Person Details

Birthday:

Aliases: Shelly Fabares , Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares , Michele Ann Marie Fabares , شلی فابارس

Gender: Female

Place of birth: Santa Monica, California, USA

Homepage:

Movie Involvements: 22

TV Involvements: 14


Most Famous Work

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.

Most Famous Work

The Rockford Files
Average
7

The Rockford Files

(1974) Jolene Hyland
The Twilight Zone
Average
8

The Twilight Zone

(1959) Ellen Tillman (as Shelly Fabares)
Murder, She Wrote
Average
8

Murder, She Wrote

(1984) Liza Caspar
Daniel Boone
Average
7

Daniel Boone

(1964) Charity Brown
The Incredible Hulk
Average
7

The Incredible Hulk

(1977) Holly Cooper
Superman: The Animated Series
Average
8

Superman: The Animated Series

(1996) Martha Kent (voice)
The Bob Hope Show
Average
7

The Bob Hope Show

(1950) Self
Mr. Novak
Average
7

Mr. Novak

(1963) Dani Cooper

Acting

Year Character Movie/Tv
2006 Martha Kent (voice)
2001 Martha Kent (voice)
1998 Nancy Erickson
1997 Lily Zarn
1996 N/A
Martha Kent (voice)
Martha Kent (voice)
1995 Self (uncredited)
Millie Ridgeway
Self
1993 Shirley Fagot
1990 Lu Ann Reed
1989 Christine Armstrong
1988 Kathy Reuben
1987 Buffy Cronenberg
1985 Mimi
Lucy
1984 Liza Caspar
1983 Ellie Walker
1982 N/A
N/A
1980 Louise Gregory
1979 Mary Alice
Helen Straight Blacke
N/A
Grace Donovan
Helen Perlmutter
1978 N/A
N/A
Cathy McConnell
1977 Holly Cooper
N/A
Cathy
Mary Frances Bellflower
N/A
1976 N/A
Jenny Bedford
1975 Francine Webster
Chris / Tina
Lisa
1974 Jolene Hyland
1973 N/A
1972 Dr. Anne Jamison
N/A
Bethany Hagan
1971 Joy Piccolo
1970 N/A
1969 Sheila
N/A
'Mike' Carter
1968 N/A
N/A
Amy Carter
1967 Dianne Carter
N/A
N/A
1966 Cynthia Foxhugh
Louisa Page
1965 Valerie
1964 Charity Brown
Self - Singer
Brie Matthews
1963 Dani Cooper
N/A
1959 Ellen Tillman (as Shelly Fabares)
1958 N/A
Mary Stone
Seth's Friend (uncredited)
Twinkie Daley
1957 Teenage Girl (uncredited)
Moselle Corey
1956 Teresa "Twinky" Daley
Margie (uncredited)
Suzy Parker
1955 N/A
Rebecca Gibbs
Young Kim
1954 Grace Donovan
1953 Marie Schumann
1950 Self
Year Character Movie/Tv

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