Jan. 19: Shelley Fabares "Johnny Angel" & "The Donna Reed Show" is 67 today.

Michele Ann Marie "Shelley" Fabares is best known for her roles as Donna Reed's oldest child, "Mary Stone," on The Donna Reed Show which aired from 1958 to 1963, and as Craig T. Nelson's love interest and eventual wife, Christine Armstrong Fox, on the sitcom Coach. She was also Elvis Presley's costar in three films.

Born in Santa Monica, California, she is the niece of Nanette Fabray. Fabares began acting at age three and at age 10 made her television debut in an episode of Letter to Loretta. After guest-starring on various television series, Fabares landed the role of "Mary Stone" in the long-running family sitcom The Donna Reed Show.

Her national popularity led to a recording contract and two "Top 40" hits, including "Johnny Angel," which went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, in April 1962 and peaked at #41 in the UK. It sold over one-million copies and was awarded a gold disc.

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Fabares left The Donna Reed Show in 1963 (she would return periodically until its end in 1966) to pursue a film career. She appeared in a number of motion pictures, including three Elvis movies: Girl Happy, Spinout, and Clambake.

During the 1970s, Fabares appeared on several television series, including Love, American Style, The Rockford Files, The Interns, Mannix and Fantasy Island. In 1971, she portrayed "Joy Piccolo" in the TV movie Brian's Song, the true story of terminally ill Chicago Bears running back Brian Piccolo.


In 1978, Fabares played "Francine Webster" on One Day at a Time, a role she would reprise throughout the series run.

In 1989, she won the role of "Christine Armstrong Fox" on the ABC sitcom Coach. For her work, Fabares was nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award.

After Coach ended in 1997, Fabares played the voice-role of Martha "Ma" Kent in Superman: The Animated Series. She reprised it twice for a 2003 episode of Justice League and the 2006 direct-to-video film Superman: Brainiac Attacks.

Fabares is a lifelong friend of Annette Funicello. The two met in catechism class in the seventh grade.


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