# Meredith MacRae
**Meredith MacRae** (May 30, 1944 – July 14, 2000) was an American actress, singer, and talk show host, born Meredith Lynn MacRae in Houston, Texas, who played Sally on *My Three Sons* and Billie Jo Bradley on *Petticoat Junction* before building a second career as a television interviewer and producer in Los Angeles.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) She was the daughter of two Hollywood musical stars, [Gordon MacRae](https://www.edgepedia.org/gordon-macrae) and [Sheila MacRae](https://www.edgepedia.org/sheila-macrae), and died of brain cancer at her home in [Manhattan Beach, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/manhattan-beach-california), at age 56.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1944, at Fort Sam Houston, Houston, Texas, where her father was stationed[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) |
| Parents | Singer-actor Gordon MacRae, star of *Oklahoma!* (1955) and *Carousel* (1956); actress-comedienne Sheila MacRae, who played Alice Kramden (1966–1970) on Jackie Gleason's *The Honeymooners*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) |
| Sitcom roles | Sally, Mike's girlfriend, on *My Three Sons* (1963–1965); Billie Jo Bradley on *Petticoat Junction* (1966–1970, 114 episodes)[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae) |
| Talk show career | Co-hosted *Mid-Morning L.A.* on KHJ-TV with Geoff Edwards for eight years; won a local Emmy in 1986[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/) |
| Marriages | Richard Berger (1964), actor Greg Mullavey (1969, divorced 1992), Philip Neal, chairman and CEO of Avery-Dennison (1995)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) |
| Death | July 14, 2000, at home in Manhattan Beach, California, of brain cancer, at 56[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html) |
## Family background
MacRae was born to two performers who were household names in their own fields. Her father, Gordon MacRae, was a singer and movie idol of the 1950s, the star of the [Rodgers and Hammerstein](https://www.edgepedia.org/rodgers-and-hammerstein) film musicals *Oklahoma!* (1955) and *Carousel* (1956).[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) Her mother, Sheila MacRae, was an actress, comedienne, and author, best known as Alice Kramden in the second incarnation of [Jackie Gleason](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-gleason)'s *The Honeymooners* sketches.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) Meredith grew up in the [San Fernando Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-fernando-valley)[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html) and had a sister, the actress Heather MacRae, and two brothers, Bruce and Gar.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
## Early screen work
**Film debut as a child.** MacRae appeared in the 1953 film *By the Light of the Silvery Moon*, which starred her father and [Doris Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/doris-day); her obituaries put her age at 7,[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/) while IMDb's biography says she was eight.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) As a teenager she did bits in her father's films, recorded songs, and appeared in summer stage shows.[5](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/TV-Radio-Album-1969.pdf) She attended UCLA and earned a [Bachelor of Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/bachelor-of-arts) degree in English.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/)
Her first television series was *My Three Sons*, in which she played Sally, the love interest of [Mike Douglas](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-douglas) ([Tim Considine](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-considine)), from 1963 to 1965.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/) She asked to be written out of the show to further explore her career.[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae)
## Petticoat Junction
In 1966 MacRae signed a contract with CBS to play Billie Jo Bradley on the sitcom *Petticoat Junction*, which starred [Bea Benaderet](https://www.edgepedia.org/bea-benaderet) as her widowed mother, Kate Bradley, owner of the Shady Rest Hotel, and [Edgar Buchanan](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgar-buchanan) as her great uncle Joe Carson.[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae) The show was part of CBS's popular country-themed lineup that included *Green Acres*, and characters from one series often appeared on the other.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/)
MacRae was the third actress to play Billie Jo, after [Jeannine Riley](https://www.edgepedia.org/jeannine-riley) (1963–1965) and Gunilla Hutton (1965–1966).[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae) Her predecessors had played the part as a boy-crazy blonde; by the time of MacRae's debut the character had become a strong, independent woman focused on a singing career, a dream the character later achieved.[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae) She played the role through 114 episodes from 1966 to 1970, and it remained the character audiences identified her with; she told a 1996 interviewer that people recognized her as Meredith MacRae rather than as her characters, with Billie Jo the one exception.[6](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/)
## Later acting and voice work
Through the 1970s and 1980s MacRae was a frequent guest star on episodic television, including *Fantasy Island*, *The Rockford Files*, *CHiPs*, *The Fall Guy*, and *Magnum, P.I.*; her 1983 *Webster* appearance was, by IMDb's account, in the show's highest rated episode ever.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) She appeared in about a dozen movies, among them *Bikini Beach* (1964), *The Census Taker* (1984), and *China Heat* (1992).[6](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/) • [7](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/meredith-macrae/) In the early 1990s she turned to voice acting, playing Francine Langstrom in *Batman: The Animated Series* (1992) and Rachel Quest in the television film *Jonny's Golden Quest* (1993).[3](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae) She was also a game show panelist, appearing with her father on *The Match Game*, and was a semi-regular on the syndicated *What's My Line?*.[6](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/) • [8](https://wnyc.org/story/gordon-macrea)
## Broadcasting and production
**A second career.** MacRae found acting confining and moved into work where she was on camera as herself.[6](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/) In the 1980s she co-hosted *Mid-Morning L.A.* on KHJ-TV with Geoff Edwards; the show ran for eight years, and she won a local Emmy Award in 1986 for her profiles of newsmakers of the day.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/) IMDb records two local [Emmy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/emmy-awards) for the show.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) She followed it with the cable interview series *Born Famous*, which she created, wrote, and hosted, interviewing the children of celebrities.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
She produced and hosted 30 segments of *Hard Copy* and *A Current Affair*, established her own movie and television production company, and expanded into documentaries and specials on alcoholism, a subject rooted in her own life: her father was an alcoholic, and she lectured nationwide on her experiences as his child and co-produced a television special on surviving alcoholism.[6](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/) • [2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html) Late in her career she recorded 24 audiobooks for Dove Audio and produced a best-selling beauty video, *The 15-Minute Acupressure Face-Lift*.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/)
## Civic work and recognition
MacRae was active in community and charity work, including the [League of Women Voters](https://www.edgepedia.org/league-of-women-voters), Women in Film, and the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation, whose telethon she hosted for two decades.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/) She championed women's causes, was past president of the International Women's Forum Southern California chapter, and was cited by Los Angeles Mayor Thomas Bradley for her contributions.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html) In September 2000 she was to receive the Tichi Award from Women in Film posthumously, for a lifetime of distinguished service to the group.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
## Marriage and family
MacRae married three times. Her 1964 marriage to Richard Berger, former president of MGM, ended in divorce after four years.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) In 1969 she married the actor Greg Mullavey, known for *Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman* and *Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice*; their daughter Allison was born in 1974, and the couple divorced in 1992 but remained friends.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) In 1995 she married Philip Neal, chairman and CEO of Avery-Dennison.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/)
## Death
MacRae was diagnosed with cancer in 1999; a tumor was removed from the right side of her brain in January 1999, and her publicist said she had received an excellent prognosis at the time.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) • [9](https://sitcomsonline.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/369914) She died on July 14, 2000, at her home in Manhattan Beach, at 56.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html) The Los Angeles Times attributed her death to complications from multiple surgeries and allergic reactions to medications, which caused her brain to swell.[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/) She was survived by her husband, her daughter Allison Mullavey, two stepsons, her mother, a sister, and two brothers.[2](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
## References
1. [Meredith MacRae – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0534297/bio/)
2. [Meredith MacRae; 'Petticoat Junction' Star, Talk Show Host, Los Angeles Times (July 15, 2000)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-jul-15-me-53452-story.html)
3. [Meredith MacRae (1944–2000) — actress, VALÉORINE](https://www.valeorine.com/reference/meredith-macrae)
4. [Meredith MacRae, 56, Dies, The Washington Post (July 16, 2000)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2000/07/17/meredith-macrae-56-dies/46631057-1545-4d7a-9ebc-d27ef22a271e/)
5. [TV Radio Album 1969, World Radio History archive](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Album/TV-Radio-Album-1969.pdf)
6. [Versatile Meredith MacRae is among the country's unique women... - UPI Archives](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/04/01/Versatile-Meredith-MacRae-is-among-the-countrys-unique-women/4241828334800/)
7. [Meredith MacRae – Actress, Singer, Host, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/meredith-macrae/)
8. [Gordon MacRae, WNYC (Douglas P. Cooper interview)](https://wnyc.org/story/gordon-macrea)
9. [Petticoat Junction Cast obituaries, Sitcoms Online (including The New York Times obituary of July 16, 2000)](https://sitcomsonline.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/369914)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1940s to 1960s › Surnames M*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license