Petticoat Junction

Petticoat Junction
Created by	Paul Henning Ruth Henning
Starring	Bea Benaderet Edgar Buchanan Linda Kaye Henning Jeannine Riley Pat Woodell Gunilla Hutton Lori Saunders Meredith MacRae Smiley Burnette Jimmy Hawkins Rufe Davis Frank Cady Mike Minor Elna Danelle Hubbell June Lockhart Jonathan Daly Higgins
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	7
No. of episodes	222 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jay Sommers Charles Stewart
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	25 minutes
Production companies	Wayfilms, Inc. The CBS Television Network
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 24, 1963 (1963-09-24) – April 4, 1970 (1970-04-04)
Related
The Beverly Hillbillies Green Acres

Petticoat Junction is an American situation comedy 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 Uncle Joe Carson, and her three daughters Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Betty Jo Bradley. The series is one of three interrelated shows about rural characters created 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 Wayfilms (a joint venture of Filmways Television and Pen-Ten Productions).

Premise

The show follows the goings-on at the rural Shady Rest Hotel. Kate Bradley (Bea Benaderet) is the proprietor. Her lazy-but-lovable Uncle Joe Carson (Edgar Buchanan) 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 frequently comes up with half-baked get-rich-quick schemes and ill-conceived hotel promotions. Much of the show also focuses on the Hooterville Cannonball, an 1890s steam-driven train run more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and conductor Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis). It's not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop in order for passengers to go fishing, or to pick fruit for Kate Bradley's apple butter and pies. The Hooterville spur line had been cut off from the rest of the railroad twenty years before the start of the show by the failure of a trestle. Charlie and Floyd are retired employees of the railroad receiving pensions. Many plots involve railroad executive Homer Bedloe's futile attempts to shut down and scrap the Hooterville Cannonball. Occasionally, youngest daughter Betty Jo can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train is one of her favorite pastimes. The series pilot introduced a feminist element whereby Betty Jo turned out to be skilled at driving the train. train engineer was traditionally a man's job, executives from the C. & F.W. Railroad's headquarters are shocked when they learn of this. Trips on the Cannonball usually include a stop in Hooterville at Drucker's Store, run by Sam Drucker (Frank Cady). Drucker's is favored by Hooterville farmers because he is willing to extend credit, whereas the nearby Pixley stores want cash. Sam Drucker also has a telephone and acts as an answering service of sorts for the phoneless Shady Rest Hotel.

Setting

The Shady Rest Hotel is located at a water stop along an isolated branch line of the C. & F.W. Railroad, halfway between the rural farm community of Hooterville and the small town of Pixley, each about 25 miles (40 km) away. Kate Bradley says her grandfather built the hotel there because that's 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 geographic location of Hooterville is never mentioned on Petticoat Junction or Green Acres. It is likely in the Ozark Mountains; one of the proposed titles for the show was Ozark Widow.

The Shady Rest is an old-fashioned hotel, accessible only by train, 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 mother 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 go skinny-dipping in the railway's water tower and leave their petticoats hanging over its side. The opening titles of the series show their petticoats hanging on the tower while they are swimming. The theme song has the double entendre "Lotsa curves, you bet, and even more when you get to the junction: Petticoat Junction" while shots show the train on a curving track, the petticoats, and the three naked sisters seen from shoulders up in the water tower.

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, Mo., 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 would tell him stories of her childhood adventures at the Burris Hotel, which was owned by her grandparents in Eldon, Missouri. Once called the Rock Island Hotel, the Burris was located next to the 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 Brothers cartoons, and provided the voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones. She also played the semi-regular 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 pre-production, proposed titles for the show were Ozark Widow, Dern Tootin' , and Whistle Stop.

The Hooterville Cannonball

Main article: Hooterville Cannonball

Motion shots of the Hooterville Cannonball were filmed on the Sierra Railroad, based in Jamestown, California. The steam locomotive used was the 4-6-0 (ten-wheeler) Sierra No. 3, which has the distinction of appearing in more movies than any other locomotive. Its first sound film appearance was in 1929 with Gary Cooper in The Virginian, and it has since appeared in many other western films, including a prominent role in the climactic ending of Back to the Future Part III. It was also used in such television shows as Little House on the Prairie and The Iron Horse. Today, the Sierra No. 3 locomotive is still operational and can be found at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park.

A full-size locomotive replica was used for studio scenes in and around the locomotive cab. The prop locomotive was provided by the Hoyt Hotel in Portland, Oregon. It was displayed in the lobby of the hotel as part of the décor of its Barbary Coast Lounge, hence the screen credit at the end of each episode "Train furnished by Barbary Coast, Hoyt Hotel, Portland, Oregon".

Guest stars

Dennis Hopper is Bobbie Jo's beatnik boyfriend in "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik". Betty White is a librarian in "The Cannonball Bookmobile". Joan Blondell is Hooterville's bombshell from Sam and Uncle Joe's younger years in "Girl of Our Dreams". Don Ameche plays Steve's Uncle George. Rudy Vallee is a wealthy man who thinks Uncle Joe lent him money twenty years earlier in "But I've Never Been to Erie, PA". Harry Dean Stanton is a poacher in "One of Our Chickens is Missing". Rich Little is Billie Jo's comedian boyfriend in "Billie Jo and the Big Big Star". Batman star Adam West is a doctor in "My Daughter the Doctor" and "Hooterville vs. Hollywood". Buddy Rogers and Richard Arlen appear as themselves when their 1927 movie Wings is shown at the Pixley Bijou movie theater in the episode "Wings". Alan Reed (the voice of Fred Flintstone) appeared as a bandit named Lawson in the 1968 episode "Bad Day at Shady Rest". (Interestingly, when he appeared on Petticoat Junction it was in an episode that his former Flintstones costar, Bea Benaderet (voice of Betty Rubble), did not appear in.)

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 every episode but two: the first season episode "Bobbie Jo and the Beatnik" and the second season episode "Have Library, Will Travel".

Edgar Buchanan, who portrayed an uncle of Bea Benaderet's character, was only 3 years older than Benaderet in real life. Buchanan was a dentist before he became a professional actor.

The Season 3 cast of Petticoat Junction in 1966. Sitting on table: Higgins the dog. Front row (L-R): Lori Saunders (Bobbie Jo), Bea Benaderet (Kate), and Edgar Buchanan (Uncle Joe). Back row (L-R): Frank Cady (Sam Drucker), Gunilla Hutton (Billie Jo), Linda Kaye Henning (Betty Jo), Rufe Davis (Floyd Smoot), and Smiley Burnette (Charley Pratt)

Four of the six actresses who portrayed the Bradley girls were born in 1944: Gunilla Hutton (15 May), Meredith MacRae (30 May), Pat Woodell (12 July, sometimes shown as 15 July), and Linda Kaye Henning (16 September).

The girls' canine companion was called simply "Dog" or "Boy". Different names are suggested by the sisters when he first arrives ("Spike," "Prince", and "Byron"), but they never decide, so the dog is never actually named. Press releases for the show referred to him as the "Shady Rest Dog". He was portrayed by Higgins, who later went on to even greater fame as Benji. Edgar Buchanan also appeared with Higgins in the movie Benji. Higgins won a PATSY Award in 1966 for his work on Petticoat Junction.

Veteran character actor Charles Lane played Cannonball nemesis Homer Bedloe in twenty-four 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."

The character of Selma Plout was introduced in 1964 to serve as a female nemesis for Kate Bradley. As played by actress Virginia Sale, the role came off as rather harsh and severe. 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 1 as Gladys Stroud) was brought on as Cora Watson for one episode (a role she reprised on Green Acres the same season). For the 1966-1967 season Sale's Selma was replaced by Allman, and her interpretation brought more humor into the character. Interestedly, both Sale and Allman passed away in 1992, five and a half months apart.

In Allman's first appearance as Cora Watson, her character had a daughter named Henrietta (played as a haughty rival to the Bradley girls and played by actress Susan Walther). When Allman was brought on to play Selma, the Cora Watson character was dropped but not her daughter who remained and was simply changed to Plout. Walther was replaced by Lynette Winter (formerly of the TV series Gidget), who made the part comical but likeable.

Mike Minor first appeared on the series as Selma Plout's son Dan in the third 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. This evolved from the real-life romance between Linda Kaye Henning and Minor. They were married in real-life in 1968.

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 (Shiela 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, the four actresses performed this same song as "The Ladybugs" on the The Ed Sullivan Show.

Lori Saunders and Jeannine Riley, who never appeared together on Petticoat Junction, both starred in the 1970s situation comedy Dusty's Trail. The show was like Gilligan's Island set in the Wild West. Lori Saunders played the Mary Ann-ish part of Betsy and Jeannine Riley played the Gingeresque Lulu.

Gunilla Hutton and Jeannine Riley were both regular cast members on the country variety show Hee Haw.

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: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies.

Bea Benaderet 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.

Linda Kaye Henning provided the voice-over for Jethro Bodine's twin sister Jethrine on The Beverly Hillbillies, but never received an on-screen credit. Jethrine was played by (Jethro actor) Max Baer in drag.

Jack Bannon got his start on this show. The son of Bea Benaderet, he originally was the dialog coach before stepping in to play 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. Foulger appeared in hundreds of film and television roles and was known for playing hilariously meek characters.

Jimmy Hawkins appeared in five episodes as Betty Jo's love interest Orville Miggs. He also appeared in four other episodes as four other characters. Hawkins played Jimmy Stewart's son in the film It's A Wonderful Life.

Jonathan Daly, who played Bobbie Jo's boyfriend Orrin Pike in season seven, also played Jimmy Stewart's son in the 1970s television series The Jimmy Stewart Show.

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 White. As of 2009, Heather is a teacher in Louisiana. She said that she and her sister 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

In 1967 the show suffered its first loss when Smiley Burnette (engineer Charley Pratt), died of leukemia. Rufe Davis (Floyd Smoot) took over both jobs as engineer and conductor for a while and then was replaced the following year by Wendell Gibbs, played by Byron Foulger. During the show's last season (1969–1970), Foulger became too ill to continue, and he didn't appear in any episodes of the last season. Davis returned as Floyd Smoot for two episodes, one of them being "Last Train To Pixley". Coincidentally, Foulger died on the same day that the final episode of Petticoat Junction aired: April 4, 1970.

Bea Benaderet, who played the main character Kate Bradley, died in 1968; June Lockhart then joined the show as Dr. Janet Craig, a mother figure to the girls, from 1968 until the show's end in 1970.

The actresses who originally played Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo left the series after season two. "They wanted to pursue other careers," said Linda Kaye Henning, who played (redhead) Betty Jo for the entire series.

Billie Jo (the blonde) was originally going to be played by Sharon Tate. While a cast photo was taken with Sharon Tate, she never appeared in the show. Explanations vary from CBS deciding not to use her when 'scantily clad' photos emerged, to her agents talking her into turning down the role to focus on films. Billie Jo was played for the first two seasons (1963–1965) by Jeannine Riley, who left to pursue a movie career. In season three (1965–1966) she was replaced by Gunilla Hutton (not present for eleven episodes), and for the rest of the show's run (1966–1970) the role of Billie Jo was played by Meredith MacRae.

Bobbie Jo (the brunette) was played in the first two seasons (1963-65) by Pat Woodell, who left the series to start a singing career. Pat Woodell was absent from several episodes, and was at times played by a double who did not show her face. For the remaining seasons (1965–1970), Bobbie Jo was played by Lori Saunders. Woodell and Saunders resembled each other physically, but the character of Bobbie Jo was gradually revamped after the cast change, going from a shy bookworm to a humorous scatterbrain. The book Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door by Herbie J. Pilato attributes this change in character to actress Lori Saunders having "a different flair for comedy than Pat [Woodell]." After Saunders took over the role, she would at times give her lines "a slightly daffy delivery." The show writers picked up on this and gradually changed the character of Bobbie Jo from Paul Henning's original conception of a brainy introvert into "a high-spirited, delightfully ditzy extrovert."

Changes in tone and characters

For the first three seasons, Petticoat Junction focused mostly on broad humor and slapstick comedy. There was much physical comedy and other types of wild humor, much as on its sister shows The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres. Beginning in season four, however, Petticoat Junction gradually took on an entirely different feel. Stories began to focus less on the Hooterville Cannonball and more on the Bradley sisters, specifically on the romance of Steve and Betty Jo, who slowly but surely became the central characters. The show became more of a domestic comedy, and slapstick took a back seat. 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. There were sometimes as many as two or three songs per 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. 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. And Kate Bradley's appearance 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.

Death of Bea Benaderet

Sickness kept Bea Benaderet away for the last portion of season five as she recuperated from lung cancer. She missed two episodes (ep. 159, 160), came back for one (ep. 161), then missed eight more. Storylines had Kate on a trip, as everyone hoped that Benaderet would recover. Paul Henning brought in temporary replacement mother figures Rosemary DeCamp (as Kate's sister Helen) and Shirley Mitchell (as Kate's cousin Mae). In March 1968, it was announced that Benaderet's treatment was successful, and she returned for the season five finale "Kate's Homecoming". In that episode it was quite evident that Benaderet had lost a considerable amount of weight and appeared slightly weak. Nonetheless, plans for the season six immediately got under way. It was decided that Betty Jo would have a baby. After Benaderet filmed the first three episodes of season six, it was discovered that her cancer had returned. The third episode "Only A Husband" was Benaderet's final physical appearance on the show, featuring her in only one brief scene with Mike Minor.

Linda Kaye Henning recalled: "The last few shows we knew she was very ill. They recorded her voice, and there would be a stand-in." When it became obvious to Paul Henning that Benaderet would not recover, he decided that the fourth episode of season six would be the birth of Betty Jo's baby, so that Benaderet's character could be included. In the episode "The Valley Has A Baby" Bea provided only her voice. She's heard when Betty Jo and Steve read the letter that Kate has sent them, and when Cannonball engineer Wendell Gibbs answers the phone at Drucker's Store. Bea's stand-in (actress Edna Laird) plays Kate with her back to the camera, with Bea providing only her voice, when Kate is on the hand car helping Wendell, and at the end of the episode when Kate is at Betty Jo's bedside. The episode also has 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 she and Steve 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's husband, Eugene Twombly, died of a heart attack on the day of her funeral.)

Benaderet was very popular with viewers. In fact, her fan mail increased during her illness, and she received many get-well cards from fans. In the first five years of Petticoat Junction, she was indisputably the star of the program. As a result, the absence of her character, Kate Bradley, had to be handled very delicately. In the 1950s and 60s, it was almost unheard of for a main character on a television show, especially a sitcom, to die. The character of Margaret Williams died off-camera at the beginning of season four of The Danny Thomas Show, because actress Jean Hagen decided to leave the series. Actor George Cleveland died in the middle of season four of Lassie, and the episode "Transition" had his character "Gramps" pass away as well. In the fall of 1966, veteran film actress Ann Sheridan was enjoying a major comeback when her Pistols 'N Petticoats premiered on CBS. The show immediately became quite popular with viewers. However, Sheridan was diagnosed with terminal cancer shortly after the premiere. When she died in January 1967, she had completed 21 out of the 26 shows for that season. At first, CBS was undecided as to what to do about the program. Since Sheridan was the unifying center of attention on Pistols 'N Petticoats, her absence was keenly felt by audiences. Therefore, CBS canceled the series in the spring of 1967.

Similarly, Benaderet's death put Petticoat Junction in a state of flux. However, the producers and the network decided to continue the show, and it was decided that Kate would be referred to as being "out of town." Benaderet's name was removed from the opening credits and Edgar Buchanan was from then on billed as the star of the series. Though 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."

The final two seasons

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. Dr. Craig 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. By mid-season, 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 thirty. With the sitcom's future 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 there were two major plotline changes. The first is that Steve and Betty Jo, and their daughter Kathy Jo, move out of their cottage and 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 canceled as a precursor to the infamous CBS rural purge of the early 1970s, when all rural-themed shows were canceled. The series officially ended its prime-time run on Saturday, September 12, 1970 at 9:30 PM and 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 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". The song was written by Smiley Burnette, who played train engineer Charley Pratt until his death in 1967. 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.

Reunions

Petticoat Junction was the only one of Paul Henning's country trio not to return in an updated reunion movie. In the 1970s, Meredith MacRae and Linda Kaye Henning tried to produce "Hello Again Hooterville: A Thanksgiving Reunion", but the project never came to fruition. The game show Family Feud featured a Petticoat Junction cast reunion in 1983 when Frank Cady, Linda Kaye Henning, Lori Saunders, Gunilla Hutton and Meredith MacRae competed against cast members from The Brady Bunch. And Linda Kaye Henning, Lori Saunders, and Gunilla Hutton returned to the railway water tower for aMe-TV promo in 2015.

In 1990, the character of Sam Drucker appeared in Return to Green Acres, in what was Frank Cady's final acting role. In 1981, Linda Kaye Henning and Charles Lane both appeared in The Return of the Beverly Hillbillies, but not as Betty Jo and Homer Bedloe. Henning played a secretary named "Linda" and Lane played "Chief".

Episode list

Main article: List of Petticoat Junction episodes

Cast of characters

Character	Actress/Actor	Years	# of Episodes
Kate Bradley	Bea Benaderet	1963–1968	164
Uncle Joe Carson	Edgar Buchanan	1963–1970	222
Betty Jo Bradley	Linda Kaye Henning	1963–1970	220
Bobbie Jo Bradley	Pat Woodell	1963–1965	65
	Lori Saunders	1965–1970	147
Billie Jo Bradley	Jeannine Riley	1963–1965	72
	Gunilla Hutton	1965–1966	23
	Meredith MacRae	1966–1970	107
Sam Drucker	Frank Cady	1963–1970	152
Dog	Higgins, the Dog	1964–1970	149
Steve Elliott	Mike Minor	1966–1970	112
Dr. Janet Craig	June Lockhart	1968–1970	45
Floyd Smoot	Rufe Davis	1963–1968; 1970	128
Charles "Charley" Pompous Pratt	Smiley Burnette	1963–1967	106
Homer Bedloe	Charles Lane	1963–1968	24
Norman P. Curtis	Roy Roberts	1963–1964 1966–1967 1969–1970	10
Newt Kiley	Kay E. Kuter	1964–1969	17
Fred Ziffel	Hank Patterson	1963–1966	11
Oliver Wendell Douglas	Eddie Albert	1965–1968	12
Lisa Douglas	Eva Gabor	1965–1969	9
Eb Dawson	Tom Lester	1967–1968	6
Aunt Helen	Rosemary DeCamp	1964–1968	7
Wendell Gibbs	Byron Foulger	1968–1969	18
Orrin Pike	Jonathan Daly	1969–1970	11
Orville Miggs	Jimmy Hawkins	1964	5
Cousin Mae Belle Jennings	Shirley Mitchell	1967–1968	4
Miss Hammond	Eve McVeagh	1963	3
Selma Plout	Virginia Sale	1963–1965	6
	Elvia Allman	1966-1970	17

Nielsen ratings/Broadcast history

Season	Timeslot	Rank	Rating
1) 1963–1964	Tuesdays at 9:00pm	#4	33.3
2) 1964–1965	Tuesdays at 9:30pm	#15	26.1
3) 1965–1966		#21	23.8
4) 1966–1967		#23	20.9 (tie)
5) 1967–1968	Saturdays at 9:30pm	Not in the Top 30
6) 1968–1969
7) 1969–1970

Green Acres and Beverly Hillbillies crossovers

Petticoat Junction is set in the same fictional universe as Green Acres. Both shows are set in Hooterville, and they share such characters as Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley, and Floyd Smoot. A number of core Green Acres characters, such as Fred and Doris Ziffel (originally named "Ruthie" after Paul Henning's wife, Ruth), Arnold the Pig, Newt Kiley, and Ben Miller, first appeared on season two of Petticoat Junction, which saw a number of scripts written by Green Acres creator Jay Sommers. Characters in all of Henning's creations often crossed over into one another's programs, especially during the first two seasons of Green Acres.

During Petticoat's run from 1963 to 1968 (up until Kate Bradley's last few appearances at the beginning of season six), and with the exception of Green Acres, not once was there ever a connection to The Beverly Hillbillies even though Bea Benaderet had played Cousin Pearl Bodine during the latter's first and sixth seasons. Despite this, in a 1968 episode of Petticoat (#175 'Granny, the Baby Expert'), Granny comes to Hooterville to tend to Betty Jo and Steve's baby. Prior to her visit, she reminds Jed that he is related to Kate through Pearl and then later when she arrives at the Shady Rest she mistakes Uncle Joe for Kate and says "They's right about you Kate, you and Cousin Pearl are lookalikes." The episode is also part two of a three-episode crossover with Hillbillies that begins on "Granny Goes to Hooterville" and concludes on "The Italian Cook".

Other crossover shows include one where the Clampetts, Milburn Drysdale, and Miss Jane spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas of 1968 in Hooterville on The Beverly Hillbillies and a 1970 episode of The Beverly Hillbillies in which Mr. Drysdale thought that billionaire Howard Hughes lived in Hooterville. (The man turned out to be Howard Hewes who owned real estate in Hooterville, including the field Steve Elliott rented to maintain his crop plane.)

Crossovers with Green Acres

The following is a list of Petticoat Junction episodes featuring characters from Green Acres. Only those that debuted on Acres before Junction are counted.

Season Three

• Episode 2: "The Baffling Raffle" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 3: "The Dog Turns Playboy" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
• Episode 4: "The Good Luck Ring" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 5: "Joe Carson, General Contractor" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 6: "Bobbie Jo's Sorority" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 7: "A Doctor in the House" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
• Episode 8: "Hooterville-A-Go-Go" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 10: "Betty Jo Goes to New York" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 13: "Uncle Joe Plays Post Office" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
• Episode 19: "Yogurt, Anyone?" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
• Episode 21: "The County Fair" – Mr. Haney
• Episode 29: "Kate Bradley, Peacemaker" – Oliver Wendell Douglas
• Episode 32: "The Young Matchmakers" – Lisa Douglas

Season Four

• Episode 1: "Young Love" – Eb Dawson
• Episode 5: "The All-Night Party" – Eb Dawson
• Episode 11: "The Runt Strikes Back" – Eb Dawson
• Episode 13: "The Santa Claus Special" – Eb Dawson
• Episode 26: "Author! Author!" – Eb Dawson

Season Five

• Episode 3: "One Dozen Roses" – Eb Dawson

Season Six

• Episode 4: "The Valley Has a Baby" – Oliver Wendell Douglas, Lisa Douglas
• Episode 14: "The Ballad of the Everyday Housewife" – Lisa Douglas

Season Seven

• Episode 3: "The Other Woman" – Mr. Haney
• Episode 9: "A Most Momentous Occasion" – Mr. Haney

Theme song

Curt Massey sang the Petticoat Junction theme song. The song was composed by Massey and Paul Henning. Flatt and Scruggs recorded a version of the song "Petticoat Junction".

• The Moody Brothers' 1989 Grammy-nominated country instrumental "The Great Train Song Medley" featured the song "Petticoat Junction".

Syndication

After its cancellation, Filmways and Paul Henning's company sold the show to CBS. Its distribution has changed hands over the years due to corporate changes involving Viacom, which in 2006 split into two separate companies. Today CBS Television Distribution handles syndication.

The color (1965–70) episodes were shown in syndication for many years after the show's cancellation. However, the rights to the black-and-white (1963–65) episodes were not resolved and they were not included in the syndication package until recently when the Me-TV Network began broadcasting the black-and-white (1963–65) episodes on Tuesday July 12, 2011. The airings of the black-and-white episodes airings were short lived, and, on Thursday July 21, 2011, Me-TV started airing the color episodes once again. Finally, Me-TV began airing the first two black-and-white seasons of the show on November 4, 2013.

The color episodes have run constantly, with the show running on TV Land from 1996 to 2000. The show ran on the Retro Television Network from 2005 to 2008, and on Me-TV beginning in June 2012. The program has run on three different Canadian cable channels: Prime-TV from 2000 to 2002, Deja-Vu from 2005 to 2008, and on TV Land Canada from 2006 to 2010. The black-and-white episodes from Season One are now in the public domain, their copyrights having lapsed. As a result, there have been numerous discount DVD releases of these episodes, although with generic bluegrass-like theme music instead of the familiar opening and closing music, which is still under copyright.

DVD releases

The Paul Henning Estate holds the original film elements to the black-and-white episodes, and in 2005 allowed 20 black-and-white episodes from Season One to be officially released on DVD in an "ultimate collection" via MPI Home Video. This release features the first 20 episodes of the series, excluding the Christmas episode. "Cannonball Christmas" was released by MPI Home Video in a separate release together with the Christmas-themed episode from The Beverly Hillbillies on October 25, 2005. This 1963 episode was reshot in color with small variations and aired on December 20, 1966 as "The Santa Claus Special".

On December 16, 2008 CBS Home Entertainment (distributed by Paramount) released the Complete First Season on DVD, with new interviews with cast members, commercials from the original broadcasts, and the original opening and closing theme song. The Complete Second Season was released on July 7, 2009, concluding the black-and-white episodes of the series. (Beginning with the third season, the show switched to color for the remainder of the series.) It, too, contained the original theme song, as well as introductions and an interview from two cast members.

On October 1, 2013 season three was released on DVD as a Walmart exclusive. It received a full retail release on April 15, 2014.

The rights to the show are held by CBS Television Distribution.

DVD Name	Ep#	Release Date
Petticoat Junction (Ultimate Collection)	20	August 30, 2005
Petticoat Junction (The Official First Season)	38	December 16, 2008
Petticoat Junction (The Official Second Season)	36	July 7, 2009
Petticoat Junction (Return to Hooterville)		March 12, 2013
Petticoat Junction (The Official Third Season)	34	April 15, 2014

Petticoat Junction Amusement Park

There was an amusement park in Panama City Beach, Florida named "Petticoat Junction Amusement Park", which opened in 1963 (the same year that the show first aired) and closed in 1984, 14 years after the show ended. As would be expected, there was a steam railroad attraction at the park, the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge Petticoat Junction Railroad. Although the park is closed, the locomotives and train cars from its railroad attraction survived. They were bought at auction by the late Fred H. Hallmark in 1985 and are kept and preserved on his family's property in Warrior, Alabama.

Petticoat Junction Cafeteria and Shady Rest Hotel in Mabank, Texas

In 1965 Claudia and J.T. "Peavine" Westmoreland bought an old train depot in Mabank, Texas and converted it into a restaurant. Since the restaurant was next to a working railroad line, the customers nicknamed it "Petticoat Junction", and the name was made official. Specialties at the Petticoat Junction Cafeteria included chicken fried steak and homemade coconut cream pies. The real-life Petticoat Junction was like the fictional show. In her memoirs, Claudia writes: “The train crew grew to be a part of the Petticoat Junction. They would stop and eat with us and we looked forward to the once a day run.” In 1966, the Southern Pacific Railroad sent work crews to elevate the railroad track. Claudia set up makeshift bedrooms for the workers and called it the "Shady Rest Hotel". More permanent lodgings were soon added. Claudia's daughter Ann recalled: “Mother got people from the television show to send her photos of the Petticoat Junction set, the actors, just all kinds of things.” The business was relocated one mile west in the 1970s and an RV park was added. The Petticoat Junction Cafeteria and Shady Rest Hotel lasted until 1996.

See also

• The Beverly Hillbillies
• Green Acres
• Rural purge

References

Notes

External links

• Petticoat Junction at IMDb
• A film clip of an episode, "Spur Line to Shady Rest", episode 1 of season 1 (24 September 1963) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• A film clip of an episode, "A Night at the Hooterville Hilton", episode 13 of season 1 (17 December 1963) is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
• Template:Tv.com show
• Railtown 1897 State Historic Park