The Late Great Joanna Pettet

I never had the honour of knowing actress Joanna Pettet, who appeared in the movies The Group (1966) and Casino Royale (1967) and several guest appearances on television, but I had many friends who were also friends with her. It is for that reason that I know that she was not only a beautiful and talented actress, but a warm, sweet, and approachable human being. She truly cared about her friends and appreciated her fans. When Sir Alan Bates was dying from pancreatic cancer in 2003, it was Miss Pettet who cared for him and provided him with companionship. I know of at least one person to whom she sent a warm and comforting letter upon the death of his mother. She was truly a great lady. Sadly, Joanna Pettet died on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at the age of 83. Her death occurred exactly 31 years after that of her son Damien Zachary Cord.

Joanna Pettit was born Joanna Jane Salmon in London on November 16, 1942. Her father, Harold Salmon, served in the Royal Air Force and died in combat during World War II. After the war, her mother remarried and settled with her family in Montreal. Joanna Salmon took her stepfather's surname, Pettet. She was 16 years old when she moved to New York City with $1000 in her pocket.

Joanna Pettit studied acting at the Neighbourhood Playhouse. She made her debut on Broadway in Take Her, She's Mine in 1961. She appeared again on Broadway in 1964 in The Chinese Prime Minister opposite Alan Bates and in Poor Richard, for which she one a Theatre World Award. She made her television debut in 1964 in an episode of Route 66. In 1964, she also began a brief stint as a recurring character on the soap opera The Doctors. During the Sixties, she guest starred on the TV shows The Nurses; The Trials of O'Brien; The Fugitive; A Man Called Shenandoah; and Dr. Kildare. She made her film debut in Sidney Lumet's movie The Group in 1966. She appeared in the movies The Night of the Generals (1967), Casino Royale (1967), Robbery (1967), Blue (1968), and The Best House in London (1969).

In the Seventies, Joanna Pettet appeared in the movies Welcome to Arrow Beach (1974), To Catch a Pebble (1975), the television version of Two-Minute Warning (1976), and The Evil (1978). She guest starred on the shows Mannix; The Delphi Bureau; Banacek; Night Gallery; McCloud; Medical Center; Police Story; Caribe; Thriller (1974); Harry O; Police Woman; Tales of the Unexpected; The Love Boat; and Charlie's Angels. She appeared in the mini-series Captain and the Kings, as well as such TV movies as The Weekend Nun, Pioneer Woman, and A Cry in the Wilderness.

In the Eighties, Joanna Petter appeared in a story arc of Knot's Landing. She guest starred on the shows Aloha Paradise; Tales of the Unexpected; The Littlest Hobo; The Love Boat; Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; Fantasy Island; The Fall Guy; The Yellow Rose; Knight Rider; Finder of Lost Loves; Hotel; Murder, She Wrote; and ABC Afterschool Specials. She appeared in the movies Double Exposure (1982), Otelo (Comando negro) (1982), and Sweet Country (1987). She made her last appearance on film in Terror in Paradise in 1991. She then retired from acting.

Joanna Pettet was an immensely talented and versatile actress. This can be seen in what may be her two most best known movies. In The Group, she played Kay Strong Peterson, the poorest member of eight freinds who becomes the wife of an abusive and alcoholic playwright. While The Group was a serious drama, Casino Royale was an outright spoof. As Mata Bond, the daughter of James Bond by Mata Hari, who is charged by her father to infiltrate International Mother's Help, which was little more than a SMERSH front. In her films, Joanna Pettet played a wide variety of roles, from a pioneer woman in Blue to a medical doctor in The Evil, and she did well in all of them even if the movies were not always the best.

Joanna Pettet was impressive in her television roles as well. In the Fugitive episode "Shadow of the Swan," she played a troubled young woman who is involved with a dodgy carnival worker and lives in a fantasy world. She appeared in multiple episodes of Dr. Kildare, playing a dancer afflicted with a rare neuromuscular disease. On Knots Landing, she played a homicide detective investigating the murder of Ciji Dunne (Lisa Hartman). One of her most amusing television roles was playing herself in the episode of The Fall Guy, "Always Say Always." She appeared alongside Britt Ekland and Lana Wood. Joanna Pettet was an amazing actress who leaves behind a wealth of great performances. From those who knew her, I know she was also a sweet, warm, and loving human being, the epitome of a lady.

U.S. Cellular R.I.P.

Yesterday I ceased being a customer of U.S. Cellular after twenty years and five months. It was in May 2024 that T-Mobile announced a plan to acquire both U.S. Cellular's customers and its stores, as well as 30% of the company's spectrum wireless licences. The deal would be closed over a year later, in May 2025. The plan was to transition U.S. Cellular customers over to T-Mobile. That happened yesterday.

U.S. Cellular was founded in 1983 as a subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. as United States Cellular. It was in 1999 that the company shortened its name to U.S. Cellular. The year 2002 saw some big changes for U.S. Cellular. It bought  PrimeCo Wireless Communications. On November 2002, it launched in the Chicago area. It also hired native Chicagoan Joan Cusack as their spokesman.  That year it also exchanged wireless assets with Cingular and as a result got new spectrum in 13 states. From 2003 to 2016,  Comiskey Park in Chicago was known as U.S. Cellular Field, the company having bought the naming rights.  It entered the St. Louis market in 2005. 

Over time, U.S. Cellular would make some major changes. In 2010, it sold several of its markets to Sprint, including what had been its long-time home, Chicago. In 2020, it rebranded itself again as USCellular. Of course, as mentioned before, it was in 2024 that T-Mobile announced plans to acquire most of USCellular's mobile operations. In the wake of the acquisition, USCellular rebranded itself Array Digital Infrastructure and maintains operations of wireless towers across the nation. It is no longer in the business of consumer wireless networks.

U.S. Cellular had expanded into the Columbia, Missouri market in December 1988, so it was well established in the area years before I got my first cell phone in February 2006. As for why I went with U.S. Cellular, at the time it was more reliable in the area than most of the major companies and more affordable as well. Our service from U.S. Cellular has remained fairly good over the years, with almost no dropped calls and very few places where we couldn't get service.

That's not to say that U.S. Cellular was perfect. Prices for their service crept up over the years, to the point that the past few years my sister and I (she's on my account) considered switching companies. Indeed, we asked about getting unlimited data about three years ago only to find it was cost prohibitive for our budget. After T-Mobile bought out U.S. Cellular, we seriously considered switching to T-Mobile, but never did.

As it is, I wish we had done so sooner. After setting up my account with T-Mobile yesterday, I switched to one of T-Mobile's plans that is not only less than what we were paying U.S. Cellular, but gives us unlimited data as well. Unlimited data U.S. Cellular would have been forty dollars more than it would have been on T-Mobile! We also get various perks, such as special deals on various products and services on T-Mobile Tuesdays and possibly even free streaming services (such as Netflix). As to reliability, so far I haven't noticed any problems.

That's not to say I don't feel a bit sad that U.S. Cellular is gone. They were my first cellular phone company and they always were reliable. I can't say they did too badly towards us. And, while I don't know about now, they were certainly better than some of the major companies around here (particularly Verizon), whose coverage could be spotty at best. At any rate, I am looking forward to what T-Mobile has to offer. 

Godspeed Joby Baker

Joby Baker, who appeared in the three Gidget movies and starred on the short-lived sitcom Good Morning World, died on June 22, 2026, at the age of 92. His Good Morning World costar Ronnie Schell died ten days before him.

Joby Baker was born on March 26, 1934, in Montreal,Quebec. His mother died when he was very young, and the family moved to Oahu, Hawaii. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour, he and his stepmother were evacuated to San Francisco. He attended school in New York City and then served in the United States Army, where he entertained the troops. Among the men he served with was Lou Costello's son-in-law. He convinced Mr. Costello to do a show at his camp. As a result, the comic became both Joby Baker's friend and manager. He sometimes stayed at Lou Costello's home.

It was while he was working as a page at NBC that he made his television debut on The Red Skelton Show in 1952. During the Fifties, he guest starred on the shows Studio One, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, Dragnet, and Surfside 6. He made his movie debut in Target Zero in 1955. He appeared in the movies Gidget (1959), The Last Angry Man (1960), Key Wtiness (1960), and The Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960).

In the Sixties, he starred on the single-season sitcom Good Morning World. He guest starred on the shows The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, Cain's Hundred, Dr. Kildare, The Roaring 20's, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Wagon Train, Bachelor Father, Frontier Circus, Gunsmoke, Sam Benedict, Combat!, The Greatest Show on Earth,. Ben Casey, 12 O' Clock High, The Loner, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Mannix. He appeared in the movies Gidget Goes Hawaiian (1961), Gidget Goes to Rome (1963), Hootenanny Hoot (1963), Looking for Love (1964), Girl Happy (1965), When the Boys Meet the Girls (1965), The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967), and Blackbeard's Ghost (1968).

In the Seventies, Joby Baker had regular roles on the shows Stone and The Six O' Clock Follies. He appeared in the shows Love, American Style; The Streets of San Francisco; Assignment: Vienna; A Touch of Grace; Run, Joe, Run; Barnaby Jones; Police Story; Kate McShane; Medical Center; Bronk; Gemini Man; Most Wanted; and Nobody's Perfect. He appeared in the movies Self-Portrait (1973), which he also wrote, Superdad (1973), and Avalanche (1978).

In the Eighties, Joby Baker guest starred on the shows Simon and Simon; Quincy, M.E.; McClain's Law; Tucker's Witch; and The Paper Chase. He retired from acting in 1984 to concentrate on his career as a painter, sculptor, and jeweller. His artwork has been displayed at galleries in Los Angeles and have sold for thousands of dollars.

While Joby Baker considered himself a painter rather than an actor, he had considerable talent as an actor. In particular, he had a gift for comedy, that was on display on Good Morning World and elsewhere. In the Dick Van Dyke Show episode "Love Thy Other Neighbour," he played the husband of an old school pal of Millie, who creates jealousy in Laura when she thinks Millie is spending more time with her. In the F Troop episode "La Dolce Courage," he played a spurned lover who pursues the object of his affection when she and her father visit Fort Courage. While it isn't necessarily a good movie, he was funny as supermarket stockman and part-time bass player in Looking for Love. He could play dramatic roles as well. In the Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Madame Mystery," he played a smarmy publicist seeks to exploit the death of an actress. Joby Baker had considerable talent both as an actor and as an artist.