Sheree North
Encyclopedia
Sheree North was an American actress, singer, and dancer. She was known for being 20th Century Fox
's answer to Marilyn Monroe
from 1954 to 1956. During these two years, she had lead roles in How to Be Very, Very Popular
(1955), opposite Betty Grable
; The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
(1956), with Tom Ewell
and Rita Moreno
; and The Best Things in Life Are Free
, with Gordon MacRae
, Dan Dailey
, and Ernest Borgnine
(1956).
, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June Shoard and Richard Crang, her stepfather was Edward Bethel. She began dancing in USO
shows during World War II
at age ten. At 15, she married Fred Bessire; she had a child at 16. She continued dancing in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire.
, and was cast as a chorus girl in the 1953 film Here Come the Girls
, starring Bob Hope
. Around that time, she adopted the stage name Sheree North (originally Sherree). She would then make her Broadway
debut in the musical Hazel Flagg
, for which she won a Theatre World Award
. She reprised her role in the film version, Living It Up
(1954). In early 1954 she appeared in a live TV version of Cole Porter
's Anything Goes on The Colgate Comedy Hour
with Ethel Merman
, Frank Sinatra
and Bert Lahr
.
In 1954, North signed a contract with 20th Century Fox
. Fox had plans to mold North as a Marilyn Monroe
replacement. North was soon convinced by Fox to bleach her hair blonde. The studio would then screen test
North for Monroe's roles (while wearing Monroe's own studio wardrobe) in The Girl in Pink Tights and There's No Business Like Show Business
as a threat to Monroe. North was not cast in either part.
The following year, she won the lead role opposite Betty Grable
in How to Be Very, Very Popular
(1955), a role that was rejected by Monroe. Media attention resulted in North appearing on the cover of Life
magazine with the cover line "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe". Film historians, then and now, cite North's electrically-charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as the film's most memorable scene.
, suggested promoting North. The studio got her guest appeances on some well-known television series including What's My Line?
; in which she had to sign her name on a chalkboard
; she wrote her name as: Shereë North. She then appeared in a skit entitled Anthything Goes on a episode of Shower of Stars
.
Soon after, Fox gave North the lead role in The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
(1956), co-starring Tom Ewell
and Rita Moreno
. North was happy to get a lead role. Directed by Frank Tashlin
, the filming of The Lieutenant Wore Skirts went smoothly, and the film was completed on time and on budget. North enjoyed working with her co-stars, Tom Ewell
, Rita Moreno
, and Rick Jason
.
When released in January 1956, The Lieutenant Wore Skirts was a huge box-office success. The film was the 13th-highest grossing film of the year. Fox was thrilled with the success of the film.
Later that same year, believing North was now a box-office draw, Fox cast her in a supporting role opposite Gordon MacRae
, Dan Dailey
, and Ernest Borgnine
in the big-budget picture The Best Things in Life Are Free
The film was a success, but the studio began to lose interest in North, and started to promote another sex symbol, Jayne Mansfield
.
In 1980, North would portray Marilyn Monroe's mother, Gladys Baker, in Marilyn: The Untold Story a television movie
.
, also starring Jeffrey Hunter
. North proved she could act in The Way to the Gold, and the film drew modest box-office success. In the fall of 1957, Fox cast North in the all-star drama, No Down Payment
. The film co-starred several newcomers, such as Joanne Woodward
, Tony Randall
, Jeffrey Hunter
, Cameron Mitchell
, Patricia Owens
, and Barbara Rush
. No Down Payment was released with high hopes, and drew mild box-office praise.
The next year North won a role in the war-time drama, In Love and War
(1958), starring Robert Wagner
. This film was a success, which convinced Fox to cast North opposite Pat Boone
in the musical comedy Mardi Gras (1958). This film was a modest box-office success, but the studio decided not to renew North's contract.
After North's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she continued act in movies, and had guest spots on television shows such as Gunsmoke
, The Virginian
, Breaking Point, and Ben Casey
. In the 1960s she returned to Broadway in the Harold Rome musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale
, which featured Elliott Gould
and introduced Barbra Streisand
.
.
Some of her other remembered performances werer in Don Siegel
's Charley Varrick
(1973), and as John Wayne
's long-lost love in the actor's final film, The Shootist
(1976). She had supporting roles in two Charles Bronson
movies, Breakout (also starring Robert Duvall
and Randy Quaid
) in 1975 and Telefon (featuring Donald Pleasence
and Lee Remick
) in 1977.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North appeared in guest spots on Hawaii Five-O
, The Streets of San Francisco
, Matlock
, Magnum, P.I.
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
—in which she played Lou Grant
's girlfriend—and The Golden Girls
, in which she played Blanche Devereaux
's sister, Virginia, in two episodes.
She starred in the ABC
sitcom I'm a Big Girl Now
with Diana Canova, Danny Thomas
, Rori King, and a young Martin Short
. The series aired 19 episodes during the 1980–1981 season.
In 1983 she appeared in the ensemble cast of the Steven Bochco
series Bay City Blues
, starring Michael Nouri
, Dennis Franz
, Pat Corley
, and Sharon Stone
. The hour-long drama series aired eight episodes.
In the 1990s, she appeared as Kramer
's mother, Babs Kramer, in two episodes of the TV series Seinfeld
. North's last onscreen role came in the 1998
John Landis film Susan's Plan
.
At the time of her death, North was married to Phillip Norman.
.
Emmy Award
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
's answer to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
from 1954 to 1956. During these two years, she had lead roles in How to Be Very, Very Popular
How to Be Very, Very Popular
How to Be Very, Very Popular is a 1955 comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Betty Grable in her final film role, and, introduced newcomer, Sheree North to the public.-Plot:...
(1955), opposite Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
; The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts is a 1956 film directed by Frank Tashlin. The feature starred Tom Ewell, Sheree North, and Rita Moreno. It is a comedy about a man whose marriage begins to fail when his wife gets drafted.-Cast:*Tom Ewell as Gregory Whitcomb...
(1956), with Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers....
and Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
; and The Best Things in Life Are Free
The Best Things in Life Are Free (film)
The Best Things in Life Are Free is a 1956 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film starred, Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, and Sheree North....
, with Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
, Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
, and Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
(1956).
Early life
North was either born as Dawn Shirley Bethel or as Dawn Shirley Crang in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June Shoard and Richard Crang, her stepfather was Edward Bethel. She began dancing in USO
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
shows during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
at age ten. At 15, she married Fred Bessire; she had a child at 16. She continued dancing in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire.
Career
North made her film debut as one of the many club members in Excuse My Dust (1951). She was then spotted by a choreographer performing at the Macayo Club in Santa MonicaSanta Mônica
Santa Mônica is a town and municipality in the state of Paraná in the Southern Region of Brazil.-References:...
, and was cast as a chorus girl in the 1953 film Here Come the Girls
Here Come the Girls (1953 film)
Here Come the Girls is a comedy film directed by Claude Binyon, filmed in Technicolor, produced by Hope's company Hope Productions Inc., and released by Paramount Pictures.-Storyline:...
, starring Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
. Around that time, she adopted the stage name Sheree North (originally Sherree). She would then make her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in the musical Hazel Flagg
Hazel Flagg
Hazel Flagg is a musical with a book by Ben Hecht, lyrics by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred...
, for which she won a Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
. She reprised her role in the film version, Living It Up
Living It Up
Living It Up is a 1954 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and released by Paramount Pictures.The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson was based on the 1953 musical Hazel Flagg by Ben Hecht, in...
(1954). In early 1954 she appeared in a live TV version of Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
's Anything Goes on The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour
The Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
with Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr
Bert Lahr was an American actor and comedian. Lahr is remembered today for his roles as the Cowardly Lion and Kansas farmworker Zeke in The Wizard of Oz, but was also well-known for work in burlesque, vaudeville, and on Broadway.-Early life:Lahr was born in New York City, of German-Jewish heritage...
.
In 1954, North signed a contract with 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
. Fox had plans to mold North as a Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
replacement. North was soon convinced by Fox to bleach her hair blonde. The studio would then screen test
Screen test
A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. The performer is generally given a scene, or selected lines and actions, and instructed to perform in front of a camera to see if they are suitable...
North for Monroe's roles (while wearing Monroe's own studio wardrobe) in The Girl in Pink Tights and There's No Business Like Show Business
There's No Business Like Show Business (film)
There's No Business Like Show Business is a 20th Century Fox musical film that was released on December 16, 1954. The title is borrowed from the famous song in the stage musical Annie Get Your Gun....
as a threat to Monroe. North was not cast in either part.
The following year, she won the lead role opposite Betty Grable
Betty Grable
Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer and singer.Her iconic bathing suit photo made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era. It was later included in the LIFE magazine project "100 Photos that Changed the World"...
in How to Be Very, Very Popular
How to Be Very, Very Popular
How to Be Very, Very Popular is a 1955 comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Betty Grable in her final film role, and, introduced newcomer, Sheree North to the public.-Plot:...
(1955), a role that was rejected by Monroe. Media attention resulted in North appearing on the cover of Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine with the cover line "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe". Film historians, then and now, cite North's electrically-charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as the film's most memorable scene.
Starlet on the rise
After the modest box-office success of How to Be Very, Very Popular, Fox's studio head, Darryl F. ZanuckDarryl F. Zanuck
Darryl Francis Zanuck was an American producer, writer, actor, director and studio executive who played a major part in the Hollywood studio system as one of its longest survivors...
, suggested promoting North. The studio got her guest appeances on some well-known television series including What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
; in which she had to sign her name on a chalkboard
Chalkboard
A chalkboard or blackboard is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulfate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Chalkboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark grey slate stone...
; she wrote her name as: Shereë North. She then appeared in a skit entitled Anthything Goes on a episode of Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars
Shower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...
.
Soon after, Fox gave North the lead role in The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts is a 1956 film directed by Frank Tashlin. The feature starred Tom Ewell, Sheree North, and Rita Moreno. It is a comedy about a man whose marriage begins to fail when his wife gets drafted.-Cast:*Tom Ewell as Gregory Whitcomb...
(1956), co-starring Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers....
and Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
. North was happy to get a lead role. Directed by Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin
Frank Tashlin, born Francis Fredrick von Taschlein, also known as Tish Tash or Frank Tash was an American animator, screenwriter, and film director.-Animator:...
, the filming of The Lieutenant Wore Skirts went smoothly, and the film was completed on time and on budget. North enjoyed working with her co-stars, Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell was an American actor.-Early life and career:Born Samuel Yewell Tompkins in Owensboro, Kentucky, where his family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers....
, Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno is a Puerto Rican singer, dancer and actress. She is the only Hispanic and one of the few performers who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and was the second Puerto Rican to win an Academy Award....
, and Rick Jason
Rick Jason
Rick Jason , born Richard Jacobson, was an American actor, born in New York City, and most remembered for his role as 2nd Lt. Gil Hanley in the ABC television drama Combat! .-Biography:...
.
When released in January 1956, The Lieutenant Wore Skirts was a huge box-office success. The film was the 13th-highest grossing film of the year. Fox was thrilled with the success of the film.
Later that same year, believing North was now a box-office draw, Fox cast her in a supporting role opposite Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae
Gordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
, Dan Dailey
Dan Dailey
Daniel James Dailey Jr. was an American dancer and actor.-Early life and career:Born in New York City on December 14, 1915, to James J. and Helen Dailey, both born in New York City. He appeared in a minstrel show when very young, and appeared in vaudeville before his Broadway debut in 1937 in...
, and Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine
Ernest Borgnine is an American actor of television and film. His career has spanned more than six decades. He was an unconventional lead in many films of the 1950s, including his Academy Award-winning turn in the 1955 film Marty...
in the big-budget picture The Best Things in Life Are Free
The Best Things in Life Are Free (film)
The Best Things in Life Are Free is a 1956 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film starred, Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, and Sheree North....
The film was a success, but the studio began to lose interest in North, and started to promote another sex symbol, Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield
Jayne Mansfield was an American actress working both in Hollywood and on the Broadway theatre...
.
In 1980, North would portray Marilyn Monroe's mother, Gladys Baker, in Marilyn: The Untold Story a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
.
Career decline
In 1957, North won a dramatic role in The Way to the GoldThe Way to the Gold
The Way to the Gold is a 1957 film directed by Robert D. Webb. It stars Jeffrey Hunter and Sheree North.The film is known as Sheree North's debut to a dramatic role; her next feature, No Down Payment, also featured her in a dramatic role...
, also starring Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
. North proved she could act in The Way to the Gold, and the film drew modest box-office success. In the fall of 1957, Fox cast North in the all-star drama, No Down Payment
No Down Payment
No Down Payment is a 1957 film directed by Martin Ritt. It was scripted by Philip Yordan, who fronted for a then uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland...
. The film co-starred several newcomers, such as Joanne Woodward
Joanne Woodward
Joanne Gignilliat Trimmier Woodward is an American actress, television and theatrical producer, and widow of Paul Newman...
, Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
, Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter
Jeffrey Hunter was an American film and television actor. His most famous roles are as Jesus in the film King of Kings, as Martin Pawley in The Searchers, and as Capt...
, Cameron Mitchell
Cameron Mitchell (actor)
Cameron Mitchell was an American film, television and Broadway actor with close ties to one of Canada's most successful families, and considered, by Lee Strasberg, to be one of the founding members of The Actor's Studio in New York City.-Early life and career:Born Cameron MacDowell Mitzel in...
, Patricia Owens
Patricia Owens (actress)
Patricia Molly Owens was a Canadian-born American actress, working in Hollywood...
, and Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush
Barbara Rush is an American stage, film, and television actress.-Career:A student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Barbara Rush performed on stage at the Pasadena Playhouse before signing with Paramount Pictures...
. No Down Payment was released with high hopes, and drew mild box-office praise.
The next year North won a role in the war-time drama, In Love and War
In Love and War (1958 film)
In Love and War is a 1958 Cinemascope film based on a novel called The Big War by Anton Myrer and directed by Philip Dunne.-Plot summary:The film traces the progress of three Marines on shore leave during WWII, in the Pacific...
(1958), starring Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
. This film was a success, which convinced Fox to cast North opposite Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
in the musical comedy Mardi Gras (1958). This film was a modest box-office success, but the studio decided not to renew North's contract.
After North's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she continued act in movies, and had guest spots on television shows such as Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
, The Virginian
The Virginian (TV series)
The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
, Breaking Point, and Ben Casey
Ben Casey
Ben Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
. In the 1960s she returned to Broadway in the Harold Rome musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
, which featured Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould
Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...
and introduced Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
.
Later years
North's next film role wouldn't come until she won of the top role in Destination Inner Space (1966). This low-budgeted science-fiction film was a box-office failure. Over the next few years North made appearances in movies like The Trouble with Girls (1969) starring Elvis PresleyElvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
.
Some of her other remembered performances werer in Don Siegel
Don Siegel
Donald Siegel was an influential American film director and producer. His name variously appeared in the credits of his films as both Don Siegel and Donald Siegel.-Early life:...
's Charley Varrick
Charley Varrick
Charley Varrick is a 1973 crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. The film was based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese.-Plot:...
(1973), and as John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's long-lost love in the actor's final film, The Shootist
The Shootist
The Shootist is a 1976 Western starring John Wayne in his final film role. It was based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. Scott Hale and Miles Hood Swarthout wrote the screenplay...
(1976). She had supporting roles in two Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson , born Charles Dennis Buchinsky was an American actor, best-known for such films as Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven, The Dirty Dozen, The Great Escape, Rider on the Rain, The Mechanic, and the popular Death Wish series...
movies, Breakout (also starring Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
and Randy Quaid
Randy Quaid
Randall Rudy "Randy" Quaid is an American actor perhaps best known for his role as Cousin Eddie in the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, as well as his numerous supporting roles in films, including his Oscar nominated performance in The Last Detail, Independence Day, Kingpin and Brokeback Mountain...
) in 1975 and Telefon (featuring Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
and Lee Remick
Lee Remick
Lee Ann Remick was an American film and television actress. Among her best-known films are Anatomy of a Murder , Days of Wine and Roses , and The Omen .-Early life:...
) in 1977.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North appeared in guest spots on Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O
Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
, The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco
The Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
, Matlock
Matlock (TV series)
Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
, Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
, The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show
The Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
—in which she played Lou Grant
Lou Grant (fictional character)
Lou Grant is a fictional character played by Edward Asner in two television series produced by MTM Enterprises for CBS. The first was Mary Tyler Moore , in which the character was the news director at the fictional television station WJM-TV...
's girlfriend—and The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls
The Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
, in which she played Blanche Devereaux
Blanche Devereaux
Blanche Elizabeth Devereaux is one of the four main fictional characters on the 1985-1992 NBC sitcom The Golden Girls, and its CBS spin-off The Golden Palace. In the pilot episode her last name was given as Hollingsworth, but this was somewhat "corrected" in later episodes by making this her...
's sister, Virginia, in two episodes.
She starred in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
sitcom I'm a Big Girl Now
I'm a Big Girl Now
I'm a Big Girl Now was an American television series that ran one season during the strike-shortened 1980-1981 season. The series starred Diana Canova as Diana Cassidy and Danny Thomas as Dr...
with Diana Canova, Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas was an American nightclub comedian and television and film actor, best known for starring in the television sitcom Make Room for Daddy . He was also the founder of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital...
, Rori King, and a young Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
. The series aired 19 episodes during the 1980–1981 season.
In 1983 she appeared in the ensemble cast of the Steven Bochco
Steven Bochco
Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
series Bay City Blues
Bay City Blues
Bay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October 1983 to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco.-Synopsis:...
, starring Michael Nouri
Michael Nouri
Michael Nouri is an American television and film actor. He may be best known for his role as Nick Hurley, in the 1983 film Flashdance. He has had recurring roles in numerous television series, including NCIS as Eli David, the father of Mossad officer Ziva David, The O.C. as Dr...
, Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz
Dennis Franz is an American actor best known for his role as Andy Sipowicz, a hard-boiled police detective in the television series NYPD Blue. He previously appeared as Lt...
, Pat Corley
Pat Corley
Pat Corley was an American actor. He was known for his role as bar owner Phil on the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown from 1988–1996. He also had a recurring role as Chief Coroner Wally Nydorf on the television drama Hill Street Blues...
, and Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
. The hour-long drama series aired eight episodes.
In the 1990s, she appeared as Kramer
Cosmo Kramer
Cosmo Kramer, usually referred to as simply "Kramer", is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Michael Richards...
's mother, Babs Kramer, in two episodes of the TV series Seinfeld
Seinfeld
Seinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
. North's last onscreen role came in the 1998
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
John Landis film Susan's Plan
Susan's Plan
Susan's Plan is a 1998 black comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Nastassja Kinski, Dan Aykroyd, Billy Zane, Rob Schneider, Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Biehn. The plot revolves around Susan's plan to kill her former husband and collect his life insurance....
.
Personal life
North was married four times and had two children. In 1948, at age 16, she married Fred Bessire, a draftsman with whom she had a daughter, Dawn. The marriage ended in 1953. In 1955, she married music publisher John "Bud" Freedman; the marriage ended a year later. Her third marriage to psychologist Gerhardt Sommer resulted in another daughter, Erica Eve; that marriage also ended in divorce in 1963.At the time of her death, North was married to Phillip Norman.
Death
On November 4, 2005, North died from complications during cancer surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical CenterCedars-Sinai Medical Center
Originally established as Kaspare Cohn Hospital in 1902, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a non-profit, tertiary 958-bed hospital and multi-specialty academic health science centre located in Los Angeles, California, US. Part of the Cedars-Sinai Health System, the hospital employs a staff of over...
.
Theatre
- Hazel FlaggHazel FlaggHazel Flagg is a musical with a book by Ben Hecht, lyrics by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred...
(February 11, 1953 – September 19, 1953) - I Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
(March 22, 1962 – December 8, 1962) - The Glass MenagerieThe Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
(Laguna-Moulton Playhouse – January 3, 2000)
Filmography
- Excuse My Dust (19511951 in filmThe year 1951 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Sweden - May Britt is scouted by Italian film-makers Carlo Ponti and Mario Soldati-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:...
) (uncredited) - Here Come the GirlsHere Come the Girls (1953 film)Here Come the Girls is a comedy film directed by Claude Binyon, filmed in Technicolor, produced by Hope's company Hope Productions Inc., and released by Paramount Pictures.-Storyline:...
(19531953 in filmThe year 1953 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*September 16 — The Robe debuts as the first anamorphic, widescreen CinemaScope film.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue- Awards :Academy Awards:A...
) (uncredited) - Living It UpLiving It UpLiving It Up is a 1954 film comedy starring the team of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and released by Paramount Pictures.The film was directed by Norman Taurog and produced by Paul Jones. The screenplay by Jack Rose and Melville Shavelson was based on the 1953 musical Hazel Flagg by Ben Hecht, in...
(19541954 in filmThe year 1954 in film involved some significant events and memorable ones.-Events:*May 12 - The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces wife Marion Benda...
) - The Girl in Pink Tights (1954) (uncompleted)
- How to Be Very, Very PopularHow to Be Very, Very PopularHow to Be Very, Very Popular is a 1955 comedy film written, produced and directed by Nunnally Johnson and starring Betty Grable in her final film role, and, introduced newcomer, Sheree North to the public.-Plot:...
(19551955 in filmThe year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
) - The Lieutenant Wore SkirtsThe Lieutenant Wore SkirtsThe Lieutenant Wore Skirts is a 1956 film directed by Frank Tashlin. The feature starred Tom Ewell, Sheree North, and Rita Moreno. It is a comedy about a man whose marriage begins to fail when his wife gets drafted.-Cast:*Tom Ewell as Gregory Whitcomb...
(19561956 in filmThe year 1956 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 5 - The Ten Commandments opens in cinemas and becomes one of the most successful and popular movies of all time, currently ranking 5th on the list of all time moneymakers * February 5 - First showing of documentary films by...
) - The Best Things in Life Are FreeThe Best Things in Life Are Free (film)The Best Things in Life Are Free is a 1956 American musical film directed by Michael Curtiz. The film starred, Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, Ernest Borgnine, and Sheree North....
(1956) - The Way to the GoldThe Way to the GoldThe Way to the Gold is a 1957 film directed by Robert D. Webb. It stars Jeffrey Hunter and Sheree North.The film is known as Sheree North's debut to a dramatic role; her next feature, No Down Payment, also featured her in a dramatic role...
(19571957 in filmThe year 1957 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 21 - The movie Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley, opens.-Top grossing films : After theatrical re-issue-Awards:...
) - No Down PaymentNo Down PaymentNo Down Payment is a 1957 film directed by Martin Ritt. It was scripted by Philip Yordan, who fronted for a then uncredited and blacklisted Ben Maddow and is based on the novel of the same name by John McPartland...
(1957) - In Love and WarIn Love and War (1958 film)In Love and War is a 1958 Cinemascope film based on a novel called The Big War by Anton Myrer and directed by Philip Dunne.-Plot summary:The film traces the progress of three Marines on shore leave during WWII, in the Pacific...
(19581958 in filmThe year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date. It would be the last installment of The Bowery Boys series which began back in 1946....
) - Mardi Gras (1958)
- Destination Inner Space (19661966 in filmThe year 1966 in film involved some significant events.-Events:Animation legend Walter Disney, well known for his creation of Mickey Mouse, died in 15 December 1966 of acute circulatory collapse following a diagnosis of, and surgery for, lung cancer...
) - MadiganMadiganMadigan is a 1968 American thriller film directed by Don Siegel and starring Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda.The screenplay, originally titled Friday, Saturday, Sunday, was adapted by two writers who had been blacklisted in the 1950s, Abraham Polonsky and Howard Rodman , based on a novel titled The...
(19681968 in filmThe year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
) - The Gypsy MothsThe Gypsy MothsThe Gypsy Moths is a 1969 American film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel of the same name by James Drought. It is the story of three barnstorming skydivers and their effect on a midwestern American town. At the time, the sport of skydiving was in its infancy, yet the movie featured an...
(19691969 in filmThe year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
) - The Trouble with Girls (1969)
- LawmanLawman (film)Lawman is a 1971 American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, and Robert Duvall.The film is about the quest of a lone peace officer, Marshal Jered Maddox , to bring several men to justice...
(19711971 in filmThe year 1971 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*February 8 - Bob Dylan's hour long documentary film, Eat the Document, premieres at New York's Academy of Music...
) - The OrganizationThe Organization (film)The Organization is a 1971 film starring Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs. It was the last of the trilogy featuring the police detective Tibbs that had begun with In the Heat of the Night . In it Tibbs is called in to hunt down a gang of urban revolutionaries, suspected of a series of crimes...
(1971) - Charley VarrickCharley VarrickCharley Varrick is a 1973 crime film directed by Don Siegel and starring Walter Matthau, Andrew Robinson, Joe Don Baker and John Vernon. The film was based on the novel The Looters by John H. Reese.-Plot:...
(19731973 in filmThe year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
) - The OutfitThe Outfit (1973 film)The Outfit is a 1973 film directed by John Flynn. It stars Robert Duvall, Karen Black, Joe Don Baker and Robert Ryan. The film is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Richard Stark and features a character modeled on Parker, who was introduced in The Hunter.- Plot :Released from prison In...
(1973) - Breakout (19751975 in filmThe year 1975 in film involved some significant events, with Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws topping the box office.-Events:*March 26 - The film version of The Who's Tommy premieres in London....
) - Survival (19761976 in filmThe year 1976 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*March 22 - Filming begins on George Lucas' Star Wars science fiction film...
) - The ShootistThe ShootistThe Shootist is a 1976 Western starring John Wayne in his final film role. It was based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Glendon Swarthout. Scott Hale and Miles Hood Swarthout wrote the screenplay...
(1976) - Telefon (19771977 in filmThe year 1977 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight win Best Actor and Actress and Supporting Actress awards for Network....
) - Rabbit TestRabbit Test (film)Rabbit Test is a 1978 comedy motion picture about the world's first pregnant man, directed by Joan Rivers and starring Billy Crystal.Its title is derived from the rabbit test previously used to determine pregnancy.-Plot:...
(19781978 in filmThe year 1978 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 1 - Bob Dylan's film Renaldo and Clara, a documentary of the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour premieres in Los Angeles, California....
) - Only Once in a Lifetime (19791979 in filmThe year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
) - Maniac CopManiac CopManiac Cop is a 1988 action/horror film directed by William Lustig and written by Larry Cohen. The film spawned two sequels, Maniac Cop 2 and Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence .-Synopsis:...
(19881988 in film-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...
) - Cold Dog Soup (19901990 in filmThe year 1990 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* CGI technique is expanded with motion capture for CGI characters, used in Total Recall .* The first digitally-manipulated matte painting is used, in Die Hard 2....
) - DefenselessDefenseless-Plot summary:Lawyer T.K. represents Steven Seldes who claims he is innocent of involvement in making under-age porn movies. He is also her lover, so when she meets his wife things are awkward for her - he didn't say he was married and his wife turns out to be an old student friend. Next day she...
(19911991 in filmThe year 1991 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*April 28 - Bonnie Raitt marries actor Michael O'Keefe in New York* Terminator 2: Judgment Day, became one of the landmarks for science fiction action films with its groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic.*November...
) - Susan's PlanSusan's PlanSusan's Plan is a 1998 black comedy film directed by John Landis and starring Nastassja Kinski, Dan Aykroyd, Billy Zane, Rob Schneider, Lara Flynn Boyle and Michael Biehn. The plot revolves around Susan's plan to kill her former husband and collect his life insurance....
(19981998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
)
Television
- The Colgate Comedy HourThe Colgate Comedy HourThe Colgate Comedy Hour is an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show stars many notable comedians and entertainers of the era, including Eddie Cantor, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, Fred Allen, Donald O'Connor, Bud Abbott and Lou...
(one episode, 1954) - Shower of StarsShower of StarsShower of Stars is an American variety television series broadcast in the United States from 1954 to 1958 by CBS. The series was also known as Chrysler Shower of Stars. Unusually at the time for CBS, the series was telecast in color.-Overview:...
(one episode, 1954) - What's My Line?What's My Line?What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
(as herself, one episode, 1955) - Playhouse 90Playhouse 90Playhouse 90 is an American television anthology series that was telecast on CBS from 1956 to 1960 for a total of 133 episodes. It originated from CBS Television City in Los Angeles, California...
(one episode, 1957) - The Witness (one episode, 1961)
- The UntouchablesThe Untouchables (1959 TV series)The Untouchables is an American crime drama that ran from 1959 to 1963 on ABC. Based on the memoir of the same name by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley, it fictionalized the experiences of Eliot Ness, a real-life Prohibition agent, as he fought crime in Chicago during the 1930s with the help of a...
(one episode, 1963) - GunsmokeGunsmokeGunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
(one episode, 1963) - The Eleventh Hour (one episode, 1963)
- Breaking Point (two episodes, 1963)
- The Great AdventureThe Great Adventure (TV series)The Great Adventure is a historical anthology series that appeared on CBS for the 1963-1964 television season. The series, hosted each week by Van Heflin, and featuring theme music by Richard Rodgers, presented each week a one-hour dramatization of the lives of famous Americans and important...
(one episode, 1964) - Ben CaseyBen CaseyBen Casey is an American medical drama series which ran on ABC from 1961 to 1966. The show was known for its opening titles, which consisted of a hand drawing the symbols "♂, ♀, *, †, ∞" on a chalkboard, as cast member Sam Jaffe intoned, "Man, woman, birth, death, infinity." Neurosurgeon Joseph...
(two episodes, 1963–1964) - The Greatest Show on Earth (one episode, 1964)
- Burke's LawBurke's LawBurke's Law is a detective series that ran on ABC from 1963 to 1965 and was revived on CBS in the 1990s. The show starred Gene Barry as Amos Burke, millionaire captain of Los Angeles police homicide division, who was chauffeured around to solve crimes in his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud...
(three episodes, 1963–1965) - The LonerThe LonerThe Loner is an American western series that ran for less than one season on CBS from 1965 to 1966, under the alternate sponsorship of Philip Morris and Procter & Gamble.-Synopsis:...
(one episode, 1965) - The VirginianThe Virginian (TV series)The Virginian is an American Western television series starring James Drury and Doug McClure, which aired on NBC from 1962 to 1971 for a total of 249 episodes. Filmed in color, The Virginian became television's first 90-minute western series...
(two episodes, 1964–1966) - Run for Your LifeRun for Your Life (TV series)Run for Your Life is an American television drama series starring Ben Gazzara as a man with only a short time to live. It ran on NBC from 1965 to 1968. The series was created by Roy Huggins, who had previously explored the "man on the move" concept with The Fugitive.-Synopsis:Gazzara plays lawyer...
(one episode, 1966) - The Big ValleyThe Big ValleyThe Big Valley is an American television Western which ran on ABC from September 15, 1965, to May 19, 1969, which starred Barbara Stanwyck, as a California widowed mother. It was created by A.I. Bezzerides and Louis F. Edelman...
(one episode, 1966) - The Iron Horse (one episode, 1966)
- Code Name: HeraclitusCode Name: HeraclitusCode Name: Heraclitus is a 1967 American thriller film starring Stanley Baker and Leslie Nielsen.-Plot:Stanley Baker stars as a British spy who investigates the past of Lydia Constantine , the widow of secret agent Constantine . Lydia is suspected of selling cold war secrets to the Communists...
(1967) - Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreBob Hope Presents the Chrysler TheatreBob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre is an anthology television series, sponsored by Chrysler Corporation, which ran on NBC from 1963 through 1967...
(three episodes, 1965–1967) - The FugitiveThe Fugitive (TV series)The Fugitive is an American drama series produced by QM Productions and United Artists Television that aired on ABC from 1963 to 1967. David Janssen stars as Richard Kimble, a doctor from the fictional town of Stafford, Indiana, who is falsely convicted of his wife's murder and given the death...
(two episodes, 1965–1967) - MannixMannixMannix is an American television detective series that ran from 1967 through 1975 on CBS. Created by Richard Levinson and William Link and developed by executive producer Bruce Geller, the title character, Joe Mannix, is a private investigator. He is played by Mike Connors...
(one episode, 1968) - Here Come the BridesHere Come the BridesHere Come the Brides is an American comedy Western series from Screen Gems that aired on the ABC television network from September 25, 1968 to April 3, 1970...
(one episode, 1968) - Then Came BronsonThen Came BronsonThen Came Bronson is a short-lived adventure/drama television series that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. The series, created by Denne Bart Petitclerc, began with a movie pilot on Monday, March 24, 1969. The series was greenlit for one year and began its first...
(one episode, 1969) - My Friend Tony (one episode, 1969)
- The Name of the GameThe Name of the Game (TV series)The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for the likes of The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s...
(one episode, 1970) - The Most Deadly GameThe Most Deadly GameThe Most Deadly Game is an American drama television series that ran for 12 episodes on ABC from 1970 to 1971. The series was produced by Aaron Spelling Productions, with Aaron Spelling being the executive producer. It starred Yvette Mimieux , Ralph Bellamy, and George Maharis....
(one episode, 1970) - The Interns (one episode, 1971)
- Vanished (1971)
- The Smith Family (one episode, 1971)
- Alias Smith and JonesAlias Smith and JonesAlias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from 1971 to 1973. It stars Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, a pair of Western cousin outlaws trying to reform...
(one episode, 1972) - Rolling Man (1972)
- CannonCannon (TV series)Cannon is a CBS detective television series produced by Quinn Martin which aired from March 26, 1971 to March 3, 1976.The primary protagonist was the title character, Frank Cannon, played by William Conrad....
(one episode, 1972) - Jigsaw (one episode, 1972)
- Trouble Comes to Town (1973)
- McMillan & Wife (one episode, 1973)
- Snatched (1973)
- Kung FuKung Fu (TV series)Kung Fu is an American television series that starred David Carradine. It was created by Ed Spielman, directed and produced by Jerry Thorpe, and developed by Herman Miller, who was also a writer for, and co-producer of, the series...
(one episode, 1973) - Owen Marshall: Counselor at LawOwen Marshall: Counselor at LawOwen Marshall, Counselor at Law is an American legal drama, jointly created by David Victor and former law professor Jerry McNeely, that starred actor Arthur Hill. The series was broadcast on ABC from 1971 to 1974...
(one episode, 1973) - HawkinsHawkins (TV series)Hawkins is a television series which aired for one season on CBS between 1973 and 1974. The mystery, created by Robert Hamner and David Karp, starred James Stewart as rural-bred lawyer Billy Jim Hawkins, who investigated the cases he was involved in...
(one episode, 1973) - The Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San FranciscoThe Streets of San Francisco is a 1970s television police drama filmed on location in San Francisco, California, and produced by Quinn Martin Productions, with the first season produced in association with Warner Bros...
(one episode, 1973) - Maneater (1973)
- Key West (1973)
- Hec RamseyHec RamseyHec Ramsey is a television Western, a production of Jack Webb's production company, Mark VII Limited, in association with Universal Studios, broadcast in the United States by NBC as part of the NBC Mystery Movie wheel show during the 1972-73 and 1973-74 seasons.-Overview:This series was...
(one episode, 1974) - Winter Kill (1974)
- KojakKojakKojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier...
(two episodes, 1974) - Hawaii Five-OHawaii Five-OHawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for twelve seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. The show featured a fictional state police unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett,...
(one episode, 1974) - Barnaby JonesBarnaby JonesBarnaby Jones is a television detective series starring Buddy Ebsen and Lee Meriwether as father- and daughter-in-law who run a private detective firm in Los Angeles. A spin-off from Cannon, the show ran on CBS from January 28, 1973 to April 3, 1980, beginning as a midseason replacement...
(one episode, 1974) - Wide World Mystery (one episode, 1974)
- The Whirlwind (1974)
- Movin' OnMovin' On (TV series)Movin' On is an American drama series that ran for two seasons , between 1974 and 1976. It originally appeared on the NBC television network...
(two episodes, 1974) - The Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore ShowThe Mary Tyler Moore Show is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns that aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977...
(two episodes, 1974–1975) - A Shadow in the Streets (1975)
- Breakout (1975)
- Medical CenterMedical Center (TV series)Medical Center is a medical drama series which aired on CBS from 1969 to 1976.-Synopsis:The show starred James Daly as Dr. Paul Lochner and Chad Everett as Dr. Joe Gannon, surgeons working in an otherwise unnamed university hospital in Los Angeles. The show focused both on the lives of the doctors...
(three episodes, 1971–1975) - Big Eddie (1975)
- Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
(one episode, 1976) - Most Wanted (1976)
- FamilyFamily (TV series)Family is an American television drama series that aired on ABC from 1976 to 1980. Creative control of the show was split between executive producers Leonard Goldberg, Aaron Spelling and Mike Nichols...
(one episode, 1976) - BarettaBarettaBaretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
(one episode, 1977) - Fantasy Island (one episode, 1977)
- Future Cop (one episode, 1977)
- Westside Medical (two episodes, 1977)
- Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
(one episode, 1977) - The Night They Took Miss Beautiful (1977)
- A Real American Hero (1978)
- Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill (1979)
- Women in White (1979)
- Portrait of a Stripper aka The Secret Life of Susie Hanson (1979)
- Archie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
(two episodes, 1979) - A Christmas for Boomer (1979)
- Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980)
- I'm a Big Girl Now (1980)
- LegsLegs (film)Legs is a 1983 television musical drama film starring Shanna Reed, Deborah Geffner, Lawrence Leritz, David Marshall Grant and Maureen Teefy. It was directed by Jerrold Freedman and written by Jerrold Freedman and Brian Garfield....
(1983) - Bay City BluesBay City BluesBay City Blues is an American comedy-drama series that aired on NBC from October 1983 to November 1983. The series stars Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, and Pat Corley, and was created and produced by Steven Bochco.-Synopsis:...
(four episodes, 1983) - Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I.Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
(one episode, 1984) - Scorned and Swindled (1984)
- Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D.Trapper John, M.D. is an American television medical drama and spin-off of the film MASH, concerning a lovable surgeon who became a mentor and father figure in San Francisco, California. The show ran on CBS from September 23, 1979, to September 4, 1986....
(one episode, 1985) - ABC Afterschool SpecialABC Afterschool SpecialThe ABC Afterschool Special is an American television anthology series that aired on ABC from 1972 to 1996, usually in the late afternoon on week days. Most of the episodes were dramatic presentations of situations, often controversial, of interest to children and teenagers. Several episodes were...
(one episode, 1986) - MatlockMatlock (TV series)Matlock is an American television legal drama, starring Andy Griffith in the title role of attorney Ben Matlock. The show originally aired from September 23, 1986 to May 8, 1992 on NBC, where it replaced The A-Team, then from November 5, 1992 until May 7, 1995 on ABC.The show's format was similar...
(two episodes, 1986) - Murder, She WroteMurder, She WroteMurder, She Wrote is an American television mystery series starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons from 1984 to 1996 on the CBS network, with 264 episodes transmitted. It was followed by four TV films and a spin-off series,...
(one episode, 1987) - Jake Spanner, Private Eye (1989)
- Freddy's NightmaresFreddy's NightmaresFreddy's Nightmares is an American horror anthology series, which aired in syndication from October 1988 until March 1990. A spin-off from the Nightmare on Elm Street series, each story was introduced by Freddy Krueger...
(one episode, 1989) - Hunter (one episode, 1989)
- The Golden GirlsThe Golden GirlsThe Golden Girls is an American sitcom created by Susan Harris, which originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, to May 9, 1992. Starring Bea Arthur, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty, the show centers on four older women sharing a home in Miami, Florida...
(two episodes, 1985–1989) - Dead on the Money (1991)
- SeinfeldSeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. It was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
(two episodes, 1995–1998)
Awards and honors
Theatre World AwardTheatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
- Won: For performance in Hazel Flagg (1953)
Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
- Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series, Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D.Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
episode "How Do You Know What Hurts Me?" (1976) - Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Archie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's PlaceArchie Bunker's Place is an American sitcom originally broadcast on the CBS network, conceived in 1979 as a spin-off and continuation of All in the Family. While not as popular as its predecessor, the show maintained a large enough audience to last for four seasons, until its cancellation in 1983...
(1980)