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Stella Johnson Newton (nee Smith) was a fictional character in the song, movie and television sitcom, Harper Valley PTA. In the movie and television series, she was played by actress Barbara Eden.

[edit] One angry mother

Stella lived in the supposedly idyllic community of Harper Valley, Ohio. She was the widow of Harry Johnson, whom she met when she was in a beauty contest at age 17. (She was Miss Libertyville.) From her marriage, she has a daughter named Dee. To make a living, she sells AngelGlow Cosmetics door to door (somewhat akin to the Avon Lady). Although she was an independent minded lady, she was also very principled.

However, this didn't help her, as she was criticized by most of the prudish matrons of the community, due to the fact that she wore miniskirts, was more progressive; and that she made a huge temptation for their husbands. Her main adversary was one Flora Simpson Reilly, the grande dame of Harper Valley Society.

Because she was also the president of the Parent Teachers Association, Flora felt she could make Stella adhere to the archaic standards of her town, by threatening her daughter with expulsion if Stella didn't fall in line. Usually, Flora's attempts met with dismal failure, and she would utter the same frustrated line, "Someday I will get you, Stella Johnson!"

Flora's antics, however, angered Stella, who cared a great deal for her daughter, and wouldn't allow anyone to bully her. She stormed down to the PTA meeting and in essence shredded the reputations of the PTA members, who were more than what they really seemed themselves.

She also succeeded in getting revenge on most of the PTA members, often in cahoots with her friends, Alice Finley (in the movie, she was played by Nanette Fabray) and Cassie Bowman (played in the TV series by actress and author Fannie Flagg), and sometimes, even Dee herself participated in helping her mother. She also worked at one time for the Mayor of Harper Valley, Otis Harper, Jr. (George Gobel).

Besides Dee, whom she adored, she also lived with her uncle, Winslow Homer Smith (better known as Uncle Buster and played by actor Mills Watson) who was at worst a very bad inventor, whose inventions never seemed to work the way they were supposed to. In the movie, she was married to fellow PTA member, Will Newton, after the two of them succeeded in voting out Flora and the rest of her cronies.

[edit] Stella's speech

In the movie, Stella gets the nerve to tell the PTA board exactly what she thinks of them, and here's that speech from the movie:

Stella: (furious) "You wrote me a letter that I would like to reply to in public! You say I am not fit to live in this fine American town! That I don't come up to your standards...or whatever you consider decent. Well! I am here to call a few kettles black! How ya doing, Bobby Taylor?! If I hadn't turned you down, seven times for lewd proposals, I'd have turned you down once! If I were you Holly, I'd take this man in and have him neutered! Oh, and Holly, honey, you'd better lay off the booze! Or Mac's liquor store is going to take your home, for the booze bill! And Mr. Kirby Baker! A fine real estate executive! Baker Realty, Honesty! Honesty since 1938! Your secretary, poor little Gladys Wilmot, she had to leave town awful suddenly. She had to see a special kind of doctor in Cincinnati. If you all know what I mean. And oh, I know, the nights are just so warm that poor Willamae has to leave her shades open an inch, or so. Just to catch the cool summer breezes, of course, and don't a few of our more prominent citizens simply love to stroll by Willamae's house on these summer evenings and peek through the shades just for the entertainment?! Oh, did you stay too long at Kelly's Bar again, Otis?! Oh, yes! We mustn't forget our illustrious town founder's offspring, Otis Harper, Jr. That fine cornerstone of the community! Drinking up all the leftovers at Kelly's Bar every night at closing time! Ooh, and I bet if you checked Shirley Thompson's breath, you'll find she just took a little nip of gin! But, lest we forget, Miss Olive Glover, the grand secretary of this council. Huh! Poor Olive. She keeps such good books, but she's got this teensy-weensy little gambling problem that everyone knows about but no one will ever speak about in public, of course. I mean, no one would ever speak of any of these terrible lies in public. Would they Mrs. Flora Simpson Reilly and I am saving up something special for you!! Oh, let's face it, this here is just a little Peyton Place and you all are a bunch of Harper Valley Hypocrites!!" (Storms off the stage)