1944-01-19 ( 81 years old ) in Santa Monica, California, USA
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.
Movies
Superman: Brainiac Attacks
2006-06-20
Playing to Win: A Moment of Truth Movie
1998-02-11
A Nightmare Come True
1997-02-12
Superman: The Last Son of Krypton
1996-09-10
The Great Mom Swap
1995-09-23
Your Studio and You
1995-02-01
Deadly Relations
1993-05-22
Love or Money
1990-01-05
Run Till You Fall
1988-09-09
Hot Pursuit
1987-05-08
Suburban Beat
1985-08-17
The Canterville Ghost
1985-01-01
Memorial Day
1983-11-23
Gridlock
1980-10-02
Friendships, Secrets and Lies
1979-12-03
Donovan's Kid
1979-01-07
Pleasure Cove
1979-01-03
Sky Heist
1975-05-26
Two for the Money
1972-02-26
Brian's Song
1971-11-30
Operation Heartbeat
1969-04-17
A Time to Sing
1968-08-15
Clambake
1967-12-04
Spinout
1966-10-06
Hold On!
1966-06-22
Girl Happy
1965-04-14
Ride the Wild Surf
1964-08-05
Marjorie Morningstar
1958-04-24
Summer Love
1958-03-10
Jeanne Eagels
1957-08-02
Rock, Pretty Baby
1956-12-01
The Bad Seed
1956-09-12
Never Say Goodbye
1956-03-10
Our Town
1955-09-19
The Girl Rush
1955-09-16
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