Thanks ColScott!
The star was one of the last people to see tragic actress Sharon Tate alive, and was played by Rumer Willis in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.
By Fran Winston, Showbiz Reporter
Beloved London born Hollywood actress Joanna Pettet died on Tuesday July 7 at the age of 83. The sad news was confirmed by her friend, actress Pam DuBois, who revealed the poignantly significant date of her death in a touching Facebook post. Alongside an image of the star at a graveside she wrote: "We all loved Jo - But there was one person who loved her more. And yesterday on the 31st anniversary of his death. Damien Zach took his mother to heaven and there she will stay with him forever. God bless you Jo." No cause of death has been revealed as of yet.
On 8 August 1969, the star had lunch at the home of Sharon Tate, just hours before the members of the Manson Family slaughtered the pregnant star, making her one of the last people to see the tragic actress alive. Quentin Taratino included the lunch in his 2019 fictional/alternate-reality 2019 film Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, in which she was portrayed by Rumer Willis.
Amongst the stars big screen credits was the role of Mata Bond in the 1967 James Bond satire Casino Royale, loosely based on the first of Ian Fleming's books about the super spy.
She also starred in 1968's Blue opposite Terence Stamp, and 1969's Victorian period comedy The Best House in London.
However she was best known for her extensive work on TV which included roles in Route 66, The Doctors, Dr. Kildare, Mannix, Night Gallery, Thriller, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels, The Love Boat, Hotel, and Murder, She Wrote.
Her final role was in the 1990 thriller Terror in Paradise, after which she retired from acting although she was only in her 40s.
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| Joanna Pettet guest starred in numerous popular shows including Fantasy Island (Image: Getty) |
The death of her only child Damien Zach, at the age 26 on July 7 1995, led her to retreat even further from Hollywood. Although his biological father was actor Terence Stamp, he was given the surname Cord after she married American actor Alex Cord in 1968 three and a half months before his birth.
In recent years she had shared details about abuse she and Damien suffered at the hands of Airwolf actor Alex, who died on August 9, 2021, at the age of 88 at his home in Valley View, Texas.
That same year Joanna suffered horror accident while searching for rocks for her garden in a remote area in Anza, California. According to reports "the earth gave way" and she found herself pinned under a boulder for three hours.
As a result, she needed surgery to replace her shoulder and rotator cuff and spent years recovering from the incident.
12 comments:
One of the few people that actually WAS friends with Sharon and DID visit Cielo day of. Gorgeous woman, RIP
I've recently caught her performances in Night Gallery and Thriller. Both were really good. It's funny, because her appearance in Night Gallery is in the first programme, and because of its quality, it sets up the rest of the series for one heck of a fall, as few of the future episodes come close to it.
And her performances in Thriller {I remember Thriller back in the 70s as a kid} should have been corny tripe, but she really pulls out the stops, and they're really good and watchable.
RIP, Joanna. I always admired her because she never tried to cash in on her friendship with Sharon and I never heard her talk about that last day with Sharon. This is the first I've heard that Terence Stamp was the bio dad of Damien.
She was good doing the light comedy in the satire version of Casino Royale.
The Pettet factor has always captured my imagination. How horrifying it must have been for her to have seen them all (sans Sebring and Parent) just hours before their tragic deaths. I can’t imagine it ever ceased to haunt her. Like Dennis Wilson, who vowed to never speak of his association with the sordid affair, she also apparently refrained from speaking of it. I do, however, seem to recall reading some reference she made to that ill fated afternoon, referring to her friend as “my sweet Sharon”. Doubly sad is the fact that she had her infant son with her that day who was undoubtedly a source of interest for Sharon in anticipation of her own impending motherhood. Gibby and Voytek were also present for the poolside luncheon, blissfully unaware that just mere hours later their own battered and bloodied bodies would lay strewn about the immediate area.
Grim
The Night Gallery episode you’re referencing was titled “House” and was, as you suggested, one of the better first season entries. The most enduring image, for me, is of her driving the Cadillac convertible (in slo-mo) with her cascade of blonde locks blowing in the wind. Another compelling aspect is that the titular house is eerily similar to 10050, at least in my hyperactive, and perhaps twisted, imagination! I actually own the entire dvd set of Thriller (I assume you are referring to the British series and not the Boris Karloff edition) and have forgotten about Joanna’s appearance. I’ll have to investigate. She was a lithe and lovely lady who I always thought resembled Sharon.
"I'm the one he wants to kill" gave me nightmares
SeanK, yes, the luncheon was no doubt served on the patio furniture near the pool. This furniture is evident in countless photos of that area, and it basically always is sutuated in the same place on the lawn. That pool furniture and the lawn upon which it sat were a welcome and well known area to all who lived at Cielo. What a sad irony that Abigail and Voytek would be found the next morning mere feet from this normally safe area.
SeanK said...
The Night Gallery episode you’re referencing was titled “House” and was, as you suggested, one of the better first season entries. The most enduring image, for me, is of her driving the Cadillac convertible (in slo-mo) with her cascade of blonde locks blowing in the wind
That's also the image I really remember. There was something disturbing about it. I thought it was a great episode though. Pity I couldn't say that about most of them. After The Twilight Zone, I was really disappointed with it. I thought Rod Serling would knock it out of the park. Mind you, he didn't think much of it either. Basically his hands were really tied.
I actually own the entire dvd set of Thriller (I assume you are referring to the British series and not the Boris Karloff edition) and have forgotten about Joanna’s appearance
Yes, it's the British one. I bought it on a whim many years ago, because I remember that my sisters and I used to watch it on a Saturday night. Some of them used to scare the living daylights out of us. I got around to watching it during covid, about 6 or 7 years after I bought it. While one or two episodes are a bit ropey, overall, it's pretty compelling TV. The two that she's in are good. The one where she works with her ex-husband {or separated from him} is good, but the other one, about the students in the creepy house is fantastic. The ending is really gripping - it's called "A Killer in Every Corner."
She was a lithe and lovely lady who I always thought resembled Sharon
You know, when I've watched her on TV, I've often thought that she could easily have passed for Sharon Tate's sister.
Thanks to all of you for responding to my Pettet musings! Loved all of your comments and your memories of those golden years of 70s TV horror. I know the majority of you are UK based (I live in Oregon) and that’s always been a source of intrigue for me on this forum. I’m a true Anglophile at heart and come by it honestly as all of my ancestry is British/German.
Grim - I am in total agreement about Serling and the superiority of TZ vs NG, He himself admitted that after so much creative output, a writer not only begins to repeat himself but also eventually sinks into self parody. This is more than apparent in NG, where he was forced to relinquish much of his quality control. It’s truly amazing when you consider his years of consistent storytelling. Was there ever a more effective master of the “twist ending”? Look no further than Planet Of The Apes! The guy literally wrote himself into an early grave. I will definitely revisit those Pettet episodes you referenced. Actually, the two other episodes of NG she did are worthwhile viewing. The Girl With The Hungry Eyes and The Caterpillar, or more appropriately Earwig, which I’m sure you remember!
I’m sure you all must also remember The Hammer House Of Horror which was a similar incarnation. I think that was also shot on video, which always hampers the production quality. But they were great entertainment regardless. Kolchak anyone?
I should definitely add - Thank you Matt for posting this tribute and giving us a chance to pay our respects to such a classically beautiful actress who was inadvertently placed in the center of such a tragic and infamous circumstance.
One more thing perhaps worthy of mentioning was yet another brush with tragedy that she experienced in 1963 when she was starting off as an actress in New York City. Apparently she was a good friend of Janice Wylie, a fellow aspiring actress, who was found slain, along with her roommate, in her Manhattan apartment. It was a highly publicized case that became known as The Career Girl Murders.
Sad to think that such a charming woman was dogged by so much misfortune in her life.
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