Sheree North

Infobox actor


imagesize = 200px
caption =
birthname = Dawn Shirley Crang
birthdate = birth date|1932|1|17|mf=y
location = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
deathdate = death date and age|2005|11|4|1932|1|17
deathplace = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
othername = Sherree Bessire
Shirley Mae Bessire
spouse = Fred Bessire (1948-1953)
John "Bud" Freedman (1955-1956)
Dr. Gerhardt Sommer (1958-1963)
Philip Norman (married-2005)

Sheree North (January 17, 1932 – November 4, 2005) was a two-time Emmy Award-nominated American actress, singer, and dancer.

Biography

Early life

Born as Dawn Shirley Crang in Los Angeles, California, she began dancing in USO shows during World War II at age 10. At 15, she married Fred Bessire and had a child at 16. She continued dancing in clubs under the moniker Shirley Mae Bessire.cite news| last=Hayward |first=Anthony| title= Obituary: Sheree North| publisher = "Independent, The (London)" | date =2005-11-22 | url =http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051122/ai_n15848161 | accessdate =2008-01-13]

Career

After being spotted by a choreographer performing at the Macayo Club in Santa Monica, North was cast as a chorus girl in the 1953 film "Here Come the Girls" starring Bob Hope. Around that time, she adopted the stage name Sheree North and made her Broadway debut in the musical "Hazel Flagg", for which she won a Theatre World Award. She went on to reprise her role in the film version "Living It Up".

In 1954, North signed on with 20th Century-Fox. The following year, she won the lead role in "How to Be Very, Very Popular", a role that was initially rejected by Marilyn Monroe. Media attention over the choice of North in the role that Monroe rejected resulted in North appearing on the cover of "Life" magazine with the coverline "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe". [ [http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117932505.html?categoryid=25&cs=1 Sheree North at Variety.com] ] Film historians, then and now, continue to cite North's electrically charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as the film's most memorable scene.cite news| last=Oliver |first=Myrna| title= Sheree North; blond bombshell recast career with character roles| publisher = "The Boston Globe" | date =2005-11-05 | url =http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2005/11/07/sheree_north_blond_bombshell_recast_career_with_character_roles/] After the success of "How to Be Very, Very Popular", North was groomed by Fox as the "new Marilyn Monroe". However, the studio soon lost interest in promoting her and focused attention on a new Monroe-esque actress, Jayne Mansfield. Decades later, North would play Monroe's mother in the 1980 television movie "Marilyn: The Untold Story".

After North's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she continued to land roles in films and had guest spots in television shows such as "Gunsmoke" and "Ben Casey". In the 1960s, she returned to Broadway in the very successful musical "I Can Get It for You Wholesale", which featured Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand.

Later years

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North appeared in guest spots on "Hawaii Five-O", "Matlock", "Magnum, P.I.", "The Mary Tyler Moore Show", in which she played Lou Grant's old flame, and "The Golden Girls", in which she played Blanche's sister, Virginia.

Her film roles included one as a fugitive-aiding photographer in Don Siegel's "Charley Varrick" and as John Wayne's long-lost love in the actor's final film, "The Shootist".

In the 1990s, she appeared as Kramer's mother, Babs Kramer, in two episodes of the TV series "Seinfeld". North's last onscreen role came in the 1998 John Landis film "Susan's Plan".

Personal life

North was married four times and had two children. In 1948, at age 15, she married Fred Bessire, a draftsman with whom she had a daughter, Dawn. The marriage ended in 1953. In 1955, she married music publisher John "Bud" Freedman, but the marriage ended a year later. Her third marriage to psychologist Gerhardt Sommer resulted in another daughter, Erica Eve, but that marriage also ended in divorce in 1963. [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/20/Sheree-North.html Sheree North at Filmreference.com] ]

At the time of her death, North was married to Philip Norman.

Death

On November 4, 2005, North died from complications during unspecified surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Theatre

* "Hazel Flagg" (February 11, 1953 - September 19, 1953)
* "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" (March 22, 1962 - December 8, 1962)

Filmography

* "Excuse My Dust" (Uncredited, 1951)
* "Here Come the Girls" (Uncredited, 1953)
* "Living It Up" (1953)
* "How to Be Very, Very Popular" (1955)
* "The Lieutenant Wore Skirts" (1956)
* "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (1956)
* "The Way to the Gold" (1957)
* "No Down Payment" (1957)
* "In Love and War" (1958)
* "Mardi Gras" (1958)
* "Destination Inner Space" (1966)
* "Madigan" (1968)
* "The Gypsy Moths" (1969)
* "The Trouble with Girls" (1969)
* "Lawman" (1971)
* "The Organization" (1971)
* "Charley Varrick" (1973)
* "The Outfit" (1973)
* "Survival" (1976)
* "The Shootist" (1976)
* "Telefon" (1977)
* "Fantasy Island" (1 episode, 1978)
* "Rabbit Test" (1978)
* "Only Once in a Lifetime" (1979)
* "Maniac Cop" (1988)
* "Cold Dog Soup" (1990)
* "Defenseless" (1991)
* "Susan's Plan" (1998)

Television

* "The Colgate Comedy Hour" (1 episode, 1954)
* What's My Line (as Herself 1 episode, 1955)
* "Shower of Stars" (1 episode, 1954)
* "Playhouse 90" (1 episode, 1957)
* "The Witness" (1 episode, 1961)
* "The Untouchables" (1 episode, 1963)
* "Gunsmoke" (1 episode, 1963)
* "The Eleventh Hour" (1 episode, 1963)
* "Breaking Point" (2 episodes, 1963)
* "The Great Adventure" (1 episode, 1964)
* "Ben Casey" (2 episodes, 1963-1964)
* "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1 episode, 1964)
* "Burke's Law" (3 episodes, 1963-1965)
* "The Loner" (1 episode, 1965)
* "The Virginian" (2 episodes, 1964-1966)
* "Run for Your Life" (1 episode, 1966)
* "The Big Valley" (1 episode, 1966)
* "The Iron Horse" (1 episode, 1966)
* "" (1967)
* "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (3 episodes, 1965-1967)
* "The Fugitive" (2 episodes, 1965-1967)
* "Mannix" (1 episode, 1968)
* "Here Come the Brides" (1 episode, 1968)
* "Then Came Bronson" (1 episode, 1969)
* "My Friend Tony" (1 episode, 1969)
* "The Name of the Game" (1 episode, 1970)
* "The Most Deadly Game" (1 episode, 1970)
* "The Interns" (1 episode, 1971)
* "Vanished" (1971)
* "The Smith Family" (1 episode, 1971)
* "Alias Smith and Jones" (1 episode, 1972)
* "Rolling Man" (1972)
* "Cannon" (1 episode, 1972)
* "Jigsaw" (1 episode, 1972)
* "Trouble Comes to Town" (1973)
* "McMillan and Wife" (1 episode, 1973)
* "Snatched" (1973)
* "Kung Fu" (1 episode, 1973)
* "" (1 episode, 1973)
* "Hawkins" (1 episode, 1973)
* "The Streets of San Francisco" (1 episode, 1973)
* "Maneater" (1973)
* "Key West" (1973)
* "Hec Ramsey" (1 episode, 1974)
* "Winter Kill" (1974)
* "Kojak" (2 episodes, 1974)
* "Hawaii Five-O" (1 episode, 1974)
* "Barnaby Jones" (1 episode, 1974)
* "Wide World Mystery" (1 episode, 1974)
* "The Whirlwind" (1974)
* "Movin' On" (2 episodes, 1974)
* "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (2 episodes, 1974-1975)
* "A Shadow in the Streets" (1975)
* "Breakout" (1975)
* "Medical Center" (3 episodes, 1971-1975)
* "Big Eddie" (Unknown episodes, 1975)
* "Marcus Welby, M.D." (1 episode, 1976)
* "Most Wanted" (1976)
* "Family" (1 episode, 1976)
* "Baretta" (1 episode, 1977)
* "Future Cop" (1 episode, 1977)
* "Westside Medical" (2 episodes, 1977)
* "Hallmark Hall of Fame" (1 episode, 1977)
* "A Real American Hero" (1978)
* "Amateur Night at the Dixie Bar and Grill" (1979)
* "Women in White" (1979)
* "Portrait of a Stripper" aka "The Secret Life of Susie Hanson" (1979)
* "Archie Bunker's Place" (2 episodes, 1979)
* "A Christmas for Boomer" (1979)
* "Marilyn: The Untold Story" (1980)
* "I'm a Big Girl Now" (Unknown episodes, 1980)
* "Legs" (1983)
* "Bay City Blues" (4 episodes, 1983)
* "Magnum, P.I." (1 episode, 1984)
* "Scorned and Swindled" (1984)
* "Trapper John, M.D." (1 episode, 1985)
* "ABC Afterschool Specials" (1 episode, 1986)
* "Matlock" (2 episodes, 1986)
* "Murder, She Wrote" (1 episode, 1987)
* "Jake Spanner, Private Eye" (1989)
* "Freddy's Nightmares" (1 episode, 1989)
* "Hunter" (1 episode, 1989)
* "The Golden Girls" (2 episodes, 1985-1989)
* "Dead on the Money" (1991)
* "Seinfeld" (2 episodes, 1995-1998)

Awards and nominations

Theatre World Award
*Won: For performance in "Hazel Flagg" (1953)

Emmy Award
*Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress for a Single Appearance in a Drama or Comedy Series, "Marcus Welby, M.D." episode "How Do You Know What Hurts Me?" (1976)
*Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, "Archie Bunker's Place" (1980)

References

External links

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* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=12276338 Sheree North at Find a Grave]