Shelley Fabares
Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is a retired American actress and singer. She is known for her television roles as Francine Webster on One Day at a Time, Mary on the sitcom The Donna Reed Show and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcom Coach, 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. In 1962, her recording of "Johnny Angel" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Early life
Fabares was born in Santa Monica, California on January 19, 1944. She was born to James Alan Fabares, who was born in Algiers, New Orleans, and Elsa R. Eyler, who died from Alzheimer's disease in 1992. She has an older sister Nanette. She is the niece of actress Nanette Fabray. She graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1961.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".Early TV appearances included the Producers' Showcase adaptation of Our Town starring Frank Sinatra and Paul Newman. She was Young Cathy in a Matinee Theatre adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Fabares had small parts in The Girl Rush, Never Say Goodbye, The Bad Seed, Rock, Pretty Baby!, Jeanne Eagels, Marjorie Morningstar, and Summer Love.
On TV she was in Captain Midnight, Annie Oakley, Fury, and Colgate Theatre.
She portrayed Moselle Corey on Annette starring Annette Funicello.
She guest starred on Mr. Novak, The Eleventh Hour, Arrest and Trial, and The Twilight Zone.
''The Donna Reed Show''
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."Donna Reed was simply an extraordinary woman, a woman of great strength, kindness, integrity and compassion," said Fabares later of her television mother.
Singer
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. It sold over one million copies and was certified gold. She released an album, Shelley!. "I was stunned about that, to put it mildly," she later said. "After all, I never could sing."This was followed by a second album, The Things We Did Last Summer, which included two hit songs "Johnny Loves Me" and "The Things We Did Last Summer".
In Canada she had three songs the Top 40 with Johnny Angel at No. 1 for three weeks, Johnny Loves Me at No. 24, and Ronnie, Call Me at No. 16 for two weeks.
Fabares left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 to pursue other acting opportunities. She released a third album, Teenage Triangle in 1963.
Film career
Fabares was one of the female leads in the surf film Ride the Wild Surf. She was Elvis Presley's leading lady in Girl Happy for MGM and played the love interest of Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits and sings Make Me Happy in Hold On! at the same studio. Filmink wrote in Girl Happy Fabares is "channelling Ann-Margret in Viva Las Vegas and doing it very well, too."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 at MGM and Clambake, at United Artists.
Sam Katzman cast her as the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing.
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, Daniel Boone, Medical Center, Lancer, Bracken's World, and The Interns.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."
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."
Fabares had supporting roles in television films like Brian's Song, and Two for the Money. Her performance in Brian's Song earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
''The Brian Keith Show'', ''The Practice''
Fabares had a regular role on The Brian Keith Show, known as The Little People during its first season, which lasted for 47 episodes.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 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."
She was also in episodes of Lucan, Vega$, The Incredible Hulk, Hello, Larry, and Fantasy Island.
Fabares was in the television film Pleasure Cove, Donovan's Kid, Friendships, Secrets and Lies and The Great American Traffic Jam.
She had the starring role in the TV series Highcliffe Manor 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 with Mike Farrell, as well as the films Suburban Beat, The Canterville Ghost, Hot Pursuit, and Run Till You Fall.
''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."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, 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.
During the series' run Fabares appeared on Love or Money, Deadly Relations, The Great Mom Swap, and A Nightmare Come True.
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.She was in Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie.
From 2004 to 2011 she produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Personal life
In 1964, Fabares married producer Lou Adler. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1980. Since 1984, she has been married to actor Mike Farrell.In October 2000, Fabares received a liver transplant after being diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1954–1958 | The Loretta Young Show | Marie Schumann Kathy | 2 episodes |
| 1955 | Producers' Showcase | Rebecca Gibbs | Episode: "Our Town" |
| 1955 | Matinee Theater | Young Cathy | Episode: "Wuthering Heights" |
| 1955 | Captain Midnight | Mary Kingsley | Episode: "Flight Into the Unknown" |
| 1956 | Annie Oakley | Prudy Warren | Episode: "Treasure Map" |
| 1957 | Fury | Midge Mallon | Episode: "The Tomboy" |
| 1958 | Walt Disney Presents: Annette | Moselle Corey | 15 episodes |
| 1958 | Colgate Theatre | Episode: "Welcome to Washington" | |
| 1958–1965 | The Donna Reed Show | Mary Stone | 191 episodes |
| 1959 | The Rebel | Nora Hendry | 1 episode |
| 1963 | Mr. Novak | Dani Cooper | 2 episodes |
| 1964 | The Eleventh Hour | Carol Hamilton | Episode: "How Do I Say I Love You?" |
| 1964 | Arrest and Trial | Donna Blaney | Episode: "An Echo of Conscience" |
| 1964 | The Twilight Zone | Ellen Tillman | Episode: "Black Leather Jackets" |
| 1968 | The Ghost & Mrs. Muir | Vanessa | Episode: "Vanessa" |
| 1969 | Daniel Boone | Charity Brown | Episode: "A Touch of Charity" |
| 1969 | Lancer | Melissa Harper | Episode: "Juniper's Camp" |
| 1969 | Bracken's World | Hilary Saxon | Episode: "Package Deal" |
| 1969 | Medical Center | "Mike" Carter | Episode: "Operation Heartbeat" |
| 1971 | Longstreet | Marianne Franklin | Episode: "The Girl with the Broom" |
| 1971 | Brian's Song | Joy Piccolo | Television film |
| 1971 | Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law | Lorraine Latham | Episode: "Burden of Proof" |
| 1971 | Mannix | Gwen Townsend | Episode: "A Step in Time" |
| 1972 | McCloud | Natalie Rudell | Episode: "Fifth Man in a String Quartet" |
| 1972 | Two for the Money | Bethany Hagen | Television film |
| 1972 | Cade's County | Stephanie | Episode: "The Fake" |
| 1972–1974 | The Little People/''The Brian Keith Show | Dr. Anne Jamison | 47 episodes |
| 1974 | Police Story | Annette Weiner | Episode: "Wolf" |
| 1974 | Ironside | Charlotte Black | Episode: "The Far Side of the Fence" |
| 1974 | The Rockford Files | Jolene Hyland | Episode: "Caledonia - It's Worth a Fortune!" |
| 1975 | The Rookies | Ann McNeal | Episode: "Solomon's Dilemma" |
| 1975 | Matt Helm | Chris/Tina | Episode: "Now I Lay Me Down To Die" |
| 1975 | Barnaby Jones | Susan Burke | Episode: "Flight to Danger" |
| 1976 | Marcus Welby, M.D. | Norma Fritchie | Episode: "Strike Two!" |
| 1976 | Spencer's Pilots | Annette | Episode: "The Code" |
| 1976–1977 | The Practice | Jenny Bedford | 27 episodes |
| 1977–1978 | Forever Fernwood | Eleanor Major | Unknown episodes |
| 1978 | Vega$ | Linda Stockwood | Episode: "The Games Girls Play" |
| 1978 | The Incredible Hulk | Holly Cooper | Episode: "Escape from Los Santos" |
| 1978–1984 | One Day at a Time | Francine Webster | 23 episodes |
| 1979-1981 | Fantasy Island | Various Roles | |
| 1979 | Hello, Larry | Marion Alder | 3 episodes |
| 1979 | Highcliffe Manor | Helen Blacke | 6 episodes |
| 1980–1981 | Mork & Mindy | Cathy | 3 episodes |
| 1980–1985 | The Love Boat | Various roles | 3 episodes |
| 1983 | Matt Houston | Barbara Newton | Episode: "The Visitors" |
| 1983 | ABC Afterschool Special | Fran Brogliatti | Episode: "The Celebrity and the Arcade Kid" |
| 1983 | Memorial Day | Ellie Walker | Television film |
| 1985 | The Canterville Ghost | Lucy | Television film |
| 1985 | Suburban Beat | Mimi | Television film |
| 1987 | Newhart | Diane Beckwith | Episode: "The First of the Belles" |
| 1988 | Run Till You Fall | Kathy Reuben | Television film |
| 1989 | Murder, She Wrote | Liza Caspar | 2 episodes |
| 1989–1997 | Coach | Christine Armstrong | 199 episodes |
| 1993 | Deadly Relations | Shirley Fagot | Television film |
| 1995 | The Great Mom Swap | Millie Ridgeway | Television film |
| 1996–1998 | Superman: The Animated Series | Martha Kent | 8 episodes |
| 1997 | A Nightmare Come True | Lily Zarn | Television film |
| 1998 | Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie | Nancy Erickson | Television film |
| 2003 | Justice League'' | Martha Kent | Episode: "Comfort and Joy" |
Discography
Studio albums
Shelley! -- Colpix Records CP-426 /SCP-426 — No. 106, July 62The Things We Did Last Summer—Colpix CP-431/SCP-431 — No. 121, 10/62Teenage Triangle—Colpix CP-444/SCP-444 — No. 48, May 63Bye Bye Birdie—Colpix CP-454/SCP-454—1963More Teenage Triangle—Colpix CP-468/SCP-468—1964Soundtrack songs
- "Spring Fever" with Elvis Presley from Girl Happy
- "Make Me Happy" from Hold On! MGM Records
- "Next Time I Say Goodbye I'm Leaving" from soundtrack of A Time to Sing (Music From The Original Soundtrack) MCA Records– MCA-1458