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Michele Ann MarieΒ "Shelley"Β FabaresΒ (/fΓ¦ΛbreΙͺ/; born January 19, 1944) is a retired American actress and singer. She is best known for her television roles as Mary Stone on the sitcomΒ The Donna Reed ShowΒ (1958β1963) and as Christine Armstrong on the sitcomΒ CoachΒ (1989β1997), the latter of which earned her twoΒ Primetime Emmy AwardsΒ nominations. Her film roles include playing the leading lady toΒ Elvis PresleyΒ inΒ Girl Happy,Β Spinout,Β andΒ 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 theΒ BillboardΒ Hot 100Β chart. She leftΒ The Donna Reed ShowΒ in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue other acting opportunities.
This was followed by a second album,Β 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,Β Teenage TriangleΒ 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 ofΒ Peter NooneΒ (ofΒ Herman's Hermits)Β 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 youngΒ Hank Williams Jr.Β inΒ A Time to SingΒ (1968).
She had support roles in television films likeΒ Brian's SongΒ (1971) (playingΒ Brian Piccolo's wife with James Caan as Brian), andΒ Two for the MoneyΒ (1972). Her performance inΒ Brian's SongΒ earned her a Golden Globe nomination.
For her work, she was nominated twice for aΒ Primetime Emmy AwardΒ and, in 1994, she was honored by theΒ Young Artist FoundationΒ with itsΒ Former Child Star "Lifetime Achievement" AwardΒ for her role as Mary Stone onΒ The Donna Reed Show. From 2004 to 2011 she produced theΒ Screen Actors Guild Awards.
