Барби Бентон: от Playboy до кантри-музыки и жизни с Хью Хефнером

American retired model, actress and singer

Barbi Benton (born Barbara Lynn Klein; January 28, 1950) is an American retired 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.

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.

At the age of 16, she began to model. Following high school, while attending UCLA, Benton took a job with Playboy to appear on their entertainment show Playboy After Dark at age 18. She began as an extra on the show, but after host Hugh Hefner fell in love with Benton, her role was quickly elevated to co host. After recording two episodes, Hefner asked the young co ed for a date. Upon being asked, she reportedly demurred to the then 42 year old Hefner: "I don't know, I've never dated anyone over 24 before." To which Hefner 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 (initially credited as Barbi Klein) appeared on the cover of Playboy four times: July 1969, March 1970, May 1972, and December 1985 and in additional nude photo layouts in the December 1973 and January 1975 issues. Though she was featured in a number of photo essays, she was never a Playmate of the Month. She landed a spot on television's Hee Haw doing short comedy sketches, and often appeared as a dancer on some of the last series of the Rowan and Martin's Laugh In shows, and subsequently enjoyed a career as a country singer. She also began acting, and appeared in the West German comedy film The Naughty Cheerleader (1970), before appearing as a featured repeat performer on a number of popular television series, including The Bobby Vinton Show in 1976, 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. Years later, when the television series The Girls Next Door visited her in Aspen, Colorado, she expressed gratitude that the two had remained friends. Benton left Hee Haw after four seasons to concentrate on a more Hollywood oriented career. She also starred in the short lived 1977 ABC TV comedy series Sugar Time! about an aspiring female rock group and in films including the slasher Hospital Massacre (1982). Benton achieved some success as a recording artist. Her record "Brass Buckles" (1975) was a top five hit on Billboard's country singles chart. Benton has recorded eight albums, the last of which she personally produced in 1979. She also composed the songs, sang them, and played piano. One of her better known songs was "Ain't That Just the Way" (1976). It was a number one hit in Sweden for five weeks, 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 married real estate developer George Gradow on October 14, 1979. and featured on MTV's ’’Extreme Cribs’’.

Year Album Chart Positions Label US Country US 1975 Barbi Doll 17 — Playboy Barbi Benton 18 — 1976 Something New 39 208 1978 Ain't That Just the Way (No U. S. Release) — — 1988 Kinetic Voyage — — Takoma

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."