Petticoat Junction

''Petticoat Junction'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from September 1963 to April 1970. The series takes place at the Shady Rest Hotel, which is run by Kate Bradley; her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo; and her uncle Joe Carson. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters produced by Paul Henning. ''Petticoat Junction'' was created upon the success of Henning's previous rural/urban-themed sitcom ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' (1962–1971). The success of ''Petticoat Junction'' led to a spin-off, ''Green Acres'' (1965–1971). ''Petticoat Junction'' was produced by Filmways, Inc.

Premise

The show centers on the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Widowed Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy but lovable Uncle Joe Carson ( Edgar Buchanan) supposedly helps her in the day-to-day running of the hotel, while she serves as a mediator in the various minor crises that befall her three beautiful daughters: redhead Betty Jo ( Linda Kaye Henning); brunette Bobbie Jo (first Pat Woodell, later Lori Saunders); and blonde Billie Jo (first Jeannine Riley, then Gunilla Hutton, and finally Meredith MacRae). Uncle Joe, when he is not idling in his favorite porch chair, frequently comes up with half-baked get-rich-quick schemes and ill-conceived hotel promotions which end up with him making a fool of himself.

Early on, much of the show also focuses on the '' Hooterville Cannonball'', an 1890s vintage steam-driven train run more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt ( Smiley Burnette) and fireman/railway conductor Floyd Smoot ( Rufe Davis). It was not uncommon for the ''Cannonball'' to make an unscheduled stop for the crew to go fishing, or to pick fruit for Kate's apple butter and pies. The single-tracked Hooterville to Pixley spur line was cut off from the rest of the railroad 20 years before the start of the show by the demolition of a trestle. Charlie and Floyd are alternately depicted as retired employees of the railroad receiving pensions and salaried railroad workers.

Many plots involve railroad executive Homer Bedloe's futile attempts to cease operation and scrap the ''Hooterville Cannonball''. Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the ''Cannonball's'' throttle; running the train is one of her favorite pastimes, as she is something of a tomboy with an interest in mechanics.

Trips on the ''Cannonball'' usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is the local hub, where menfolk come to play checkers and chat. Sam Drucker is the postmaster and his telephone is a lifeline for the Bradleys, Uncle Joe, and others.

Setting

The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along the isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad. Due to a trestle demolition many years ago, the line now is entirely unconnected to any other railroad; it runs between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley. Each of these towns is about away from the hotel, which is located roughly at the midpoint of the line. Kate Bradley says that her stubborn grandfather built the hotel there because that was where the lumber fell off the train. The town of Pixley, at one end of the ''Cannonball's'' route, was named for Pixley, California. A number of location shots were filmed in the real Pixley. The exact location of Hooterville is never mentioned on ''Petticoat Junction'' or ''Green Acres''. Indeed, clues given to the location of Hooterville often conflict with each other, but nearby mentions of towns and counties place it in Southwest Missouri.

The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned, Victorian-style hotel, accessible primarily by train (and a poorly-maintained fire road), where guests share bathing facilities and eat together with the family at a large dining-room table. Kate Bradley cooks sumptuous meals on a wood-burning stove, and her specialty is chicken 'n' dumplings. Meals were prepared for the show by property master Vince Vecchio. In a 1966 interview, Bea Benaderet said, "I suspect that Vince is better at cooking things like ymother used to than anybody's mother ever was."

Regarding the show's title, ''Petticoat Junction'', the hotel is located at a water stop, not a junction (where two or more railroad lines meet). The train stop is nicknamed "petticoat junction" because the Bradley sisters often skinny dip in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats draped over the side.Terrace, Vincent (2008). "Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2007". McFarland p. 828. The opening titles of the series show their petticoats hanging on the tower while they are swimming offscreen.

Show history

The idea for ''Petticoat Junction'' came from Paul Henning's wife, Ruth. Paul Henning said,

The Shady Rest was based on a real hotel in Eldon, Missouri, run by my wife's grandmother... that's where the hotel and the train and the whole setting came from, from Ruth's reminiscences of visiting her grandma.

Ruth Henning told him stories of her childhood adventures at the Burris Hotel, which was owned by her grandparents in Eldon. Once called the Rock Island Hotel, the Burris was located next to the now-derelict Rock Island Line railroad tracks. Ruth Henning's mother, Alice (Burris) Barth, also told her many stories about the hotel and about growing up in the small town of Eldon. The stories of Ruth and her mother, Alice, became the basis of the show.

Linda Kaye Henning said that her father "wrote the series for Bea Benaderet." Paul Henning thought the show would make an ideal starring vehicle for the veteran character actress. Since the 1930s, Benaderet had played second-banana roles on radio and television to such personalities as Jack Benny, Lucille Ball, and George Burns and Gracie Allen. She was an uncredited voice actress for many Warner Bros. cartoons, and provided the voice of Betty Rubble on ''The Flintstones''. She also played the semiregular character Cousin Pearl Bodine on season one of ''The Beverly Hillbillies''. Henning felt that Benaderet had more than paid her dues and had earned the right to headline her own series.

During preproduction, proposed titles for the show were ''Ozark Widow'', ''Dern Tootin, and ''Whistle Stop''.

Tone and character changes

For the first three seasons, ''Petticoat Junction'' centered on homespun humor and the village's backward mindset. Beginning in season four, however, the show gradually took on a different feel. Stories began to focus more on the Bradley sisters, specifically on the romance of Steve and Betty Jo, who became key characters. The show became more of a domestic comedy. Musical numbers and singing became prominent. Songs featured the Bradley sisters singing as a trio, Billie Jo solo, Steve solo, or Steve and Betty Jo as a duet. Sometimes, as many as two or three songs were in each episode.

The additions of Mike Minor as Steve Elliott and Meredith MacRae as the third Billie Jo influenced this change, as they were both accomplished singers.Hayes, Dixon (June 3, 2014). "TV When I Was Born: Petticoat Junction". ''Summer of MeTV Classic Blogathon''. retrieved October 10, 2015. The characters of Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo also changed. Billie Jo went from being a boy-crazy dumb blonde to a strong, independent young lady. Bobbie Jo went from being book-smart (nicknamed "the walking encyclopedia") to more of a bubble-head used for comic relief.

Kate Bradley's appearance also changed. In the first two seasons, Kate's wardrobe and hair style depicted her as a dowdy country farm woman. Beginning with the third year (in color), her clothing and coiffure were much more flattering and appealing, and she wore high heels.

Death of Bea Benaderet

Sickness kept Bea Benaderet away for the last third of season five as she dealt with lung cancer. She missed two episodes (#159 and 160), returned for one (#161), then missed eight more. Storylines dealt with Kate's absence by having other characters say that she was out of town, although it was never stated where she was or what she was doing. Paul Henning brought in temporary replacement mother-figures Rosemary DeCamp (as Kate's sister Helen) and Shirley Mitchell (as Kate's cousin Mae). In January 1968, it was announced that Benaderet's treatment was successful, and she returned for the fifth-season finale ("Kate's Homecoming") that aired on March 30, 1968. Benaderet's performance showed the effects of her cancer treatment, as she appeared noticeably thinner and weaker. Following the conclusion of her treatment, she had revealed to the '' Press-Republican'' that despite her lengthy absence, series producer Charles Stewart would continue to write her as the lead for the upcoming sixth season.

At the start of the 1968–69 season, Benaderet had completed the first two episodes "Birthplace of a Future President" and "The Singing Sweethearts" when her cancer was found to have returned. The third episode, "Only A Husband", was her final physical appearance on the show, in which she shared a brief scene with Mike Minor and was conspicuously absent from the other scenes that were written for her. Linda Kaye Henning recalled in 2008: "The last few shows we knew she was very ill. … She was not well enough to do the episode where I have the baby." When Paul Henning realized that Benaderet would not recover, he decided that the fourth episode of season six would be the birth of Betty Jo's baby, so Benaderet's character could be included. In this episode, titled "The Valley Has a Baby", Benaderet provided only her voice for scenes of Betty Jo and Steve reading a letter from Kate; her speaking to ''Cannonball'' engineer Wendell Gibbs over the phone and using the handcar with him to get to the hospital; and her presence at Betty Jo's bedside after the baby's arrival. The latter segments featured Benaderet's stand-in, actress Edna Laird, portraying Kate with her back to the camera. The episode additionally featured three short flashbacks of Kate from season five: "You Know I Can't Hear You When The Thunder Is Clapping", where Betty Jo reveals to Kate that Steve and she are in love; "A Cottage For Two", where Betty Jo's dream house turns out to be an old shack; and "With This Gown I Thee Wed", where Steve and Betty Jo get married. The episode aired just 13 days after Benaderet's death on October 13, 1968.

Benaderet was popular with viewers, and her fan mail increased during her illness as she received many get-well cards and letters from fans. In the first five years of ''Petticoat Junction'', she was indisputably the star of the show. As a result, the absence of her character had to be handled delicately. In the 1950s and '60s, it was almost unheard of for a main character on a television show to die, particularly on a situation comedy. The producers and CBS decided to continue the show, and Kate Bradley continued to be referred to as being "out of town." Benaderet's name was removed from the opening credits and Edgar Buchanan received star billing for the remainder of the series. Referring to the hotel, the opening theme lyrics were changed from "It is run by Kate, come and be her guest" to "It is run by Joe, come and be his guest". Although ''Petticoat Junction'' was still beloved by fans, the central premise of a country family was lost without a motherly figure. The long absence of Kate was only mentioned once in passing during the final two seasons. In the season-seven premiere "Make Room For Baby", the Bradley sisters and baby Kathy Jo return from swimming in the water tower. Steve has paternal qualms about his daughter's safety, to which Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo wistfully reply: "Mom taught all of us to swim before we could walk. And in the same old water tower, too."

Seasons six and seven

Choosing not to recast the Kate Bradley role, or to sign Rosemary DeCamp on full-time (she was also playing the mother of Marlo Thomas on ''That Girl''), the producers introduced the new character of Dr. Janet Craig, played by June Lockhart, who had just come from a three-year run as Maureen Robinson on ''Lost In Space''. Previously, Lockhart had played another mother figure - Ruth Martin on the popular CBS-TV series ''Lassie''. Lockhart's character was essentially brought on as a surrogate mother figure to fill the void left by the death of Bea Benaderet, and takes up a medical practice at the hotel and also serves as a counsel of sorts for the girls. The cast was described as "most welcoming" to Lockhart as the newcomer during a difficult time. Quickly, Lockhart graduated from featured billing at the end of each episode to co-star billing in the opening credits. The show's theme song lyrics were slightly altered to accommodate the change in cast.

A decline in Nielsen ratings had begun in season five, when CBS moved the show from Tuesday night to Saturday night. In season six, the show failed to make the ratings top 30. With Benaderet's death and the mediocre ratings, the sitcom's future was hanging in the balance. CBS considered cancelling the show in the spring of 1969. The season-six finale "Tune In Next Year" was meant to be the series finale. Dr. Janet Craig receives a good job offer in another city and decides to accept it. However, at the end of the episode, Dr. Craig decides to stay when Steve and Betty Jo announce that they are going to have another baby.

At the last minute, CBS decided to renew the series for a seventh season. The main reason for the renewal was that it would give the series five full years of color episodes for syndication, which would be very profitable for the network. When the show returned for its seventh and final season in September 1969, two major plotline changes were made. The first is that Steve and Betty Jo, and their daughter Kathy Jo, move out of their cottage and back into the Shady Rest Hotel. The storyline involving Betty Jo's new pregnancy was dropped and never referred to again. The second change is the addition of bumbling, but well-meaning, game warden Orrin Pike (played by actor Jonathan Daly), who becomes Bobbie Jo's boyfriend, much to the annoyance of Uncle Joe. In the spring of 1970, despite somewhat improving ratings, ''Petticoat Junction'' was cancelled as a precursor to the CBS rural purge of the early 1970s, when all rural-themed shows were cancelled. Its final first-run episode was broadcast on April 4, 1970, and the series officially ended its primetime run on Saturday, September 12, 1970, at 9:30 pm. It was replaced one week later by ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show''.

''Petticoat Junction'' did not have a series finale. However, "Last Train to Pixley", the fourth-to-last episode to air, is in some ways like a series finale. In the episode, ''Hooterville Cannonball'' engineer/conductor Floyd Smoot decides to retire. The residents of the Shady Rest Hotel and Sam Drucker all take a ride on the ''Cannonball'' and recall (with flashbacks) such treasured memories as fishing from the train, a very pregnant Betty Jo driving the train when she is about to give birth, and the Christmas-time ''Cannonball'' decorated with lights. During the episode, Floyd sings the song " Steam, Cinders and Smoke", which was written by former cast member Smiley Burnette. It was released as a single in 1964 by Burnette and Rufe Davis (who played Floyd Smoot). At the end of the episode, Floyd decides not to retire when the people of Hooterville write him letters asking him to stay.

Cast

* Bea Benaderet as Kate Bradley (seasons 1-6)
* Edgar Buchanan as Uncle Joe Carson
* Linda Kaye Henning as Betty Jo Elliott
* Mike Minor as Steve Elliott (seasons 4-7)
* Jeannine Riley as Billie Jo Bradley (seasons 1-2)
* Gunilla Hutton as Billie Jo Bradley (season 3)
* Meredith MacRae as Billie Jo Bradley (seasons 4-7)
* Pat Woodell as Bobbie Jo Bradley (seasons 1-2)
* Lori Saunders as Bobbie Jo Bradley (seasons 3-7)
* Frank Cady as Sam Drucker
* Smiley Burnette as Charley Pratt (seasons 1-4)
* Rufe Davis as Floyd Smoot (seasons 1-5; recurring season 7)
* June Lockhart as Dr. Janet Craig (seasons 6-7)
* Byron Foulger as Wendell Gibbs (season 6)
* Jonathan Daly as Orrin Pike (season 7)

Cast notes

The only actors who appeared in all seven seasons were Edgar Buchanan, Linda Kaye Henning, and Frank Cady. Buchanan was the only one to appear in every episode. Linda Kaye Henning appeared in all but two episodes: "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik" (Season 1); and "Have Library, Will Travel" (Season 2). Edgar Buchanan, who portrayed Bea Benaderet's character's uncle, was only three years older than Benaderet in real life.

Veteran character actor Charles Lane played ''Cannonball'' nemesis Homer Bedloe in 24 episodes. Lane said that he perfected his stern curmudgeon character-type on '' I Love Lucy''. Recalling in 1981 his many roles, he said "They were all good parts, but they were jerks. If you have a type established, though, and you're any good, it can mean considerable work for you." ''The New York Times'' reported that Lane's persona was so familiar to the public, "that people would come up to him in the street and greet him, because they thought they knew him from their hometowns."

In the first-season episode #32 "Dog Days At Shady Rest", Higgins, the actor dog, was featured as "Sheba", the dog of Betty Jo's boyfriend Orville Miggs (played by actor Jimmy Hawkins). That episode gave the producers an idea. It was decided at the start of the 1964–1965 season to add a new character to The Shady Rest - a dog. As a result, Higgins became a regular cast member. His first appearance was in the second season opener "Betty Jo's Dog". In that installment, coming home on the first day of school, Betty Jo meets a little male dog who immediately attaches himself to her and the Bradley family. Kate, at first, is against keeping him but by the end of the episode, she is won over by him and allows him to stay. Also, in that episode, the subject of Higgins's name is addressed. At first, different names are suggested by the sisters when he first arrives ("Spike", "Prince", and "Byron"), but they never decide, so the dog at that time is not actually named. Eventually, the character's name becomes simply "Dog" or "Boy". Press releases for the show referred to him as the "Shady Rest Dog". (The fifth-season episode "Higgins, Come Home" (broadcast January 27, 1968) refers to the dog's real name, but the title itself is not displayed on the episode.) Higgins remained with the show until its cancellation in 1970. During that time, he won a PATSY Award, and he also was cover-featured on an issue of ''TV Guide''. Higgins had a close rapport with Edgar Buchanan. In the official cast pictures taken each year during the run of Petticoat Junction, Buchanan is shown holding or petting the dog. Higgins went on to star in the successful 1974 film ''Benji'' which also featured Buchanan in a cameo role. Linda Kaye Henning indicated in a TV interview her father, the show's producer, had planned to run a contest to name the dog but that never materialized and thus the dog was left without a "proper" name.

Another new character was introduced for the 1964–65 season to serve as a female nemesis for Kate Bradley - Selma Plout. Virginia Sale briefly reprised her role in the first season of ''Green Acres'' (her character is not mentioned by name, but is listed in the end credits). During the third season, Elvia Allman (who had appeared in season one as Gladys Stroud) was brought on as Cora Watson for one episode (a role she reprised on ''Green Acres'' the same season). Starting with Season 4 (1966-1967), Sale's Selma was replaced by Allman. She appeared in 19 episodes in all, which extended to the end of season 7 (1969-1970). Selma's daughter Henrietta Plout (first played by Susan Walther in season 3 then by Lynette Winter) was introduced at the same time and appeared in seven episodes over the next three seasons. Selma tries repeatedly to marry off the seemingly homely girl, the butt of many "plain Jane" jokes. In her next-to-last episode, the Bradley sisters give Henrietta a glamorous makeover and she is revealed to be quite attractive.

Mike Minor first appeared on the series as Selma Plout's son Dan in the second-season episode "Mother Of The Bride" that aired December 15, 1964. After that episode, the character of Dan Plout is never seen again. Two years later, in the fall of 1966, Mike Minor rejoined the series as handsome crop duster Steve Elliott. Steve is originally the love interest of eldest daughter Billie Jo, but later marries (youngest daughter) Betty Jo.

The three Bradley sisters (played by Linda Kaye Henning, Pat Woodell, and Jeannine Riley) form a Beatlesque band called "The Ladybugs" with their friend Sally Ragsdale (Sheila James) in the season-one episode "The Ladybugs". They wear mop-top wigs and perform the Beatles song " I Saw Her Standing There" with the word "Him" substituted for "Her". On March 22, 1964, mere days before this episode aired, the four actresses performed this same song as "The Ladybugs" on ''The Ed Sullivan Show''. Ed invited his viewers to tune in later that week to see the girls on their show.

Frank Cady, who played Sam Drucker, was the only actor in television history to play the same recurring character on three different shows at the same time. He was a regular on ''Petticoat Junction'' and ''Green Acres'', in addition to some late series guest appearances on ''The Beverly Hillbillies''.

Benaderet had played Mrs. Granby on the short-lived 1950 radio show ''Granby's Green Acres''. This show was the inspiration for the ''Petticoat Junction'' spin-off ''Green Acres''. The Mrs. Granby character was altered on television and became Lisa Douglas, played by Eva Gabor. Jack Bannon, Benaderet's son, played small parts over the course of the show, usually as a boyfriend or date for one of the Bradley girls. Byron Foulger played two different recurring characters on ''Petticoat Junction''. In the early seasons, he was banker Mr. Guerney, and in later seasons, he was train engineer Wendell Gibbs. Jimmy Hawkins appeared in five episodes as Betty Jo's love interest Orville Miggs.

In season seven, Steve and Betty Jo's baby Kathy Jo was played by Elna Danelle Hubbell. In season six, Kathy Jo was played (uncredited) by infant twins Heather and Barbara Whiter. Heather said her sister and she landed the role when their mother heard that the producers were looking for red-haired babies. She also said that she has no first-hand memories of working on the show.

Cast changes

Billie Jo was originally to be played by Sharon Tate. Though a cast photo was taken with Tate, she never appeared in the show. Though long rumored possible explanations for Tate's replacement include the emergence of racy photos of Tate, the reality is that Martin Ransohoff

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