Meredith MacRae Was "Unhappy" When Her 'Bobbie Jo' Role Was Diminished on TV's 'Petticoat Junction'

Photo byClassic TV Preservation Society

Petticoat Junction remains one of the most popular family sitcoms in the history of television. Like several other country-coms of the era, including The Andy Griffith Show, Green Acres, and The Beverly Hillbillies (the latter two to which it was directly related), Petticoat Junction catered to a more warm-hearted rural-based sensibility and setting.

Originally airing on CBS from 1963 to 1970, Petticoat Junction left the air, along with the other country-coms mentioned (and more), due to the unfortunate “rural purge” of the early 1970s.

During its extensive run, however, the show pleased viewers to no end, despite various cast changes through the years. That included the addition of former Lost In Space star June Lockhart. She joined the series as Dr. Janet Craig who became the leading female presence after the show’s star matriarch Bea Benedaret, who played Shaddyrest Hotel owner Kate Bradley, died of cancer.

Another main cast change occurred when Meredith MacRae, daughter of Shelia MacRae and Gordon MacRae, replaced Gunilla Hutton as Bobby Jo Bradley (who had replaced Jeannine Riley).

The Great Romantic Shift and Rift

By the time Meredith MacRae played Billie Jo, the character was to have been romanced by and ultimately married to airplane pilot Steve Elliott as played by Mike Minor. There was even talk of a potential spinoff featuring Billie Jo and Mike, but that never came to fruition.

Off-screen, however, a real-life romance was blooming. Minor, the son of My Three Sons/Family Affair producer Don Fedderson, and actress Linda Kay Henning, daughter of Petticoat creator Paul Henning, fell in love and got married. As such, Linda Kay’s Betty Jo Bradley, younger sister to MacRae’s Billy Jo Bradley, would love and get married, too.

As MacRae once said, “I took over in 1966 and have been there ever since. When Mike Minor was introduced to the show, I was supposed to marry him [on-screen]. In fact…we did a promotional tour together to promote the romance. Then something happened. He and Linda Kaye fell in love and the romance was switched. It made me unhappy because it cost me considerable footage. So often I was relegated to the corner while things happened to others. I had the feeling of being a high-paid extra.”

Through it all, MacRae tried to remain upbeat. “They are talking about giving me a boyfriend next season and it may even be my husband,” she relayed. “All in all the series was good for me. It gave me recognition and was good training ground. But I have served my apprenticeship and it’s time to move on. I won’t be disappointed if the show is canceled this year.”

In the End

Sadly, Linda Kay Henning and Minor Minor divorced. He died at 75 from cancer in 2016, and Meredith MacRae died from brain cancer in 2000. She was only 56 years old.