Shelley Fabares, The Donna Reed Show And Coach Star, Dead At 82

by · /Film
NBC

Shelley Fabares, an actress and singer who appeared on sitcoms "One Day at a Time," "The Donna Reed Show," and "Coach," has died. She was 82. Fabares' death was announced by her family, who revealed she died after a brief illness. She is survived by her husband, "M*A*S*H" star Mike Farrell.

Fabares began acting at the age of 3 and made her TV debut at age 10 on the anthology TV drama "Letter to Loretta" in 1954. She would act steadily from then on, playing the character Francine Webster on "One Day at a Time," and then rose to even more prominence playing Mary Stone on "The Donna Reed Show." Her acting career was long and plentiful, with one of her most prominent roles being Christine Armstrong on the sitcom "Coach." Fabares was nominated for an Emmy twice for her work on the series.

In addition to acting, Fabares was also a singer, recording a version of the teenybopper hit "Johnny Angel," which went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1962. She would ultimately release five studio albums.

In addition to her TV work, Shelley Fabares made several movies with Elvis

ABC

In addition to her prolific TV work, Shelley Fabares also appeared in several films, including multiple films with Elvis Presley, including "Girl Happy" (1965), "Spinout" (1966), and "Clambake" (1966). "The presence that this man had...you couldn't talk," Fabares once said of working with Elvis. "Nobody did anything. You just sort of stopped. And I remember thinking, 'Oh, my God. It's Elvis Presley.'" 

Fabares also had a connection to the world of DC comics, voicing Superman's adoptive mother Martha Kent on "Superman: The Animated Series." Martha Kent would end up being Fabares' final role, as she voiced the character one last time in the direct-to-video movie "Superman: Brainiac Attacks" in 2006. 

In a statement following Fabares death (via THR), her family wrote: 

"To her family and friends, Shelley was a source of love, strength, laughter and comfort. She was a devoted wife, cherished stepmother, daughter, sister, niece, aunt, family member and loyal friend whose warmth, generosity, humor and grace made an enduring difference in the lives of everyone who knew her. She had a remarkable ability to make people feel welcomed, valued and cared for."