Petticoat Junction
The Curse of Chester W. Farnsworth
TV Flash files “The Curse of Chester W. Farnsworth” as hour 52 of 222 in the TV Flash guide — Petticoat Junction (1963–1970) on CBS, season 2, episode 14, aired 1965-01-12, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E14: listed hour 52 of 222 in the Petticoat Junction guide, hour 14 of 36 in season 2. It aired 1965-01-12 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “Smoke-Eaters” (S02E13). Next is “There's No Flame Like an Old Flame” (S02E15).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
It's a dark and stormy night in Hooterville. Mr. Richardson is a guest at the hotel. Uncle Joe tells him about the curse of Chester W. Farnsworth, a guest at the hotel fifty years ago. He was a traveling drummer and notorious hotel towel thief. On a stormy night like this, he stole a Shady Rest towel from his room, went out into the night and was never seen again. Since then, Chester has been haunting all the hotels that he stole towels from. He has to return all the towels before he can end up in his final resting place. Joe figures it won't be long before Chester visits the Shady Rest. The next morning, Richardson is packing his bag and he takes a hotel towel. Dog sees him do it and takes the towel out of the bag. Richardson tells Kate and Joe that something made him do it. Other strange events start to occur. Kate finds out that a bunch of salesmen who were supposed to be guests won't be returning until the curse has been lifted. When more strange things occur, Kate decides to talk to Doc Stuart. He recommends speaking with Dr. Melman, a psychiatrist and an expert in paranormal events. Something happens to make everyone believe that Chester arrived and the curse has been lifted. But did he actually show up?
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Curse of Chester W. Farnsworth sit in the Petticoat Junction guide?
S02E14 is listed hour 52 of 222 — hour 14 of 36 in season 2, season 2 episode 14.
When did Petticoat Junction S02E14 air?
The Curse of Chester W. Farnsworth aired 1965-01-12 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Where should I start?
Kate, the Shady Rest, and the Cannonball in a Benaderet-era hour is the porch contract. Uncle Joe is the layabout comic engine.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Petticoat Junction is the porch at the center of Paul Henning's rural map: Bea Benaderet's Kate running the Shady Rest, three daughters, Uncle Joe, and the Hooterville Cannonball. Less fish-out-of-water than hometown sitcom — a hotel as social club. Benaderet's warmth is the connective tissue that made Hillbillies and Green Acres feel like one county.
The porch is the network night. Paul Henning's *Petticoat Junction* (CBS, 1963–1970) sits at the center of the rural map: Bea Benaderet's Kate running the Shady Rest, three daughters, Uncle Joe, and the Hooterville Cannonball. Seven seasons of hometown sitcom rather than fish-out-of-water — a hotel as social club. Edgar Buchanan's Uncle Joe and Linda Kaye Henning's Betty Jo kept the Cannonball on schedule. Gunilla Hutton's Billie Jo among the daughters. Soft rural farce with crossover DNA. On the palate: porch,…
Filed against
- Bea Benaderet as Kate Bradley
Bea Benaderet’s Blanche Morton needled The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show as next-door vaudeville, then The Flintstones’ Wilma and Petticoat Junction’s Kate Bradley made her 1950s–60s catalog warmth a three-stop map. TV Flash files…
- Edgar Buchanan as Uncle Joe Carson
Edgar Buchanan’s Red Connors kept Hopalong Cassidy in tobacco-and-advice weather — 1950s catalog kids’-western merch machine, then Petticoat Junction stretching the drawl into Uncle Joe on a hotel porch. TV Flash files him as the sidekick…
- Linda Kaye Henning as Betty Jo Bradley
Linda Kaye Henning kept the Shady Rest humming as Betty Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction — one of three daughters on Paul Henning’s rural porch map, Hooterville Cannonball included. Hometown sitcom, not fish-out-of-water panic. TV Flash…
- Gunilla Hutton as Billie Jo Bradley
Gunilla Hutton played Billie Jo Bradley on Petticoat Junction — Paul Henning's rural porch, Bea Benaderet's Kate at the Shady Rest, three daughters, Uncle Joe, the Hooterville Cannonball. Hometown sitcom, hotel as social club. TV Flash…