Linda Kaye Henning
| Linda Kaye Henning | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Linda Kaye Henning September 16, 1944 Los Angeles, California United States |
| Occupation | Television actress |
| Years active | 1963–present |
Linda Kaye Henning (born September 16, 1944) is an American actress and singer most notable for starring in the 1960s sitcom Petticoat Junction.
Early life
Henning was born in Los Angeles, California, to television producer Paul Henning and Ruth Henning. She began to focus on acting in her late teens.
Career
Her earliest stage acting roles include: The Reluctant Dragon, Rebel Without a Cause, Bus Stop, and Gidget. She was cast as a dancer in the Columbia Pictures film Bye Bye Birdie (1963). She has appeared in numerous musicals including High Button Shoes, Brigadoon, and The Sound of Music.
Henning made many TV appearances during the 1960s and 1970s on a variety of programs. She appeared in guest roles in network television shows including The Ed Sullivan Show, Adam-12, Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and The Tonight Show. She also provided the voice of Jethrine Bodine in The Beverly Hillbillies.
She made dramatic appearances in Sliders as Mrs. Mallory, Hunter, and Capitol. Her many game-show appearances include Family Feud, The Match Game, Hollywood Squares, The Perfect Match, Three for the Money, Password, Tattletales, Showoffs, Password Plus, and Body Language. Henning also became a substitute hostess on the 1974–1976 daytime edition of High Rollers.
Her most notable role was as Betty Jo Bradley in the CBS series Petticoat Junction, which ran from 1963 until 1970.[1] She was only one of three cast members, along with Edgar Buchanan and Frank Cady, to remain throughout the show's entire run and appeared in all but two of the 222 episodes (the exception being the season-one episode "Bobbie Jo and The Beatnik" and the season-two episode "Have Library, Will Travel"). She was billed for the first five seasons of the series as Linda Kaye. From season six (fall 1968) until the show was cancelled, she was billed by her full name. In some episodes in later years, Henning and her television sisters (played by Meredith MacRae and Lori Saunders) sang in a trio, and she often sang duets with co-star Mike Minor, who played Steve Elliott. The series was cancelled in 1970 due to declining ratings. In 2016, she appeared in a MeTV commercial promoting the show, along with fellow cast members Lori Saunders and Gunilla Hutton.
In 1968, a year after Henning's screen marriage to Mike Minor's character in Petticoat Junction, the couple married in real life.[2] They were divorced in 1973 and had no children. Minor's father is the late producer Don Fedderson.
References
- ↑ Knight News Service. "A's To Your Q's". The Post and Courier, November 17, 1984, p. 5-D. Retrieved on May 31, 2013.
- ↑ Lowry, Cynthia. "Television Illusion To Become Reality". Victoria Advocate, June 2, 1968, p. 7 (special). Retrieved on May 31, 2013.