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R.I.P. Patricia Benoit, the bride in television's first big event wedding

The 'Mister Peepers' star passed away at 91.

August 14, 2018, 2:01PM By MeTV Staff

The Everett Collection

Rhoda and Joe. Joanie and Chachi. Chandler and Monica. Jim and Pam. Wedding episodes have always led to a boost in viewers and teardrops for sitcoms. Perhaps that was the brilliance of The Brady Bunch — that show began with two lead characters tying the knot.

Typically, though, wedding episodes come late in a show's run, after a long will-they-won't-they romance. Mister Peepers is the overlooked pioneer of this trope. A mid-'50s comedy about an adorably dorky teacher, Mister Peepers is perhaps best remembered today as the early breakthrough for Tony Randall, who portrayed the slick ladies' man Harvey Weskit. Wally Cox, who would later become the voice of Underdog, starred as Robinson J. Peepers.

TV Guide

The timid and bumbling Peepers falls for a nurse named Nancy Remington, played by Patricia Benoit. Over the course of a few seasons, and with the help of Harvey, Peepers courts Nancy. In 1954, the two finally meet at the altar.

The wedding became one of the first true event episodes of the nascent medium. TV Guide featured Benoit and Cox on its May 21, 1954, cover, sporting their wedding gown and tuxedo. The vows delivered blockbuster ratings.

Like many early TV programs, Mister Peepers was broadcast live from a theater in New York. Unsurprisingly, Benoit found work on Broadway as well. She gained attention on the stage for her work in the comedy Glad Tidings and later starred alongside Edward G. Robinson in Middle of the Night. After Mister Peepers, Benoit shift gears to soap operas, appearing in Today Is Ours and As the World Turns.

In the 1960s, she had moved away from the city to focus on her family. Her acting career was left behind. On Monday, August 6, Benoit passed away at the age of 91, according to her family and as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.

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