Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares (/ˌfæbəˈreɪ/; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is 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.
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]
In 1958, Fabares landed the role of Mary Stone in the long-running family sitcomThe 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]
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]
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.[16][17][18]
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.
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."[21]
"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.[22]
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.[23]
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."[24]
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.
She was born to James Alan Fabares,(1909-1977), 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 ("Smokey").[28]
In 1964, Fabares married producer Lou Adler. They separated in 1966 and divorced in 1980.[29] Since 1984, she has been married to actor Mike Farrell.[30]
^ abcBronson, 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. ISBN978-0823076772.
^"Sept 61". Philadelphia Daily News. September 7, 1961. p. 24. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
^Leszczak, Bob (June 25, 2015). From Small Screen to Vinyl: A Guide to Television Stars Who Made Records, 1950-2000. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 112. ISBN9781442242746.
^Korman, Seymour (June 4, 1960). "TOPS WITH TEENS: Shelley Fabares Likes Boys, Music, Swimming, Chocolate Cake, and (again!) Boys". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. C25.
^Terrace, Vincent (2011). Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010 (2nd ed.). Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 49. ISBN978-0-7864-6477-7.
^"Shelley Fabares Gets 2nd 'Mr. Novak' Role". Los Angeles Times. July 9, 1963. p. C7.
^ abc"Shelley Fabares (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved October 10, 2024. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
^"Shelley Fabares". AllMusic. January 19, 1944. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
^Whitburn, Joel (2005). Bubbling Under The Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004 (2nd ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 94. ISBN0-89820-162-4.
