Friday, August 11, 2023

Sharon Farrell Passes On

Sharon Farrell, who appeared frequently on television and appeared in such movies as 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962) Marlowe (1969), and It's Alive (1974),  died on May 15 2023 at the age of 82.

Sharon Farrell was born Sharon Forsmoe on December 24 1940 in Sioux City, Iowa. Growing up she studied ballet. She toured with the American Ballet Company. She also worked with a road production of Oklahoma!. She made her television debut in 1961 in an uncredited role in an episode of the show Naked City. In the Sixties she was a regular on the short-lived TV series Saints and Sinners. She guest starred on the shows Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Empire, My Favorite Martian, Death Valley Days, Kraft Suspense Theatre, The Lieutenant, Arrest and Trial, Wagon Train, Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre, Gunsmoke, Burke's Law, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, The Fugitive, The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Ben Casey, Rawhide, I Dream of Jeannie, My Three Sons, Dr. Kildare, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Run for Your Life, Iron Horse, The Virginian, The Wild Wild West, Premiere, Medical Center, Storefront Lawyers, and The Name of the Game. She made her film debut in 1962 in 40 Pounds of Trouble. She appeared in the films Not with My Wife, You Don't! (1966), A Lovely Way to Die (1968), Marlowe (1969), and The Reivers (1969).

In the Seventies Sharon Farrell had a regular role in the last season of Hawaii Five-O. She guest starred on the television shows The Name of the Game; The D.A.; Banyon; Marcus Welby, M.D.; The New Perry Mason; Love, American Style; The F.B.I.; Chase; The Fisher Family; Insight; Dr. Simon Locke; Petrocelli; The Wide World of Mystery; The Six Million Dollar Man; Harry-O; Kolchak: The Night Stalker; Police Story; McCloud; Bronk; Doc; Police Woman; Gibbsville; Switch; Man from Atlantis; The Wonderful World of Disney; and Mrs. Columbo. She appeared in the films The Love Machine (1971), It's Alive (1974), The Premonition (1975), The Fifth Floor (1978), The Stunt Man (1980), and Out of the Blue (1980).

In the Eighties Miss Farrell appeared in the movies Separate Ways (1981), Sweet Sixteen (1983), Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), Night of the Comet (1984), Can't Buy Me Love (1987), and One Man Force (1989). She guest starred on the TV shows Small & Frye and Freddie's Nightmare.

In the Nineties she began a six year run as Florence Webster on the soap opera The Young and the Restless. She guest starred on the TV shows Matlock and JAG. She appeared in the movies Lonely Hearts (1991), A Gift from Heaven (1994), Beyond Desire (1995), White Cargo (1996), Timeless Obsession (1996), and Last Chance Love.

Sharon Farrell's last appearance was on the TV show Broken at Love in 2014.

Sharon Farrell was a talented actress. In It's Alive she played the mother of the monstrous, mutant baby who goes on a killing spree, even as she tries to protect the child. In Marlowe she played Orfamay Quest, the Kansas woman who hires Philip Marlowe to find her brother. In the Marcus Welby, M.D. episode "He Could Sell Iceboxes to Eskimos," Sharon Farrell played the estranged daughter of a man who has just had a stroke. In Night of the Comet she played the stepmother of the protagonist Sam, who Sam doesn't get along with. Sharon Farrell was very prolific (particularly when it came to television) and she always gave a good performance.

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