I used to watch The Beverly Hillbillies and (to a lesser extent) Petticoat Junction, but I was today years old when I realized Cousin Pearl and Kate Bradley are both played by Bea Benaderet. (And I didn't realize June Lockhart was on Petticoat Junction at all.)
The Baron > Jeff of Earth-JNovember 26, 2025 at 4:15pm
I gather they brought June Lockhart in towards the end of the run of Petticoat Junction when Bea Benaderet became too ill to continue working.
Bea Benaderet suffered from cancer, and in November, 1967, she underwent treatment. Consequently, her character of Kate Bradley was written out of ten episodes of Petticoat Junction's fifth season (explained vaguely as Kate "being away"). Miss Benaderet responded well enough to return in the last episode of that season, "Kate's Homecoming". The plot of the episode celebrated Kate's return to Hooterville, but did not provide an in-story reason for the hullaballoo. Behind the scenes, the cast and crew, as well as the public who followed the newspapers, were lauding her return to health.
But it wasn't to last. Five months later, when the shooting of Petticoat Junction's sixth season began, Miss Benaderet learnt that her cancer had returned. She was able to film the first three episodes of the season before her condition worsened to the point where she could not appear on camera. For the fourth episode, "The Valley Has a Baby", in which Betty Jo gives birth to Kate's first grandchild, Miss Benaderet provided the dialogue for a stand-in who was carefully shot from behind. Five days after taping the voice-overs, Miss Benaderet died, on 13 October 1968.
Her death was not written into the show. The sixth season's fifth episode repeated the "Kate's out of town" excuse. After that, Kate Bradley was never mentioned, even in episodes when it was practically obligatory, such as baby Kathy Jo's christening. The last time Kate would ever be referenced occurred in the first episode of the seventh season, "Make Room for Baby". Herein, we see the Bradley girls teaching Kathy Jo how to swim in the water tower. When father Steve expresses qualms about this, Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo reply, "Mom taught all of us to swim before we could walk. And in the same old water tower, too." The girls' tone is wistful, conveying their sense of Kate's absence.
As far as June Lockhart's participation on the show, producer Paul Henning originally hired her to be a temporary replacement, hoping that Miss Benaderet would recover again from her downturn in the sixth season. However, when Miss Benaderet died, Miss Lockhart became a member of the regular cast. In the seventh episode of the sixth season, "The Lady Doctor", the show's recurring character, Doctor Stuart, announces that he is going into semi-retirement. Taking over his responsibilities is Doctor Janet Craig, played by Lockhart. There is a multi-episode arc concerning the Hooterville residents' dismay over losing their familiar Doc Stuart and their resentment toward Dr. Craig, particularly because she's a female. After that run plays out, Dr. Craig is presented as accepted as the rest of the Hooterville residents.
Dr. Craig became the new "voice of reason" for the show, and June Lockhart portrayed her capably and believably. She never quite caught on with the viewers, though. It was no fault of Miss Lockhart's. It was simply that Bea Benaderet---and Kate Bradley---was impossible to replace. Miss Benaderet was, to use a term I generally resist but is true here, the heart and soul of the series.
The last episode of the sixth season, as written, felt like a series finale, but Paul Henning wanted to get one last season produced. That would give the show five seasons in colour, enough for syndication. (In those days, monochrome episodes of a series that had gone to colour weren't included in the syndicated packages. That's why so many My Three Sons fans have never heard of oldest son Mike or grandfather Bub.) So, Petticoat Junction limped along for a seventh season, and while there were a couple of notable moments, it was forgettable. The show simply never recovered from the loss of Bea Benaderet.
That's all I have. Otherwise, I don't know too much about it.
Jeff of Earth-J > Commander BensonNovember 26, 2025 at 8:44pm
That's all I have. Otherwise, I don't know too much about it.
Heh.
JD DeLuzio > Jeff of Earth-JNovember 27, 2025 at 5:41am
Well, that's a lot.
I've never watched more than a couple of eps of Petticoat Junction, though my sisters would sometimes reference it. For some reason, much later, I recall an episode where Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies turned up-- I know that the shows crossed over more than once, along with Green Acres, of course. She sees a picture of Kate and comments on how much she looks like Cousin Pearl. I don't know where this episode falls into the life of Bea Benaderet.
[Granny] sees a picture of Kate and comments on how much she looks like Cousin Pearl. I don't know where this episode falls into the life of Bea Benaderet.
Interesting.. I never saw that exchange. If it did occur after Bea Benaderet's death, it marks a second instance of Kate Bradley being mentioned after the show sent her permanently "out of town". After the holiday, I'll look into this.
Thank you for mentioning this, sir.
JD DeLuzio > Commander BensonNovember 27, 2025 at 3:18pm
My childhood memory is faulty. The episode is "Granny, The Baby Expert," and it occurs in the sixth season. While the reference to Cousin Pearl and Bea's familial relationship/similarity gets made twice in the episode, I cannot find it in conjunction with a photo, unless I blinked. However, it is a reference to Kate being "out of town" from that season.
Replies
I knew that if anyone was going to get that reference...,
I used to watch The Beverly Hillbillies and (to a lesser extent) Petticoat Junction, but I was today years old when I realized Cousin Pearl and Kate Bradley are both played by Bea Benaderet. (And I didn't realize June Lockhart was on Petticoat Junction at all.)
I gather they brought June Lockhart in towards the end of the run of Petticoat Junction when Bea Benaderet became too ill to continue working.
It's my understanding that Lockhart actually volunteered.
I picked up on Mr. Drucker (Frank Cady) being on all the "rural" shows pretty quickly. I was a little slower with the others.
Bea Benaderet suffered from cancer, and in November, 1967, she underwent treatment. Consequently, her character of Kate Bradley was written out of ten episodes of Petticoat Junction's fifth season (explained vaguely as Kate "being away"). Miss Benaderet responded well enough to return in the last episode of that season, "Kate's Homecoming". The plot of the episode celebrated Kate's return to Hooterville, but did not provide an in-story reason for the hullaballoo. Behind the scenes, the cast and crew, as well as the public who followed the newspapers, were lauding her return to health.
But it wasn't to last. Five months later, when the shooting of Petticoat Junction's sixth season began, Miss Benaderet learnt that her cancer had returned. She was able to film the first three episodes of the season before her condition worsened to the point where she could not appear on camera. For the fourth episode, "The Valley Has a Baby", in which Betty Jo gives birth to Kate's first grandchild, Miss Benaderet provided the dialogue for a stand-in who was carefully shot from behind. Five days after taping the voice-overs, Miss Benaderet died, on 13 October 1968.
Her death was not written into the show. The sixth season's fifth episode repeated the "Kate's out of town" excuse. After that, Kate Bradley was never mentioned, even in episodes when it was practically obligatory, such as baby Kathy Jo's christening. The last time Kate would ever be referenced occurred in the first episode of the seventh season, "Make Room for Baby". Herein, we see the Bradley girls teaching Kathy Jo how to swim in the water tower. When father Steve expresses qualms about this, Betty Jo and Bobbie Jo reply, "Mom taught all of us to swim before we could walk. And in the same old water tower, too." The girls' tone is wistful, conveying their sense of Kate's absence.
As far as June Lockhart's participation on the show, producer Paul Henning originally hired her to be a temporary replacement, hoping that Miss Benaderet would recover again from her downturn in the sixth season. However, when Miss Benaderet died, Miss Lockhart became a member of the regular cast. In the seventh episode of the sixth season, "The Lady Doctor", the show's recurring character, Doctor Stuart, announces that he is going into semi-retirement. Taking over his responsibilities is Doctor Janet Craig, played by Lockhart. There is a multi-episode arc concerning the Hooterville residents' dismay over losing their familiar Doc Stuart and their resentment toward Dr. Craig, particularly because she's a female. After that run plays out, Dr. Craig is presented as accepted as the rest of the Hooterville residents.
Dr. Craig became the new "voice of reason" for the show, and June Lockhart portrayed her capably and believably. She never quite caught on with the viewers, though. It was no fault of Miss Lockhart's. It was simply that Bea Benaderet---and Kate Bradley---was impossible to replace. Miss Benaderet was, to use a term I generally resist but is true here, the heart and soul of the series.
The last episode of the sixth season, as written, felt like a series finale, but Paul Henning wanted to get one last season produced. That would give the show five seasons in colour, enough for syndication. (In those days, monochrome episodes of a series that had gone to colour weren't included in the syndicated packages. That's why so many My Three Sons fans have never heard of oldest son Mike or grandfather Bub.) So, Petticoat Junction limped along for a seventh season, and while there were a couple of notable moments, it was forgettable. The show simply never recovered from the loss of Bea Benaderet.
That's all I have. Otherwise, I don't know too much about it.
That's all I have. Otherwise, I don't know too much about it.
Heh.
Well, that's a lot.
I've never watched more than a couple of eps of Petticoat Junction, though my sisters would sometimes reference it. For some reason, much later, I recall an episode where Granny from The Beverly Hillbillies turned up-- I know that the shows crossed over more than once, along with Green Acres, of course. She sees a picture of Kate and comments on how much she looks like Cousin Pearl. I don't know where this episode falls into the life of Bea Benaderet.
[Granny] sees a picture of Kate and comments on how much she looks like Cousin Pearl. I don't know where this episode falls into the life of Bea Benaderet.
Interesting.. I never saw that exchange. If it did occur after Bea Benaderet's death, it marks a second instance of Kate Bradley being mentioned after the show sent her permanently "out of town". After the holiday, I'll look into this.
Thank you for mentioning this, sir.
My childhood memory is faulty. The episode is "Granny, The Baby Expert," and it occurs in the sixth season. While the reference to Cousin Pearl and Bea's familial relationship/similarity gets made twice in the episode, I cannot find it in conjunction with a photo, unless I blinked. However, it is a reference to Kate being "out of town" from that season.
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