Shelley Fabares

Shelley Fabares

  • Birthday: 1944-01-19
  • Place of birth: Santa Monica, California, USA
  • Also know as: Shelly Fabares

Biography

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. As the niece of singer/comedienne Nanette Fabray, she was indoctrinated early into the show biz life. Tap dancing from age three, she also modeled during her elementary school years and began appearing on such TV shows as Captain Midnight (1954) and Annie Oakley (1954) (the latter a recurring role). At age 12, she made her professional film debut in the Rock Hudson/Cornell Borchers tearjerker Never Say Goodbye (1956) as Hudson's daughter, and went on to play kid sister roles in the rock 'n' roll-themed Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956) and its sequel Summer Love (1957) both starring John Saxon. Teen-idol status came with her coming-of-age role as the ever-wholesome daughter "Mary Stone" on The Donna Reed Show (1958), a part she played for five seasons before embarking on a more grown-up film career. The character of "Mary Stone" was gently phased out of the show as her character "left for college". During its' run, she and TV "brother" Paul Petersen grew so popular that they sprinted to adjoining pop singing celebrity, although both admitted that their vocal talents were limited. In 1962, her recording of "Johnny Angel" reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. She left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue other acting opportunities. 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). She released a third album, Teenage Triangle in 1963. She landed top femme parts in such fun-and-frolic fare as Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Hold On! (1966) in which she played the love interest of Peter Noone (of Herman's Hermits) and sings Make Me Happy, as well as three of Elvis Presley's less-acclaimed films of the later 1960s: Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966) and Clambake (1967). She then played the love interest of a young Hank Williams Jr. in A Time to Sing (1968). She had support roles in television films like Brian's Song (1971) (playing Brian Piccolo's wife with James Caan as Brian), and Two for the Money (1972). Her performance in Brian's Song earned her a Golden Globe nomination. For her work, she 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. From 2004 to 2011 she produced the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Filmography

The Great Mom Swap

1995

As Millie Ridgeway

Clambake

1967

As Dianne Carter

Ride the Wild Surf

1964

As Brie Matthews

Girl Happy

1965

As Valerie

Spinout

1966

As Cynthia Foxhugh

Deadly Relations

1993

As Shirley Fagot

A Time to Sing

1968

As Amy Carter

Memorial Day

1983

As Ellie Walker

Suburban Beat

1985

As Mimi

Donovan's Kid

1979

As Grace Donovan

Run Till You Fall

1988

As Kathy Reuben

Never Say Goodbye

1956

As Suzy Parker

Our Town

1955

As Rebecca Gibbs

Brian's Song

1971

As Joy Piccolo

Love or Money

1990

As Lu Ann Reed

Summer Love

1958

As Twinkie Daley

Gridlock

1980

As Louise Gregory

Hot Pursuit

1987

As Buffy Cronenberg

Hold On!

1966

As Louisa Page

A Nightmare Come True

1997

As Lily Zarn

Two for the Money

1972

As Bethany Hagan

Rock, Pretty Baby

1956

As Teresa "Twinky" Daley

Superman: Brainiac Attacks

2006

As Martha Kent (voice)

Superman: The Last Son of Krypton

1996

As Martha Kent (voice)

Sky Heist

1975

As Lisa

Pleasure Cove

1979

As Helen Perlmutter

Operation Heartbeat

1969

As 'Mike' Carter

Your Studio and You

1995

As Self

The Girl Rush

1955

As Young Kim

Jeanne Eagels

1957

As Teenage Girl (uncredited)

The Bad Seed

1956

As Margie (uncredited)

Marjorie Morningstar

1958

As Seth's Friend (uncredited)

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