BEN MURPHY PETE DUEL ASK: "ARE YOU THE GIRL FOR ME?"
Teen Scene, April 1972

If you are, you might just be that special girl Ben's looking for, because he is really into nature. His two-room apartment near Universal Studios is cluttered with books on health foods and related subjects, and he is a firm believer in the "natural" life.

You'd have to be pretty active, too. Because Ben is into swimming, skiing, horseback riding and tennis, and he wouldn't want a girl who sat on the sidelines.

Not that he would want you to be an expert at sports--just as long as you could share his pleasure in the outdoor life.

Ben's girl would also have to understand that he takes his work very seriously.

No matter how much he loves you, he'd still have to spend a lot of time working hard because acting is a big part of his life. Although he knows how lucky he is to have scored such a big hit in his first starring role in a TV series, "Alias Smith and Jones," he also knows that hard work had a lot to do with it.

He earned a B.A. in theater arts at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, and that took plenty of effort. He also did graduate work in theater arts at the University of Southern California. And even now, he feels that he must go on learning, to become an even better and more versatile actor.

Ben's the kind of guy who never -wants to stop learning and he would
expect his girl to share his interests, as well as letting him have time for his work and studies.

But just in case this gives you the picture of a serious guy who never cracks a smile--forget it. Ben's warm, good-natured grin is his trademark. He loves his work, and his enjoyment of it fills his life these days.

"I'm so happy about it that I sometimes feel guilty because there are so many actors out of work," he says.

Ben's a warm, thoughtful person. If you were his girl, you wouldn't have to worry about lovers' quarrels, because it takes a lot to make him lose his temper.

He'd be considerate of your feelings--and of course, he'd expect the same kind of consideration from you.

He'd also expect you to be absolutely honest with him. He's a very straight-forward type himself and he doesn't dig girls who play little games. If you loved him, he'd want you to come right out and say so.

Ben's ideal girl would have to be fond of travel--she'd have to be willing to drop everything and take of on a cross-country trip if that was what he wanted.

He's already done a lot of traveling on his own, and has filled several notebooks with his impressions of -America. Someday he wants to write a book about his travels. You'd have to share his love of travel if you were his girl.

Is Ben asking a lot from a girl? Maybe so, but we think there are plenty of girls who'd be more than happy to try to give him what he wants--and you might be just the one who could.

Or maybe you're turned on by Pete Duel, the other star of "Alias Smith and Jones." You've been wondering exactly what it would take to make him happy. Could you be "that certain girl" who'd make him give up his bachelor status forever?

It wouldn't be easy, because Pete's not the kind of guy who falls in love easily. To begin, with, it would take a long time, and a lot of patience on your part, before you could break down his reserve.

He's not the kind to hand a girl a line, or flirt with her just for fun. If Pete told you he loved you, he'd mean it, and he'd expect you to mean it, too.

It you ever did go steady with Pete, and he caught you making eyes at another guy, even once--that would be it, as far as he was concerned.

But once he told you he loved you, he wouldn't run around with other girls, either. He'd be yours and only yours from then on.

Pete's girl, like Ben's, would have to love nature and the outdoors. Whenever he has the time, he gets into his camper truck and takes off for California's High Sierras.

He doesn't tote a lot of fancy equipment either--he likes nature in the rough, and if you were his girl he'd want you to like it that way, too.

Could you learn to cook over an open fire, and sleep in a tent? Because, if you were Pete's wife you'd have to do just that--and love it.

You'd have to share his joy in sitting out late under the stars, with only the sound of the night wind for your music. You'd have to like getting up at dawn, to watch the sun rise over the rugged mountain peaks.

Pete's girl, like Ben's, would have to understand, his involvement in his career.

Pete's been studying and working for years to become as good an actor as possible, and his studies haven't stopped even now that his TV series is such a big success.

Although he comes from a family of doctors, Pete always wanted to be an actor, and never really considered medicine as his career.

He studied at the American Theater Wing in New York City, and after two years there, he was assistant stage manager and performer with the Shakespeare Wrights Repertory Company. He also toured with the Family Service Group, which produced shows for schools, service clubs and PTA groups.

So, no matter how close you were to Pete, you would have to understand those times when he drew away from you and into his own private world, when he was brooding about his work
and wasn't in the mood to share his thoughts with you.

And there'd be those times when you wanted to go to a party, and have lots of people around. But maybe Pete would ask you if you'd mind just staying home with him. He'd tell you that he'd
had a rough day, and he wanted, to unwind with only you for company.

Would you accuse him of being too temperamental and insist on going to the party, with or without him? We wouldn't advise that, not if you wanted to keep him yours for life.

No, Pete's not the easiest guy to win, but if he were your special guy, you'd probably be willing to make whatever sacrifices were necessary.

Because, once he gives you his love, you will always have him right there when you need him. He'll listen to your deepest, most intimate thoughts, and share them. He'd never laugh at you, or do anything to hurt you.

So there you have it--two wonderful and very special guys, Ben and Pete. Each is looking for the right kind of girl for him, and each has a lot to offer, when he finds his own special girl.