Judy Carne

Judy Carne Headshot

Actress

Birth Name: Joyce Audrey Botterelli

Birth Date: April 27, 1939

Death Date: September 3, 2015

Birth Place: Northampton, Northamptonshire, England, UK

Spouses: Burt Reynolds

British actress Judy Carne vaulted briefly to stardom as a cast member on the anarchic 1960s comedy series "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (NBC, 1968-1973) before drug addiction and financial troubles ended her screen career. Born Joyce Audre Botterill on April 27, 1939 in Northampton, England, she began performing in local performances at an early age, and studied acting and dance at various schools and academies throughout her adolescence and teenaged years. After adopting the stage name of "Judy Carne," she made her screen debut in a 1961 episode of the cult British action series "Danger Man" (ITV, 1960-68), and soon established herself on both sides of the Atlantic by playing effervescent young women on series like "Fair Exchange" (CBS, 1962-63) and "The Baileys of Balboa" (CBS, 1962-64).

During this period, she married another rising star, Burt Reynolds, but their marriage ended on an acrimonious note shortly before she gained her first leading role in a television series as Pete Duel's free-thinking wife in "Love on a Rooftop" (ABC, 1966-67). Though short-lived, the sitcom, and Carne's performance, proved popular with audiences, and she parlayed the spotlight into a featured role as a regular player on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." There, she attained pop culture stardom as the "Sock-It-To-Me Girl," a recurring segment in which she would utter the phrase and then be doused with a bucket of water, struck with a board, or fall through a door in the stage floor.

Viewers found it funny, but Carne quickly bored of the routine and left the series at the end of its second season. But she found it impossible to shake the "sock-it-to-me" image, and the lack of work soon led to financial ruin and drug addiction. Carne was arrested on several occasions in the 1970s for drug possession and other charges, and suffered a broken neck after a near-fatal car crash. She returned to her hometown in England, penned an autobiography that detailed the more ruinous aspects of her life, and faded from view, save for occasional "where are they now" appearances on talk shows.

Pneumonia claimed her life at a hospital in Northampton on September 3, 2015.

Credits

The Best of The Ed Sullivan Show

Self
Show
2023

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Actor
Show
2023

Police Woman

Guest Star
Hotline Office Worker
Series
1974

Only With Married Men

Actor
Marge West
Movie
1974

QB VII

Actor
Miniseries
1974

Oh! Baby, Baby, Baby...

Actor
Stacy Stoner
Movie
1974

ThrillerStream

Actor
Gillian Pemberton
Series
1973

Someone at the Top of the Stairs

Actor
Gillian
Movie
1973

Alias Smith and Jones

Guest Star
Series
1971

Dead Men Tell No Tales

Actor
Midge Byrnes
Movie
1971

All the Right Noises

Actor
Joy
Movie
1971

Letters to Laugh-In

Self
Show
1969

Love, American Style

Actor
Victim
Series
1969

Kraft Music Hall Presents Sandler and Young

Actor
Show
1969

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-InStream

Actor
Variety Show
1968

Love on a Rooftop

Actor
Julie Willis
Show
1966

I Dream of JeannieStream

Guest Star
Shelia Bellows
Series
1965

GidgetStream

Guest Star
Pat Taylor
Series
1965

The Big Valley

Guest Star
Series
1965

The Baileys of Balboa

Actor
Barbara Wyntoon; Cecil's daughter
Show
1964

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.Stream

Guest Star
Series
1964
100%

12 O'Clock High

Guest Star
Series
1964

The Americanization of EmilyStream

Actor
2nd "Nameless Broad"
Movie
1964
93%

The Farmer's Daughter

Guest Star
Marie
Series
1963

Fair Exchange

Actor
Show
1962

BonanzaStream

Guest Star
Series
1959

GunsmokeStream

Guest Star
Pearl
Series
1955

What's My Line?Stream

Guest
Game Show
1950