Michael Sharrett
Encyclopedia
Michael Stuart Sharrett is an American
actor
who received a Young Artist Award
nomination as the "Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture" for his role as Tom in the 1986 witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend
. Best known for his role in the 1978 classic family movie The Magic of Lassie
with James Stewart
, Sharrett additionally co-starred in the 1985 action film Savage Dawn
and in the 1986 Wes Craven
horror film
Deadly Friend
.
, a city located in Southern California
approximately 30 miles from Los Angeles
. Sharrett began his career at the age of 12 in the Emmy Award
-winning Our Town, a 1977 television adaptation of the classic play Our Town
. After some additional television roles and a part in the 1978 Walt Disney
comedy western film Hot Lead and Cold Feet
, Sharrett landed the role of Chris, the grandson of Clovis, played by Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart
in the 1978 musical film The Magic of Lassie
. In The Magic of Lassie, Lassie
is a dog owned by Sharrett's freckled-faced character Chris. Lassie is taken away from Chris, who then is put under pressure when his grandpa has to decide whether to sell the valuable family vineyard in return for the dog.
In 1986, Sharrett played Tom in the witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend
. In the teenage friendship story, Tom and his friend Paul bring friend Samantha back to life using a computer chip designed by Paul. Reviews of Sharrett's performance were positive, with a New York Times
reviewer writing, "As Tom, Michael Sharrett is a wonderful foil, fainting away at the first kick of Sam's supposedly dead leg." For his performance as Tom, Sharrett received a Young Artist Award
nomination in 1986 as the Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture.
In 1988, Sharrett appeared in the short lived TV series Supercarrier
. Two years later, in October 1990, Sharrett served as a main character in an episode of the American television drama The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
. In that episode, Sharrett played a seemingly all-American boy accused of desecrating a Jewish cemetery
. Rosie, a Los Angeles public defender
character played by Sharon Gless
in the series, defends Sharrett's character. The episode first aired on Monday, October 22 on CBS
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
who received a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
nomination as the "Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture" for his role as Tom in the 1986 witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven. It is based on the novel entitled Friend by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin.-Plot:...
. Best known for his role in the 1978 classic family movie The Magic of Lassie
The Magic of Lassie
The Magic of Lassie is a 1978 Wrather Corporation film. It features James Stewart in one of only two musical film roles that he played . Mickey Rooney and Alice Faye also make cameo appearances in the film...
with James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
, Sharrett additionally co-starred in the 1985 action film Savage Dawn
Savage Dawn
Savage Dawn is a 1985 action and drama film. The Fifth Chapter Motorcycle Club made an appearance in the film. The film was directed by Simon Nuchtern.-Plot:...
and in the 1986 Wes Craven
Wes Craven
Wesley Earl "Wes" Craven is an American actor, film director, writer, producer, perhaps best known as the director of many horror films, particularly slasher films, including the famed A Nightmare on Elm Street and Wes Craven's New Nightmare, featuring the iconic Freddy Krueger character, the...
horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven. It is based on the novel entitled Friend by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin.-Plot:...
.
Biography and career
Michael Sharrett was born in Ventura, CaliforniaVentura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
, a city located in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
approximately 30 miles from Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Sharrett began his career at the age of 12 in the Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning Our Town, a 1977 television adaptation of the classic play Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
. After some additional television roles and a part in the 1978 Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
comedy western film Hot Lead and Cold Feet
Hot Lead and Cold Feet
Hot Lead and Cold Feet is a comedy western film made by Walt Disney Productions for Buena Vista Distribution Company starring Jim Dale, Don Knotts, Karen Valentine, Darren McGavin, and Jack Elam released on July 5, 1978.-Plot:...
, Sharrett landed the role of Chris, the grandson of Clovis, played by Academy Award winner Jimmy Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
in the 1978 musical film The Magic of Lassie
The Magic of Lassie
The Magic of Lassie is a 1978 Wrather Corporation film. It features James Stewart in one of only two musical film roles that he played . Mickey Rooney and Alice Faye also make cameo appearances in the film...
. In The Magic of Lassie, Lassie
Lassie
Lassie is a fictional collie dog character created by Eric Knight in a short story expanded to novel length called Lassie Come-Home. Published in 1940, the novel was filmed by MGM in 1943 as Lassie Come Home with a dog named Pal playing Lassie. Pal then appeared with the stage name "Lassie" in six...
is a dog owned by Sharrett's freckled-faced character Chris. Lassie is taken away from Chris, who then is put under pressure when his grandpa has to decide whether to sell the valuable family vineyard in return for the dog.
In 1986, Sharrett played Tom in the witty sci-fi/horror movie Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend
Deadly Friend is a 1986 science fiction horror film directed by Wes Craven. It is based on the novel entitled Friend by Diana Henstell, which was adapted for the screen by Bruce Joel Rubin.-Plot:...
. In the teenage friendship story, Tom and his friend Paul bring friend Samantha back to life using a computer chip designed by Paul. Reviews of Sharrett's performance were positive, with a New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reviewer writing, "As Tom, Michael Sharrett is a wonderful foil, fainting away at the first kick of Sam's supposedly dead leg." For his performance as Tom, Sharrett received a Young Artist Award
Young Artist Award
The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist...
nomination in 1986 as the Best Young Actor in a Horror Motion Picture.
In 1988, Sharrett appeared in the short lived TV series Supercarrier
Supercarrier (TV series)
Supercarrier was a 1988 ABC television series aired during the Top Gun trend of the late 1980s. It featured US Navy Pilots aboard the fictional aircraft carrier USS Georgetown, and ran for eight episodes before being cancelled.-Cast:...
. Two years later, in October 1990, Sharrett served as a main character in an episode of the American television drama The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
The Trials of Rosie O'Neill is an American television drama series, which aired on CBS from 1990 to 1992. The show starred Sharon Gless as Fiona Rose "Rosie" O'Neill, a lawyer working in the public defender's office for the City of Los Angeles...
. In that episode, Sharrett played a seemingly all-American boy accused of desecrating a Jewish cemetery
Jewish cemetery
A Jewish cemetery is a cemetery where members of the Jewish faith are buried in keeping with Jewish tradition....
. Rosie, a Los Angeles public defender
Public defender
The term public defender is primarily used to refer to a criminal defense lawyer appointed to represent people charged with a crime but who cannot afford to hire an attorney in the United States and Brazil. The term is also applied to some ombudsman offices, for example in Jamaica, and is one way...
character played by Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless
Sharon Marguerite Gless is an American character actress of stage, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch , as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural drama series Cagney & Lacey and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer...
in the series, defends Sharrett's character. The episode first aired on Monday, October 22 on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
.