Shelley Fabares life and biography

Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is an American actress and singer. Fabares is known for her roles as Donna Reed's oldest child, "Mary Stone," on The Donna Reed Show (from 1958 to 1963), and as Craig T. Nelson's love interest and eventual wife, Christine Armstrong Fox, on the sitcom Coach. She was also Elvis Presley's costar in three films.

The niece of musical comedy luminary Nanette_Fabray, American actress Shelley Fabares was in show business almost as soon as she could walk. She was a model for children's fashions at age 3, a bit actress in the film The_Bandit_Queen at age 7, a peripheral character on the Annie Oakley TV series at 8, and Frank Sinatra's dance partner on a 1953 TV special. After doing the TV-anthology route from ages 10 through 13, Fabares was cast at age 14 as Donna Reed's daughter on The_Donna_Reed_Show, a part she would virtually grow up in. Before the series' cancellation in 1966, Fabares had become a top recording artist, selling a million copies of "Johnny Angel" before quitting singing cold because she felt she had no talent in that endeavor.

Except for co-starring stints in three Elvis_Presley musicals, Fabares' employment outside Donna Reed was virtually nil, and from 1968 through 1970 she barely worked at all. She filmed six TV pilots before 1971, but none sold. Things began picking up in 1972 when she was signed for a Brian_Keith series set in Hawaii, The Little People. This led to guest TV spots until the next sitcom hitch in 1977's The Practice, in which Fabares played Danny Thomas' daughter-in-law. Highcliffe_Manor, a muddled TV satire of Gothic melodramas, followed in 1979, but lasted a scant four weeks. By this time, Fabares' characterizations were of the "snooty shrew" category, and in this capacity she was shown to good advantage as Bonnie Franklin's business partner on One Day at a Time in 1981. Off-camera, Fabares was very active in the prosocial and ecological activities of her new husband, former MASH star Mike_Farrell--a far cry from her on-camera haughtiness and self-involvement. More recently, Shelley Fabares' acting career is alive and prospering via her continuing role as Craig T. Nelson's lady love, sportscaster Christine Armstrong, on the Emmy-winning sitcom Coach.

Films:
1955 The Girl Rush
1956 Never Say Goodbye
The Bad Seed
1957 Jeanne Eagels
1958 Summer Love
Marjorie Morningstar
1964 Ride the Wild Surf
1965 Girl Happy
1966 Hold On!
Spinout
1967 Clambake
1968 A Time to Sing
1987 Hot Pursuit
1990 Love or Money
2006 Superman: Brainiac Attacks

Television:
1954–1958 Letter to Loretta
1955 Producers' Showcase ; Matinee Theater ; Captain Midnight
1956 Annie Oakley
1957 Fury
1958 Walt Disney Presents: Annette
1958–1965 The Donna Reed Show
1959 The Rebel
1963 Mr. Novak
1964 The Eleventh Hour ; Arrest and Trial ; The Twilight Zone
1968 The Ghost & Mrs. Muir
1969 Daniel Boone ; Lancer ; Bracken's World
1971 Longstreet ; Brian's Song ;Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law
1972 McCloud ; Cade's County ; The Brian Keith Show
1974 Police Story ; Ironside
The Rockford Files
1975 The Rookies ; Matt Helm ; Barnaby Jones
1976 Marcus Welby, M.D.
1976 Spencer's Pilots
1977–1978 Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman
1978 Vega$ ; The Incredible Hulk
1978–1984 One Day at a Time
1979 Hello, Larry
1980–1981 Mork & Mindy
1980–1985 The Love Boat
1983 Matt Houston ; ABC Afterschool Special ; Memorial Day
1985 The Canterville Ghost ; Suburban Beat
1987 Newhart
1988 Run Till You Fall
1989 Murder, She Wrote
1989–1997 Coach
1993 Deadly Relations
1995 The Great Mom Swap
1996 Superman: The Last Son of Krypton
1996–1998 Superman: The Animated Series
1997 A Nightmare Come True
1998 Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie
2003 Justice League

Read more