She was an involuntary pop star
Shelley Fabares fit neatly into many eras.
In a time of gentle comedies, she was the “Donna Reed Show” daughter. In an age of rock stars, she played the love interest of everyone — Elvis (three times!), Fabian, Peter Noone (of Herman’s Hermits), even Hank Williams Jr.
In better times, Fabares — who died Saturday (Aug. 22) at 82 — played a strong-willed TV newswoman on “Coach” and a villainous sort on “One Day at a Time.” She was a producer on 14 Screen Actors Guild award shows and shared the passionate human-rights causes of her husband, Mike Farrell.
But there was one quirky blip I wanted to mention here: In the anyone-can-do-it era, Fabares was a pop star … sort of against her will. Read more…