The Late Great Shelley Fabares

Shelley Fabares, who played Mary on The Donna Reed Show and Christine on Coach, died on August 22, 2026, at the age of 82. The cause was pneumonia.Shelley Fabares ws born on January 19, 1944, in Santa Monica, California. Her aunt was actress Nanette Fabray. She began modelling when she was only three years old. She was only ten when she made her television debut in an episode of Letter to Loretta (later retitled The Loretta Young Show). In the Fifties, she guest starred on such shows as Producer's Showcase, Matinee Theatre, Captain Midnight, Annie Oakley, Fury, and Colgate Theatre. She had a regular role on the serial "Annette," staring Annette Funicello, on The Mickey Mouse Club. It was in 1958 that she began playing Mary Stone, the daughter of Donna Stone (Donna Reed) and pediatrician Dr. Alex Stone (Carl Betz), on The Donna Reed Show. She made her movie debut in 1955 in The Girl Rush. In the Fifties, she appeared in the movies Never Say Goodbye (1956), The Bad Seed (1956), Jeanne…