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TELEVISION Q&A

 
Published Nov. 6, 1997|Updated Oct. 2, 2005

Question: On Petticoat Junction, what was the last name of Kate, the mother of Bobby Jo and Betty Jo? We think it's Burdett.

Answer: It's Bradley. Actor Bea Benederet played the widow Kate Bradley, owner of the Shady Rest Hotel in Hooterville. She actually had three daughters: Bobby Jo (played first by Pat Woodell and then by Lori Saunders), Betty Jo (Linda Kaye), and Billie Jo (first Jeannine Riley and then Gunilla Hutton).

Benederet, a performer who was Lucille Ball's first choice to play Ethel Mertz on I Love Lucy, appeared on Junction from its 1963 premiere until her death in 1968 at age 62. The series was canceled by CBS in 1970.

The actress also was the voice of Betty Rubble on The Flintstones from 1960 to 1964, according to the Internet Movie Database at http://www.imdb.com.

Question: Is Richard Lewis married?

Answer: No. Lewis, who co-stars with Kevin Nealon in the ABC series, Hiller and Diller, says he's still looking. He explains that the right girl "is someone who doesn't start a relationship wondering when she'll end it."

_ Times wires