maisie]]'' (1945–1952)
* ''[[This is Your FBI]]'' (1945–1953)
* ''[[The Mel Blanc Show]]'' (1946–1947)
* ''[[A Day in the Life of Dennis Day]]'' (1946–1951)
* ''[[Lum and Abner|The Lum and Abner Show]]'' (1948)
* ''[[Hallmark Playhouse]]'' (1948–1951)
* ''[[My Favorite Husband]]'' (1948–1951)
* ''[[Granby's Green Acres]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Penny Singleton|The Penny Singleton Show]]'' (1950)
* ''[[Broadway Is My Beat]]'' (1950–1951)
* ''[[The Halls of Ivy]]'' (1950–1952)
* ''[[Hollywood Star Playhouse]]'' (1951)
* ''[[Meet Millie]]'' (1951–1954)
}}

=== Shorts ===
* ''[[Little Red Riding Rabbit]]'' (1944) (voice)
* ''[[Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears]]'' (1944) (voice)
* ''[[Baseball Bugs]]'' (1946) (voice)
* ''[[Tweetie Pie]]'' (1947) (voice)
* ''[[Chow Hound]]'' (1951) (voice)
* ''[[A Bear for Punishment]]'' (1951) (voice)
* ''[[Gift Wrapped (film)|Gift Wrapped]]'' (1952) (voice)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2018/12/drop-it-drop-it.html|title=Drop It! Drop It!|work=tralfaz.blogspot.com|date=December 18, 2018|access-date=January 22, 2020}}</ref>
* ''[[Feed the Kitty]]'' (1952) (voice)
* ''[[Bewitched Bunny]]'' (1954) (voice)
* ''[[The Hole Idea]]'' (1955) (voice)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-the-hole-idea-1955/|title=Robert McKimson's "The Hole Idea" (1955)|work=Cartoon Research|first=Devon|last=Baxter|date=May 17, 2017|access-date=January 9, 2020}}</ref>

=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! Notes
|-
| 1946
| ''[[Notorious (1946 film)|Notorious]]''
| File Clerk
| Uncredited
|-
| 1949
| ''[[On the Town (film)|On the Town]]''
| Brooklyn Girl on Subway
| Uncredited
|-
| 1952
| ''[[The First Time (1952 film)|The First Time]]''
| Mrs. Potter
| Uncredited
|-
| 1954
| ''[[Black Widow (1954 film)|Black Widow]]''
| Mrs. Franklin Walsh
| Uncredited
|-
| 1959
| ''[[Plunderers of Painted Flats]]''
| Ella Heather
|
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Tender Is the Night (1962 film)|Tender Is the Night]]''
| Mrs. McKisco
|
|}

=== Television ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1950–1958
| ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]''
| Blanche Morton
| 291 episodes<br />Nominated—[[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series]] <small>(1954, 1955)</small>
|-
| 1952
| ''[[I Love Lucy]]''
| Miss Lewis
| Episode: "Lucy Plays Cupid"
|-
| 1952–1955
| ''[[The Jack Benny Program#Television|The Jack Benny Program]]''
| Gertrude Gearshift
| 7 episodes<br />Continuation of radio role
|-
| 1955
| ''[[The Lineup (TV series)|The Lineup]]''
|
| Episode: "The Falling Out of Thieves"
|-
| 1956–1957
| ''[[The Bob Cummings Show]]''
| Blanche Morton/Dixie
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1958–1959
| ''[[The George Burns Show]]''
| Blanche Morton
| 25 episodes
|-
| 1959
| ''[[General Electric Theater]]''
| Marie
| Episode: "Night Club"
|-
| 1959
| ''[[The Restless Gun]]''
| Madame Brimstone
| Episode: "Mme. Brimstone"
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Mister Magoo]]''
| Mother Magoo; additional voices
| 5 episodes
|-
| 1960
| ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]''
| Mary Field
| Episode: "Ten Cents a Death"
|-
| 1960–1963
| ''[[The Flintstones]]''
| [[Betty Rubble]]; additional voices
| 112 episodes
|-
| 1960–1961
| ''[[Peter Loves Mary]]''
| Wilma
| 32 episodes
|-
| 1961
| ''[[The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis]]''
| Telephone Operator
| Episode: "Spaceville"
|-
| 1961
| ''[[Top Cat]]''
| Various characters (voices)
| 6 episodes
|-
| 1962
| ''[[The New Breed (TV series)|The New Breed]]''
| Miss Horne
| Episode: "A Motive Named Walter"
|-
| 1962
| ''[[Pete and Gladys]]''
| Mrs. Springer
| Episode: "Continental Dinner"
|-
| 1962
| ''[[The Jetsons]]''
| Emily Scopes/Celeste Skyler
| Episode: "A Visit From Grandpa"
|-
| 1962–1963, 1967
| ''[[The Beverly Hillbillies]]''
| Cousin Pearl Bodine
| 23 episodes
|-
| 1963–1968
| ''[[Petticoat Junction]]''
| Kate Bradley
| 164 episodes
|-
| 1965–1966
| ''[[Green Acres]]''
| Kate Bradley
| 6 episodes
|}

== Awards and honors ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Title of work
! Result
|-
| [[6th Primetime Emmy Awards|1954]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Primetime Emmy Award]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series]]
| rowspan="2"| ''[[The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show]]''
| {{Nominated}}
|-
| [[7th Primetime Emmy Awards|1955]]
| {{Nominated}}
|}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note|30em}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book|title=Television Western Players of the Fifties: A Biographical Encyclopedia of All Regular Cast Members in Western Series, 1949–1959 |first=Everett|last=Aaker|date=2007|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn= 978-0-7864-3087-1}}
* {{cite book|title=That's Not All Folks!|first1=Mel|last1=Blanc|author-link=Mel Blanc|first2=Philip|last2=Bashe|date=1988|publisher=[[Warner Books]]|isbn=978-0-446-51244-2|url=https://archive.org/details/thatsnotallfolks00blan}}
* {{cite book|title=Say Goodnight, Gracie!: The Story of George Burns and Gracie Allen|first1=Cheryl|last1=Blythe|first2=Susan|last2=Sackett|date=1989|publisher=[[Prima Publishing]]|isbn=978-1-55958-019-9|url=https://archive.org/details/saygoodnightgrac00blyt}}
* {{cite book |last= Cox |first= Jim |title= The Great Radio Sitcoms|year= 2007 |publisher= McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-3146-5}}
* {{cite book|first=Stephen|last=Cox|author-link=Stephen Cox (writer)|title=The Beverly Hillbillies: From the Small Screen to the Big Screen|date=1993|publisher=[[Harper Perennial]]|isbn=978-0-06-097565-4|url=https://archive.org/details/beverlyhillbilli00coxs}}
* {{cite book |last1= Edelman |first1= Rob|last2=Kupferberg|first2=Audrey |title= Meet the Mertzes: The Life Stories of ''I Love Lucy's'' Other Couple|year= 1999 |publisher= [[Renaissance Books]]|isbn=978-1-58063-095-5}}
* {{cite book|first=Martin|last=Gitlin|title=The Greatest Sitcoms of All Time|date=2013|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|isbn=978-0-8108-8724-4}}
* {{cite book|first1=Daniel|last1=Goldmark|first2=Charles L.|last2=Granata|title=The Cartoon Music Book|year=2002|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|isbn= 978-1-55652-473-8}}
* {{cite book|first=Richard|last=Irvin|title=George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950–1981|date=2014|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-7864-9486-6}}
* {{cite book|first1=Chuck|last1=Jones|author-link1=Chuck Jones|first2=Maureen|last2=Furniss|title=Chuck Jones: Conversations|date=2005|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|isbn= 978-1-57806-728-2}}
* {{cite book|first=Michael|last=Karol|title=Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen|year=2006|publisher=[[iUniverse]]|isbn= 978-0-595-40251-9}}
* {{cite book|first=Dina Marie|last=Kulzer|title=Television Series Regulars of the Fifties and Sixties in Interview|date=1992|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn=978-0-89950-722-4}}
* {{cite book|first=David|last=Mansour|title=From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century|date=2005|publisher=[[Andrews McMeel Publishing]]|isbn= 978-0-7407-5118-9}}
* {{cite book|first=David|last=Marc|title=Demographic Vistas: Television in American Culture|date=1996|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|isbn=978-0-8122-1560-1|url=https://archive.org/details/demographicvista00marc}}
* {{cite book|last1=Oppenheimer|first1=Jess|last2=Oppenheimer|first2=Greg|author-link1=Jess Oppenheimer|title=Laughs, Luck – and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time|year=1999|publisher=Syracuse University Press|isbn=978-0-8156-0584-3|url=https://archive.org/details/laughslucklucyho00oppe}}
* {{cite book|first=William|last=Ristow|title=San Francisco Free & Easy|date=1980|publisher=Downwind Publications|isbn=978-0-913192-02-3}}
* {{cite book|title=The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms|first=David C.|last=Tucker|date=2007|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn= 978-0-7864-2900-4}}
* {{cite book|title=Lost Laughs of '50s and '60s Television: Thirty Sitcoms That Faded Off Screen|first=David C.|last=Tucker|date=2010|publisher=McFarland & Company|isbn= 978-0-7864-4466-3}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0070153}}
* {{Amg name|5254}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080829024349/http://www.cafes.net/beetle/bea.htm Partial article published in ''The Woman'' magazine, March 1968]
* [https://aurorasginjoint.com/2016/03/06/tv-sidekicks-bea-benaderets-blanche-to-gracie-allens-gracie/ TV Sidekicks: Bea Benaderet's Blanche to Gracie Allen's Gracie]

{{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benaderet, Bea}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1968 deaths]]
[[Category:Actresses from San Francisco]]
[[Category:American people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:American people of Turkish-Jewish descent]]
[[Category:American comedy actors]]
[[Category:American radio actresses]]
[[Category:American television actresses]]
[[Category:Burials at Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery]]
[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in California]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in California]]
[[Category:Hanna-Barbera people]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. Cartoons voice actors]]
[[Category:20th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:American women comedians]]
[[Category:Comedians from New York City]]
[[Category:Comedians from San Francisco]]