Creaky rural sitcom Petticoat Junction was set in the town of Hooterville. The show, very popular (it stayed in the top 25 shows for five of its seven seasons), concerned widowed boarding house owner Kate Bradley and her three gorgeous daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo. Kate ran the Shady Rest Hotel. Much of the action centered around Kate and her “interfering” in her daughter’s love lives and also her regular confrontations with Railroad magnate Homer Bedloe.
In late 1965 CBS started Green Acres, another rural sitcom, there were quite a few crossover episodes between the two shows. Then later in 1966 Betty Jo ended up moving out of home after getting married to pilot Steve Elliott (who had crash landed in Hooterville).
A big change lay ahead for the show from the 1968-69 season on when Bea Benaderet who played Kate unfortunately passed away, the producers brought in Dr Janet Craig to try and fill the gap but it never quite worked. The show was cancelled in 1970.
production details
USA / CBS/ x30 minutes / Broadcast Tuesday 24 September 1963 – Saturday 12 September 1970
Creator: Paul Henning
cast
BEA BENADERET as Kate Bradley(63-68)
EDGAR BUCHANAN as Uncle Joe Carson
LINDA KAYE HENNING as Betty Jo Bradley Elliott
JEANNINE RILEY as Billie Jo Bradley (63-65)
GUNILLA HUTTON as Billie Jo (65-66)
MEREDITH MacRAE as Billie Jo(66-70)
PAT WOODELL as Bobbie Jo Bradley(67-68)
LORI SAUNDERS as Bobbie Jo(65-70)
RUFE DAVIS as Floyd Smoot
SMILEY BURNETTE as Charlie Pratt
CHARLES LANE as Homer Bedloe
JUNE LOCKHART as Dr Janet Craig (68-70)
MIKE MINOR as Steve Elliot
FRANK CADY as Sam Drucker
KAY E. KUTER as Newt Kiley
