Pat Woodley, who played Bobbie Jo in seasons 1 & 2, explains she left Petticoat Junction to pursue some other venues, so she left by her own accord. Anyone know why Janeane Riley and Guenilla Hutton (the first 2 Billie Jo's) left? The sisters stayed intact from season 4 on with Linda Kaye Henning, Lori Saunders and Meridith MacRae.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Guenilla Hutton left because she had a chance to be in a play in a significant role. When the play closed she tried to get back into "Petticoat Junction", but they already picked Meredith MacRae for the 3rd Billie Jo.

Jeanille Riley I believe asked for more money or a better role. When refused, she left the show. Kind of like Suzanne Somers on Three's Company.

Corrections on the spelling of the names: Pat (Patricia) Woodell, Jeannine Riley, and Gunilla Hutton. Just for the record.

I'm not certain, but I believe it became known that Gunilla Hutton was Nat King Cole's mistress around the time of her work that season -- and that fact may have had something to do with her image and then no longer being associated with the show.

Also, I might add that some people consider Sharon Tate to have been sort of the first Billie Jo (first choice), though she did not become a cast member. She was to be followed by Jeannine, Gunilla, and Meredith.

Here for reference are the lineups by season (Betty, Billie, and Bobbie):

Season 1-2: Henning, Riley, and Woodell
Season 3: Henning, Hutton, and Saunders
Season 4-7: Henning, MacRae, and Saunders

Corrections on the spelling of the names: Pat (Patricia) Woodell, Jeannine Riley, and Gunilla Hutton. Just for the record.

I'm not certain, but I believe it became known that Gunilla Hutton was Nat King Cole's mistress around the time of her work that season -- and that fact may have had something to do with her image and then no longer being associated with the show.

Also, I might add that some people consider Sharon Tate to have been sort of the first Billie Jo (first choice), though she did not become a cast member. She was to be followed by Jeannine, Gunilla, and Meredith.

Here for reference are the lineups by season (Betty, Billie, and Bobbie):

Season 1-2: Henning, Riley, and Woodell
Season 3: Henning, Hutton, and Saunders
Season 4-7: Henning, MacRae, and Saunders


Sorry about the spellings. I'm not usually so careless (especially Woodley/Woodell)! :o

No need for apology at all! You were close enough so that we knew who was being mentioned, that's all that matters. If I weren't such a big PJ fan and hadn't memorized the names, I don't think I would go to the trouble of looking up all of these "sisters." :)

And I think as far as departures, as indicated by janet42, Gunilla seems to be the only one apparently to have wanted back "in." Patricia and Jeannine did not look back once they departed.

Patricia was probably the least comfortable in her role among the original cast members. I might mention that I did like her appearance on The Munsters. She looked gorgeous in that one-shot as Eddie's teacher...!

Jeannine reportedly watched the early episodes in recent years after decades of not having seen them, and enjoyed them a lot. When she did the series Dusty's Trail with Lori Saunders, they did talk about PJ at times -- although they never worked together on PJ, with Lori arriving after Jeannine departed.

I can't believe how many episodes Pat is absent in the second season.

Yes, that's a shame. The more I saw of her in Season 1 the more I liked Patricia.

And when Pat does appear, I've read somewhere that at times she's wearing a wig in Season 2. All of the sisters had great hair, so it's sort of unfortunate -- for example Linda Kaye Henning wore one in the late seasons I believe, and she had incredible red hair, really long.

Nat King Cole had a mistress That is kind of a shock. Didn't Gunilla go on to a famous ? shaving cream commercial?

Yes, apparently a Noxzema commercial from 1965. Later on Gunilla also worked on the series Hee-Haw.