Introduction
Many people know Bill Bixby from The Incredible Hulk, My Favorite Martian, and The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Fewer people know about his son, Christopher. Christopher never had a career or a public life of his own. He died when he was only six years old. Still, people keep searching for his name, because his story shaped the lives of both his parents.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Christopher Sean Bixby |
| Born | September 1974 (most sources say September 25) |
| Died | Early March 1981 (many sources say March 1) |
| Age at death | 6 years old |
| Father | Bill Bixby, actor and director |
| Mother | Brenda Benet, actress |
| Siblings | None, he was an only child |
| Cause of death | Acute epiglottitis, a serious throat infection |
| Place of death | Mammoth Lakes, California |
| Known for | Being the son of Bill Bixby and Brenda Benet |
Who Were Christopher’s Parents?
Christopher’s father, Bill Bixby, was born in San Francisco on January 22, 1934. He worked as an actor, a director, and a producer for more than three decades. He is best known for playing Dr. David Banner on The Incredible Hulk.
His mother, Brenda Benet, was an actress too. She was born Brenda Ann Nelson in 1945. She is remembered for her role as Lee DuMonde on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, which she played from 1979 until 1982.
Benet married Bixby in 1971, and their son Christopher was born in September 1974. The couple divorced in 1980.
Early Life
There is not much public information about Christopher’s daily life. He grew up as the child of two working actors in the Los Angeles area. Brenda Benet stepped back from acting in the mid-1970s to raise her family. People who knew Bill Bixby said he loved being a father. His biographer David Grove, who spoke to Yahoo, said Bixby showed real emotion when Christopher died and was heartbroken by his divorce.
We do not know details such as Christopher’s school, his hobbies, or his favorite things. Be careful with websites that claim to know them. Many pages online repeat the same few facts and add stories that have no source.
What Happened in March 1981?
In early March 1981, Christopher went on a weekend ski trip to Mammoth Lakes, California. He was there with his mother, and he became very sick with acute epiglottitis. Doctors carried out a tracheotomy, but he went into a coma and then suffered cardiac arrest.
Epiglottitis is a swelling of the small flap at the back of the throat. It can block the airway very fast, and it is an emergency. Today, a vaccine against Hib bacteria has made it much less common in children.
News reports at the time also described what happened. A March 1981 report from UPI said the son of the Incredible Hulk star had fallen into a coma during a weekend ski trip and died of a rare illness. Private services were planned for the family.
How His Death Affected His Parents
The loss hit both parents very hard.
Brenda Benet. Reference pages say she was devastated by her son’s death and fell into a severe depression. She died on April 7, 1982, about a year after Christopher. She was 36 years old.
Bill Bixby. He also carried deep pain. In a 1990 interview with the Scripps Howard News Service, he spoke about losing his only child. He compared the strong feelings it caused to the feelings that turn Dr. Banner into the Hulk, as reported by Legacy.com. Bixby kept working. He later directed and starred in more projects, and he married again. He married Laura Michaels in 1990 and Judith Kliban in 1993. He died on November 21, 1993, at age 59.
Why Do Sources Give Different Facts?
If you search for Christopher Bixby, you may see small differences between websites. Here are the main ones.
- Age. Most sources say he was six. A few say seven. Six matches his birth in September 1974 and a death in March 1981.
- Exact date of death. Many pages say March 1, 1981. Some genealogy pages say “circa” March 1981. News stories from March 4 and 5, 1981 reported the death, so early March is the safest way to say it.
- Medical details. Some articles say a breathing tube caused problems. Reference pages for Brenda Benet describe a tracheotomy. Both sources agree on epiglottitis and cardiac arrest.
- Place. He died in the Mammoth Lakes area. A few genealogy pages list Brentwood, California, which may be a record location rather than the place where he died.
When facts do not match, it is better to say “early March 1981” than to pick one date that may be wrong.
How Is Christopher Remembered?
Christopher is remembered mostly through his famous parents and through the way his father spoke about him. His story is also a sad reminder of how fast a common-looking illness can become serious in young children.
Many fans of The Incredible Hulk also see Bill Bixby’s quiet, kind performance in a new way after learning about his private pain. Biographers say he kept his personal life separate from his work, so few people on set knew how much he was going through.
Final Thoughts
Christopher Bixby lived only six years, but his story is still told because of the love his parents had for him and the loss that followed. When you read about him online, check where the facts come from. Trusted news reports and reference pages are better than blogs that add details nobody can prove.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Christopher Bixby?
Christopher Sean Bixby was the only child of actor Bill Bixby and actress Brenda Benet. He was born in 1974 and died in 1981 at age six.
How did Christopher Bixby die?
He became ill with acute epiglottitis, a serious throat infection, during a ski trip to Mammoth Lakes, California. He fell into a coma and died after cardiac arrest.
Did Bill Bixby have any other children?
No. Christopher was his only child.
