Benson (1979–1986)

Jessica Tate's sharp-tongued former butler, Benson DuBois, moves up in the world, becoming first the governor's "director of household affairs," then the state's budget director, then lieutenant governor and candidate for the executive mansion.

Creator:

Susan Harris

Stars:

Robert Guillaume, James Noble, Inga Swenson

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 18 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Robert Guillaume	...	Benson DuBois (159 episodes, 1979-1986)
James Noble	...	Governor Eugene Xavier Gatling (159 episodes, 1979-1986)
Inga Swenson	...	Miss Gretchen Wilomena Kraus (159 episodes, 1979-1986)
Missy Gold	...	Katherine 'Katie' Olivia Gatling (158 episodes, 1979-1986)
Rene Auberjonois	...	Clayton Runnymede Endicott III (135 episodes, 1980-1986)
Ethan Phillips	...	Peter 'Pete' John Downey (97 episodes, 1980-1984)
Didi Conn	...	Denise Florence Stevens Downey (73 episodes, 1981-1984)

Storyline

In this spinoff of "Soap", Benson DuBois is sent out West to serve as butler to widowed state governor Gene Gatling, an honest but bumbling servant of the people. Although he has his rivals in German maid Kraus and persnickety aides Clayton and Taylor, Benson, armed with an acerbic wit and plenty of smarts, becomes the Governor's close friend and helper, and eventually is elected Lieutenant Governor!

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Plot Keywords:

governor | butler | servant | mansion | single father | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 September 1979 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1365 S Oakland Avenue, Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

The series was on the air seven years, longer than the show from which it was spun-off, Soap, which lasted four years.

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Goofs

In the episode "Fools Gold" the blueprints Benson was hiding in his robe weren't visible in early shots (long or close-up) of the scene, but can be clearly seen sticking out of his robe right before he takes them out to show the Governor.

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Quotes

Pete Downey: Hi, Denise. Whatcha reading?
Denise Florence Stevens Downey: It's a magazine article that uses the quantum theory to describe infinity.
Pete Downey: Is it any good?
Denise Florence Stevens Downey: Yeah, but it goes on forever.

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Connections

Referenced in TV in Black: The First Fifty Years (2004)

User Reviews

One of the best from the late 70's-early 80's

This was a show of all shows that was one of ABC-TV's brilliant Friday night lineup schedule back in the late 1970's and throughout the mid-1980's.The producers of this show(Paul Junger Witt and Terry Thomas) went on to create other successful series to follow like "It's A Living" and "The Golden Girls",and "Empty Nest",but "Benson" is one of their best works ever. This was actually a spin-off on a earlier show called "Soap" in which Robert Guillaume's character was changed from a household servant to Lt. Governor of a huge party of characters and so forth. The reason I watch this show was that of Robert Guillaume's character...He was witty,humorous and hilariously funny. The result made Robert Guillaume a household name not to mention putting this show at the top of the Nielsen ratings during it's run. His constant squabbles with Rene Auberjonois(Clayton Endicott) and Inga Swenson(one of Guillaume's fellow alumni from "Soap")not to mention Governor Gatling(James Noble) made that show was it was and it was the most funniest show on the air during its day. Over the course of the show's run,it was nominated for a total of 17 Emmys. It won two including Best Actor in a Comedy Series for Guillaume's second-to-last season portraying the title character,marking him second to The Jeffersons' Sherman Hemsley as the only African-American actor to win the award. The show lasted seven seasons on ABC-TV producing 158 episodes that aired from the debut episode on September 13,1979 and ending with the two-part series finale on April 19,1986. Most recently,the Antenna TV Channel has brought "Benson" back on the air after missing in action on television for merely a decade since it's original broadcast.