Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
3 months after filming this, the cancer that killed her was discovered.
Benaderet was filming the fifth season of Petticoat Junction when, on November 26, she underwent the surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, when it was discovered the lung cancer tumor could not be removed. She underwent six weeks of laser radiation treatment via a linear particle accelerator.
Benaderet's treatment was successful and concluded in January 1968. She missed 10 episodes of the show as she recuperated, during which her character of Kate Bradley was vaguely described in the storyline as being out of town, as expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming.
The fourth show of the sixth season, "The Valley Has a Baby," marked Benaderet's last episode and featured only her voice with her stand-in filmed from the rear.
She had regular roles in four series until her death from lung cancer in 1968, including The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flintstones, and her best-known role as Kate Bradley in Petticoat Junction.
3 months after filming this, the cancer that killed her was discovered.
Benaderet was filming the fifth season of Petticoat Junction when, on November 26, she underwent the surgery at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, when it was discovered the lung cancer tumor could not be removed. She underwent six weeks of laser radiation treatment via a linear particle accelerator.
Benaderet's treatment was successful and concluded in January 1968. She missed 10 episodes of the show as she recuperated, during which her character of Kate Bradley was vaguely described in the storyline as being out of town, as expectations were that Benaderet would eventually recover and be able to resume filming.
The fourth show of the sixth season, "The Valley Has a Baby," marked Benaderet's last episode and featured only her voice with her stand-in filmed from the rear.
She had regular roles in four series until her death from lung cancer in 1968, including The Beverly Hillbillies, The Flintstones, and her best-known role as Kate Bradley in Petticoat Junction.
