Sheree North and Tony Randall

Tony Randall Born February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA Died May 17, 2004 in New York City, New York, USA (pneumonia following heart surgery) Birth Name Arthur Leonard Rosenberg Height 5' 8" (1.73 m) Tony Randall was born on February 26, 1920 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg. He attended Tulsa Central High School and later Northwestern University and New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. After graduating, he starred in two plays: George Bernard Shaw's 'Candida' alongside Jane Cowl and Emlyn Williams' 'The Corn Is Green' alongside Ethel Barrymore. After four years with the United States Army Signal Corps in World War II, Randall found work at Montgomery County's Olney Theatre before heading back to New York City to continue his acting career. During the 1940s, Randall appeared mostly in supporting roles in Broadway plays. He was given his first leading role in 1955 with 'Inherit the Wind'. Randall managed to nab a Tony Award nomination for his starring role in 1958's 'Oh, Captain!', although the play itself bombed. His first role in a feature film came about in 1957, playing a supporting character in the Ginger Rogers vehicle Oh, Men! Oh, Women! (1957). The same year, he received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as the titular writer for television advertising in the satirical comedy Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957). Randall also lent his support to the three famous Doris Day-Rock Hudson pairings Pillow Talk (1959), Lover Come Back (1961), and Send Me No Flowers (1964), securing Golden Globe nominations for the former two. Randall worked quite prolifically throughout the 1960s; notable roles include a public relations employee in the Marilyn Monroe romantic musical Let's Make Love (1960), seven quite different characters in the oddball 7 Faces of Dr. Lao (1964), iconic detective Hercule Poirot in The Alphabet Murders (1965), an architect who inadvertently releases a djinn in the fantasy The Brass Bottle (1964), and a man who lives in an underwater house with his family in the adventure Hello Down There (1969). Randall's first major television role was as a history teacher on Mister Peepers (1952); he joined the cast in 1955. After the series ended, he had numerous guest spots on such shows as The United States Steel Hour (1953), The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962), Love, American Style (1969), and Here's Lucy (1968). He wouldn't return to TV in a major role until 1970, when he played sardonic neat freak Felix Unger in ABC's The Odd Couple (1970) opposite Jack Klugman. He earned Emmy nominations for each season, finally winning in 1975 for its last. He later starred in The Tony Randall Show (1976) as a Philadelphia judge, and Love, Sidney (1981) as a gay artist. The former earned him one Golden Globe nomination and the latter earned him two. He reunited with Jack Klugman for the 1993 TV movie The Odd Couple: Together Again (1993). Both during and after his stints on TV, Randall had small roles in a few well-known films such as Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex * But Were Afraid to Ask (1972), The King of Comedy (1982), My Little Pony: The Movie (1986), and Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). He continued to guest-star on television shows, but would never return to the small screen as a leading man. He also continued to work on-stage, albeit infrequently. Randall passed away in his sleep on May 17, 2004 of pneumonia he had contracted following coronary bypass surgery in December 2003. He is survived by his wife, Heather Harlan, whom he wed in 1995, and their two children. Randall had previously been married to Florence Gibbs from 1938 until her death in 1992.

Sheree North Born Dawn Shirley Crang January 17, 1932 Los Angeles, California, U.S. Died November 4, 2005 (aged 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S. Other names Dawn Shirley Bethel Sherree Bessire Shirley Mae Bessire Occupation Actress, singer, dancer Years active 1951–1998 Spouse(s) Fred Bessire (m. 1948; div. 1953) John "Bud" Freeman (m. 1955; div. 1956) Dr. Gerhardt Sommer (m. 1958; div. 1963) Phillip Alan Norman (m. 2003) Children 2 Sheree North (born Dawn Shirley Crang; January 17, 1932 – November 4, 2005) was an American actress, dancer and singer, known for being one of 20th Century-Fox's intended successors to Marilyn Monroe. North was born as Dawn Shirley Crang in Los Angeles, California, on January 17, 1932, the daughter of June Shoard and Richard Crang. Following her mother's remarriage to Edward Bethel, she was known as Dawn Shirley Bethel. She began dancing in USO shows during World War II at age ten. In 1948, she married Fred Bessire. She bore her first child at age 17 in 1949, and continued dancing in clubs under the stage name Shirley Mae Bessire. North made her film début as an un-credited extra 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 film Here Come the Girls (1953), starring Bob Hope. Around that time, she adopted the stage name Sheree North. She made her Broadway début 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. In early 1954, at age 22, 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. 20th Century-Fox In 1954, North signed a four-year contract with 20th Century-Fox. The studio had big plans for her, hoping to groom her as a replacement for the studio's leading, and increasingly uncontrollable, female star, Marilyn Monroe. Fox tested North for leading roles in 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. However, after her screen tests, North was not 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. In 1955, she was assigned the lead role opposite Betty Grable in How to Be Very, Very Popular (1955), a role that Marilyn Monroe had refused to accept. Media attention surrounding Monroe's suspension and North's hiring resulted in North appearing on the cover of Life magazine with the cover line "Sheree North Takes Over From Marilyn Monroe". How to Be Very, Very Popular would eventually not live up to the hype Fox had generated, even though North had appeared on What's My Line? to publicize the film and had been asked point-blank by one of the panelists if she has been associated with Monroe. The movie received mixed reviews from critics and was a moderate box office success. Despite this, film historians, then and now, cite North's electrically-charged dancing to "Shake, Rattle and Roll", as the film's most memorable scene. In an attempt to promote North, Fox studio executives lobbied to cast her in films surrounded with popular stars. The studio had campaigned to cast her in a film with comedian Tom Ewell, hoping to repeat the success he had with Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (1955). Soon thereafter, the studio assigned North and Ewell to appear together in the romantic comedy The Lieutenant Wore Skirts, plotting the story of an army lieutenant whose husband tries to get her discharged. To promote the film, North posed for several publicity shots showing her legs. When the majority of the shots were released, only her legs appeared with the tagline, "Believe it or not, these legs belong to an army lieutenant". The film premiered with much fanfare in January 1956, and became a box office success, grossing over $4 million in the United States. North's follow-up was The Best Things in Life Are Free (1956), a lavish musical in which her singing voice was dubbed by Eileen Wilson. She received fourth billing under Gordon MacRae, Dan Dailey and Ernest Borgnine. It was an attempt by the studio to broaden North's audience appeal, and while it earned favorable reviews from critics, it did not become the success Fox had hoped for. In 1956, Fox signed another blonde bombshell, Broadway actress Jayne Mansfield to a contract, and began promoting her instead of North. Although Fox slowly lost interest in North, the studio continued to offer her a string of films. She was offered the leading role in a film called The Girl Upstairs, in which she would have parodied Monroe's on-screen persona. When North's agent suggested she decline the film, Fox put her on suspension for two months. When her suspension was lifted one month later, North agreed to appear in The Way to the Gold only on the assurance that Elvis Presley would be her co-star. When Presley withdrew due to salary disagreements, he was replaced with Jeffrey Hunter, with whom North often quarreled. In the film, North attempted to progress from her blonde bombshell image, playing a sarcastic waitress, and while the film drew mixed reviews, it was a box office success. She next starred in No Down Payment (1957), a melodrama about the lives of multiple families living in a California subdivision. Tony Randall played her alcoholic husband in the film. Although critically acclaimed, it was not a box office success. The following year, she appeared in her final two films for Fox. In Love and War (1958) was a war drama film pairing her again with Jeffrey Hunter, and also with Robert Wagner, Dana Wynter, and Hope Lange. It was not a critical or financial success. Although the musical film genre had declined in profitability, she next co-starred in Mardi Gras (1958) with Pat Boone and Tommy Sands. It was her final film under her contract. After North's contract with Fox ended in 1958, her career stalled. She continued to act in films, television, and on the stage throughout the rest of her life, but she failed to again obtain the recognition she had with Fox in the 1950s. She guest starred on episodes of The Untouchables and Gunsmoke (both 1963). North joined the cast of I Can Get It for You Wholesale in 1962, which featured Elliott Gould and introduced Barbra Streisand. She later guest starred on a series of popular television series, including Ben Casey and Burke's Law (1963–65), The Virginian (1964–66), The Big Valley, The Iron Horse (both 1966), and The Fugitive (1965–67). After an eight-year absence from film acting, North accepted a lead role in the B movie science fiction film Destination Inner Space (1966). The film opened to only a minor release in 1966, and has rarely been seen since. North co-starred with Elvis Presley in one of his final films, The Trouble with Girls (1969). 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. 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 in 1975, and Telefon in 1977. In 1980, she played Marilyn Monroe's mother in the made-for-television film Marilyn: The Untold Story. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, North appeared in guest spots on Hawaii Five-O, The Streets of San Francisco, McMillan & Wife, Matlock, Family and Magnum, P.I.. She played Lou Grant's girlfriend on several episodes of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. She co-starred with Sheldon Leonard in the short-lived CBS sitcom, Big Eddie in 1975. During the 1980–81 season, North starred on I'm a Big Girl Now with Diana Canova, Danny Thomas and Martin Short. The series aired 19 episodes.[9] In 1983, she appeared in the ensemble cast of the Steven Bochco series Bay City Blues. The hour-long drama series aired eight episodes. North later appeared on two episodes of The Golden Girls as Blanche Devereaux's sister, Virginia. In the 1990s, she appeared as Cosmo Kramer's mother, Babs Kramer, in two episodes of the sitcom Seinfeld. North's last onscreen role came in John Landis' black comedy Susan's Plan (1998). Personal life North was married four times and had two children. In 1948, at age 16, she married Fred Bessire, a draftsman, with whom she had a daughter, Dawn (born 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, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1963. At the time of her death, North was married to her fourth husband, Phillip Norman. On November 4, 2005, North died during cancer surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She was 73 years old. 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)