Summer 2026

112 C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R 2 0 2 6 Cook was long remembered for his first role as Little Beaver, in the 1940 movie serial “Adventures of Red Ryder,” based on the popu- lar comic strip of the day. Cook reprised the role on the “Red Ryder” radio series that ran from 1940-1951. In one of the more interesting exhibitions of 1973, comedian Bill Cosby paired with former football player-turned actor Fred Williamson, to take-on petite 32-year-old Barbara Benigni of San Francisco. Benigni had been a top-ranked junior. In the 1950s she was a student at Monterey’s Santa Catalina school and further improved with lessons from Gardiner at Pebble Beach. As a Stanford player in 1959, she was ranked fifth nationally for girls 18 and under.With Mimi Arnold, Benigni won the National Hardcourt Doubles Championship in 1964. The two paired in 1966 to win the California Doubles Championship. While Benigni focused on doubles through- out the 1960s and 1970s, she showed she still had a singles game against the two tall men. Handicapped by three chairs on her side of the court, the San Francisco Examiner reported Benigni “whipped them soundly without muss- ing a hair.” Benigni then paired with Dinah Shore to win the women’s doubles at the 1973 Eastwood. Now 85, Benigni still plays tennis daily at the California Tennis Club. The parties surrounding the tennis action were legendary and opened to non-participants to raise additional charity funds. Barbecue with fireworks, friendly games of chance, and dancing to talented bands allowed guests and celebrities to let their hair down. Celebrities like Merv Griffin, JonathanWinters and Edgar Bergen (with Mortimer Snerd) also entertained. Doug McClure’s annual rendition of “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head” became a tradition. Despite the good times had by all, the event had an abrupt ending when Pebble Beach Company and Hamilton parted ways in early 1974. The details of the departure are not cer- tain but were likely due to a corporate change. An interview with the late Art Bell, Pebble Beach golf professional from 1968-1973, and host pro for the 1972 U.S. Open, revealed that it was normal for the pro to own the retail operation in their shop, and he did at Pebble Beach until Pebble Beach Company President Al Gawthrop learned that Bell had made more than he himself made in 1972. Gawthrop changed the relationship in late 1973 and soon created a corporate retail division. Bell retired as “pro emeritus.” This corporate change likely impacted Hamilton’s role. Unlike Bell, Hamilton was not ready to retire, nor take a cut in income. Eastwood was annoyed by Pebble Beach Company’s treatment of Hamilton, and he and the other celebrities followed Hamilton to Berkeley for a tournament there in July 1974. The Beach and Tennis Club has hosted many tennis events in the years since, but the short- lived Clint Eastwood Invitational remains a joy- ous memory of the heyday of tennis in the 1960s and early 1970s. At the 1973 tournament: Actor Lee Majors, the “Six Million Dollar Man,” with his future wife Farrah Fawcett who rose to fame in 1976 on “Charlie’s Angels.” (Left) Football player-turned-actor, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson and Bill Cosby take on Barbara Benigni (right) of San Francisco, handicapped by having three chairs in her side of the court. In the exhibition match, the petite Benigni soundly beat the giants. Photos: William C. Brooks photo /Pebble Beach Company Lagorio