Sharon Farrell (born December 24, 1940) is an American television and film actress, and former dancer. Originally beginning her career as a ballerina with the

American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant, it is recognized as one of the world's leading classical ballet companies. Through 2019, it had an annual ei ...

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 ''A Lovely Way to Die'' is a 1968 American crime neo noir directed by David Lowell Rich and starring Kirk Douglas, Sylva Koscina, Eli Wallach and Kenneth Haigh. A police officer resigns from the force and becomes a bodyguard to the wife of a w ...

'' (1968), and the

neo-noir Neo-noir is a revival of film noir, a genre that had originally flourished during the post-World War II era in the United Statesroughly from 1940 to 1960. The French term, ''film noir'', translates literally to English as "black film", indicating ...

Marlowe Marlowe may refer to: Name * Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593), English dramatist, poet and translator * Philip Marlowe, fictional hardboiled detective created by author Raymond Chandler * Marlowe (name), including list of people and characters w ...

'' (1969). She worked prolifically in television, including recurring parts in the series '' Saints and Sinners'' (1962), ''

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

'' (1965), and ''

Hawaii Five-O Hawaii Five-O or Hawaii Five-0 may refer to: * ''Hawaii Five-0'' (2010 TV series), an American action police procedural television series * ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1968 TV series), an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productio ...

'' (1977–1980). Farrell's other roles include

Larry Cohen Lawrence George Cohen (July 15, 1936 – March 23, 2019) was an American screenwriter, producer, and director of film and television, best known as an author of horror and science fiction films — often containing police procedural and ...

's horror film '' It's Alive'' (1974),

Dennis Hopper Dennis Lee Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) was an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He attended the Actors Studio, made his first television appearance in 1954, and soon after appeared in ''Giant'' (1956). In the next ten years ...

's drama film '' Out of the Blue'' (1980), and the teen comedy ''

Can't Buy Me Love "Can't Buy Me Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released in March 1964 as the A-side of their sixth single. It was written by Paul McCartney and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was included o ...

'' (1987). She continued to appear in television and film until 1999. In 2013, she reappeared in a minor role in the

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

''Broken at Love''.

Early life

Born Sharon Forsmoe on Christmas Eve 1940 in Sioux City, Iowa, she is of Norwegian descent, and was raised in a Lutheran family. During her childhood, Farrell studied ballet and was involved in the theater department during high school. Farrell toured with the

Company as a dancer, which brought her to New York City.

Career

She 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), ''

'' (1969), '' It's Alive'' (1974), ''

The Stunt Man ''The Stunt Man'' is a 1980 American action comedy film directed by Richard Rush, starring Peter O'Toole, Steve Railsback, and Barbara Hershey. The film was adapted by Lawrence B. Marcus and Rush from the 1970 novel of the same name by Paul Brod ...

'' (1980), '' Out of the Blue'' (1980), ''

Night of the Comet ''Night of the Comet'' is a 1984 American science fiction comedy horror film written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. It stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Robert Beltran, and Kelli Maroney as survivors of a comet that has turned most people into ei ...

'' (1984), and ''

'' (1987). She took her stage name combining her father's name Darrel, with "F" for Forsmoe and two "L"s. In addition to film work, Farrell also appeared in guest roles on various television shows including ''

Death Valley Days ''Death Valley Days'' is an American old-time radio and television anthology series featuring true accounts of the American Old West, particularly the Death Valley country of southeastern California. Created in 1930 by Ruth Woodman, the program ...

'', ''

Gunsmoke ''Gunsmoke'' is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman Macdonnell and writer John Meston. It centers on Dodge City, Kansas, in the 1870s, during the settlement of the American West. The central character ...

'', ''

The Man from U.N.C.L.E ''The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'' is an American spy fiction television series produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television and first broadcast on NBC. The series follows secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a secret ...

'', ''

I Dream of Jeannie ''I Dream of Jeannie'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series, created by Sidney Sheldon that starred Barbara Eden as a sultry, 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman, as an astronaut with whom she falls in love and eventually marrie ...

'', ''

My Favorite Martian ''My Favorite Martian'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963, to May 1, 1966, for 107 episodes. The show stars Ray Walston as "Uncle Martin" (the Martian) and Bill Bixby as Tim O'Hara. The first two seasons, totalin ...

'', ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family from ...

'', ''

Harry O ''Harry O'', sometimes spelled ''Harry-O'', is an American private detective series that aired for two seasons on ABC from 1974 to 1976. The series starred David Janssen, and Jerry Thorpe was executive producer. ''Harry O'' followed the broadcast ...

'', and ''

''. In 1991 she joined the cast of the long-running soap opera ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

'', remaining with the show until 1996. Farrell's most recent television role was in a 1999 episode of '' JAG''. Between 2013 and 2014, Farrell appeared in the web series ''Broken at Love'', marking her first on-screen appearance in fourteen years.

Personal life

Farrell's first marriage was to actor

Andrew Prine Andrew Lewis Prine (February 14, 1936 – October 31, 2022) was an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life and career Prine was born in Jennings, Florida. After graduation from Miami Jackson High School in Miami, Prine attend ...

in 1962. They later divorced reportedly after only living together for one month and ten days. Farrell has one son, Chance Boyer, born when she was married to actor John F. Boyer. After Chance's birth in 1970, Farrell suffered an

embolism An embolism is the lodging of an embolus, a blockage-causing piece of material, inside a blood vessel. The embolus may be a blood clot (thrombus), a fat globule ( fat embolism), a bubble of air or other gas (gas embolism), amniotic fluid (amniot ...

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 Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

, who warned her that if word of her illness got out, her career would be over. Keeping her illness hidden, Farrell worked steadily for decades. Farrell was also married to Ron DeBlasi, Steve Salkin, and director Dale Trevillion. She had romantic relationships with actors Steve McQueen and

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

. In December 2013, Farrell self-published her autobiography ''Hollywood Princess from Sioux City, Iowa''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

Notes

Sources

* * * *

External links

*
Sharon Farrell
at the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...

Sharon Farrell "Hollywood Princess" From Sioux City, Iowa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Sharon 1940 births Actors from Sioux City, Iowa Actresses from Iowa American ballerinas American film actresses American Lutherans American people of Norwegian descent American soap opera actresses American television actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses