Background
Woodell was born July 12, 1944, in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
Woodell was born July 12, 1944, in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
Initially hoping to be a singer, she made some appearances as a teenager in Catskill Mountains hotels before making her acting debut in a 1962 episode of Cheyenne, entitled "The Vanishing Breed". She would go on to appear on the shows Hawaiian Eye (1963), The Gallant Men (1963), General Electric True (1963), and 77 Sunset Strip (1963). She also appeared in the anti-communist film Red Nightmare (1962).
Woodell is best remembered for being the first Bobbie Jo Bradley, one of three teenage sisters, on the Columbia Broadcasting System sitcom, Petticoat Junction.
Which began its run in 1963. She played the book-smart character for the sitcom"s first two seasons (1963–1965) before she leaving the series in the spring of 1965.
In several episodes she performed musical numbers, including one called "The Ladybugs". The Ladybugs also appeared on an episode of The Editor Sullivan Show during Woodell"s run on Petticoat Junction.
After leaving Petticoat Junction, Woodell went on to have guest roles on a season three episode of The Hollywood Palace in 1965, and in one of the last episodes of The Munsters in 1966.
In 1968, she voiced "Bunny" to Mel Blanc's "Claude" in two Looney Tunes cartoons BUNNY AND CLAUDE:WE ROB CARROT PATCHES and THE GREAT CARROT TRAIN ROBBERY (released in 1969). In 1971, Woodell made her film debut in The Big Doll House, followed by three more "exploitation" type films, including The Woman Hunt (1972), The Twilight People (1972) and The Roommates (1973), but she did not break into mainstream feature films. Woodell retired from acting in 1973, after appearing on an episode of The New Perry Mason, entitled "The Case of the Murdered Murderer".
Woodell never returned to acting, but appeared in a few documentaries about her days on Petticoat Junction.