A Radio Retrospective
By Mike Martini
While she might not have been the most famous performer during radio's golden
age, Bea Benaderet was one of the busiest. As as "A-level" character actress,
Benaderet was never want for work and had the distinction of working on nearly all
the top radio shows at one time or another.
Bea Benaderet was born April 4, 1906 in New York City, but she grew up in San
Francisco. At age 12, Benaderet first appeared on radio station KGO as a child
vocalist on "The Beggar's Opera." Her first regular radio job came in 1935 on the
KFRC program "Blue Monday Jamboree." Benaderet made her network debut in fine
company in 1938 when she was cast by Orson Welles for his "Campbell's Playhouse"
anthology series. It was about this time that she created a very "Brooklyn-ese"
sounding telephone operator-character named Gertrude Gearshift for "The Jack
Benny Program."
Over the next decade, Benaderet would go on to compile a "who's who" radio
resume of which any actor would be envious: "A Date With Judy," "The Dennis Day
Show," "Glamour Manor," The Mel Blanc Show," Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou," "Red
Skelton," "Halls of Ivy" and "The Railroad Hour." She also appeared on "The Penny
Singleton, "Lux Radio Theatre," and "This is Your FBI." On "Burns and Allen."
Benaderet was heard regularly as next door neighbor Blanche Morton. On "The
Great Gildersleeve," she played principal/girlfriend Eve Goodwin. On "Fibber McGee
and Molly," Bernaderet was heard as Mrs. Carstairs. She was Mrs. Atterbury on "My
Favorite Husband," Gloria the Maid on "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett" and she
co-starred with Gale Gordon in "Grandy's Green Acres." Wow! - name and actor or
actress who can match that! From 1938 until 1950, Benaderet was married to Jim
Bannon, who played "Red Rider" on television and who was a very popular
announcer for many radio shows including "The Great Gildersleeve."
Benaderet easily mad the transition into television by playing her Blanche character
on TV's version of "Burns and Allen." She was originally cast as "Granny" for "The
Beverly Hillbillies" only to be re-cast as "Cousin Pearl" at the last minute because
producers felt Irene Ryan "looked older" for the part. Benaderet did win the role of
Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction" and she was heard for years as the voice of
Betty Rubble in the cartoon series "The Flintstones."
Bea Benaderet was stricken with lung cancer in 1967. She went back to "Petticoat
Junction" to film five additional episodes before passing away at the age of 62 on
October 13, 1968. Second Husband Gene Twombly died of a heart attack four days
later. Bea Benaderet had an outstanding career in radio and television - she was
always in demand - and even though her name might not be on your lips, her family
voice is probably lurking somewhere in the back of your memory "closet."
Thanks to: Thomas DeLong's Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary
(McFarland Publishing, 1996), John Dunning's The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
(Oxford University Press, 1998) and Charles Stumpf and Tom Price's Heavenly Day:
The Story of Fibber McGee and Molly (self published, 1987).
By Mike Martini
While she might not have been the most famous performer during radio's golden
age, Bea Benaderet was one of the busiest. As as "A-level" character actress,
Benaderet was never want for work and had the distinction of working on nearly all
the top radio shows at one time or another.
Bea Benaderet was born April 4, 1906 in New York City, but she grew up in San
Francisco. At age 12, Benaderet first appeared on radio station KGO as a child
vocalist on "The Beggar's Opera." Her first regular radio job came in 1935 on the
KFRC program "Blue Monday Jamboree." Benaderet made her network debut in fine
company in 1938 when she was cast by Orson Welles for his "Campbell's Playhouse"
anthology series. It was about this time that she created a very "Brooklyn-ese"
sounding telephone operator-character named Gertrude Gearshift for "The Jack
Benny Program."
Over the next decade, Benaderet would go on to compile a "who's who" radio
resume of which any actor would be envious: "A Date With Judy," "The Dennis Day
Show," "Glamour Manor," The Mel Blanc Show," Tommy Riggs and Betty Lou," "Red
Skelton," "Halls of Ivy" and "The Railroad Hour." She also appeared on "The Penny
Singleton, "Lux Radio Theatre," and "This is Your FBI." On "Burns and Allen."
Benaderet was heard regularly as next door neighbor Blanche Morton. On "The
Great Gildersleeve," she played principal/girlfriend Eve Goodwin. On "Fibber McGee
and Molly," Bernaderet was heard as Mrs. Carstairs. She was Mrs. Atterbury on "My
Favorite Husband," Gloria the Maid on "Adventures of Ozzie and Harriett" and she
co-starred with Gale Gordon in "Grandy's Green Acres." Wow! - name and actor or
actress who can match that! From 1938 until 1950, Benaderet was married to Jim
Bannon, who played "Red Rider" on television and who was a very popular
announcer for many radio shows including "The Great Gildersleeve."
Benaderet easily mad the transition into television by playing her Blanche character
on TV's version of "Burns and Allen." She was originally cast as "Granny" for "The
Beverly Hillbillies" only to be re-cast as "Cousin Pearl" at the last minute because
producers felt Irene Ryan "looked older" for the part. Benaderet did win the role of
Kate Bradley on "Petticoat Junction" and she was heard for years as the voice of
Betty Rubble in the cartoon series "The Flintstones."
Bea Benaderet was stricken with lung cancer in 1967. She went back to "Petticoat
Junction" to film five additional episodes before passing away at the age of 62 on
October 13, 1968. Second Husband Gene Twombly died of a heart attack four days
later. Bea Benaderet had an outstanding career in radio and television - she was
always in demand - and even though her name might not be on your lips, her family
voice is probably lurking somewhere in the back of your memory "closet."
Thanks to: Thomas DeLong's Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary
(McFarland Publishing, 1996), John Dunning's The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio
(Oxford University Press, 1998) and Charles Stumpf and Tom Price's Heavenly Day:
The Story of Fibber McGee and Molly (self published, 1987).
This article uses material by permission of Mike Martini.
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store specializing in antique reproductions of vintage electronics. Our
old style products include original vintage AM/FM radios, portable
suitcase - styled record players and turntables, record changers,
multi-functional audio cassette/compact disc players, jukeboxes,
telephones, music boxes and more. The rich lines, retro designs and
authentic crafting on these antique replicas provide a delightful dose of
nostalgia. Shop online for our vintage-inspired products, or browse for
information on the golden age of radio.
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