Betty Lee "Randi" Oakes (born August 19, 1951) is an American actress and

fashion model A model is a person with a role either to promote, display or advertise commercial products (notably fashion clothing in fashion shows) or to serve as a visual aid for people who are creating works of art or to pose for photography. Thoug ...

. Active in the 1970s and early 1980s, she is probably best known for her role as Officer Bonnie Clark on the television series ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. It follows the lives of two motorcycle officers of the California Highway Patrol (CHP). The serie ...

'', a role she played from 1979 to 1982. After marrying actor

Gregory Harrison Gregory Neale Harrison (born May 31, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Chandler in the 1987 film ''North Shore (1987 film), North Shore'', as Dr. George Alonzo "Gonzo" Gates, the young surgeon assistant of Dr. Trapper John ...

in 1980, she retired from acting after the birth of her first child in 1985.

Early life

Oakes was born in

Sumner, Iowa Sumner is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The city is located along the county's eastern border, between Bremer and Fayette County, Iowa, Fayette counties. The population was 2,021 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

, and grew up in tiny Randalia, Iowa. While in high school, she went to

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, twice a week to attend modeling school. Oakes was named Miss Iowa Model of the Year and moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

with a modeling contract at age 17. She quickly became one of the top fashion models in the United States. While modeling, she was in a relationship with pro football star

Joe Namath Joseph William Namath (; ; born May 31, 1943) is a former American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the New York Jets. He played college foot ...

for seven years and was sometimes referred to as "Joe's fiancee". Oakes began a shift from modeling to acting when, at the age of 23, she overheard one model tell another, "You know, you're kind of a young Randi Oakes."

Acting career

Oakes was a frequent

guest star In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other ...

on television series during the late 1970s and early 1980s, including roles on '' McCloud'', '' Delvecchio'', ''

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

'', ''

B. J. and the Bear ''B.J. and the Bear'' is an American action comedy television series which aired on NBC from February 10, 1979, to May 9, 1981. Created by Glen A. Larson and Christopher Crowe, the series stars Greg Evigan. The series was produced when the CB ...

'', ''

Barnaby Jones ''Barnaby Jones'' is an American detective television series starring Buddy Ebsen as a formerly retired investigator and Lee Meriwether as his widowed daughter-in-law, who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles, California. The show was or ...

'', ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'' and ''

Fantasy Island ''Fantasy Island'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Gene Levitt. It aired on ABC from 1977 to 1984. The series starred Ricardo Montalbán as the mysterious Mr. Roarke and Hervé Villechaize as his assistant, Tattoo. Gu ...

''. She also starred as Sally in the 1978 theatrical crime drama ''Acapulco Gold'' and had recurring roles as Georgia on the 1977 television series ''Rosetti and Ryan'' and as a young Taurus woman on the original ''

Battlestar Galactica ''Battlestar Galactica'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Glen A. Larson. The franchise began with the Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series), original television series in 1978, and was followed by a short-run sequel se ...

''. A guest role as a car thief in the episode "Down Time" on ''

'' led to the featured role as the blonde police officer Bonnie Clark that made her a household name. She appeared on the series from the beginning of its third season until the end of its fifth season. Along with costar

Larry Wilcox Larry Dee Wilcox (born August 8, 1947) is an American actor best known for his role as California Highway Patrol officer (later captain) Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the television series ''CHiPs'', which ran from 1977 to 1983 on NBC. A Vietnam vete ...

, Oakes left the show in 1982. According to a 1983 article that appeared in ''

People A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...

'', a lack of time spent with husband

led to the actress's departure from ''CHiPs''. Oakes appeared on multiple editions of ''

Circus of the Stars ''Circus of the Stars'' was an annual television special, broadcast by the CBS network in the United States, in which celebrities performed circus-type acts. With 19 shows in total, the first was broadcast in 1977 and the last was in 1994. Over ...

'' and was a frequent competitor on (and one-time host of) ''

Battle of the Network Stars ''Battle of the Network Stars'' is a series of competitions in which television stars from ABC, CBS and NBC would compete in various sporting events. A total of 19 of these competitions were held between 1976 and 1988, all of which were aired b ...

''. Her claim to fame in the latter is that she was "dunked" more times than any other competitor in the Baseball Dunk event. She retired from acting to be a full-time mother after the birth of her first child in 1985. In a 1992 interview, Harrison told the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', " andi hasbeen busy mothering, designing our home, overseeing the construction. She's glad not to be in the business. It gave her a pay cheque, period. She never studied, suffered or sacrificed to be an actress. It didn't fulfil dreams and if it doesn't fulfil dreams, it's hard to take this business. It has an ugly underbelly."Rita Zekas, TORONTO S. "Gregory Harrison Goes from Gonzo to 'Sicko' Psycho." Toronto Star, 18 Oct 1992, pp. C2. As of 2015, Oakes returned to television, with other notable ''CHiPs'' stars, for a series of introductions and interviews for

MeTV MeTV, an acronym for Memorable Entertainment Television, is an American broadcast television network owned by Weigel Broadcasting. Marketed as "The Definitive Destination for Classic TV", the network airs a variety of classic television program ...

's weekly ''CHiPs'' reruns.

Family

While competing on a 1979 edition of ''

'', Oakes (on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

team) met her future husband, actor

of ''

Trapper John, M.D. ''Trapper John, M.D.'' is an American medical drama television series and spin-off of the film ''M*A*S*H'' (1970). Pernell Roberts portrayed the title character, a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, Californ ...

'' fame (playing for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

team). Oakes and Harrison were married on December 21, 1980, although their marriage was kept secret from the public for several years. Together, they have three daughters, Emma Lee (born 1985), Lily Anne (born 1989), and Kate (born 1991). The couple also adopted a son, Quinn Edgar. The couple originally lived together in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...

, but since the early 1990s the family has lived in

Southern Oregon Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...

; first in

Gold Beach Gold, commonly known as Gold Beach, was the code name for one of the five areas of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. Gold, the central of the five areas, was lo ...

for 15 years then relocating to Eugene.

Filmography

*''

Acapulco Gold Acapulco Gold is a strain of ''Cannabis sativa'' that was popular during the 1960s counterculture movement for its potency and unique color. History First recorded in the United States in 1964, Acapulco Gold was defined by the ''Oxford English ...

'' (1976) - Sally Cantrell *''

'' (1978) -

Blonde Taurus Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

*''

'' (1977–1982, TV Series) - Officer Bonnie Clark / Kim Balford / Blonde Secretary *

(1983) Season 6 Episode 16. "Eternal Flame" / "A Date with Burt" March 5, 1983. Eternal Flame: A couple are obsessed with finding the Fountain of Youth. Randi Oakes Diana Weston; Linwood Boomer Alex Weston. *

(1980)Season 8 Episode 14 “The Killing Point” Ursula * McCloud (1975-1976) - Season 6 Episode 5 "Our Man In Harem" Margo

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oakes, Randi 1951 births Actresses from Iowa American film actresses American television actresses Living people People from Sumner, Iowa Female models from Oregon Actresses from Portland, Oregon People from Gold Beach, Oregon Actresses from Eugene, Oregon 21st-century American women