Joanna Pettet
Encyclopedia
Joanna Pettet is a British
actress.
Royal Air Force
pilot killed in World War II
, and mother, Cecily J. Tremaine, were married in London in 1940. After the war, her widowed mother remarried and settled in Canada
, where young Joanna was adopted by her stepfather and assumed his surname of "Pettet".
She studied with Sanford Meisner
at the Neighborhood Playhouse, as well as at the Lincoln Center, and got her start on Broadway
in such plays as Take Her, She's Yours, The Chinese Prime Minister and Poor Richard, with Alan Bates
and Gene Hackman
, before she was discovered by director Sidney Lumet
for his sumptuous 1966 film adaptation of Mary McCarthy
's novel, The Group
. The success of that film launched a film career that included roles in The Night of the Generals
(1967), as Mata Bond in the James Bond
spoof Casino Royale
(1967), Peter Yates's Robbery
with Stanley Baker
(1967), the strange Western drama Blue (1968) with Terence Stamp
, and the Victorian period comedy, The Best House in London (1969).
In 1968 she married the American actor Alex Cord
and gave birth to a son later that year. She and Cord were divorced in 1989 after 21 years of marriage. She never remarried.
Although she co-starred with actor Rod Taylor
in the 1980 thriller, Cry of the Innocent, her feature film appearances became sporadic. However, Pettet re-emerged as the star of over a dozen made-for-television movies, including The Delphi Bureau (1972), The Weekend Nun (1972), Footsteps (1972), Pioneer Woman (1973), A Cry in the Wilderness (1974), The Desperate Miles (1975), The Hancocks (1976), Sex and the Married Woman (1977), and The Return of Frank Cannon (1980). She also starred in the NBC miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), guest-starred four times on the classic Rod Serling
anthology series Night Gallery
, was a frequent guest on both Fantasy Island
and The Love Boat
(appearing three separate times on each series), and had a recurring role on Knots Landing
in 1983 as Janet Baines, an LAPD homicide detective investigating the murder of singer Ciji Dunne (played by Lisa Hartman).
and his frequent Philippine associate Cirio Santiago. During filming in the Philippines
she was held hostage by rebels, led by Gregorio Honasan, attempting to overthrow Corazon Aquino
, and managed to escape the hotel where she was being held before fleeing the country. By then, she had lost her enthusiasm for acting and decided it was time to bow out gracefully from the entertainment industry.
The grief over the sudden death (of a heroin overdose) in 1995 of her son, Damien Zachary Cord, aged 26, caused Pettet to retreat even further from Hollywood. For a time, she lived a reclusive existence in the California desert until she moved to London, where she was actor Alan Bates
's companion; he died from pancreatic cancer
in London in 2003, aged 69.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
actress.
Biography
Her parents, Harold Nigel Edgerton Salmon, a BritishGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
pilot killed in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, and mother, Cecily J. Tremaine, were married in London in 1940. After the war, her widowed mother remarried and settled in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, where young Joanna was adopted by her stepfather and assumed his surname of "Pettet".
She studied with Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner
Sanford Meisner , also known as Sandy, was an American actor and acting teacher who developed a form of Method acting that is now known as the Meisner technique....
at the Neighborhood Playhouse, as well as at the Lincoln Center, and got her start on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in such plays as Take Her, She's Yours, The Chinese Prime Minister and Poor Richard, with Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
, before she was discovered by director Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet
Sidney Lumet was an American director, producer and screenwriter with over 50 films to his credit. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men , Dog Day Afternoon , Network and The Verdict...
for his sumptuous 1966 film adaptation of Mary McCarthy
Mary McCarthy (author)
Mary Therese McCarthy was an American author, critic and political activist.- Early life :Born in Seattle, Washington, to Roy Winfield McCarthy and his wife, the former Therese Preston, McCarthy was orphaned at the age of six when both her parents died in the great flu epidemic of 1918...
's novel, The Group
The Group
The Group may refer to:*The Group , by Mary McCarthy*The Group , by Sidney Lumet, based on the book*The Group , a group of British poets of the late 1950s and early 1960s...
. The success of that film launched a film career that included roles in The Night of the Generals
The Night of the Generals
The Night of the Generals is a 1967 suspense thriller film directed by Anatole Litvak. Set during World War II, the story was adapted from the novel of the same name by Hans Hellmut Kirst. It stars Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence, Joanna Pettet and Philippe Noiret.The...
(1967), as Mata Bond in the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
spoof Casino Royale
Casino Royale (1967 film)
Casino Royale is a 1967 comedy spy film originally produced by Columbia Pictures starring an ensemble cast of directors and actors. It is set as a satire of the James Bond film series and the spy genre, and is loosely based on Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.The film stars David Niven as the...
(1967), Peter Yates's Robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
with Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker
Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
(1967), the strange Western drama Blue (1968) with Terence Stamp
Terence Stamp
Terence Henry Stamp is an English actor. Since starting his career in 1962 he has appeared in over 60 films. His title role as Billy Budd in his film debut earned Stamp an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and a BAFTA nomination for Best Newcomer.His other major roles include...
, and the Victorian period comedy, The Best House in London (1969).
In 1968 she married the American actor Alex Cord
Alex Cord
Alex Cord is an American actor who is perhaps best known for portraying the role of Archangel on the television series Airwolf.-Biography:...
and gave birth to a son later that year. She and Cord were divorced in 1989 after 21 years of marriage. She never remarried.
Although she co-starred with actor Rod Taylor
Rod Taylor (actor)
Rodney Sturt "Rod" Taylor is an Australian-American actor of film and television.-Early life:Born on 11 January 1930 in Lidcombe, a suburb of Sydney, Taylor was the only child of William Sturt Taylor, a steel construction contractor and commercial artist, and the former Mona Thompson, a writer of...
in the 1980 thriller, Cry of the Innocent, her feature film appearances became sporadic. However, Pettet re-emerged as the star of over a dozen made-for-television movies, including The Delphi Bureau (1972), The Weekend Nun (1972), Footsteps (1972), Pioneer Woman (1973), A Cry in the Wilderness (1974), The Desperate Miles (1975), The Hancocks (1976), Sex and the Married Woman (1977), and The Return of Frank Cannon (1980). She also starred in the NBC miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), guest-starred four times on the classic Rod Serling
Rod Serling
Rodman Edward "Rod" Serling was an American screenwriter, novelist, television producer, and narrator best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his science fiction anthology TV series, The Twilight Zone. Serling was active in politics, both on and off the screen and helped form...
anthology series Night Gallery
Night Gallery
Night Gallery is an American anthology series that aired on NBC from 1970 to 1973, featuring stories of horror and the macabre. Rod Serling, who had gained fame from an earlier series, The Twilight Zone, served both as the on-air host of Night Gallery and as a major contributor of scripts, although...
, was a frequent guest on both Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island
Fantasy Island is the title of two separate but related American fantasy television series, both originally airing on the ABC television network.-Original series:...
and The Love Boat
The Love Boat
The Love Boat is an American television series set on a cruise ship, which aired on the ABC Television Network from September 24,1977, until May 24,1986.The show starred Gavin MacLeod as the ship's captain...
(appearing three separate times on each series), and had a recurring role on Knots Landing
Knots Landing
Knots Landing is an American primetime television soap opera that aired from December 27, 1979 to May 13, 1993 on CBS. Set in a fictitious coastal suburb of Los Angeles in California, the show centered on the lives of four married couples living in a cul-de-sac, Seaview Circle...
in 1983 as Janet Baines, an LAPD homicide detective investigating the murder of singer Ciji Dunne (played by Lisa Hartman).
Later years
Her last acting appearance was in a "bad action film" called Terror in Paradise in 1990 that was produced by Roger CormanRoger Corman
Roger William Corman is an American film producer, director and actor. He has mostly worked on low-budget B movies. Some of Corman's work has an established critical reputation, such as his cycle of films adapted from the tales of Edgar Allan Poe, and in 2009 he won an Honorary Academy Award for...
and his frequent Philippine associate Cirio Santiago. During filming in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
she was held hostage by rebels, led by Gregorio Honasan, attempting to overthrow Corazon Aquino
Corazon Aquino
Maria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
, and managed to escape the hotel where she was being held before fleeing the country. By then, she had lost her enthusiasm for acting and decided it was time to bow out gracefully from the entertainment industry.
The grief over the sudden death (of a heroin overdose) in 1995 of her son, Damien Zachary Cord, aged 26, caused Pettet to retreat even further from Hollywood. For a time, she lived a reclusive existence in the California desert until she moved to London, where she was actor Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
's companion; he died from pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
in London in 2003, aged 69.