"Night Gallery" Actress Joanna Pettet 1942-2026 Memorial Video

Joanna Pettet (born Joanna Jane Salmon; 16 November 1942 – 7 July 2026) was an American and English actress.

Early life

Joanna Jane Salmon was born in London, England on 16 November 1942, the daughter of Harold Nigel Egerton Salmon and Cecily J. Tremaine, who were married in Chelsea, London in 1940. Her father, a British Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, was killed in the Second World War in 1943. After the war, her mother remarried and settled in Montréal, where Joanna was adopted by her stepfather and assumed his surname of "Pettet." When Pettet was 16, she moved to New York City.

Career

Pettet studied with Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, as well as at the Lincoln Center, and made her debut, aged 19, on Broadway in Take Her, She's Mine (21 December 1961 – 8 December 1962). She also appeared on Broadway in The Chinese Prime Minister, and Poor Richard.

Beginning in 1964 with an episode of Route 66, she began making guest appearances in several US dramatic television series of the mid-sixties, including The Doctors, The Nurses, The Trials of O'Brien, The Fugitive, A Man Called Shenandoah, and Dr. Kildare.

In 1966, she was cast in writer/producer Sidney Buchman's 1966 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 (1967) with Stanley Baker, Blue (1968) with Terence Stamp, and the Victorian period comedy The Best House in London (1969).

In the 1970s, Pettet's feature film appearances became sporadic and included roles in the cult horror films Welcome to Arrow Beach (1974) and The Evil (1978). Pettet re-emerged as the star of over a dozen television movies, including 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), Cry of the Innocent (1980) with Rod Taylor, and The Return of Frank Cannon (1980).

Also in the 1970s, Pettet guest-starred four times on the classic Rod Serling anthology series Night Gallery, appearing with her then-husband Alex Cord in the episode "Keep in Touch - We'll Think of Something". She also guest-starred in two episodes of the Brian Clemens anthology series Thriller in the UK. Pettet starred in the NBC miniseries Captains and the Kings (1976), starred in the episode "You're Not Alone" from the 1977 NBC anthology series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (known in the United Kingdom as Twist in the Tale), was a guest on both Fantasy Island and The Love Boat (appearing three 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).

Through the 1970s and 1980s, Pettet made appearances on the television series Harry O, Banacek, McCloud, Mannix, Police Woman, Knight Rider, Tales of the Unexpected (the UK series) and Murder, She Wrote. In 1984, she appeared as herself in a James Bond tribute episode of The Fall Guy with ex-Bond girls Britt Ekland and Lana Wood.

Her final role was in the 1990 thriller Terror in Paradise, after which she retired from acting, still in her 40s.

Personal life and death

On 8 August 1969, Pettet had lunch at the home of actress Sharon Tate, just hours before the crimes that would be committed at that residence by members of the Manson Family. This event is illustrated in the fictional/alternate-reality 2019 film Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood, in which Pettet is portrayed by Rumer Willis.

Actor Sir Alan Bates bequeathed Pettet £95,000 (equivalent to £173,759 in 2025) upon his death in December 2003. The two had been friends since 1964, and Pettet provided support and companionship during his final months after he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2003. Pettet was quoted as saying: "It was a very touching gesture because he had done everything while he was in hospital to make sure I would be looked after following his death."

In August 2021, Pettet became trapped under a boulder for three hours in a high desert area near Anza, California. As a result, she needed surgery to replace her shoulder and rotator cuff.

Pettet died at the Temecula Valley Hospital in Temecula, California, on 7 July 2026, aged 83.

"Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" Actress Louise Lasser 1939-2026 Memorial Video

Louise Jane Lasser (April 11, 1939 – July 6, 2026) was an American actress, television writer, and performing arts teacher and director. She is known for her portrayal of the title character on the soap opera satire Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.

Lasser made her Broadway debut in the musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962). She was married to Woody Allen from 1966 until 1970 and acted in several of his early films, including Take the Money and Run (1969) and Bananas (1971). 

Lasser hosted Saturday Night Live in 1976 and had guest roles on The Bob Newhart Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Taxi, Laverne and Shirley, and St. Elsewhere.

Lasser's later roles included black comedy films such as Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998) and Owen Kline's Funny Pages (2022). She portrayed Beadie in the Lena Dunham-created HBO coming-of-age series Girls from 2013 to 2014.

Lasser was also a life member of The Actors Studio and studied with both Sanford Meisner and Robert X. Modica.

Lasser died at her home in Manhattan on July 6, 2026, at the age of 87.

"Mildred Pierce" Actress Mildred Pierce 1927-2026 Memorial Video

Anne Marie Blythe (August 16, 1927 – June 24, 2026), known professionally as Ann Blyth, was an American actress and singer whose career spanned five decades. She began her career in radio as a child before transitioning to Broadway, where she appeared in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine (1941–42). 

Blyth signed with Universal Studios in the 1940s and made her film debut in Chip Off the Old Block (1944), followed by a series of musical comedies. Her breakout role came in Mildred Pierce (1945), where she appeared opposite Joan Crawford, as the scheming Veda Pierce, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Blyth worked extensively in film throughout the 1940s and 1950s, appearing in notable films such as Brute Force (1947) and Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948). 

She later signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she appeared in musicals and other studio productions, including The Great Caruso (1951), The Student's Prince (1954), and The King's Thief (1955). Her final film role was in The Helen Morgan Story (1957).

After transitioning to theater and television in the late 1950s, she starred in productions such as Show Boat and appeared on shows like The Twilight Zone and Murder, She Wrote. Blyth retired from acting in 1985. 

Blyth died at her home in Rancho Santa Fe, California on June 24, 2026, at the age of 98. At the time of her death, Blyth was the earliest surviving Academy Award nominee, and one of the last surviving stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Visiting Marilyn 8/11/25 Westwood Village Cemetery

This video records the 8/11/25 visit to the grave of actress Marilyn Monroe at Westwood Village Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. 

The cards and flowers you will see in this video are from the 63rd Anniversary Memorial Service held at the cemetery each year on the anniversary of Marilyn's death (August 4, 1963).

Loyal, long time fans, the Marilyn Monroe fan clubs, and surviving contemporaries have brought or had delivered their gorgeous tokens of adoration and respect. Foreign fans from Poland and Russia sent their regards as well. 

According to tradition, many flower arrangements were purchased and processed through Parisian Florist.

Visiting Marilyn Monroe on Her 100th Birthday - Westwood Village Cemetery

On June 1st, 2026 at Westwood Village Cemetery in Los Angeles, adoring fans of Marilyn Monroe gathered to celebrate her 100th birthday. These lovely people came together to share their affection and support for the number one Hollywood icon of all time. Many brought flowers and gifts. Some left notes and even letters. A few dressed up like Marilyn for the occasion. Someone brought their adorable dog "Buddy." 

While there were other birthday celebrations at the Chinese Theatre and at the Academy Museum, Marilyn's gravesite provided a venue for her most sacred fans to respectfully honor her 100th birthday. All that was missing was an edible birthday cake. We offer a big "thank you" to these special fans. On this day, at Westwood Village Cemetery, their love for Marilyn Monroe proved palpable.