Bobbie Jo Bradley
| Bobbie Jo Bradley | |
|---|---|
| Petticoat Junction character | |
| First appearance | "Spur Line to Shady Rest" |
| Last appearance | "Betty Jo's Business" |
| Created by | Paul Henning |
| Portrayed by |
Pat Woodell (1963–65) Lori Saunders (1965–70) |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) |
Bobbie The Walking Encyclopedia |
| Gender | Female |
| Relatives |
Kate Bradley (mother) Bill Bradley (father; deceased) Joe Carson (great-uncle) Billie Jo Bradley (sister) Betty Jo Bradley (sister) Steve Elliott (brother-in-law) Kathy Jo Elliott (niece) Helen (aunt) Mae Belle Jennings (cousin) |
Bobbie Jo Bradley is a main fictional character on the 1960s CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction. Like her older sister Billie Jo, she was played by more than one actress.
Fictional character overview
Roberta Josephine, in the show always called just Bobbie Jo, lives with her mother Kate Bradley, her great-Uncle Joe, her older sister Billie Jo, and her younger sister Betty Jo, at her mother's Shady Rest Hotel. At the start of the series, she and younger sister Betty Jo attend Hooterville High School, and, as seen in the opening credits, she enjoys swimming in the Hooterville Cannonball's water tower.
When the series begins, Bobbie Jo is a studious, book-loving, well-educated girl who'd rather stay home and read than go out with boys.[1] According to her sister Billie Jo, Bobbie Jo is known as "the walking encyclopedia" at school. This was Petticoat Junction creator Paul Henning's original conception of the character. Midway through the series, however, Bobbie Jo becomes more of a bubble head and more boy-crazy. This change in the character's persona is never explained on the show. The real-life reason for the change is explained in the book Glamour, Gidgets, and the Girl Next Door by Herbie J. Pilato. When actress Lori Saunders took over the role from Pat Woodell in season three, she played Bobbie Jo differently. Saunders at times gave her lines a "slightly daffy delivery." The show writers picked up on this and gradually revamped the character from a brainy introvert to a "delightfully ditzy extrovert." [2]
During the show's final season, Orrin Pike (played by Jonathan Daly) romances Bobbie Jo, much to Uncle Joe's chagrin.
Besides appearing on Petticoat Junction, Bobbie Jo also appeared on Paul Henning's sister shows Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.
Bobbie Jo appeared in 212 out of 222 episodes of Petticoat Junction. She was first played by Pat Woodell in 65 episodes (out of 74) from 1963 to 1965 and Lori Saunders in 147 episodes (out of 148) from 1965 to 1970. When Woodell moved on to promote her singing career, Saunders was cast as her replacement due to her resemblance to Woodell.