Brenda Benet

American actress (1945–1982)

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Brenda Benet

Benet in The Young Marrieds (1965)

Born|

Brenda Ann Nelson

(1945-08-14)August 14, 1945

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Died| April 7, 1982(1982-04-07) (aged 36)

Los Angeles, California, U.S.

Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1964–1982
Spouses|

Paul Petersen

(m. 1967; div. 1970)​

Bill Bixby

(m. 1971; div. 1980)​

Partner|

* Tammy Bruce (1981–1982)

Children| 1

Brenda Benet (born Brenda Ann Nelson; August 14, 1945 – April 7, 1982) was an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the soap operas The Young Marrieds (1965–1965) and Days of Our Lives (1979–1982). She was also featured in an episode of Hogan's Heroes in 1970.

## Early life

[edit]

Benet was born Brenda Ann Nelson in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California; later, her family moved to South Gate.[1][2][3] She graduated from South Gate High School, attended Los Angeles City College, then studied at the University of California at Los Angeles, majoring in languages.[3] She studied with San Francisco Ballet, was featured in several productions of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, was a musician who played piano, flute and violin, and was fluent in five languages.[2]

## Career

[edit]

Her first acting roles were in 1964,[citation needed] with appearances on Shindig! and The Young Marrieds. She eventually became an actress very much in demand for roles in episodic primetime television in the 1960s and 1970s, including I Dream of Jeannie, McHale's Navy, Daniel Boone, Mannix, The Green Hornet (TV series), My Three Sons, Hogan's Heroes, Love, American Style, Wonder Woman, The Love Boat, and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. She also had a major role in the feature film Walking Tall (1973).

She portrayed Lee Dumonde on the daytime serial Days of Our Lives, a role she played from 1979 until her death in 1982.

## Personal life

[edit]

Benet's first marriage was to The Donna Reed Show actor Paul Petersen in 1967. In 1969, Benet left Petersen for actor Bill Bixby.[4]

After her divorce from Petersen became final, Benet married Bixby in 1971. The couple had a child, Christopher Sean, in September 1974,[5] and then divorced in 1980.[6]

Benet became lovers with her 17-year-old personal secretary, Tammy Bruce.[7] Later, Benet and Bruce lived together[8] for nearly a year before Bruce moved out in 1982.[9][10][11]

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. However, Benet's most personal challenge occurred when her six-year-old son Christopher died in March 1981. While they were on a weekend ski trip at Mammoth Lakes, Christopher suffered acute epiglottitis, going into a coma and cardiac arrest after doctors subsequently carried out a tracheotomy.[5]

## Death

[edit]

Benet was devastated by her son's death and sank into a severe depression. On April 7, 1982, she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her home in Los Angeles.[1][3][2] She was 36.

## Filmography

[edit]

Film

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes
1965  | Beach Ball | Samantha  |
Harum Scarum | Emerald  | Alternative title: Harum Holiday
1967  | Track of Thunder | Shelly Newman  |
1973  | Walking Tall | Luan Paxton  | Listed in credits as Brenda Benét
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 #4  | 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
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 Men From Shiloh, the rebranded name of The Virginian | Susan Masters  | 1 episode
1971–1975  | Mannix | Ellen Parrish (S4-Ep16)
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
1976  | Tattletales | Herself  | 5 episodes
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, (final appearance)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Post-Gazette staff writers (April 9, 1982). "Actress Brenda Benet kills self, star in soap". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved May 1, 2018 - via WeLoveSoaps.net.
2. ^ a b c "Actress Brenda Benet, who played the often hysterical Lee..." UPI. April 8, 1982. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
3. ^ a b c "Brenda Benet, Actress, Called Suicide Victim". The New York Times. Associated Press. April 9, 1982. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
4. ^ Kubey, Robert William (2003). Creating Television: The First 50 Years. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. pp. 384–385\. ISBN 0-8058-1077-3.384-385&rft.pub=Lawrence+Erlbaum+Associates&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=0-8058-1077-3&rft.aulast=Kubey&rft.aufirst=Robert+William&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Brenda+Benet" class="Z3988">
5. ^ a b UPI staff (March 3, 1981). "The 6-year-old son of 'Incredible Hulk' television series star". United Press International. Retrieved May 1, 2018.
6. ^ Lisanti, Tom; Wells, Carole (2003). Drive-in Dream Girls: A Galaxy of B-movie Starlets of the Xixties. McFarland. pp. 219–220\. ISBN 0-7864-1575-4.219-220&rft.pub=McFarland&rft.date=2003&rft.isbn=0-7864-1575-4&rft.aulast=Lisanti&rft.aufirst=Tom&rft.au=Wells,+Carole&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Brenda+Benet" class="Z3988">
7. ^ -- (22 April 2003). The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left's Assault on Our Culture and Values. Random House. ISBN 978-0761516637. OCLC 51293804. OL 8017248M. Retrieved 15 February 2023 - via Internet Archive.
8. ^ "Days of Our Lives' star's death ruled suicide". The Californian. The Salinas Californian. April 9, 1982. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
9. ^ "Actress Brenda Benet, who played the often hysterical Lee..." UPI. April 8, 1982. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
10. ^ Staff (April 9, 1982). "Actress Brenda Benet kills self, star in soap". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
11. ^ "Brenda Benet, Actress, Called Suicide Victim". The New York Times. April 9, 1982. Retrieved April 8, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Brenda Benet at IMDb

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced