two children: Jack (1940–2017), and Maggie (b. 1947). However, Bannon's heavy filming and touring schedule required for his portrayal of fictional cowboy hero Red Ryder took a toll on their marriage and she filed for divorce in September 1950. In 1958, Benaderet married Eugene Twombly, a sound-effects technician for movies and television who had worked on The Jack Benny Program, and they remained together until her death in 1968. Her son Jack became an actor, making his television debut in bit parts on Petticoat Junction (and working on the show as a dialogue coach), later appearing in Lou Grant. In 1961, Benaderet dressed in a Flintstones-inspired leopard-print costume to collect donations for City of Hope and March of Dimes and worked with Welcome Wagon in the San Fernando Valley. On February 5, 1964, she was named an honorary sheriff of Calabasas, California, with her daughter Maggie accepting a badge on her behalf that was presented by her Petticoat Junction co-star Edgar Buchanan in a public ceremony. Illness and death During a routine checkup in 1963, a spot was discovered on one of Benaderet's lungs. It was no longer visible at the time of her follow-up visit, but by November 1967, it had returned and grown in size. She resisted immediate exploratory surgery as she was filming the fifth season of Petticoat Junction and feared the show would be affected by her absence. On November 26, she underwent the surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, when it was discovered the tumor could not be removed. Diagnosed with lung cancer, Benaderet underwent six weeks of laser radiation treatment via a linear particle accelerator at Stanford University Medical Center. A longtime smoker, she cut down her multiple-pack-a-day habit following her initial checkups and quit entirely after her surgery. Benaderet's treatment was successful and concluded in January 1968. She missed 10 episodes of the show as she recuperated, during which her character of Kate Bradley was vaguely described in the storyline as being out of town, as expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming. Rosemary DeCamp (Kate's sister Helen) and Shirley Mitchell (Kate's cousin Mae Jennings) filled in as temporary mother figures during her absence; Mitchell had previously worked with Benaderet on The Jack Benny Program in 1954–55 as Mabel Flapsaddle. Benaderet returned for the March 30 fifth-season finale "Kate's Homecoming", but five months later, after