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November 12, 1963
Kate is determined to get her book-loving daughter, Bobbie Jo, to go out on a date.
For the first three seasons, Petticoat Junction focused mostly on broad humor and slapstick comedy. There was a lot of physical comedy and other types of wild humor that was characteristic of the series, much like its sister show, The Beverly Hillbillies, and its own later spinoff show Green Acres. There were many crossover appearances in season 3 alone between the casts of both shows. The Douglases (Lisa and Oliver) make frequent appearances on Petticoat Junction, and likewise Kate, Joe, Charley and Floyd, and even Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo show up on Green Acres. But as the series progressed beginning with season 4, with the addition of Mike Minor as Steve Elliot and Meredith MacRae as the third Billie Jo, the show took on an entirely different feel. Although singing had been in a small handful of the earlier episodes, most notably "The Ladybugs" and a few other episodes in which Bobbie Jo, then played by Pat Woodell, did a brief solo, musical numbers and singing became prominent from season 4 onward, and slapstick comedy took a back seat. Many numbers featured the girls singing as a trio, Billie Jo solo, Steve solo, or Steve and Betty Jo as a duet. There were sometimes as much as two or three songs per episode, and physical comedy was less emphasized. The show from this point on often switched gears going back and forth between domestic comedy (often focusing on the heartfelt romance between the newly married Steve And Betty Jo) with a lot of singing, and less intense slapstick comedy. The most notable exceptions in the later years from season 6 "Steve's New Job" and "The Great Race" and "The Tenant" and "Goodbye Mr. Chimp" from season 7 had the feel of the earlier seasons with all out slapstick, nutty comedy, that was mostly absent during this later period. Also the focus began to shift away from the Cannonball and the Railroad, and began to focus more than ever on the Bradley sisters, and their everyday lives. The changes in tone coincided with the changes in cast members, most notably the character of Billie Jo, who as previously played by Jeannine Riley and Gunilla Hutton, was mostly a boy crazy, ditz, or dumb blond character. With Billie Jo now being played by Meredith MacRae, she was now portrayed as a strong single independent young lady with an aspiration for a singing career, which she later accomplishes. In addition, the character of Bobbie Jo, as originally played by Pat Woodell, was more sedate and composed, in contrast to Lori Saunders' later portrayal, which was more of a bubble head used for comic relief. The stories also began to focus mostly on Steve and Betty Jo who were slowly, but surely, becoming the central characters.
Illness kept Bea Benaderet away for the last portion of the 1967--68 season. She missed two episodes (ep. 159, 160), was back for one (ep. 161), then missed eight more after that before she finally returned for the last episode of the season (ep. 170). Storylines had her away on a trip, as everyone's hopes were that the actress would recover. Paul Henning brought in Rosemary DeCamp in several episodes as Kate's sister Helen. Bea returned for the 1968--69 season but her return proved short-lived as she only made three appearances (ep. 171, 172, 173) before becoming ill again. In the fourth episode when Betty Jo gives birth to Kathy Jo, Bea provided only her voice. She's heard at the beginning when Betty Jo and Steve read the letter Kate has sent them and when Wendell answers the phone at Drucker's store (she's on the other end). Bea's stand-in (actress Edna Laird) then plays Kate "full back" to the camera, with Bea again providing only her voice. She's heard when Kate is on the hand car helping Wendell and at the end when Kate is at Betty Jo's bedside. The episode aired 13 days after Benaderet's death (October 13, 1968) from lung cancer. Choosing not to recast the Kate role, or to sign Rosemary DeCamp on full-time (she was also playing Ann Marie's mother on That Girl), the producers introduced the new character of hotel resident Dr. Janet Craig, played by June Lockhart, as a counsel of sorts for the girls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petticoat_Junction
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Laurel and Hardy Interview (1954)by nologorecords232,435 views
bea has been on many episodes of george burns and gracie allen show.
coolbreeze161 3 months ago