BEA BENADERET

April 4, 1906

Beatrice Benaderet was born on April 4, 1906, in New York City. Her first acting performance came at 11 when she portrayed a bearded old man in a school play. Benaderet made her professional theatre debut at 16 in a production of The Prince of Pilsen, and after graduating from St. Rose Academy, she attended the Reginald Travers School of Acting and joined his stock company The Players’ Guild, appearing in stage productions of  Polly, Lysistrata, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Benaderet relocated to Hollywood in 1936 and made her network radio debut with Orson Welles for his Mercury Theatre repertory company. 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.  

Other recurring characters Benaderet portrayed on radio 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”; maid Gloria on “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet”; and Iris Atterbury on the Lucille Ball vehicle “My Favorite Husband”, opposite Gale Gordon. 

When Lucille Ball was casting “I Love Lucy”, she naturally wanted Bea to once again play her partner-in-crime, the role of Ethel Mertz. Unfortunately, when “The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show” moved to television, she went with it, making her unavailable to play Ethel.  

She made her television debut an October 1949 episode of “Oboler Comedy Theatre” alongside Sandra Gould. “Burns and Allen” started airing a year later, and lasted for eight seasons, over roughly the same period of time as “I Love Lucy.” The show earned her Emmy nominations in 1954 and 1955. In 1954 she lost to Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz). In 1955 Bea and Viv both lost to Audrey Meadows of “The Honeymooners”. 

During the first season of “I Love Lucy” she cast Bea as elderly Miss Lewis, a neighbor Lucy Ricardo fixes up with an amorous butcher, in “Lucy Plays Cupid” (ILL S1;E15) filmed on December 13, 1951 and aired on January 21, 1952. 

Benaderet was costumed and made up to be an old spinster. She was only

46 at the time, just five years older than Lucille Ball. 

In 1960 she voiced Betty Rubble on “The Flintstones” where she worked alongside many voice actors who had also worked with Lucille Ball like Alan Reed (Fred), Frank Nelson, Mel Blanc, and many others. 

and two years later created the role of Pearl on “The Beverly Hillbillies.” The show proved so popular that CBS ordered a spin-off focused on Pearl herself. 

Those plans were later revised and the show became "Petticoat Junction” with Benaderet starring as Shady Rest Hotel proprietress Kate Bradley. She starred in the series until her death. 

From 1938 to 1950 she was married to Jim Bannon. They had two children. In 1958 she married Gene Twombly and they were together until her death on October 13, 1968 at at 62 from lung cancer.