Jeannine Riley
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Blonde bombshell Jeannine Brooke Riley was born in Madera, California
on October 1, 1940 and started her movie and TV career in 1962 with an
unbilled movie part in the
Rosalind Russell drama
Five Finger Exercise (1962)
and roles on the TV shows "Father of the Bride" and "Route 66," not to
mention an episode of "My Three Sons" aptly entitled "The Beauty
Contest." The next year she co-starred with
Gary Clarke and
Steve Ihnat in the low-budget suspense drama
Strike Me Deadly (1963); later that year she and Ihnat also appeared together
in the stage play "The Fourposter."
While showing off her allure in western series "Wagon Train" and
"The Virginian," Jeannine came to the attention of CBS
producers who were on a TV rural roll with the huge series hits "The
Andy Griffith Show" and "The Beverly Hillbillies". At the time,
Hillbilly cast member Bea Benaderet (as
Cousin Pearl) had just been given the green light to star in her own
bucolic series,
Petticoat Junction (1963),
playing Kate Bradley, a hotel-owning widowed mother of three
beautiful nubile daughters. The flirty role of daughter Billie Jo
Bradley was at first given to actress Sharon Tate, but when
word came out that she had posed nude in photo shoots, they were
forced to dismiss her from the wholesome Ivory-Soap-sponsored series
before scandal and controversy could cause damage. The part was
recast and Jeannine won the role.
The actress was ideal as the Daisy Mae-like eldest daughter who
attracted men like bees to honey, much to the envy of her impressionable
younger sisters. Jeannine played the role for two years before both
she and Pat Woodell (as sister Bobbie Jo) opted out of the
series. While Jeannine wanted to move into film work, Woodell,
who went on to marry and divorce
Gary Clarke, Jeannine's film co-star
in Strike Me Deadly (1963),
desired a singing career. Jeannine and Pat were replaced in 1965 by
Gunilla Hutton and
Lori Saunders.
While the actress continued on with TV guest roles on "Ozzie and
Harriet," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," and "Occasional Wife," and as a on "The
sometimes-sexy foil on "The Smothers Brothers Show," she found
breaking away from her bombshell trappings too difficult and was
soon appearing as sexpot Bambi Berman in the
Jerry Lewis film vehicle
The Big Mouth (1967), and in unsold pilots of
Sheriff Who (1967) and
Li'l Abner (1967); in this latter she finally got to play the voluptuous
Daisy Mae character. Guest episodes of "The Wild, Wild West" and "Gomer Pyle"
also showed a return to familiar territory.
After starring with Nick Adams in one
of his last films before his untimely death, the action drama
Fever Heat (1968), Jeannine showed up
in her first quality film showcase, albeit a smaller part, with
The Comic (1969), a moving showcase for
nimble Dick Van Dyke as a silent screen
star. She found an even better role as dancer/barmaid babe Jolene
opposite biker Robert Blake in the cult film
Electra Glide in Blue (1973),
sharing some potent nude scenes.
Back in the country fold on series TV, she appeared in two seasons of
the cornpone musical variety show
Hee Haw (1969), in which she was
featured as a Daisy Mae-like foil in silly skits. A couple years later
she was cast in the "Gilligan's Island"-inspired TV western
Dusty's Trail (1973) with
Bob Denver and
Forrest Tucker co-starring as
Gilligan/Skipper-like characters; Jeannine's Lulu McQueen was a dead-on
take on the pneumatic Ginger Grant role.
Petticoat Junction (1963)
co-star Lori Saunders
co-starred in the series as innocent Betsy McGuire, a variation of the
Mary Ann character. It lasted one season.
Since then, however, the availability of parts has sharply declined;
Jeannine's last credits were the films
Lone Star Bar & Grill (1983)
and Timebomb (1991).
on October 1, 1940 and started her movie and TV career in 1962 with an
unbilled movie part in the
Rosalind Russell drama
Five Finger Exercise (1962)
and roles on the TV shows "Father of the Bride" and "Route 66," not to
mention an episode of "My Three Sons" aptly entitled "The Beauty
Contest." The next year she co-starred with
Gary Clarke and
Steve Ihnat in the low-budget suspense drama
Strike Me Deadly (1963); later that year she and Ihnat also appeared together
in the stage play "The Fourposter."
While showing off her allure in western series "Wagon Train" and
"The Virginian," Jeannine came to the attention of CBS
producers who were on a TV rural roll with the huge series hits "The
Andy Griffith Show" and "The Beverly Hillbillies". At the time,
Hillbilly cast member Bea Benaderet (as
Cousin Pearl) had just been given the green light to star in her own
bucolic series,
Petticoat Junction (1963),
playing Kate Bradley, a hotel-owning widowed mother of three
beautiful nubile daughters. The flirty role of daughter Billie Jo
Bradley was at first given to actress Sharon Tate, but when
word came out that she had posed nude in photo shoots, they were
forced to dismiss her from the wholesome Ivory-Soap-sponsored series
before scandal and controversy could cause damage. The part was
recast and Jeannine won the role.
The actress was ideal as the Daisy Mae-like eldest daughter who
attracted men like bees to honey, much to the envy of her impressionable
younger sisters. Jeannine played the role for two years before both
she and Pat Woodell (as sister Bobbie Jo) opted out of the
series. While Jeannine wanted to move into film work, Woodell,
who went on to marry and divorce
Gary Clarke, Jeannine's film co-star
in Strike Me Deadly (1963),
desired a singing career. Jeannine and Pat were replaced in 1965 by
Gunilla Hutton and
Lori Saunders.
While the actress continued on with TV guest roles on "Ozzie and
Harriet," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," and "Occasional Wife," and as a on "The
sometimes-sexy foil on "The Smothers Brothers Show," she found
breaking away from her bombshell trappings too difficult and was
soon appearing as sexpot Bambi Berman in the
Jerry Lewis film vehicle
The Big Mouth (1967), and in unsold pilots of
Sheriff Who (1967) and
Li'l Abner (1967); in this latter she finally got to play the voluptuous
Daisy Mae character. Guest episodes of "The Wild, Wild West" and "Gomer Pyle"
also showed a return to familiar territory.
After starring with Nick Adams in one
of his last films before his untimely death, the action drama
Fever Heat (1968), Jeannine showed up
in her first quality film showcase, albeit a smaller part, with
The Comic (1969), a moving showcase for
nimble Dick Van Dyke as a silent screen
star. She found an even better role as dancer/barmaid babe Jolene
opposite biker Robert Blake in the cult film
Electra Glide in Blue (1973),
sharing some potent nude scenes.
Back in the country fold on series TV, she appeared in two seasons of
the cornpone musical variety show
Hee Haw (1969), in which she was
featured as a Daisy Mae-like foil in silly skits. A couple years later
she was cast in the "Gilligan's Island"-inspired TV western
Dusty's Trail (1973) with
Bob Denver and
Forrest Tucker co-starring as
Gilligan/Skipper-like characters; Jeannine's Lulu McQueen was a dead-on
take on the pneumatic Ginger Grant role.
Petticoat Junction (1963)
co-star Lori Saunders
co-starred in the series as innocent Betsy McGuire, a variation of the
Mary Ann character. It lasted one season.
Since then, however, the availability of parts has sharply declined;
Jeannine's last credits were the films
Lone Star Bar & Grill (1983)
and Timebomb (1991).