Pat Woodell

Pat Woodell's career was short-lived but notable, as the Massachusetts-born actress kicked off her singing aspirations as a teenager in the 1950s at various area hotels. While her goal was to become a singer, that's not where she wound up, as she made her acting debut at age 18 on an episode of "Cheyenne" (ABC 1955-1963). Through the first few years of the '60s, Woodell appeared on a number of shows, including "Hawaiian Eye" (ABC 1959-1963) and the Communist-focused short "Red Nightmare" (1962). Her breakthrough role started in 1963 as she starred as Bobbie Jo Bradley on the sitcom "Petticoat Junction" (CBS 1963-1970). Her dream was still to become a singer, so she left "Petticoat Junction" in 1965 to make a go at recording her own album. However, her music career didn't take off. In the back half of the '60s, she appeared on a few TV shows, including "The Munsters" (CBS 1964-66), and then appeared in a few raunchy exploitation films in the early 1970s, including "The Big Doll House" (1971) and "The Twilight People" (1972). She retired from acting at age 29 in 1973. She worked in consulting after her acting career ended, and lived in relative anonymity for the rest of her years. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in the 1990s and after more than 20 years of battling, she died in September 2015.