Sheree North

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Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang), an American actress, dancer, and singer best known for being one of Marilyn Monroe's intended successors on the twentieth century.

Early life

North was born Dawn Shirley Crang in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June (née Shoard) and Richard Crang. Dawn Shirley Bethel appeared in the following years after her mother's remarriage to Edward Bethel.

At age 10, she began competing in USO shows during World War II. She married Fred Bessire in 1948. Shirley Mae Bessire, a singer who died at the age of 17 in 1949, performed in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire. (Dering to marry at this age, Dawn Shirley Bessire was her legal name at the time, but not at this moment).

Personal life

North was married four times and had two children. She married Fred Bessire, a draftsman, with whom she had a daughter, Dawn, in 1948. In 1953, the couple's marriage ended. She married television journalist Bud Freeman in 1955; the marriage took place a year later. Gerhardt Sommer, a psychologist, with whom she had another daughter, Erica Eve, was her third marriage. In 1963, the couple ended in divorce. North was married to Emmy Award-winning title designer Phillip "Phill" Norman at the time of her death.

North died of complications after emergency surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on November 4, 2005, age 73.

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Career

In Excuse My Dust (1951), North made her film debut as an uncredited extra. She was then discovered by a choreographer at the Macayo Club in Santa Monica, and in the film Here Come the Girls (1953), starring Bob Hope, she was cast as a chorus girl. Sheree North, a stage name at the time, was adopted around that time. She appeared in the musical Hazel Flagg, which gained her a Theatre World Award. She reprised her role in the film version of Life It Up (1954), starring Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, and Bert Lahr appeared on Ethel Merman's Anything Goes on Cole Porter's Anything Goes in early 1954, at the age of 22, with Ethel Merman, Frank Sinatra, and Bert Lahr.

North signed a four-year deal with twentieth Century-Fox in 1954. The studio had big plans for her, wishing to find her as a replacement for Marilyn Monroe, the studio's most popular—and increasingly uncontrollable—female actor. North was tested in two of their forthcoming films, The Girl in Pink Tights and There's No Business Like Show Business, two films that had been directed to Monroe; although North was wearing Monroe's own studio wardrobe. North was not cast in either film after her screen tests, but she was not in the second film. North had a brush with controversy in March 1954 when she was revealed to have once danced in a bikini in an 8 mm erotic film. Fox profited from the exposure, as the studio had with Monroe's nude calendar posing in 1952.

In 1955, she was given the lead role in How to Be Quite Popular (1955), a role that Marilyn Monroe had rejected. North's firing prompted him to appear on the front page of Life with the headline "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe." How to Be Popular However, Fox generated little hype, although North had appeared on What's My Line? To publicize the film, one of the panelists had asked point-blank if she had been associated with Monroe. Critics mixed the film's verdict and it was a moderately thriving box-office hit. Despite this, film historians, both old and new, cite North's electrically charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll" as the film's most memorable scene.

Fox studio executives lobbied to have her in films surrounded by well-known celebrities in an attempt to push North. Tom Ewell, a comedian, had been pushed to appear in a film with comedian Tom Ewell, hoping to duplicate the success she had with Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955). The studio assigned North and Ewell together in the romantic comedy The Lieutenant Wore Skirts, plotting the story of an army lieutenant whose husband's husband's efforts to get her discharged soon. North posed for several publicity photos of her legs in order to advertise the film. Only her legs were visible when the bulk of the shots were released, with the tagline "Believe it or not, these legs belong to an army lieutenant." The film premiered in January 1956 with a lot of anticipation, and it became a box-office hit in the United States, grossing over $4 million.

The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), North's lavish musical in which her singing voice was dubbed by Eileen Wilson, was dubbed by her. She was given her fourth billing under Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey, and Ernest Borgnine. It was an effort by the studio to broaden North's audience appeal, but although critics praised it, it did not succeed in the same way that Fox hoped. In 1956, Fox signed another blonde bombshell in the person of Broadway actress Jayne Mansfield to a deal and began promoting her instead of North. Despite Fox's waning interest in North, the studio continued to produce a number of films for her. She was given the lead role in a film called The Girl Upstairs, in which she would have parodied Monroe's on-screen persona.

Fox put her on suspension for two months after North's agent suggested that she decline the film. When her suspension was lifted a month later, North decided to appear in The Way to the Gold, but only on the promise that Elvis Presley would be her co-star. When Presley resigned due to salary differences, he was replaced by Jeffrey Hunter, with whom North often quarreled. North tried to progress from her blonde bombshell image, playing a sarcastic waitress, in the film, and although the film received mixed feedback, it was a box-office hit.

She appeared in No Down Payment (1957), a melodrama about several families' lives in a California subdivision. In the film, Tony Randall played her alcoholic husband. Although highly lauded, it was not a box-office hit. She appeared in her final two films for Fox in the following year. In Love and War (1958), a war drama film starring her and Jeffrey Hunter, as well as Robert Wagner, Dana Wynter, and Hope Lange. It was not a critical or financial success. Although the musical film industry had declined in popularity, Mardi Gras (1958) with Pat Boone and Tommy Sands appeared in Mardi Gras (1958). It was her last film under her deal.

North's career stalled after her time with Fox ended in 1958, but she continued to act in films, television, and on stage for the remainder of her life. She appeared on episodes of The Untouchables and Gunsmoke (both 1963). North appeared on I Can Get It for You Wholesale in 1962, which featured Elliott Gould and Barbra Streisand. The Virginian (1964–65), The Big Valley, Burke's Law (1963–65), and The Fugitive (1965–67).

North received a lead role in the B-movie science-fiction film Destination Inner Space (1966), after an eight-year absence from film acting. In 1966, the film was announced in a minor way and has not been seen again. In one of Elvis Presley's last films, The Trouble With Girls (1969), North co-starred with Elvis Presley.

She appeared in musicals and several other theatrical theatre companies when she wasn't working in film. She appeared on Broadway in the musical Hazel Flagg (1953) and was given the Theatre World Award. She was then cast in the film Live It Up (1954). Martha Mills appeared on Broadway in 1962 as Martha Mills in I Can Get It for You Wholesale, with Jack Kruschen, Elliott Gould, and Barbra Streisand in her Broadway debut. North has also appeared in films including Irma La Douce, Bye Birdie, and Can-Can. In 1965, she took over from Shirley Knight in a Los Angeles production of Dutchman that coincided with the 1965 Watts riots. The production was volatile and conservatives chastised for inciting violent protests. Advertisers were blocked from newspapers, and North's car was on fire. Despite this, the operation lasted for a year.

North concentrated on becoming a strong and versatile character actress from the 1960s to the 1990s, appearing on virtually every television Western, cop show, and medical drama produced from the 1960s to the 1990s. On several of the situation comedies of the era, she displayed a gift for comedic timing. She was a favorite in several made-for-television films. She has also received Emmy awards for her appearances on Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969) and Archie Bunker's Place (1979).

Don Siegel, a film producer and director, appeared in four of his films, including Madigan (1968) opposite Richard Widmark; and in Telefon (1977) as John Wayne's long-lost love in the actor's final film The Shootist (1976). She appeared in two Charles Bronson films, Breakout (1975) with Robert Duvall, and Telefon. Burt Lancaster and Gene Hackman were among Burt Lancaster's ex-lover in Michael Winner's Western, Lawman (1971) with Robert Ryan, Lee J. Cobb, Robert Duvall, and Albert Salmi. She appeared in the crime drama The Organization (1971) with Sidney Poitier, and The Outfit (1973) with Duvall, Joe Don Baker, and Karen Black.

North appeared in guest spots on television shows such as Hawaii Five-O, McMillan & Wife, Matlock, Family, and Magnum, P.I. Sheldon Leonard co-starred in the short-lived CBS sitcom Big Eddie in 1975, alongside Sheldon Leonard. North appeared in I'm a Big Girl Now with Diana Canova, Danny Thomas, and Martin Short during the 1980-81 season. 19 episodes were released in the series. Marilyn Monroe's mother appeared in Marilyn Monroe's made-for-television film Marilyn Monroe's Untold Story in 1980. She appeared in Steven Bochco's series Bay City Blues as an ensemble actor in 1983. There were eight episodes of the hour-long drama series on YouTube. Blanche Devereaux's sister Virginia appeared in two episodes of The Golden Girls as Blanche Devereaux.

In two episodes of Cosmo Kramer's mother Babs Kramer in the 1990s, she appeared as Cosmo Kramer's mother Babs Kramer. Susan's Plan (1998) was her last film appearance in John Landis' black comedy Susan's Plan (1998).

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