How Sharon Tate Almost Starred on ‘Petticoat Junction’ (Photos)

Lauren Novak September 30, 10:00 am

Sharon Tate, ca. 1968 — Everett Collection

There are many famous rumors about stars and the roles they supposedly almost landed — but this time, the rumor is real. Before her 1967 breakthrough in Valley of the Dolls or her 1968 marriage to director Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate was a young actress, just beginning to make her way in Hollywood. At only 20, the former beauty queen began exploring her acting options — and got incredibly close to landing the role of Billie Jo Bradley on the CBS sitcom Petticoat Junction.

In 1963, Tate had signed a contract with Filmways president Martin Ransohoff, who was guiding her career. He had high hopes for her, but when it came to Petticoat Junction, he ultimately decided she simply didn’t have enough acting experience to take on such a central role on a major series.

Petticoat Junction was a highly anticipated series, as it built off the tremendous success of creator Paul Henning’s previous show, The Beverly Hillbillies, which hit number one in its first year on the air. The show built off of Henning’s memories of his wife’s family in rural Missouri: according to a 1986 interview with The Orlando Sentinel, he said “The Shady Rest was based on a real hotel in Eldon, Mo., run by my wife’s grandmother. It was beside a railroad track. I saw it before they tore it down. It was called the Burris Hotel. That’s where the hotel and the train and the whole setting came from, from Ruth’s reminiscences of visiting her grandma.”

Roles on the show were competitive, and Tate made it far in the audition process. There was even a cast photo taken with Tate in the lineup, and some publicity material made its way into circulation, which has added to the intrigue over the years, with fans wondering why she wasn’t ultimately cast.

Portrait of an early version of the cast of 'Petticoat Junction,' California, April 24, 1963. Left to right, American actresses Pat Woodell (as Bobbie Jo), Bea Benaderet (as Kate Bradley) (1906 - 1968), Linda Kaye (as Betty Jo), and Sharon Tate (1943 - 1969) who tested for part of Billie Jo, but wasn't hired

CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images

The part instead went to Jeannine Riley, who played Billie Jo during the show’s first two seasons.

Instead of moving forward with the sitcom, Ransohoff steered her toward smaller roles on other Filmways productions. Tate appeared on shows like Mister Ed and The Beverly Hillbillies, where she gained acting experience.

By the mid-1960s, Tate had shifted into film and quickly began to find her footing. She appeared in Eye of the Devil in 1966, starred opposite Roman Polanski in The Fearless Vampire Killers and Don’t Make Waves with Tony Curtis. Her big break came in 1967 when she played Jennifer North in Valley of the Dolls, a role that made her a household name. Sadly, her career and life were cut short when she was murdered on August 9, 1969, at the age of 26, just weeks away from giving birth to her first child.