Sharon Farrell

Sharon Farrell
Farrell in 1965
Born
Sharon Lee Forsmoe[1]

(1940-12-24)December 24, 1940
DiedMay 15, 2023(2023-05-15) (aged 82)
OccupationActress
Years active1959–1999; 2013–2014
Spouses
(m. 1962; ann. 1962)
Ron DeBlasio
(m. 1965; div. 1969)
Steve Salkin
(m. 1973; div. 1975)
Dale Trevillion
(m. 1974; div. 2006)
Children1
Parents
  • Darrel LaValle Forsmoe Born: December 5, 1922 (father)
  • Hazel Ruth Huffman (maiden) Born: March 22, 1922 (mother)
Relatives1 sibling Sister Dale Candice Forsmoe (Lambly) Born July 9th, 1942
FamilyNieces: Carrie, Jeannie and Jennifer Bernard
On TV's Saints and Sinners (1962)

Sharon Farrell (born Sharon Forsmoe, December 24, 1940 – May 15, 2023) was an American television and film actress, and dancer. Originally beginning her career as a ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre company, Farrell made her film debut in 1959 in Kiss Her Goodbye, followed by roles in 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), A Lovely Way to Die (1968), and the neo-noir Marlowe (1969). She worked prolifically in television, including recurring parts in the series Saints and Sinners (1962), Dr. Kildare (1965), and Hawaii Five-O (1980).

Farrell's other roles include Larry Cohen's horror film It's Alive (1974), Dennis Hopper's drama film Out of the Blue (1980), and the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love (1987). She continued to appear in television and film until 1999. In 2013, she reappeared in a minor role in the web series Broken at Love.

Early life

Born Sharon Forsmoe on Christmas Eve 1940,[2] to Hazel Ruth[1][3] (née Huffman) and Darrel LaValle Forsmoe,[4][5][6] in Sioux City, Iowa,[7][8] she was of Norwegian descent,[9] and was raised with sister, Dale Candice, in a Lutheran family.[10] During her childhood, Farrell studied ballet and was involved in the theater department during high school.[11] Farrell toured with the American Ballet Theatre Company as a dancer, which brought her to New York City.[12]

Career

Farrell made her acting debut at age 18 in the 1959 film Kiss Her Goodbye. Throughout the 1960s to the 1980s, Farrell appeared in such films as The Reivers (1969), Marlowe (1969), It's Alive (1974), The Stunt Man (1980), Out of the Blue (1980), Night of the Comet (1984), and Can't Buy Me Love (1987).[citation needed] She took her stage name combining her father's name Darrel, with "F" for Forsmoe and two "L"s.[13]

In addition to film work, Farrell also appeared in guest roles on various television shows including Death Valley Days, Gunsmoke (“Trip West” in 1964), The Man from U.N.C.L.E, I Dream of Jeannie, My Favorite Martian, The Beverly Hillbillies, Harry O, and Hawaii Five-O. She was Cloris in the Wild Wild West episode “The Night of the Amnesiac” 1968. She played aspiring actress Rosie on Alfred Hitchcock Hour Season 3 Episode 14 "Final Performance" which aired 1/17/1965. In 1991 she joined the cast of the long-running soap opera The Young and the Restless, remaining with the show until 1997. Farrell's most recent television role was in a 1999 episode of JAG.[citation needed]

Between 2013 and 2014, Farrell appeared in the web series Broken at Love, marking her first on-screen appearance in fourteen years.[14]

Personal life

Farrell's first marriage was to actor Andrew Prine[15] in 1962. They later divorced reportedly after only living together for one month and ten days.[16]

Farrell had one son, Chance Boyer, born when she was dating actor John F. Boyer. After Chance's birth in 1970, Farrell suffered an embolism which caused her heart to stop beating for four minutes. She ended up with serious brain damage that resulted in memory loss and physical impairments. With the help of colleagues, Farrell worked to regain her abilities, including her memory, and resumed her acting career, yet she kept her illness a secret under the advice of friend and actor Steve McQueen, who warned her that if word of her illness got out, her career would be over.[15][17] Keeping her illness hidden, Farrell worked steadily for decades.

Farrell was also married to director Dale Trevillian.[15] In her biography Sharon Farrell Hollywood Princess from Sioux City, Iowa, she claimed she had romantic relationships with many famous people, including Che Guevara, Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee.[18]

Unreported until 5 August 2023, Farrell died on 15 May 2023, at the age of 82, possibly in Orange County, California,[19] or Los Angeles Downtown Medical Center[20]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1959 Kiss Her Goodbye Emily Wilson
1962 40 Pounds of Trouble Dolores
1965 The Spy with My Face Sandy Wister
1968 A Lovely Way to Die Carol
1969 Marlowe Orfamay Quest
1969 The Reivers Corrie
1971 The Love Machine Maggie Stewart
1974 It's Alive Lenore
1976 The Premonition Sheri Bennett
1978 The Fifth Floor Melanie
1980 Out of the Blue Kathy
1980 The Stunt Man Denise
1981 Separate Ways Karen Haskell
1983 Sweet Sixteen Kathy Hopkins
1983 Lone Wolf McQuade Molly McQuade
1984 Night of the Comet Doris
1987 Can't Buy Me Love Mrs. Mancini
1989 One Man Force Shirley
1991 Lonely Hearts Louise
1993 Arcade Alex's Mom Video
1995 Beyond Desire Shirley
1995 A Gift from Heaven Ma Samuels
1996 Timeless Obsession Mrs. Sparrow
1997 Last Chance Love Mrs. Worthington

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1961 Naked City Actress (uncredited) Episode: "The Hot Minerva"
1962 Alfred Hitchcock Presents Lolly Wilkens Episode: "The Matched Pearl"
1962 Wagon Train Judy Episode: "The Orly French Story"
1962-1963 Saints and Sinners Polly Holloran 12 episodes
1963 Empire Lisa Barry Episode: "Stopover on the Way to the Moon"
1963 My Favorite Martian Gloria Trimble Episode: "There Is No Cure for the Common Martian"
1963 Death Valley Days Cara Franklin Episode: "The Holy Terror"
1963 Kraft Suspense Theatre Althea Winton Episode: "Are There Any More Out There Like You?"
1963 The Lieutenant Pam Canford Episode: "Alert"
1963 Ben Casey Michael Ann Bowersox Episode: "The White Ones Are Dolphins"
1963 Gunsmoke Lottie
Belle
Episode: "With a Smile"
Episode: "Quint's Trail"
1964 Arrest and Trial Angela Episode: "Onward and Upward"
1964 Wagon Train Pearlie Garnet Episode: "The Pearlie Garnet Story"
1964 Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre Melissa Episode: "A Slow Fade to Black"
1964 Gunsmoke Annie Episode: "Trip West"
1964 The Fugitive Elvie Episode: "Corner of Hell"
1964 Burke's Law Libby Hale Episode: "Who Killed the Surf Broad?"
1964 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Melanie Rydell Episode: "The Second Verdict"
1964 Dr. Kildare Jeanne Sawyer Episode: "Night of the Beast"
1964 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Sandy Wister Episode: "The Double Affair"
1964 Ben Casey Ellen Hardin Episode: "For a Just Man Falleth Seven Times"
1965 Ben Casey Penny Carson Episode: "The Day They Stole County General"
1965 The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Rosie Episode: "Final Performance"
1965 The Beverly Hillbillies Kitty Devine Episode: "The Movie Starlet"
1965 The Fugitive Elvie Episode: "Corner of Hell"
1965 Rawhide Billie Lou Episode: "Hostage for Hanging"
1965 I Dream of Jeannie Nina Ferguson Episode: "The Yacht Murder Case"
1965 My Three Sons Cathy Episode: "My Son, the Ballerina"
1965 Dr. Kildare Glenda Hester
Rachel Field
3 episodes
1966 The Wackiest Ship in the Army Episode: "Girl in Polka-Dot Swimsuit"
1966 Run for Your Life Jenny
Louise
Episode: "The Night of Terror"
Episode: "The Sex Object"
1966 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Leslie Stemmler Episode: "The Minus-X Affair"
1967 Iron Horse Carrie Episode: "The Pembrooke Blood"
1967 The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Jacqueline Midcult Episode: "The Pieces of Fate Affair"
1967 The Virginian Mavis Episode: "Execution at Triste"
1968 The Wild Wild West Cloris Colton Episode: "The Night of the Amnesiac"
1968 Insight Episode: "Look Back to the Garden"
1968 Premiere Joan Mears Episode: "Lassiter"
1969 The Name of the Game Jesse Boone Episode: "A Hard Case of the Blues"
1970 Quarantined Ginny Pepper TV movie
1970 Medical Center Linda Atwood Episode: "Between Dark and Daylight"
1970 Men at Law Donna Brooks Episode: "Easy to Be Hard"
1971 The Name of the Game Sandrelle Episode: "LA 2017"
1971 Dr. Simon Locke Maggie Episode: "Target Ms. Blue"
1971 The D.A. Georgia Young Episode: "The People vs. Edwards"
1972 The Eyes of Charles Sand Emily Parkhurst TV movie
1972 Banyon Wanda Episode: "Meal Ticket"
1972 Marcus Welby, M.D. Cecile Ramsey Episode: "He Could Sell Iceboxes to Eskimos"
1973 The New Perry Mason Pat Morrisey Episode: "The Case of the Murdered Murderer"
1973 Police Story Bobbie Episode: "Requiem for an Informer"
1973 Wide World Mystery Linda Episode: "A Little Bit Like Murder"
1974 Wide World Mystery Madeline Rivera Episode: "The Cloning of Clifford Swimmer"
1974 Love, American Style Sheila Episode: "Love and the Flying Finletters"
1974 The F.B.I. Lee Thomas Episode: "The $20,000,000 Hit"
1974 Police Story Bobbie Episode: "The Hunters"
1974 Chase Elaine Episode: "Remote Control"
1974 Insight Susan Episode: "The Theft"
1974 The Underground Man Marty Nickerson TV movie
1974 Petrocelli Arlene Johnson Episode: "A Life for a Life"
1974 The Six Million Dollar Man Angie Walker Episode: "Stranger in Broken Fork"
1974 Police Woman Marcia Gordon Episode: "The Cradle Robbers"
1975 Emergency! Catherine Episode: "Smoke Eater"
1975 Harry O Pauline Episode: "For the Love of Money"
1975 Kolchak: The Night Stalker Lila Morton Episode: "Chopper"
1975 Police Story Kathy Sherman Episode: "The Execution"
1975 McCloud Holly Dayton Episode: "Showdown at Times Square"
1975 Bronk Episode: "The Pickoff"
1976 Police Woman Hallie Episode: "The Death of a Dream"
1976 Gibbsville Mildred Episode: "Afternoon Waltz"
1978 Hawaii Five-O Frankie Demara
1978 Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color Mamma Doyle Episode: "The Young Runaways"
1978 Match Game '78 Herself 5 Episodes
1978 Man from Atlantis Charlene Baker Episode: "Deadly Carnival"
1979 The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang Flo Quick TV movie
1979 Mrs. Columbo Dorothy Hunt Episode: "Falling Star"
1980 Hawaii Five-O Det. Lori Wilson 13 episodes
1980 Rage! Dottie TV movie
1981 Born to Be Sold Joan Helick TV movie
1983 T. J. Hooker Irene Gordon Episode: "Sweet Sixteen and Dead"
1983 Small & Frye Rita Episode: "The Case of the Street of Silence"
1984-1985 Rituals Cherry Lane TV series
1989 Freddy's Nightmares Mrs. Wax Episode: "Do You Know Where Your Kids Are?"
1991-1996 The Young and the Restless Florence Webster TV series
1992 Matlock Rose Ballou Episode: "The Abduction"
1993 Sworn to Vengeance Sylvia Haskell TV movie
1995 Yakuza Connection Lois TV movie
1999 JAG Mary Hanratti Episode: "Dungaree Justice"
2013–2014 Broken at Love Grandma Geraldine 2 episodes

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Obituary for Hazel Ruth Forsmoe at Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City". waterburyfunerals.com. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  2. ^ Strodder 2007, p. 324.
  3. ^ "Hazel Forsmoe Obituary - Waterbury Funeral Service". Legacy.com. Sergeant Bluff. 2018.
  4. ^ "Darrel L Forsmoe". AncientFaces. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Darrell Forsmoe in the 1940 Census". Ancestry.com.
  6. ^ "Hazel R.E. Forsmoe". Sioux City Journal. 17 April 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  7. ^ Farrell 2014, p. xii.
  8. ^ Mitchell, Bruce (June 6, 2012). "THE RESILIENT 'PRINCESS'". siouxcityjournal.com. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  9. ^ Farrell 2014, p. 4.
  10. ^ Farrell 2014, p. 5.
  11. ^ Farrell 2014, p. 6.
  12. ^ Farrell 2014, p. 21.
  13. ^ Farrell 2014, p. 62.
  14. ^ Terrace 2014, p. 39.
  15. ^ a b c Hirsch, Lynda (1991-11-26). "Actress Without A Past Finds Future In Soap". sun-sentinel.com. Archived from the original on 2014-10-25. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  16. ^ "Prine Divorces Wife". The Evening Independent: 3A. April 10, 1963. Archived from the original on November 24, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2016.
  17. ^ Lisanti & Paul 2002, p. 125.
  18. ^ Sixsmith, DJ (June 11, 2018). "Matthew Polly: 'Bruce Lee Wanted To Be The Next Clint Eastwood". CBS Boston (Interview). Archived from the original on June 23, 2018. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  19. ^ Barnes, Mike (August 5, 2023). "Sharon Farrell, Actress in 'It's Alive,' 'Marlowe' and 'The Reivers,' Dies at 82". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Dockter, Mason (6 August 2023). "Sharon Farrell, Sioux City-born TV and film actress, dies". St. Joseph News-Press. News-Press & Gazette Company. Sioux City Journal Tribune Content Agency. Retrieved 3 September 2023.

Sources