Shelley_Fabares

Shelley Fabares

Shelley Fabares

American actress and singer (born 1944)

Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (/fæˈbreɪ/; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show (1958–1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach (1989–1997), the latter of which earned her two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations. Her film roles include playing the leading lady to Elvis Presley in Girl Happy, Spinout and Clambake.

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...

In 1962, her recording of "Johnny Angel" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Fabares was born in Santa Monica, California on January 19, 1944.[1] She is the niece of actress Nanette Fabray (née Fabares).[2] She graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1961.[3]


Career

Early TV appearances

Fabares's acting debut was at the age of 3. At the age of 10, she made her first appearance on television in an episode of Letter to Loretta, "The Clara Schuman Story" (1954).[4][5]

Early TV appearances included the Producers' Showcase adaptation of Our Town starring Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman.[6] She was Young Cathy in a Matinee Theatre adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

John Saxon, Shelley Fabares, John Wilder and Jill St. John in Summer Love (1958)

Fabares had small parts in The Girl Rush (1955), Never Say Goodbye (1956), The Bad Seed (1956), Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956), Jeanne Eagels (1957), Marjorie Morningstar (1958), and Summer Love (1958).

On TV she was in Captain Midnight, Annie Oakley, Fury, and Colgate Theatre.[7]

She portrayed Moselle Corey on Annette (1958) starring Annette Funicello.[8]

She guest starred on Mr. Novak, The Eleventh Hour, Arrest and Trial, and The Twilight Zone ("Black Leather Jackets").[9][10]

The Donna Reed Show

The Donna Reed Show: (clockwise from bottom left) Paul Petersen, Donna Reed, Carl Betz, and Shelley Fabares, 1958

In 1958, Fabares landed the role of Mary Stone in the long-running family sitcom The Donna Reed Show. This ran until 1966. Fabares quickly established herself as a favorite with teen audiences.[11][10]

"Donna Reed was simply an extraordinary woman, a woman of great strength, kindness, integrity and compassion," said Fabares later of her television mother.[12]

Singer

With James Darren in 1959

Fabares' national popularity led to a recording contract and two "Top 40" hits, including "Johnny Angel", which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1962, and peaked at number 41 in the UK.[2][13] It sold over one million copies and was certified gold.[14] She released an album, Shelley!. "I was stunned about that, to put it mildly," she later said. "After all, I never could sing."[15]

This was followed by a second album, The Things We Did Last Summer, which included two hit songs "Johnny Loves Me" (no. 21) and "The Things We Did Last Summer" (no. 46).

Fabares left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue other acting opportunities. She released a third album, Teenage Triangle in 1963.

Film career

Publicity photo of Fabares, c. 1966

Fabares was one of the female leads in the surf film Ride the Wild Surf (1964).[10] She was Elvis Presley's leading lady in Girl Happy (1965) for MGM[10] and played the love interest of Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits and sings Make Me Happy in Hold On! at the same studio.

MGM made a pilot for a TV series based on Meet Me in St. Louis with Fabares in the lead but no network was receptive to it.

She was reunited with Elvis for Spinout (1966) at MGM and Clambake (1967), at United Artists.[10]

Sam Katzman cast her as the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing (1968).[10]

TV guest spots

Film roles dried up in the late 1960s and Fabares went back to guest starring on shows like The Ghost & Mrs. Muir,[16] Daniel Boone, Medical Center, Lancer, Bracken's World, and The Interns.[17]

Fabares said she went through a period where she struggled to find work. "I went to bed on Tuesday having worked since I was 3. I got up Wednesday morning and didn't work for four years, went to bed Wednesday night after four years, got up and interviewed for a Mannix episode and started working again. I think this business is very cyclical. You go through busy times and you go through dead times."[18]

After Mannix, she was in Longstreet, Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law, Love, American Style, Rockford Files, McCloud and Cade's County.

"I wasn't a big risk-taker," she said later. "I should have been more aggressive. I was nervous and scared to try something really different."[15]

Fabares had support roles in television film like Brian's Song (1971) (playing the wife of Brian Piccolo, played by James Caan), and Two for the Money (1972). Her performance in Brian's Song earned her a Golden Globe nomination.[19]

The Brian Keith Show, The Practice

Fabares had a regular role on The Brian Keith Show (1972–1974), known as The Little People during its first season, which lasted for 47 episodes.[20]

When the show ended she resumed guest shots: Police Story, Ironside, The Rockford Files, The Rookies, Matt Helm, Medical Story, Marcus Welby, M.D., Barnaby Jones, and Spencer's Pilots.

She had a role in the television film Sky Heist (1975) and from 1976 to 1977 had a regular part on The Practice with Danny Thomas.

Forever Fernwood, One Day at a Time and Highcliffe Manor

She then had a regular role on Forever Fernwood.

In 1978, Fabares played Francine Webster on the CBS sitcom One Day at a Time, a role she reprised for the last three years of the show. "I was Francine, a rather villainous character," she said later. "She was wonderful. She saw the world only through her eyes, and it never occurred to her that other people didn't."[21]

She was also in episodes of Lucan, Vega$, The Incredible Hulk, Hello, Larry, and Fantasy Island.

Fabares was in the television film Pleasure Cove (1979), Donovan's Kid (1979), Friendships, Secrets and Lies (1979) and The Great American Traffic Jam (1980).

She had the starring role in the TV series Highcliffe Manor (1979) but it only lasted six episodes.

1980s

In the 1980s Fabares could be seen on Mork & Mindy, Matt Houston, The Love Boat, Newhart, and Murder, She Wrote.

She did a television film Memorial Day (1983) with Mike Farrell (who would later become her husband), as well as the films Suburban Beat (1985), The Canterville Ghost (1985), Hot Pursuit (1987), and Run Till You Fall (1988).

Coach

In 1989, she won the role of Christine Armstrong Fox on the ABC sitcom Coach. "Here was an intelligent, funny, well-written series," Fabares said "And the people putting it on wanted me to play a very successful, ambitious woman in it."[15]

The series originally struggled in the ratings until it shifted to play after Roseanne. It was a hit and played until 1997.

For her work, Fabares was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award,[22] and, in 1994, she was honored by the Young Artist Foundation with its Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" Award for her role as Mary Stone on The Donna Reed Show.[23]

During the series' run Fabares appeared on Love or Money (1990), Deadly Relations (1993), The Great Mom Swap (1995), and A Nightmare Come True (1997).

Later career

After Coach ended in 1997, Fabares voiced the role of Martha Kent on Superman: The Animated Series. She reprised the role twice, once in Justice League and again for the direct-to-video film Superman: Brainiac Attacks (2006).

She was in Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie (1998).

From 2004 to 2011 she produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Personal life

She was born to James Alan Fabares, who was born in Algiers, New Orleans on 2 August 1909, and died in Los Angeles on 10 December 1977, and Elsa R. Eyler, who died from Alzheimer's disease in 1992. She has an older sister Nanette ("Smokey").[24]

In 1964, Fabares married producer Lou Adler. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1980.[25] Since 1984, she has been married to actor Mike Farrell.[26]

In October 2000, Fabares received a liver transplant after being diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.[27][28]

Filmography

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More information Year, Title ...

Discography

Studio albums

Featuring four tracks each by Shelley, James Darren and Paul Petersen
  • Bye Bye Birdie—Colpix CP-454/SCP-454—1963
Songs from the movie sung by Shelley, The Marcels, James Darren and Paul Petersen
  • More Teenage Triangle—Colpix CP-468/SCP-468—1964
Second compilation featuring Shelley, James Darren and Paul Petersen

Soundtrack songs

Compilations

  • Rare Items And Big Hits Colpix (1989)
  • The Best of Shelley Fabares Rhino R2 71651—1994
  • Shelley Fabares Johnny Angel Collectables #9931 July 2005
  • Shelley Fabares Meets Paul Petersen Collectables Records July 2009
  • Growing Up-The 1962 Recordings Jasmine 2014

Singles

More information Year, Title ...

Awards and nominations

More information Year, Award ...

References

  1. [1]
    Strodder, Chris (2000). Swingin' Chicks of the '60s: A Tribute to 101 of the Decade's Defining Women. Cedco. p. 35. ISBN 978-0768322323.
  2. [2]
    Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits: The Inside Story Behind Every Number One Single on Billboard's Hot 100 from 1955 to the Present (5 ed.). Billboard Books. p. 107. ISBN 978-0823076772.
  3. [3]
    "Sept 61". Philadelphia Daily News. 1961-09-07. p. 24. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  4. [4]
    Leszczak, Bob (Jun 25, 2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 112. ISBN 9781442242746.
  5. [5]
    The Loretta Young Show - S1 E27 - "The Clara Schumann Story" on YouTube
  6. [6]
    Our Town (Producers' Showcase, 1955) on YouTube
  7. [7]
    Korman, Seymour (4 June 1960). "TOPS WITH TEENS: Shelley Fabares Likes Boys, Music, Swimming, Chocolate Cake, and (again!) Boys". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. C25.
  8. [8]
    Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-7864-6477-7.
  9. [9]
    "Shelley Fabares Gets 2nd 'Mr. Novak' Role". Los Angeles Times. 9 July 1963. p. C7.
  10. [10]
    "Shelley Fabares". TVGuide.com. TV Guide. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  11. [11]
    Fink, John (25 September 1960). "Terrific Teen: Fabares Believe It or Not, She's Shy!" Chicago Daily Tribune. p. B18.
  12. [12]
    King, Susan (16 May 1993). "Five Years Of Coach; Shelley Fabares marks 100th show". [Montreal]: The Gazette p. F6.
  13. [13]
    "Shelley Fabares - Johnny Angel". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  14. [14]
    Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. p. 145. ISBN 978-0214204807.
  15. [15]
    Mirabella, Alan (28 November 1989). "'Coach' is New Life for Shelley Fabaes". Orlando Sentinel p. E6.
  16. [16]
    "Shelley Fabares Role". Los Angeles Times 4 September 1968. p.H14.
  17. [17]
    "Shelley Fabares Set for Lancer Episode". Los Angeles Times 4 February 1969. p. G14.
  18. [18]
    "Shelley Fabares Has Half-Century of Screen Presence". Orlando Sentinel. Los Angeles Times. 28 July 1996. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
  19. [19]
    Lane, Lydia (15 March 1972). "BEAUTY: Actress Learned Hard Way". Los Angeles Times. p. I-13.
  20. [20]
    Anderson, Jack (23 December 1972). "Donna's 'little girl' grows up" Chicago Tribune p. B5.
  21. [21]
    Buck, Jerry (9 July 1991). Veteran Fabares Likes Challenge of 'Coach' Role". [Ft Lauderdale]: Sun-Sentinel p. 3E.
  22. [22]
    Lisanti, Tom (20 May 2015). Fantasy Femmes of Sixties Cinema: Interviews With 20 Actresses From Biker, Beach and Elvis Movies. McFarland. p. 283. ISBN 978-1476601168.
  23. [23]
    "15th Annual Youth in Film Awards". Young Artist Academy. Archived from the original on 2000-07-09. Retrieved 2011-03-31.
  24. [24]
    "Bio Shelley Fabares". All Shelley Fabares. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  25. [25]
    "Shelley Fabares". Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  26. [26]
    Sanz, Cynthia (15 April 1991). "Shelley Fabares Fell for a Former M*A*S*H-Er, Mike Farrell". People. 35: 72. ISSN 0093-7673. Archived from the original on 10 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
  27. [27]
    Slaughter, Adele (24 April 2002). "Shelley Fabares 'coaches' life-giving game plan". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
  28. [28]
    "Shelley Fabares: Illness and Liver Transplant". MedicineNet. 22 April 2003. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  29. [29]
    "Shelley Fabares". AllMusic. 19 January 1944. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  30. [30]
    Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th ed.). New York: Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 212. ISBN 978-0823076321.
  31. [31]
    "Shelley Fabares". AllMusic. 1944-01-19. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
  32. [32]
    Whitburn, Joel (2005). Bubbling Under The Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 (2nd ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 94. ISBN 0-89820-162-4.
  33. [33]
    Whitburn, Joel (2003). Top Pop Singles 1955-2002 (10th ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 234. ISBN 978-0898201550.
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