Thursday 13 January 2011

all the king's women #27 - shelley fabares


Shelley Fabares has been acting since she was 3 years old, and first became famous for her role in the long running 60s sitcom The Donna Reed Show. the attention this role brought Shelley -life long friend of Annette Funicello- the opportunity to record two top forty hits, one of which (Johnny Angel) climbed to number one on the billboard charts in 1962.


in 1963, Shelley took a break from television to pursue a career in film. it was during this time that she appeared in Ride the Wild Surf with Barbara Eden and Susan Hart...


and not one, but three Elvis films: Girl Happy (1965), Spinout(1966) and Clambake(1967). Elvis once said that Shelley was his favourite actress to work with. perhaps because they shared an interest in music as well as acting?


Fabares returned to television in the 70s, appearing in numerous shows and made-for-tv movies. some of my readers may be a bit young to remember, but Shelley is probably most know for her role in the tv series Coach with Craig T. Nelson :)


Shelley married record producer Lou Adler in 1964, but the couple separated two years later and were divorced in 1980. in 1984, Fabares married actor Mike Farrell (B.J from M.a.s.h.) and is stepmother to his two children, Erin and Michael.


in October 2000, Shelley received a life-saving liver transplant after being diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis.

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