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Diane Shalet

Diane Shalet
Born(1935-02-23)February 23, 1935
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedFebruary 23, 2006(2006-02-23) (aged 71)
Palm Springs, California
OccupationActress
SpouseMichael Strong (1969 - 1980, his death)

Diane Shalet (February 23, 1935[1] – February 23, 2006) was an American Broadway and television character actress. She was perhaps best known for her recurring role as Ms. Hawkins in the drama Matlock.[2] She made a guest appearance on The Monkees in the season-two episode, "The Fairy Tale", as the Fairy of the Locket (January 8, 1968).

Early years

A native of New York, Shalet attended the High School of Performing Arts[3] and Queens College.[4] In July and August of 1951, she performed in summer stock in upstate New York, appearing in productions of Fay Kanin's Goodbye, My Fancy, starring Sylvia Sidney,[5] and Leonard Bernstein's On the Town, starring Nancy Walker of the original Broadway cast.[6]

Career

In 1953, Shalet made what was later described as her professional debut in the Honolulu Repertory Theatre's production of Dark of the Moon.[7][a] She was 18 years old at the time and had intended to study in a college in Japan. However, when an illness in her family resulted in Shalet moving to Hawaii instead, she decided to seize this opportunity.[4]

By her own account, it was Shalet's selection for the charter company at Lincoln Center Repertory Theater that truly launched her career. She was one of 15 people chosen from 1,500 applicants.[3] During an eight-month training program, she performed in all three of the company's 1963 productions.[4]

Shalet's Broadway credits include Tartuffe (1965), The Changeling (1964), But For Whom Charlie (1964), and After The Fall (1964).[8] She also had roles in the touring companies of Bloomer Girl, Brigadoon, Connecticut Yankee, and Oklahoma.[9]

Films in which Shalet appeared included The Reivers (1969), Deadhead Miles (1972), and The Last Tycoon (1976).[2] She also made over 200 guest appearances on episodic television shows. They include Bonanza, Born Free (TV series), “The Phil Silvers Show”, and Cagney & Lacey.

For 14 years, Shalet taught at UCLA; she also was a founder of the Actors and Writers Lab in Manhattan.[10] A life member of The Actors Studio,[11] she was the author of the 1994 novel Grief in a Sunny Climate, (ISBN 0-312-11054-5)[10] which a review in The New York Times described as a "deceptively silly story to disguise some serious lessons about sorrow and dependency."[12] The book received first prize for fiction writing at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.[12]

Personal life and death

In 1969, Shalet married actor Michael Strong,[13] with whom she had recently co-starred—alongside Glynn Turman, under Vinnette Carroll's direction—in a revival of William Hanley's Slow Dance on the Killing Ground.[14] Subsequent television collaborations included 1974 episodes of Insight—featuring uncredited appearances by each[15][16]—and Harry O,[17] as well as the 1978 television movie The Ascent of Mt. Fuji.[18]

Predeceased by her husband, Shalet died in Palm Springs, California, on February 23, 2006,[10] her 71st birthday.[1]

Filmography

Notes

  1. ^ Contrary to the later account (as per Shalet's professional résumé, circa 1964, which also places this production in 1956, featuring an allegedly 16-year-old Shalet),[4] the contemporaneous 1953 story cites the then 18-year-old Shalet's "wide experience in professional theater", further stating that "[s]he was a member of the road companies of 'Oklahoma,' 'Brigadoon,' 'Connecticut Yankee' and 'Bloomer Girl' [and] also played in 'Goodbye My Fancy' and the New York production of 'On the Town.'

References

  1. ^ a b "United States, Public Records, 1970-2009", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KVVN-7T9 : 11 November 2019), Diane S Strong, 2005.
  2. ^ a b Lentz, Harris III (April 6, 2006). "Obituaries". Classic Images. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Kreiswirth, Sandra (June 17, 1994). "Turning the Page: Actress finds life as novelist therapeutic". News-Pilot. California, San Pedro. p. 29. Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Robinson, Barry (December 8, 1964). "Diane's Image". Asbury Park-Press. p. 26. Retrieved January 4, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Turner, Marjorie Lake. (July 4, 1951). "Crowd Turns Out for First Night 'Fancy'". The Syracuse Herald-Journal. p. 21. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  6. ^ Richards, Arthur H. (August 1, 1951). "'On the Town' a Zestful Musical With a Captivating Nancy Walker". The Elmira Advertiser. p. 12. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "Cast Is Named for H.C.T.'s 'Dark of the Moon'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. April 25, 1953. p. B-7. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  8. ^ "Diane Shalet". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  9. ^ "Cast Is Named For H.C.T.'s 'Dark of Moon'". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Hawaii, Honolulu. April 25, 1953. p. 17. Retrieved February 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b c Willis, John; Hodges, Ben (2008). Theatre World 2005-2006: The Most Complete Record of the American Theatre. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 348. ISBN 9781557837080. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  11. ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 280. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
  12. ^ a b Birch, Donna (August 21, 1994). "Actress Enjoys Latest Role as Author". The Los Angeles Times. California, Los Angeles. p. Westisde p 6. Retrieved February 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "California, Marriage Index, 1960-1985", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V66H-VK4 : 26 January 2024), Michael Strong, 1969.
  14. ^ Guernsey, Otis L. (1968). The Best Plays of 1967-1968. New York: Dodds, Mead & Company. p. 85. OCLC 1022981737.
  15. ^ "Advanced title search: Diane Shalet–Michael Strong Collaborations". IMDb.
  16. ^ Insight powered by Paulist Productions (October 25, 2019). "The One-Armed Man, Show # 370 (1974)", at O2:31 and 07:17, respectively. YouTube.
  17. ^ "TV-Radio Briefs". The Hollywood Reporter. September 17, 1974. p. 10. ProQuest 3090567807. Michael Strong and Diane Shalet in 'Shadows at Noon' segment of 'Harry O.'
  18. ^ Smith, Cecil (January 10, 1978). "Final Farewell for TV Theater". The Los Angeles Times. p. E10. ProQuest 158404035. The players are Joseph Campanella as a leading journalist and dramatist, with Andrea Marcovicci as his wife, an actress known everywhere from her performances on Russian TV; Avery Schreiber as a materialistic agronomist for the state and Diane Shalet as his wife, the geography teacher who nicknamed him the mountain; Michael Strong as a history teacher with Joanne Linville as his wife, a physician, and Stefan Gierasch as a pompous scientist and bureaucrat.
Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Shalet