Sharon Gless

Biography: Sharon Gless holds the title of the last contract player having been signed by Universal Studios in 1969. The willowy blonde actress worked feverishly to climb her way up the ladder of episodic TV, appearing briefly on "McCloud" for NBC and guesting on a few short-lived series before landing a season long stint as secretary Holly Barrett on the drama series "Faraday and Company" 1973-1974 again working for NBC. It was her association with Robert Young in two ABC made-for-TV-movies "All My Darling Daughters" and "My Darling Daughters Anniversary" plus a guest spot in 1972 on an episode of ABC's "Marcus Welby, M.D.", that eventually led to a permanent part on the show playing nurse Kathleen Faverty in its final two seasons. With the end of "Marcus Welby, M.D." she returned to her secretarial duties for CBS in the show "Switch" 1975-1978, she then starred as a regular on two sitcoms at NBC in "Turnabout" 1979 and at CBS she replaced Lynn Redgrave from 1981 to 1982 in "House Calls". In the late 70's and early 80's Sharon was doing double duty, while appearing in "Turnabout" and "House Calls" she was also busy at work upgrading her status and profile by starring in two popular NBC miniseries in 1978 "Centennial" and in 1979 "The Last Convertible", then again for NBC she portrayed Carol Lombard in "Moviola : The Scarlett O'Hara War" 1980. After a very long apprenticeship. Sharon finally got to star as a detective herself, replacing Meg Foster as Christine Cagney in 1982 starring in the CBS drama series "Cagney & Lacey". Sharon was slammed with initial criticism stating that she was too lightweight a talent for the part, but she shattered the doubts of her critics and established a notable rapport with co-star Tyne Daly and in effect won acclaim including Two Emmy Awards for the combination of fiesty vigor and bruised sensitivity she brought to the role. Gless subsequently lent similar qualities to the eponymous heroine of another CBS sitcom series, "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill" 1990-1992. With that show having ended, Sharon has twice performed on the London stage, first in an adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery" 1992 and later opposite Tom Conti in Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" 1996. Her most recent role was on Showtimes 2000 original series "Queer As Folk" where she portrayed Debbie Novatny the mother of a gay son. "Queer As Folk" brought Sharon back into the spotlight again and gave her a more diverse fan base. The show has since ended, but its 5 year run was amazing and her many fans will remember her as Cagney and as Debbie for years to come.… Expand