Barbi Benton

Biography

Barbi Benton (born Barbara Lynn Klein; January 28, 1950) is an American former model, actress, television personality, and singer. She appeared in Playboy magazine, as a regular on the comedy series Hee Haw, and recorded several moderately successful albums in the 1970s. After the birth of her first child in 1986, Benton retired from show business.

Early life

Benton was born Barbara Lynn Klein in New York City to a Jewish family. Her father was a gynecologist, and her mother worked as an investment counselor.
Benton grew up in Sacramento and was a childhood friend of journalist Joan Lunden. Benton and future Warhol superstar Jay Johnson were junior high school sweethearts. While attending Rio Americano High School, she pursued many interests, including scuba diving and playing piano. She also did tearoom modeling of department store clothes while in school. She intended to study to be a veterinarian at UCLA, but decided against that career option after realizing she had an aversion to the sight of blood.

Career

Benton began to model at age 16. She took a job with Playboy at age 18 while attending UCLA to appear on their entertainment show Playboy After Dark. She began as an extra on the show, but host Hugh Hefner fell in love with her, and her role was quickly elevated to co-host. Hefner asked her for a date, and she reportedly demurred: "I don't know, I've never dated anyone over 24 before." (Hefner was 42 at the time.) Hefner allegedly replied, "That's all right, neither have I." The two began a relationship that lasted several years and placed Benton in the center of the Playboy enterprise. Hefner persuaded her to change her name from Barbara Klein to the more "marketable" Barbi Benton. She is credited with persuading Hefner to buy the Playboy Mansion in Holmby Hills in 1974.
Benton appeared on the cover of Playboy four times: July 1969, March 1970, May 1972, and December 1985. She had additional nude photo layouts in the December 1973 and January 1975 issues. She was featured in a number of photo-essays, but she was never a Playmate of the Month.

Benton appeared on Hee Haw doing short comedy sketches, and she was a dancer in some of the episodes of Season 5 and 6 (1971 to 1973) of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. She left Hee Haw after four seasons to concentrate on a more Hollywood-oriented career. She appeared on a number of 1970s American television series, including The Bobby Vinton Show, The Love Boat, and Fantasy Island.
Benton lived with Hefner from 1969 until 1976 and is known for discovering the Playboy Mansion West, where Hefner resided until his death in 2017.

Recording career

Benton achieved some success as a recording artist, hitting the country charts in the mid 1970s. After beginning her career on Playboy Records in 1974, her record "Brass Buckles" (1975) was a top-five hit on Billboard's country singles chart. Follow-up singles charted modestly through 1976. Her third album, Something New×Something New1976 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Something New3:15A2Needing You3:05A3In the Winter3:10A4#1 With a Heartache2:15A5Lucky One2:45A6Riding on a Rainbow2:47B1Staying Power2:53B2Ride Baby Ride3:24B3San Diego Serenade3:03B4He's a Rebel2:27B5Thinking of You4:09, was oriented more towards the pop market, and featured her only single that made the pop charts, "Staying Power" (which "bubbled under" at #108).
Her final country album Ain't That Just the Way×Ain't That Just the Way1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Ain't That Just the Way3:12A2It's Hard to Say Goodbye (It's Hard to Say Hello)3:28A3It's a Long Way to Heaven2:35A4Up In the Air3:42A5Take Some and Give Some (and Leave Some Behind)2:30A6I Don't Know If I'll Ever Love Again2:54B1Isn't It Always Love3:50B2One Step from Your Arms3:42B3Morning, Noon and Nightime3:50B4Close Your Eyes3:26B5Better Days3:50 (1978) was released only in Scandinavia; the title track was a number one hit in Sweden for five weeks. The same song was also a major hit for Lutricia McNeal in 1996, and was recorded by the Dutch singer Patricia Paay under the title Poor Jeremy in 1977.
Benton's final album, 1988's Kinetic Voyage×Kinetic Voyage1988 · ReleaseSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracks1Dance of the Fireflies4:352Snowflake Army4:223February Song2:494I Know3:555Ala Je Comino4:156Kinetic Voyage4:207Sandcastle5:038The Birds Still Sing6:179Asian Aspect6:38 was very different from her earlier work. This was a largely instrumental new age album for which Benton composed or co-composed all the songs, played piano and synths, and produced and arranged the work in collaboration with Jamii Szmadzinski.

Personal life

Benton dated Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner from 1969 to 1976. Hefner asked Benton to marry him four times, but he was unfaithful during their relationship. When Benton pursued a singing career, their relationship deteriorated further as she spent more time on the road touring.
She married real estate developer George Gradow on October 14, 1979. They have two children, Alexander and Ariana. They divide their time between homes in Aspen and Los Angeles. Their Aspen home, known as ”The Copper Palace” was designed by architect Bart Prince and featured on MTV's Extreme Cribs.

Television appearances

Playboy After Dark (1968), as herself
Hee Haw (1969), as herself
Rowan and Martin's Laugh In, as an occasional fifth season dancer
Marcus Welby, M.D. (1972), playing Liz in episode: "We'll Walk Out of Here Together" (episode # 4.3)
The Midnight Special (1973), as herself
American Bandstand (1975), guest artist
McCloud (1975), playing Shannon Forbes in episode "Park Avenue Pirates", performed "Philadelphia Freedom","Brass Buckles" and "Ain't That Just The Way×Ain't That Just the Way1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Ain't That Just the Way3:12A2It's Hard to Say Goodbye (It's Hard to Say Hello)3:28A3It's a Long Way to Heaven2:35A4Up In the Air3:42A5Take Some and Give Some (and Leave Some Behind)2:30A6I Don't Know If I'll Ever Love Again2:54B1Isn't It Always Love3:50B2One Step from Your Arms3:42B3Morning, Noon and Nightime3:50B4Close Your Eyes3:26B5Better Days3:50", in character, during the course of the episode
Nashville on the Road (1975), artist
The Bobby Vinton Show (1976), as herself
The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, (1977), as herself
Sugar Time! (1977), playing Maxx Douglas.
Fantasy Island:
as Shirley Russell in episode "Poof, You're a Movie Star" (season 1, 1978)
as Dee Dee Verona in episodes "The Appointment" and "Mr. Tattoo" (season 2, 1978)
as Bunny Kelly in episodes "Baby" and "Marathon: Battle of the Sexes" (season 3, 1979)
as Erica Clark in episodes "Playgirl" and "Smith's Valhalla" (season 3, 1980)
as Molly Delahanti in episodes "The Love Doctor", "Pleasure Palace" and "Possessed" (season 4, 1980).
episodes "The Devil and Mr. Roarke", "Ziegfeld Girls" and "Kid Corey Rides Again" (season 5, 1981).
as Marsha Garnett/Carla Baines in episodes "The Man from Yesterday" and "World's Most Desirable Woman" (season 4, 1981)
as Courtney/Miss Winslow in episodes "House of Dolls" and "Wuthering Heights" (season 5, 1982)
The Love Boat:
as Brigitte in episodes "Computerman", "Parlez-Vous" and "Memories of You" (1978)
as Kiki Atwood in episode "Marooned, parts 1 and 2" (1978)
as Lucy in episodes "Not Now, I'm Dying", "Eleanor's Return" and "Too Young to Love" (1979)
as Cathy Somms in episodes "The Nudist from Sunshine Gardens", "Eye of the Beholder" and "Bugged" (1981)
America 2-Night (1978), as herself, receiving the UBS Lifetime Achievement Award
Hollywood Squares (1978) as a guest panelist
Vega$ (1979), playing Holly in episode "Design For Death" (episode # 2.5)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1980), guest
Doug Henning's World of Magic V (1980), as an assistant in the "sawing a woman in half" illusion
When the Whistle Blows (1980), playing Dixie, or Miss Ironworker, in episode "Miss Hard Hat USA" (episode # 1.7)
Charlie's Angels (1980), playing Toni Green in episode "Island Angels" (episode # 5.5)
The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo (1981) playing country singer Kitty Rhinestone in episode "The Cowboy Connection"
CHiPs (1981) playing Sal in episode "Ponch's Angels, parts 1 and 2" (episodes # 4.14/15)
Tattletales (1982–84) with playing partner George Gradow
The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour (1983) as a guest panelist
Circus of the Stars (1982, 1980, 1979), performer
Matt Houston (1983) playing Ava Randolph in episode "Purrfect Crime" (episode # 1.13)
Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer (1984) playing Susan Lancaster in episode "Catfight" (episode # 2.4)
Hammer House of Mystery and Suspense And the Wall Came Tumbling Down (1984) playing Caroline Trent
Safe at Home (1985) playing Connie Simpson in episode "Old Flame"
Murder, She Wrote (1986) playing Sue Beth in episode "Murder in the Electric Cathedral" (episode # 2.16)
Riptide (1986), playing Gina Potter in episode "Playing Hardball" (episode # 3.17)
Barbi Benton Presents: Best Buns On the Beach (circa 1990), host
Barbi Benton Presents: Stripper of the Year (circa 1990), host
Hugh Hefner: Once Upon a Time (1992), as herself
Playboy: The Party Continues (2000), as herself
Entertainment Tonight (2002), as herself
Playboy's 50th Anniversary (2003), as herself
The Girls Next Door, as herself in "Fight Night" (2005), "Guess Who's Coming to Luncheon?" (2007), "Kickin' Aspen" (2008), and "The Wheel World" (2009)
The E! True Hollywood Story – Hugh Hefner: Girlfriends, Wives, and Centerfolds (2006), as herself.
Extreme Cribs: Episode 5 (2011), as herself
Million Dollar Rooms (2012, HGTV), featuring her "Copper Palace" mansion in Aspen, Colorado

Theater appearances

I Love My Life (1982). This production of the hit 1978 Broadway musical comedy co-starred Barry Williams and was performed in January 1982 as part of the annual theatrical series at the La Mirada Civic Theatre in California. Benton received upbeat reviews for her performance as "Chloe."