Sitting in a Rabbit Hole With Betty Rubble

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You know, I’ve been sliding down this dang rabbit hole so many times lately that Bugs Bunny has set up a guest bedroom for me. This time around, it’s sort of appropriate. Mel Blanc, who did the voice of Bugs Bunny, once said that he spent so much time doing voice work with Bea Benaderet that he joked she was “the other woman” in his life. Mel and Bea did have a thing going on in the 60s: they played the second family of Bedrock, Barney and Betty Rubble. For you kids, Bea Benaderet was hot property in the 60s. She was, as I mentioned, the voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones. She was Cousin Pearl on The Beverly Hillbillies AND she was Shady Rest Hotel proprietor Kate Bradley on Petticoat Junction. You couldn’t get away from her if you wanted to! WHY did I start looking up stuff on Bea Benaderet? Heck if I know. It probably has something to do with her son, whom I had a minor crush on in my late teens. Her son was actor Jack Bannon, who played the impeccably-dressed assistant city editor Art Donovan on Lou Grant. In a little bit of nepotism (in Hollywood????), Bannon, the son of Benaderet and her first husband Jim Bannon (who was also an actor), did some of his earliest acting work on Petticoat Junction alongside his mom, usually playing uncredited background characters. He was also a voice coach on the program (fitting, given that his mom was catching that Hooterville Express to Bedrock for the Betty Rubble role). Right before Petticoat Junction began a medical check-up found something strange on one of Benaderet’s lungs. It had disappeared when checked a few months later and was “monitored.” Apparently not well enough. In late 1967 the spot reappeared. Doctors had no choice but to operate, and they found lung cancer. Benaderet underwent radiation treatment, which dissolved the tumor. After an absence of ten episodes she returned for the season finale. However, it didn’t stay away for long. A few episodes into filming for the sixth season of the program the cancer was back. In September 1968 the producers announced Benaderet was taking an “indefinite leave of absence” because she was suffering from exhaustion as she battled the disease. On October 13, 1968 Benaderet died from the cancer at the age of 62. In a bittersweet post-script her husband, Eugene Twombly, died of a massive heart attack the day after Benaderet’s funeral. In the paper, Jack Bannon was quoted as saying his stepfather had been “severely depressed” in the days following Benaderet’s death. Ah, and there’s more that I found in the rabbit hole. Edgar Buchanan, who played Uncle Joe on the show, later starred in Benji. Benji was none other than Higgins, the dog you see pulling a petticoat down from the side of the water tower in the opening of the show! So, that’s my history adventure for yesterday. Time to go rest...or find another rabbit hole.... The theme song: