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His major breakthrough came in 1963 with My Favorite Martian, starring as reporter Tim O’Hara alongside Ray Walston’s unpredictable alien. The hit series ran for three seasons and turned Bixby into a household name.
He continued building an impressive television résumé:
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father: Starred as widowed father Tom Corbett, a role that earned him three Emmy nominations.
The Magician: Played stage illusionist Anthony Blake in a short-lived series that developed a devoted cult following.
The Incredible Hulk (1978–1982): Delivered his defining performance as Dr. David Bruce Banner, later returning to the character and directing several made-for-TV continuation movies.
Other Ventures: Appeared in films like Lonely Are the Brave and guest-starred on popular shows including Fantasy Island and Murder, She Wrote.
Unimaginable Personal Tragedies
Behind the cheerful exterior of his television characters, Bixby’s life was struck by profound grief. After divorcing his first wife, actress Brenda Benet, in 1980, tragedy struck in 1981 when their six-year-old son, Christopher, died suddenly from a rare throat infection. Just a year later, Benet died by suicide.
Despite the darkness trailing his personal life, Bixby kept working, gradually transitioning into directing during the 1980s. He directed episodes of Goodnight, Beantown and Sledge Hammer!, and later became a regular director on the hit sitcom Blossom.
In the 1970s, he had been widely labeled one of Hollywood’s most eligible bachelors, though he remained fiercely protective of his privacy. “I’m a very private person,” he once said. “I rarely go to cocktail parties because I can’t stand the idle chatter of drunks. My weekends are spent at Malibu. I take a lady and go to the beach and enjoy the beauty of the beach and the lady.”
The Hidden Illness and Final Days
Bixby married Laura Michaels in 1990, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1991—the same year he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.