Bea Benaderet

American actress and comedienneTemplate:SHORTDESC:American actress and comedienne[[Category:**Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'Module:Pagetype/config' not found.**s with short description]]

* Actress
* comedienne

**Beatrice Benaderet** (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; 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 Bay Area theatre and radio before embarking on a Hollywood career that spanned over three decades. Benaderet first specialized in voiceover work in the 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 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 up 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 in New York City. Her mother, Margaret O'Keefe (1888–1936), was Irish-American, and her father, Samuel David Benaderet (1884–1954), a Turkish Sephardic emigrant, was a tobacconist who relocated the family from New York to San Francisco, California in 1915 after his participation in the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. The same year, he opened a smoke shop that would conduct business in the city for the next 65 years, making it the oldest such retailer in California at the time of its closure in 1980.

Benaderet was raised Catholic, and attended grade school at a Dominican convent. She studied voice and the piano, and her first acting performance came at 11, when she portrayed a bearded old man in a school play. 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. Benaderet made her professional theatre debut at 16 in a production of *The Prince of Pilsen,* and after graduating from St. Rose Academy, a private, all-girls' high school, she attended the Reginald Travers School of Acting and joined his stock company The Players' Guild, appearing in stage productions of works such as *Polly*, *Lysistrata*, and *Uncle Tom's Cabin*.

## Career

### Radio

 File:Gale Gordon Bea Benaderet Granby's Green Acres 1950.jpg  In 1926, Benaderet joined the staff of San Francisco radio station KFRC, which was under the new ownership of Don Lee and where her duties included acting, singing, writing, and producing. Initially seeking work as a dramatic actress, she switched to comedy and performed on multiple programs, in particular the *Blue Monday Jamboree* variety show, where her castmates included Meredith Willson, Elvia Allman, and future *I Love Lucy* producer Jess Oppenheimer. Benaderet honed a variety of dialects such as French, Spanish, New York English, and Yiddish, the latter from voicing a character named "Rheba Haufawitz". She additionally hosted the musical variety show *Salon Moderne* and gained attention for her work as a female announcer, which had become a rarity in radio in the 1930s.

Benaderet relocated to Hollywood in 1936 and joined the radio station KHJ, where she made her network radio debut upon being hired by Orson Welles for his Mercury Theatre repertory company heard on *The Campbell Playhouse*. The following year she received her first big break in the industry on *The Jack Benny Program*, where she played Gertrude Gearshift, a wisecracking telephone operator who gossiped about Jack Benny with her cohort Mabel Flapsaddle (Sara Berner). 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 actual NBC switchboards in Hollywood for publicity photos. She performed in as many as five shows daily, 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.

Other recurring characters Benaderet portrayed were Blanche Morton on *The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show*; school principal Eve Goodwin on *The Great Gildersleeve*; Millicent Carstairs on *Fibber McGee & Molly*; Gloria the maid on *The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet*; 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, the neighbor and friend of Ball's character Liz Cooper. The 1950 CBS program *Granby's Green Acres*, a perceived spinoff of *My Favorite Husband*, 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.

### Voice acting

Beginning in 1943, Benaderet became Warner Bros.' primary voice of adult female supporting characters for their *Merrie Melodies* and *Looney Tunes* animated shorts, initially sharing duties with Sara Berner. Her characterizations included an obnoxious teenaged bobbysox version of Little Red Riding Hood in *Little Red Riding Rabbit* (1944); Witch Hazel in *Bewitched Bunny* (1954); the spinster hen Miss Prissy in several Foghorn Leghorn cartoons; Tweety's owner "Granny" including the Academy Award-winning *Tweetie Pie* (1947); and Mama Bear in a series of Three Bears shorts, which animator Chuck Jones called one of his favorite portrayals. Benaderet did not receive onscreen credit for her work, as she was employed by Warner Bros. as a freelance actor who voiced peripheral characters, and unlike Mel Blanc, was not under contract with the studio. In 1955, she was succeeded by June Foray as Warner's premier female voice artist.

### 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. 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.

Benaderet continued her *Burns & Allen* radio role of the Burns' neighbor Blanche Morton, Gracie's friend and staunchest supporter in her escapades. She was the only secondary cast member who appeared in every episode, and the first six shows were shot live in New York, resulting in Benaderet commuting to and from Los Angeles where she was working several radio assignments at the time. Blanche's 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. Benaderet and Gracie Allen regularly shopped for their own on-set wardrobe, and she developed a high-pitched laugh for Blanche that became a staple of the character and was often used for comic effect: "When we had a scene with some silent spots in it, George would say to me, 'Laugh there, Bea.Template:'" Benaderet garnered two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1954 and 1955. 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 cancelled after one season due to low ratings. Benaderet worked sparsely in 1959, filming one-time appearances on *General Electric Theater* and *The Restless Gun*.

The 1960s had Benaderet become a fixture on television, including working on two shows simultaneously from 1960 to 1964. In 1960, she played the housekeeper Wilma in the lone season of the Peter Lind Hayes-Mary Healy sitcom *Peter Loves Mary*, a part she received on the back of references from Burns. Benaderet considered herself "lucky" to be cast in another series out of fear that she had become too closely associated with *Burns & Allen*. The same year, she was then cast as 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.Template:'" Benaderet adapted her *Burns & Allen* laugh for Betty's signature giggle, and she voiced guest spots on the side for fellow Hanna-Barbera productions *Top Cat* and *The Yogi Bear Show* during 1961 and 1962. 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, until scheduling conflicts forced her to drop the role at the end of the fourth season in 1964, and she was replaced by Gerry Johnson.

#### Collaboration with Paul Henning

In the late 1940s, Benaderet befriended Paul Henning, a scriptwriter on the radio production of *Burns & Allen*. She appeared on 19 episodes of the show that he had written between 1947 and 1951, and became one of his regular television players with the first two seasons of *Burns & Allen*, a two-episode guest appearance on *The Bob Cummings Show* in 1956–57, and then her involvement in three of the most successful sitcoms of the 1960s. After reading the 1961 first script for *The Beverly Hillbillies*, Benaderet wanted to audition for the role of 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. 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!Template:'" He additionally took Benaderet's suggestion of casting Harriet MacGibbon as Granny's rival Margaret Drysdale. 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 pilot, Benaderet enlisted a dialect coach to help her learn a hillbilly accent. Impressed with her performance while screening the pilot to potential sponsors, 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. Bluegrass duo Flatt & Scruggs, who performed the show's opening theme, recorded a comedic serenade in 1963 titled "Pearl Pearl Pearl", and Benaderet was pictured on the single's cover. Benaderet described Pearl's curly hair as "just my mental image of the character. ... Pearl played the piano for the 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."

Paul 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. 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, and she starred as Kate Bradley, the widowed proprietor of the Shady Rest Hotel. Cousin Pearl was consequently written out of the *Beverly Hillbillies* storyline as having moved back home. The character of Kate represented Benaderet's first 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." Benaderet and director Richard Whorf auditioned the young actresses who would play Kate's three teenaged daughters, and she persuaded Henning to let his 18-year-old daughter Linda read (successfully) for the role of Betty Jo Bradley. Linda Henning and Benaderet's son, Jack Bannon, were members of a young actors' theater group at the time. CBS promoted the show's September 22, 1963, premiere with a print ad featuring an Al Hirschfeld caricature of Benaderet as Cousin Pearl. *Petticoat Junction* was an immediate hit, 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. Her former *Flintstones* costars Alan Reed and Jean Vander Pyl filmed guest spots in later seasons.

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. Benaderet filmed six appearances as Kate in the first season as both shows' casts intermingled on several episodes in a process dubbed "cross-pollination".

### 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 two hundred actresses for the part of a government file clerk in Alfred Hitchcock's *Notorious* (1946) and completed filming in half an hour, but her scenes were cut from the final print. 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". Her first onscreen appearance, also uncredited, was in the 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.

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 W6XAO network before the project fell through. On 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".

## Personal life

Benaderet and her first husband, actor Jim Bannon, met while employed at KHJ in Los Angeles. They married in August 1938 and had two children: Jack (1940–2017), and Maggie (b. March 4, 1947). 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. In 1957, Benaderet married Eugene Twombly, 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 Bannon became an actor, making his television debut in bit parts on *Petticoat Junction* and working on the show as a dialogue coach, and later starred in *Lou Grant*.

In 1961, Benaderet dressed in a *Flintstones*-inspired leopard-print costume to collect donations for City of Hope and March of Dimes, and worked with Welcome Wagon in the San Fernando Valley. 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.

## Illness and death

 File:Bea Benaderet Grave.JPG  During a routine checkup in 1963, a spot was discovered on one of Benaderet's lungs. The spot was no longer visible at the time of her follow-up visit, but by November 1967 it had returned and grown in size. She resisted immediate exploratory surgery as she was filming the fifth season of *Petticoat Junction* at the time and feared the show would be affected by her absence. On November 26, she underwent the surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, and a tumor was found that could not be removed. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Benaderet underwent six weeks of laser radiation treatment via a linear particle accelerator at Stanford University Medical Center. A longtime smoker, she cut down her multiple-pack-a-day habit following her initial checkups, and quit entirely after her surgery.

Benaderet's treatment was successful and concluded in January 1968. She missed ten 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, as expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming. 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. Benaderet returned for the March 30 fifth-season finale "Kate's Homecoming", but five months later, after shooting the first three episodes of the sixth season, she took leave from the series due to being too ill to continue. Initial plans were for her to record her voice to be inserted into future episodes. However, the cancer returned and her condition consequently declined; on September 26, chest pains related to her illness forced her to return to the hospital for the final time. 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.

Benaderet died on October 13, 1968, of lung cancer and pneumonia. She was entombed in Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood. 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, and was interred beside her.

## Acting style and reception

Template:Quote box When Benaderet was cast in *Petticoat Junction,* she was hailed as having "finally" become a star. She had previously played supporting roles throughout her career, usually as a next-door neighbor, and had been openly averse to leading roles. However, in January 1963, following CBS' acquisition of *Petticoat Junction*, she enthused to columnist Eve Starr of *The Mercury*: "Isn't it nice? After all these years. ... [It] just never occurred to me that it might...golly, my own show!" Benaderet often discussed facets of the acting profession in promotional interviews for the show, 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.

Benaderet garnered praise for her mastery of dialects and her work as a comedienne and character actress, while she is recognized for her voice characterizations in animation. MeTV considered her an "icon" of 1960s television. Donna Douglas said, "Watching her timing is like watching a ballerina. She's so effortless." Benaderet credited George Burns with mentoring her in comedy acting, 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. For her contributions to television, Benaderet received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, on 1611 Vine Street, and she was the recipient of a Genii Award in 1966.

She is credited with over one thousand combined radio and television episode appearances, which earned her the nickname of "Busy Bea" from members of the press. *The Pantagraph* columnist Ernie Kreiling remarked in 1965 that "probably no Hollywood personality has spent as many hours in our homes". 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."

Staying with spelling of Benaderet's surname, which has been misspelled as *Benederet* or *Benadaret*, was a choice she had to make. She first resisted requests to change it early in her radio career: "[T]hey'd say, 'Anything's better than Benaderet—How about Smith?'" When she was introduced to Orson Welles in 1936, he remarked that her name "sounded like something you ad lib in a mob scene." It was misspelled in a 1946 press release created specifically about its proper spelling, 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." Early in the first season of *The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show*, her full name appeared as "Bee Benadaret" in the closing credits.

## See also

Template:Portal

* List of comedians
* List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

## Selected filmography

### Radio

* *Blue Monday Jamboree* (1927-1936)
* *The Jack Benny Program* (1937–1955)
* *Fibber McGee and Molly* (1939–1951)
* *The Campbell Playhouse* (1939–1940)
* *Lux Radio Theatre* (1940–1944)
* *The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show* (1942–1949)
* *Cavalcade of America* (1942–1944)
* *A Date with Judy* (1942)
* *Mayor of the Town* (1942)
* *Lights Out* (1943)
* *Command Performance* (1943–1946)
* *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)
* *The Lum and Abner Show* (1948)
* *Hallmark Playhouse* (1948–1951)
* *My Favorite Husband* (1948–1951)
* *Granby's Green Acres* (1950)
* *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* (1952) (voice)
* *Feed the Kitty* (1952) (voice)
* *Bewitched Bunny* (1954) (voice)
* *The Hole Idea* (1955) (voice)

## Notes

1. ↑ Birth year varied in census records.
2. ↑ Her occupation is listed as such in the 1940 U.S. census.
3. ↑ "Doe-eyed Jane Krakowski plays car-hop Betty O'Shale with that infectious Betty giggle first immortalized by Bea Benaderet."
4. ↑ 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*.
5. ↑ Benaderet made one final appearance as Pearl in the October 11, 1967 fifth-season episode "Greetings From the President".
6. ↑ Click on archived link for complete listing.

## References

1. ↑ "California Deaths, 1940-1997". *Familytreelegends.com*. 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.
2. ↑ Dave Stein (1999). "The Henning Family Scrapbook". http://petticoat.topcities.com/scrapbook21.htm.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Bea Benaderet—Biography". *TCM.com*. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/13475%7C18383/Bea-Benaderet/.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "United States Census, 1930". *FamilySearch.org*. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCN4-899.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "United States Census, 1940". *FamilySearch.org*. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MT-N7MN?cc=2000219.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Why There're No Blues on Mondays", *Radio Guide* (May 18, 1935), pp. 3, 22.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Aaker (2000), p. 34-35
8. ↑ J. Cox (2000), p. 191
9. ↑ Staff (August 1955). "Information Booth". *Radio Mirror*. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Site-Early-Radio/Archive-Radio-Mirror-IDX/IDX/50s/55/Radio-Mirror-1955-08-OCR-Page-0010.pdf.
10. ↑ Crypt of Samuel D. Benaderet (1884–1954) Template:Webarchive—imgrum.org. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Blythe & Sackett (1989), p. 70-72
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Ristow (1980), p. 251
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Major, Jack (September 29, 1963). "She's Finally Top Banana", *Akron Beacon Journal*.
14. ↑ Template:Cite journal
15. ↑ Ecksan, K.L. (September 1, 1935). "Untitled". *Oakland Tribune; reprinted on yowpyowp.blogspot.com*. http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html.
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Template:Cite journal
17. ↑ "Celebs & Notable Alumni". *bayareasportsstars.com*. p. 13. http://www.bayareasportsstars.com/Counties/Celebs%20copy%202.pdf.
18. ↑ Harrison, Alan (1940). "Little Theatres". *San Francisco Theatre Research*. p. 160. https://archive.org/stream/sanfranciscothea194012sanf#page/n338/mode/1up/.
19. ↑ Staff (November 5, 1926). "'Polly'—Players' Guild Opera". *Pacific Coast Music Review*. p. 14. https://archive.org/stream/pacificcoastmusi5127sanf#page/n32/mode/1up.
20. ↑ Bock, Harold J. (September 13, 1930). "Greek Play Given at Tiny Theatre". *Inside Facts of Stage and Screen*. p. 7. https://archive.org/stream/insidefacts12-1930-09-13#page/n6/mode/1up.
21. ↑ Template:Cite book
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 "Stars of the Radio Theatre: Beatrice Benaderet, Comedienne". *Broadcast Weekly*. April 14, 1935. http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Broadcast-Weekly/1935/Broadcast-Weekly-1935-04-14.pdf.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Schneider, John F.. "The History of 610 KFRC Radio". *bayarearadio.org*. http://bayarearadio.org/schneider/kfrc1.shtml.
24. ↑ "The Komedy Kingdom". *Radio Archives*. https://www.radioarchives.com/Komedy\_Kingdom\_p/ra068d.htm.
25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Oppenheimer (1999), p. 124
26. ↑ D.H.G. (January 11, 1936). "Program Reviews: *Salon Moderne*". *The Billboard*. p. 8. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/30s/1936/BB-1936-01-11.pdf.
27. ↑ Belanger, Brian (December 2004). "Early Radio Announcers". *Radio and Television Museum News*. p. 6. http://ncrtv.org/wp-content/uploads/DialsChannels/VOL-10-No-4-Radio-Television-Museum-News-December-2004.pdf.
28. ↑ "Purely Previews: For Night Listeners". *Broadcast Advertising*. October 1, 1939. p. 60. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1939/1939-10-01-BC.pdf.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 "Betty Rubble Meets Orson Welles". *yowpyowp.blogspot.com*. September 9, 2010. http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Maguire, Judy (November 9, 1947). "Benny's Switchboard Sweeties". *Radio Life*. p. 7. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-11-09.pdf.
31. ↑ Kalb, Bob (January 21, 1949). "Transradio Star Gazer". *source unknown; reprinted on tralfaz.blogspot.com*. http://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2012/05/rise-of-sara-berner.html.
32. ↑ 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*, p. 85. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Johnson, Erskine (November 19, 1964). "'Higgins' Keeps *Petticoat Junction* Cast on Its Toes". North Adams Transcript. p. 24. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/54900025/.
34. ↑ Leonard, Vince (May 31, 1964). "Boss at Shady Rest". *The Pittsburgh Press*. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/149359703/.
35. ↑ Wolters, Larry (October 18, 1964). "Voice as Famous as Face". *Chicago Tribune*. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/10/18/page/295/article/display-ad-229-no-title.
36. ↑ Towles Canote, Terence (September 15, 2015). "The 50th Anniversary of *Green Acres*". *A Shroud of Thoughts*. http://mercurie.blogspot.com/2015/09/the-50th-anniversary-of-green-acres.html.
37. ↑ J. David Goldin. "Granby's Green Acres". *radioGOLDINdex*. http://www.radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p2.cgi?ProgramName=Granby%27s+Green+Acres.
38. ↑ 38.0 38.1 Goldmark & Granata (2002), p. 146 (Segment by Kevin Whitehead: "Carl Stalling, Improviser & Bill Lava, Acme Minimalist")
39. ↑ Mallory, Michael (October 23, 2014). "Which Witch is Which?". *Animation Magazine*. http://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/which-witch-is-which/.
40. ↑ Baxter, Devon (February 10, 2016). "Robert McKimson's "Lovelorn Leghorn" (1951)". *Cartoon Research*. https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-lovelorn-leghorn-1951/.
41. ↑ Jones & Furniss (2005), p. 80
42. ↑ Scott, Keith (September 12, 2016). "Mel Blanc: From Anonymity To Offscreen Superstar (The advent of on-screen voice credits)". *cartoonresearch.com*. http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/mel-blanc-from-anonymity-to-offscreen-superstar-the-advent-of-on-screen-voice-credits/.
43. ↑ Anderson, Kyle (July 27, 2017). "Remembering Animation Legend June Foray (1917–2017)". *The Nerdist*. http://nerdist.com/june-foray-animation-legend-rip/.
44. ↑ Edelman & Kupferberg (1999), p.140-141
45. ↑ Irvin (2014), p. 17
46. ↑ Gill, Alan (July 29, 1963). "Oil Wells and Gold Mines". *Unknown*. http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/09/betty-rubble-meets-orson-welles.html.
47. ↑ Blythe & Sackett (1989), p. 127-129
48. ↑ Blythe & Sackett (1989), p. 141
49. ↑ Karol (2006), p. 53
50. ↑ 50.0 50.1 Witbeck, Charles (July 1, 1963). "Bea Benaderet Gets Own Series". *Herald Statesman (Yonkers, NY)*. 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.
51. ↑ Tucker (2007), p. 10
52. ↑ Resnik, Bert (July 4, 1965). "*Petticoat Junction* Lead Actress Claims She's 'Character'". *Independent Press-Telegram*. p. 189. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30663734/.
53. ↑ "Bea Benaderet On 'Restless Gun'", *The Progress-Index* (May 2, 1959).
54. ↑ 54.0 54.1 Peterson, Bettelou (March 25, 1964). "2 Shows, 2 Stars, But Only 1 Voice". *Detroit Free Press*. p. 18. https://www.newspapers.com/image/98897661/.
55. ↑ 55.0 55.1 55.2 Hefernan, Harold (February 12, 1961). "Stardom, Phooey!". *The Pittsburgh Press*. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/147815302/.
56. ↑ Tucker (2010), p. 199
57. ↑ Voger, Mark (May 29, 1994). "Wilma Speaks!". *Asbury Park Press*. https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/animation-anecdotes-318/.
58. ↑ 58.0 58.1 Voger, Mark (October 11, 2013). "Dean Martin, 'Hangover III,' 'Beverly Hillbillies,' 'Petticoat Junction' on DVD". *nj.com*. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/10/the\_hangover\_part\_iii.html.
59. ↑ 59.0 59.1 Gire, Dann (April 28, 2000). "Bedrock Bottom *Flintstones* Is Yabba Dabba Doo Do". *Daily Herald*. Arlington Heights, IL. Retrieved August 18, 2017.
60. ↑ "Paul Henning". *The Museum of Broadcast Communications*. http://www.museum.tv/eotv/henningpaul.htm.
61. ↑ J. David Goldin. "Paul Henning". *radioGOLDINdex*. http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Henning,%20Paul&ArtistNumber=36979.
62. ↑ Gitlin (2013), p. 292
63. ↑ McLellan, Dennis (March 26, 2005). "Paul Henning, 93; Created 'Beverly Hillbillies,' Other Comedies for TV". http://articles.latimes.com/2005/mar/26/local/me-henning26.
64. ↑ S. Cox (1993), p. 7
65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 Marc (1996), p. 58
66. ↑ S. Cox (1993), p. 89
67. ↑ "Bea Benaderet Worked to Perfect Cousin Pearl Role". *The Ottawa Journal*. April 20, 1963. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/44381704/.
68. ↑ "We couldn't do #MemberMonday on Flatt & Scruggs without the Beverly Hillbillies! Who was 'Pearl Pearl Pearl' used as a love song for?". *Country Music HOF*. Twitter. November 21, 2016. https://twitter.com/countrymusichof/status/800926803359633409.
69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 69.2 69.3 Purcelli, Marion (November 20, 1963). "Character Actress Finally Is a Star". *Chicago Tribune*. http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1963/11/20/page/75/article/display-ad-68-no-title.
70. ↑ Mansour (2005), p. 356
71. ↑ 71.0 71.1 Kulzer (1992), p. 55-57
72. ↑ 72.0 72.1 King, Susan (December 16, 2008). "Back to the 'Junction'". *latimes.com*. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/dec/16/entertainment/et-petticoat16.
73. ↑ "8:00–8:30PM on CBS: *Petticoat Junction*. St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 22, 1963), p. 256. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
74. ↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. *The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946–Present* (Ballantine, 2007), p. 1683-85.
75. ↑ Lewis, Randy (February 5, 1994). "The Way We Rural : 'Hillbillies' Creator Paul Henning, to Be Honored in Santa Ana, Looks Back". *Los Angeles Times*. http://articles.latimes.com/1994-02-05/entertainment/ca-19451\_1\_hillbillies-creator-paul-henning/2.
76. ↑ 76.0 76.1 76.2 Fredericks, Tod (July 7, 1946). "Nice Work...If You Can Get It". *Radio Life*. p. 33. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/46/Radio-Life-1946-07-07.pdf.
77. ↑ "On the Town (1949)—Notes". *TCM.com*. http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/355/On-the-Town/notes.html.
78. ↑ "Happy Birthday, Judy". *yowpyowp.blogspot.com*. February 4, 2010. http://yowpyowp.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-birthday-judy.html.
79. ↑ Karol (2006), p. 130
80. ↑ 80.0 80.1 Barnes, Mike (October 26, 2017). "Jack Bannon, Actor on 'Lou Grant,' Dies at 77". *The Hollywood Reporter*. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jack-bannon-dead-lou-grant-actor-was-77-1052238.
81. ↑ "Off Mike: Miss Bannon Debuts". *Radio Life*. March 16, 1947. p. 13. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-03-16.pdf.
82. ↑ 82.0 82.1 "Knock, Knock, Who's There?". *Detroit Free Press*. March 12, 1961. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/98356087/.
83. ↑ "Calabasas Inaugurates New 'Sheriff'". *Van Nuys News*. February 6, 1964. p. 77. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/22960578/.
84. ↑ 84.0 84.1 84.2 84.3 84.4 84.5 84.6 Thomas, Bob (March 25, 1968). "Benadaret Licks Tumor, Looks Forward To Petticoat Junction". Playground Daily News. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/54194641/.
85. ↑ 85.0 85.1 Heisner, John (October 15, 1968). "Bea Benaderet Remembered". *Rochester Democrat & Chronicle* (p. 49). Retrieved June 24, 2017.
86. ↑ Manners, Dorothy (January 24, 1968). "Preminger tags Carol for role".
87. ↑ "Gertie and Mabel". *The Cincinnati Enquirer*. April 25, 1967. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/100781630/.
88. ↑ "Reunion at Switchboard". *San Bernardino County Sun*. April 2, 1967. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/62935192/.
89. ↑ "Bea Benaderet Returns to Role". *Independence Examiner* (p. 8). March 30, 1968. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
90. ↑ "Bea Benaderet May Tape Voice". *San Antonio Express News*. September 8, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/77648902/.
91. ↑ "Last Rites Set Tomorrow for Bea Benaderet". *Valley News (Van Nuys, CA)*. October 15, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/30357084/.
92. ↑ 92.0 92.1 "Pneumonia, Cancer Kills 'Petticoat Junction' Star", Associated Press, *The Daily Mail* (October 14, 1968), p. 8.
93. ↑ "E. Twombley, Widower of Actress, Dies". *Los Angeles Times*. October 18, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8867523/jack\_bannon\_resident\_son\_of\_bea/.
94. ↑ 94.0 94.1 "Bea Benaderet's Own Star Shines Brightly As Any". *San Antonio Express News*. January 19, 1964. p. 84. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/29602797/.
95. ↑ 95.0 95.1 "Star System Ended", *The Decatur Herald* (September 6, 1963), p. 26.
96. ↑ 96.0 96.1 96.2 96.3 Harris, Harry (May 10, 1964). "Bea Benaderet: Mama of the Year". *The Philadelphia Inquirer*. https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2018/04/mama-bea.html.
97. ↑ Humphrey, Hal (July 15, 1963). "A Long-Term Next-Door Neighbor Gets Own Show". *Los Angeles Times; reprinted in the Beckley Post-Herald*. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/15832276/.
98. ↑ 98.0 98.1 Starr, Eve (January 28, 1963). "Inside Television". *The Mercury*. p. 4. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48388923/.
99. ↑ "Bea Benaderet 'Airs' a Theory". *El Paso Herald*. January 21, 1967. p. 27. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/68857572/.
100. ↑ "Bea Benaderet Hates to See Anyone Lose". *Salina Journal*. March 14, 1967. p. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/40712379/.
101. ↑ "Bea Likes Canadian Methods". *The Tennessean*. October 2, 1966. p. 140. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/113217382/.
102. ↑ MacMinn, Aleene (February 13, 1966). "Stardom: Bea spells it out". *Los Angeles Times*. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/161157652/.
103. ↑ 103.0 103.1 103.2 Herman, Edna Mae (August 13, 1967). "*Petticoat Junction* Star Likes Activity". *Daily Independent (Kannapolis, NC)*. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/48713241/.
104. ↑ "The Lady with the Versatile Voice". *Rochester Democrat and Chronicle*. January 31, 1965. p. 116. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/137081190/.
105. ↑ "Bea Benaderet's Dialect Returns Her to TV Work". *The Cumberland News*. December 22, 1962. p. 15. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/71723247/.
106. ↑ "Comedy Veterans Head Cast of *Petticoat Junction*". *Standard-Speaker*. October 5, 1963. p. 19. https://www.newspapers.com/image/?spot=4724698&fcfToken=7477436c695637355065424a4647447a79474f5a795069784e6f4568526d773577506f7a4d4744425a4f644b6f5855426d73762b6775514c474837733343524d.
107. ↑ 107.0 107.1 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.")
108. ↑ "Star of TV, Radio Bea Benaderet Dies". *The Independent*. October 14, 1968. p. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/24086078/.
109. ↑ Goodman, Martin (April 1, 2000). "Voices of Experience". *Animation World Network*. https://www.awn.com/animationworld/voices-experience.
110. ↑ Lloyd, Robert (July 30, 2017). "June Foray: From Rocky the flying squirrel to Cindy Lou Who, she was a master". *latimes.com*. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/la-et-st-june-foray-appreciation-20170727-story.html.
111. ↑ Moore, Roger (August 10, 2013). "The hot job in Hollywood? Voice overs.". *The Washington Post*. https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/the-hot-job-in-hollywood-voice-overs/2013/08/07/27ee2160-fb7e-11e2-9bde-7ddaa186b751\_story.html.
112. ↑ Staff (July 13, 2017). "Bea Benaderet was both the best and the worst guest ever on *Password*". *MeTV*. http://www.metv.com/stories/bea-benaderet-was-both-the-best-and-the-worst-guest-ever-on-password.
113. ↑ Staff (September 1, 1965). "Today's Channel Check". *The Cincinnati Enquirer* (p. 16). Retrieved September 21, 2017.
114. ↑ "Bea Benaderet". *Hollywood Walk of Fame*. http://www.walkoffame.com/bea-benaderet.
115. ↑ "Stars Join to Fete Genii Winner". *Los Angeles Times*. April 11, 1966. p. 76. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/161681028/.
116. ↑ 116.0 116.1 J. David Goldin (April 27, 2017). "Bea Benaderet". *RadioGOLDIndex.com*. http://radiogoldindex.com/cgi-local/p4.cgi?ArtistName=Benaderet,%20Bea&ArtistNumber=03486.
117. ↑ Gordon, Shirley (May 14, 1944). "Busy Bea". *Radio Life*. pp. 29, 31. https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/44/Radio-Life-1944-05-14.pdf.
118. ↑ "Somebody Built a Hotel around Bea Benaderet". *El Paso Herald*. July 29, 1967. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/68879887/.
119. ↑ Kreiling, Ernie (July 3, 1965). "*Petticoat's* Aunt Kate Gaining in Stardom". *The Pantagraph*. p. 26. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/70721006/.
120. ↑ Blanc & Bashe (1988), p. 81
121. ↑ "Bea Benederet Dies". *The Evening Times*. Sayre, Pennsylvania. October 14, 1968. https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/77245953/.
122. ↑ 122.0 122.1 Staff (January 5, 1947). "Don't Care". *Radio Life*. p. 11. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Life/40s/47/Radio-Life-1947-01-05.pdf.
123. ↑ "Drop It! Drop It!". *tralfaz.blogspot.com*. December 18, 2018. https://tralfaz.blogspot.com/2018/12/drop-it-drop-it.html.
124. ↑ Baxter, Devon (May 17, 2017). "Robert McKimson's "The Hole Idea" (1955)". *Cartoon Research*. https://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/robert-mckimsons-the-hole-idea-1955/.

## Bibliography

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## External links

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* Partial article published in *The Woman* magazine, March 1968
* TV Sidekicks: Bea Benaderet's Blanche to Gracie Allen's Gracie

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