Sheree North

Sheree North
North in a mid-1950s publicity photo
Born	Dawn Shirley Crang (later Bethel) (1932-01-17)January 17, 1932 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	November 4, 2005(2005-11-04) (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Complications following surgery
Occupation	Actress, singer, dancer
Years active	1951–1998
Spouse(s)	Fred Bessire (1948–1953; divorced) John "Bud" Freeman (1955–1956; divorced) Dr. Gerhardt Sommer (1958–1963; divorced) Phillip Alan Norman (2003–2005; her death)
Children	Dawn Erica Eve

Dawn Shirley Crang Bethel (January 17, 1932 – November 4, 2005), known as Sheree North, was an American film and television actress, dancer, and singer. North rose to prominence as Twentieth Century-Fox's alternative to Marilyn Monroe, upon signing with the studio in 1954.

She starred in How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955) and The Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956); however, the studio soon lost interest in promoting her and assigned her roles in B-movies. After her release from Fox in 1958, North's film career declined. During the 1960s and 70s, she appeared in several television guest spots, including Gunsmoke, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. In the 90s, she appeared in two episodes of Seinfeld. She also appeared in several Broadway productions throughout her career. North died of complications from surgery in November 2005.

Early life

North was born as Dawn Shirley Crang^[1][2] in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June Shoard and Richard Crang;^[1] following her mother's remarriage to Edward Bethel, she became known as Dawn Shirley Bethel.^[3] She began dancing in USO shows during World War II at age ten. At fifteen, she married Fred Bessire; she had a child at sixteen. She continued dancing in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire.^[4]

Career

North made her film debut as one of the many club members in Excuse My Dust (1951). She was then spotted by a choreographer performing at the Macayo Club in Santa Monica, and 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. She would then make her Broadway debut in the musical Hazel Flagg, for which she won a Theatre World Award. She reprised her role in the film version, Living It Up (1954), starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.^[4] In early 1954, she appeared in a live TV version of Cole Porter's Anything Goes on The Colgate Comedy Hour with Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra and Bert Lahr.^[5]

In 1954, North signed a four-year contract with Twentieth Century-Fox. The studio had big plans for her, hoping to mold her as a replacement for the studio's leading female star, Marilyn Monroe. Fox tested North for two of their upcoming productions, The Girl in Pink Tights and There's No Business Like Show Business–two films that had been offered to Monroe–while North was wearing Monroe's own studio wardrobe. After her screen tests, however, North wasn't cast in either film.

In March 1954, North had a brush with scandal when it was revealed that she had earlier danced in a bikini in an 8 mm erotic film. Fox capitalized on the publicity as the studio previously had with Monroe's nude calendar posing in 1952.^[6]

The following year North won the lead role opposite Betty Grable in How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955), a role that was rejected by Marilyn Monroe. Media attention resulted in North's appearing on the cover of Life magazine with the cover line "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe".^[4][7] Film historians, then and now, cite North's electrically-charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll," as the film's most memorable scene.^[8]

Sheree North on the cover of Life magazine (March 21, 1955)

North received mixed reviews for her performance in How to Be Very, Very Popular; nevertheless, Fox tried to improve North's screen image. The studio secured her guest appearances on some well-known television series, including What's My Line? and Shower of Stars among others.

In 1956, North was cast opposite Tom Ewell in the Technicolor comedy film The Lieutenant Wore Skirts. Telling the story of a man's adventures after his wife is drafted, the film is often compared with 1955's The Seven Year Itch. Receiving mixed critical acclaim, the film was a box office success. North's career shot to greater heights, and she became a more important contract player on the Fox lot.

North would next have a supporting role in The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), a big-budgeted musical, opposite Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, and Ernest Borgnine. The film earned good reviews and moderate success, but North soon found herself forgotten by Fox after the studio signed blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield to a contract and starting focusing on promoting her instead of North.

In 1957, North was cast in low-budget, forgettable, black-and-white dramas: The Way to the Gold and No Down Payment. Both features drew negative reviews and neither was a box office success.

In 1958, North had supporting roles in the war-time drama In Love and War with Robert Wagner and Dana Wynter, and in the musical comedy Mardi Gras, with Pat Boone and Tommy Sands. Both films drew only mild critical acclaim, and were only moderately successful at the box office.

After North's contract with Fox ended in 1958, she continued to act in movies, while frequently having guest spots on television shows such as Gunsmoke, The Virginian, Breaking Point, and Ben Casey. In the 1960s she returned to Broadway in the Harold Rome musical I Can Get It for You Wholesale, which featured Elliott Gould and introduced Barbra Streisand.

Later years

North's next role was the lead in the low-budget science-fiction film Destination Inner Space in 1966. The film was barely released to theaters, in 1966, and has rarely been seen since. In 1969, she appeared in The Trouble with Girls starring Elvis Presley.

Ed Asner as Lou Grant and Sheree North as Charlene Maguire, his new girlfriend, in a fifth season episode of the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Some of her other notable performances were in Don Siegel's Charley Varrick (1973) and another crime film, The Outfit (also 1973). She appeared briefly as John Wayne's long-lost love in the actor's final film, The Shootist (1976). She had supporting roles in two Charles Bronson movies, Breakout (also starring Robert Duvall and Randy Quaid) in 1975 and Telefon (featuring Donald Pleasence and Lee Remick) in 1977. In 1980, she played Marilyn Monroe's mother in the made-for-TV film Marilyn: The Untold Story.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North appeared in guest spots on Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, Matlock, Magnum, P.I., The Mary Tyler Moore Show—in which she played Lou Grant's girlfriend—and The Golden Girls, in which she played Blanche Devereaux's sister, Virginia, in two episodes.

North co-starred in the short-lived sitcom, Big Eddie, with Sheldon Leonard in 1975.

She starred in the ABC sitcom I'm a Big Girl Now with Diana Canova, Danny Thomas, Rori King, and a young Martin Short. The series aired 19 episodes during the 1980–1981 season.^[9]

In 1983, she appeared in the ensemble cast of the Steven Bochco series Bay City Blues, starring Michael Nouri, Dennis Franz, Pat Corley, and Sharon Stone. The hour-long drama series aired eight episodes.^[10]

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 three times and had two children. In 1948, at age 16, she married Fred Bessire, a draftsman, with whom she had a daughter, Dawn (born April 1949). The marriage ended in 1953. In 1955, she married television writer Bud Freeman, and the marriage ended a year later. Her third marriage was to psychologist Gerhardt Sommer, with whom she had another daughter, Erica Eve. The marriage with Sommer ended in divorce in 1963.^[11]

On November 4, 2005, North died during cancer surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.^[3][8] At the time of her death, North was married to Phillip Norman.^[8]

Theatre

• Hazel Flagg (February 11, 1953 – September 19, 1953)
• I Can Get It for You Wholesale (March 22, 1962 – December 8, 1962)
• The Glass Menagerie (Laguna-Moulton Playhouse – January 3, 2000)

Filmography

Television

Awards and honors

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)

Notes

External links

• Sheree North at the Internet Movie Database
• Sheree North at the Internet Broadway Database
• Sheree North at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Sheree North Tiger dance at YouTube