The marriage ended later that year and, then, in late 1992 he was introduced to artist Judith Kliban, who he married in October 1993. Though he received average grades, he also competed in high-school speech tournaments regionally. The funeral will be conducted privately in Los Angeles, Halpern said. Bixby hosted two specials regarding Elvis conspiracy theories and his alleged sightings: The Elvis Files (1991)[20] and The Elvis Conspiracy (1992).[21]. Bixby's first marriage was to Brenda, with whom he welcomed his only son, Christopher, on September 25, 1974. Deceased (1934-1993) Bill Bixby/Living or Deceased On November 21, 1993, seven days after his final assignment on Blossom, Bixby died of complications from prostate cancer in Century City, Los Angeles. In 1995, Cruz named his own son Lincoln Bixby Cruz. | Source: Getty Images. He would die on November 21, 1993, less than a week after he completed his final episode of Blossom pretty much working despite his impending death. At the same time, privacy was very important to him and he tended not to expose parts of his inner self. He was working as a lifeguard when an advertising executive offered him a job as a model in car ads. He was 59. After a stint in the 1973-74 NBC series "The Magician," he starred in the comic book-based series "The Incredible Hulk," which ran from 1978-82 on CBS. Her mother paid for these lessons by taking jobs cleaning and sewing. The actor was like a godfather and mentor who was confident in his ways to Cruz. Jan. 17 (UPI) -- An Australian contortionist stood on her hands and used her feet to shoot an arrow 59 feet and 11 inches into a target for a Guinness World Record. On April 7, 1982, Brenda went into the bathroom of her West Los Angeles home, lit and arranged some candles in a circle on the floor and lay down. Marriage was a real crossroads for Bill in terms of deciding to follow the rules of adulthood, making a commitment and being a grownup, says Grove. Bixby's ex-wife, actress Brenda Benet, killed herself less than a year after their son's death. Actor-director Bill Bixby, 59, superdad in TVs The Courtship of Eddies Father and scientist-hero of The Incredible Hulk vidseries, died Sunday at his home in Century City after a long bout with cancer. Bixby was 59 years old. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Bixby made his directorial debut on the sitcom in 1970, directing eight episodes. In April 1982, after police had to break down the bathroom door in her Los Angeles home, they found Brenda dead on the floor after she shot herself in the head with a .38-caliber revolver, Police Sgt. He maintained that Bixby acted like an authentic single dad in "The Courtship of Eddie's Father" and knew how to play the agonized superhero in "The Incredible Hulk.". Bixby was devastated by all of this, but nonetheless once again embraced work, which at that time was primarily the television series version of Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk. revolver into her mouth and pulled the trigger. The actor/director was diagnosed with prostate cancer in spring 1991. The actor was also a very private celebrity who, unfortunately, did not enjoy the smoothness in his personal matters as he did with his career. Private stuff was for private times., David Grove, who is currently writing the definitive biography of the actor, Bill Bixby: His Career, His Life, His Secrets,describes him as full of energy with an intense need to perform and be in the spotlight, while at the same time being private and secretive in his personal life in terms of sharing his thoughts or emotions. | Source: Getty Images. How much is Adam West Worth? Bixby directed one episode of the series, "Bring Me the Head of the Hulk", in 1980 (original airdate: January 9, 1981). He also directed several episodes of ABC's "Rich Man, Poor Man" in the 1970s. In late 1992, friends introduced Bixby to the artist Judith Kliban, widow of the cartoonist B. Kliban. He married her in October 1993,[28] just six weeks before he collapsed on the set of Blossom. With Brenda separated from his father, The Incredible Hulk star Bill Bixby at the time, he didnt accompany them on the trip. Mr. Bixby was the show's director. Upon the death of Bill's real-life father in 1971, Cruz stated, "He had that type of mentality that the show must go on, thinking it was just a great TV show, after he broke down weeping. During the show's popular, although short-lived, production, Bixby invited a few old friends along to co-star such as Pamela Britton (in her final role), Kristina Holland, and Ralph O'Hara. I described him as a mysterious man, so you might think Bill was introverted. The cause was prostate cancer, said Pamela. His first marriage was to actress Brenda Benet. An accomplished amateur magician himself, he hosted several TV specials in the mid-1970s which featured other amateur magicians, and was a respected member of the Hollywood magic community, belonging to The Magic Castle, an exclusive club for magicians. Bixby met Laura Michaels, who had worked on the set of one of his Hulk movies, in 1989. This year, he began an experimental hormone-treatment program at the University of California-Los Angeles, Medical Center. One of his friends told me that Bill had hired a bodyguard, not to protect him from fans or the media, He wanted them to keep him away from friends, because Bill didnt want people to see him that way., Cruz, who for years has been trying to raise the funds to get Bixby a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, says, I think hes sadly overlooked. He turned down the role as Marlo Thomas's boyfriend in the successful That Girl, though he later guest-starred in the show, and starred in two failed pilots. In an emotional TV interview in September, he spoke of his battle with cancer that spread to his bladder, liver and hipbones. Yet that warmth he projected was not necessarily reflected in who Bixby the star of My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddies Father and The Incredible Hulk, among others was as a person. Bill Bixby Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 - November 22, 1993) [1] professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist . 2023 Variety Media, LLC. He's the only one I sent the script to. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. This series was in the vein of other 1960s and 1970s sitcoms that dealt with widowerhood, such as The Andy Griffith Show and My Three Sons. Bixby hosted Once Upon a Classic on PBS from 1976 to 1980. Bill Bixby, television actor, director and producer best known for his starring role as Dr. . Bill Bixby died on Sunday November 21, 1993 at his home in Century City. The crew and cast members knew what he was going through and we gave him the space that he needed., Offers Grove, I had perceptions about the tragedies in Bills life that when Bill and Brenda got divorced, after their son died, that his anger toward Brenda was a dispositive factor in her committing suicide. Also, when people have cancer, especially women, it brings out their natural features. Later, he starred in My Favorite Martian from 1963-1966 with Ray Walston. "I prayed for some extra time, but what we got was really intense and quite fabulous.". | We collect and tell stories of people from all around the world. Apart from her role in Days of our Lives, Brenda also got known for her role in Walking Tall in 1973, as the kind and endearing prostitute. Circa 1970. As a television actress with good dramatic scope, she managed to piece together a wide and impressive portfolio of guest shots in a career spanning just over 16 years before taking her life at the age of 36. In 1961, Bixby was in the musical The Boy Friend at the Detroit Civic Theater, returning to Hollywood to make his television debut on an episode of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis. Advertisement Bixby, who died Nov. 21, 1993 at age 59, lost his only child to a curable throat infection when the boy was only 6. The child was on a weekend trip to Mammoth Lakes, a Sierra ski resort, with his mother when he became ill. Miss Benet, who played the character Lee Williams on the NBC-TV soap opera, was born in Los Angeles, but her family moved to South Gate, adjacent to Los Angeles. | Source: Getty Images. Contrary to what his parents wanted, he only studied theater at City College, San Francisco. The actor's first marriage crashed following the death of his only child, and he did not find happiness in his second marriage. In her book The Death of Right and Wrong, talk radio host Tammy Bruce writes of her personal involvement with Bixby and Benet. Wandering sheep rescued from frozen lake in Michigan. ", "My prayer was that I would die in my sleep.". He was 59. No marriage, no kids, and the disease continued to spread throughout his body. | Source: Getty Images. She then placed a Colt .38-cal. Bixby, a San Francisco native, served in the US Marine Corps Reserve during the Korean War and later worked as a lifeguard in Detroit, where he met an advertising executive who offered him a job. Instead, he relapsed into a coma and cardiac arrest before closing his eyes for the last time a few hours after surgery. ", Bixby decided to focus on directing in 1983, when he worked on "Wizard and Warriors," "Goodnight, Beantown," and "Sledge Hammer. He soon returned to Hollywood, landing a part in an episode of "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis." Kenneth Johnson, the creator, director, and writer, said that Bixby was his only choice to play the part. Copyright 2023 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In March 1981, Mr. Bixby's 6-year-old son, Christopher, died of a throat infection. The muscle-laden Hulk was played by Lou Ferrigno, a bodybuilder. He organized shows at a resort in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and in 1959 was hired to work as a model and to do commercial work for General Motors and Chrysler. - IMDb Mini Biography By: William Bixby, actor: born San Francisco 22 January 1934; married Brenda Benet(died 1982; one son deceased), 1993 Judith Klivan; died Los Angeles 21 November 1993. If you think about the talent he had and what he brought to audiences if the ultimate goal of Hollywood and television is to reach a vast audience and sell commercials, in his time no one did it like Bill. 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Bill Bixby, Brandon Cruz, and Miyoshi Umeki. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. During the same time, Bixby directed several episodes of another short-lived television series, Wizards and Warriors, which aired in 1983. [citation needed], After graduation from high school in 1952, against his parents' wishes, he majored in drama at City College of San Francisco. Sadly, six years later, while Christopher was on a weekend ski trip in Mammoth ski resort, he died. ", Bill Bixby as Tony Blake from the television program The Magician in 1973. Bill Bixby died of prostate cancer on November 21, 1993. On the kind of relationship Bill had wanted with his co-star, Brandon also said, "Bill would never speak down to me. Actor Bill Paxton dead at age 61. He was 59 years old. Bill Bixby, whose long career in television included starring roles in three popular series, died on Sunday at his home in Century City. | Source: Getty Images. He was 59. ", Bill Bixby (as Tom) on the Disney General Entertainment Content "The Courtship of Eddie's Father". Bill Bixby as Matt Cassidy, in "GOODNIGHT, BEANTOWN" a CBS television sitcom. Surgeons diagnosed the boy's ailment as acute epiglotitis and performed a tracheotomy on him Sunday, but the child lapsed into a coma and cardiac arrest after the operation and died about 6 p.m., Halpern added. Bill Bixby died on November 21, 1993 at the age of 59. Detroit teenager wins $613,000 jackpot with ticket gifted from friend. First, he landed a minor role before his big break in the TV series "The Favorite Martian," "The Courtship of Eddie's Father," and "The Incredible Hulk." AmoMama creates engaging, meaningful content for women. Please fill in your e-mail so we can share with you our top stories! She then placed a Colt .38-cal. The marriage fell apart by 1980 and Benet, who revealed herself to be bi-sexual, got in a relationship with Tammy Bruce, currently a Fox news personality. They divorced in 1980. He died at a local hospital. There are people who have stars that, not to be blunt, but I wouldn't bother spitting on their stars. Mr. Bixby, a native of San Francisco who studied theater in school, got his first break appearing in industrial films. During the 1970s, he made guest appearances on television series such as Ironside, Insight, Barbary Coast, The Love Boat, Medical Center, four episodes of Love, American Style, Fantasy Island, and two episodes each of The Streets of San Francisco and Rod Serling's Night Gallery. | Source: Getty Images. With the loss of his son, Bixby felt intense anger, much of which he directed at Benet. In the 1970s in school, got his first break appearing in industrial.. Competed in high-school speech tournaments regionally television actor, director, and Umeki!, died of a throat infection a lifeguard when an advertising executive offered him a job as a when... 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