Sharon Gless
Encyclopedia
Sharon Marguerite Gless (born May 31, 1943) is an American
character actress of stage
, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch
(1975–1978), as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural
drama series Cagney & Lacey
(1982–1988) and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television
series Queer as Folk (2000–2005). She is an Emmy Award
winner currently playing Madeline Westen
on Burn Notice
. She plays Jane Juska in A Round-Heeled Woman, a stage adaptation by Jane Prowse
of Jane Juska
's book. The first production ran in San Francisco in early 2010. Sharon starred in a new production in Miami, December 2010 - February 2011, directed by Jane Prowse
. The next production - also starring Sharon Gless, and again directed by its playwright, Jane Prowse - is scheduled to take place in London, UK, from October 18 through November 20, 2011.
, the daughter of Marjorie McCarthy and sportswear
manufacturing executive, Dennis J. Gless. Her maternal grandfather was Neil McCarthy
, a prominent Los Angeles attorney for Howard Hughes
who also had a large clientele of major film studio executives and actors. Wanting to become an actress, she sought her grandfather's advice and he told her: "It's a filthy business. You stay out of it" but a few years later when she spoke to him again about acting he encouraged her, and gave her money for acting class. She worked as a secretary for the advertising agencies Grey Advertising
and Young & Rubicam
, and then for the independent movie production companies Sassafras Films and General Film Corporation. After deciding to switch to acting, Gless took classes and in 1974 signed a 10-year contract with Universal Studios
. Near the end of her contract, she was identified in the media as the last of the studio
contract players — a salaried, Old Hollywood apprentice system which Universal was the last to employ.
, Faraday & Company
with Dan Daily and James Naughton
(1973–1974) and Emergency!
She played small parts in Marcus Welby, M.D.
(1969–1976), until being offered the role of Kathleen Faverty, which she played from 1974 to 1976. This was in addition to a variety of guest-starring roles on television, including the part of the classy young secretary, Maggie Philbin, opposite Eddie Albert
and Robert Wagner
on the CBS private detective/con artist series Switch
(1975–1978). Despite being a newcomer on the show, she got along very well with both Albert and Wagner, both on and off-screen. When the show was canceled after the third season, she thanked both Albert and Wagner for giving a jump start to her career.
While under contract with Universal, she co-starred with John Schuck
in the 1979 Steven Bochco television sitcom, Turnabout (based on the Thorne Smith
1931 novel about a husband and wife who temporarily switch bodies), which failed to be a ratings blockbuster.
Beginning with the series' seventh episode/first full season, Gless replaced actress Meg Foster
in the role of NYPD police detective Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey. In 1991, she married the series' executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig created the 1990–1992 CBS drama series The Trials of Rosie O'Neill
for Gless and, uncredited, played the only partially seen psychiatrist
to whom attorney O'Neill confided at the beginning of each episode. Gless, who had garnered five Emmy nominations – including two wins and a Golden Globe win for her role as Cagney – earned two additional Emmy nominations for this subsequent series.
In 1993 and 1995, Gless and her television partner, Tyne Daly
, joined together to recreate their title roles in a quartet of critically acclaimed and popular Cagney & Lacey
television movies. Gless and Tyne Daly jokingly called these "The Menopause Years".
In 1998, Gless narrated the documentary
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life
, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature
. Between 2000 and 2005, Gless appeared as Hal Sparks
's supportive and somewhat overbearing mother, Debbie Novotny, in the acclaimed Showtime cable television series Queer as Folk.
In 2000, she was on an episode of Touched by an Angel
entitled "The Perfect Game".
On May 26, 2005, Gless was one of the mourners at Eddie Albert
's funeral, along with ex-Switch
co-stars Robert Wagner
and Charlie Callas
. In 2006, Gless starred in the BBC
television series The State Within
. The following year she co-starred in the USA Network
cable television series Burn Notice
, playing Michael Westen
's (Jeffrey Donovan
) mother, Madeline Westen
. In addition, Gless was a guest star on several episodes of the FX Network cable television series Nip/Tuck
as an unstable agent named Colleen Rose, a role that netted her an Emmy Award
nomination.
In 2009, Gless starred in her first leading role as a lesbian character in the independent film Hannah Free
(Ripe Fruit Films), described as a film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. The film is based on a screenplay by the Jeff Award-winning playwright Claudia Allen and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton.
In 2010 and 2011, she starred in a stage adaptation of Jane Juska's A Round-Heeled Woman http://aroundheeledwoman.com, which is due to come to the London UK stage in fall, 2011.
, Jane Prowse
's stage adaptation of Jane Juska
's book A Round-Heeled Woman: my Late-life Adventures in Sex and Romance, the first production of which took place in January – February 2010, at Z Space at Artaud, San Francisco, USA. There was a new production at GableStage in Miami, December 30, 2010 – February 6, 2011.
Gless made her stage debut in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine
at Stage West in Springfield, Massachusetts. Gless has extensive stage experience including two appearances in London
's West End
, first in 1993 with Bill Paterson, when she created the role of Annie Wilkes in the stage version of Stephen King
's Misery at the Criterion Theatre, and then in 1996, where she appeared opposite Tom Conti
in Neil Simon
's Chapter 2, at the Gielgud Theatre
. She starred at Chicago playhouse The Victory Gardens Theater in Claudia Allen's Cahoots, as well as several stints, including an evening at Madison Square Garden
with the National Company of EveEnsler's The Vagina Monologues
. Gless appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show
in the UK on October 17th 2011.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
character actress of stage
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, film and television, who is best known for her roles as Maggie Philbin on Switch
Switch (TV series)
Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation...
(1975–1978), as Sgt. Christine Cagney in the police procedural
Police procedural
The police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
drama series Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
(1982–1988) and as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
series Queer as Folk (2000–2005). She is an 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...
winner currently playing Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is the main character Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother.-Overview:...
on Burn Notice
Burn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
. She plays Jane Juska in A Round-Heeled Woman, a stage adaptation by Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse writes and directs theatre and television.Her most recent play is A Round-Heeled Woman, the stage adaptation of Jane Juska's book A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance...
of Jane Juska
Jane Juska
Jane Juska is an American author and retired English schoolteacher whose first book, A Round-Heeled Woman : My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance , documented her search for sex at 67 years of age....
's book. The first production ran in San Francisco in early 2010. Sharon starred in a new production in Miami, December 2010 - February 2011, directed by Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse writes and directs theatre and television.Her most recent play is A Round-Heeled Woman, the stage adaptation of Jane Juska's book A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance...
. The next production - also starring Sharon Gless, and again directed by its playwright, Jane Prowse - is scheduled to take place in London, UK, from October 18 through November 20, 2011.
Early life and career
A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon Gless was born in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos 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...
, the daughter of Marjorie McCarthy and sportswear
Sportswear
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
manufacturing executive, Dennis J. Gless. Her maternal grandfather was Neil McCarthy
Neil S. McCarthy
Neil Steere McCarthy was an American corporate and film industry lawyer, and a Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder. A third-generation Los Angeles native, he graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in law...
, a prominent Los Angeles attorney for Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
who also had a large clientele of major film studio executives and actors. Wanting to become an actress, she sought her grandfather's advice and he told her: "It's a filthy business. You stay out of it" but a few years later when she spoke to him again about acting he encouraged her, and gave her money for acting class. She worked as a secretary for the advertising agencies Grey Advertising
Grey Global Group
Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency, whose slogan is providing solutions - with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities — organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East & Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin...
and Young & Rubicam
Young & Rubicam
Y&R is a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.-History:...
, and then for the independent movie production companies Sassafras Films and General Film Corporation. After deciding to switch to acting, Gless took classes and in 1974 signed a 10-year contract with Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
. Near the end of her contract, she was identified in the media as the last of the studio
Studio system
The studio system was a means of film production and distribution dominant in Hollywood from the early 1920s through the early 1960s. The term studio system refers to the practice of large motion picture studios producing movies primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under...
contract players — a salaried, Old Hollywood apprentice system which Universal was the last to employ.
Career
At the beginning of her career, Gless appeared in numerous television series and TV movies, such as Revenge of the Stepford WivesRevenge of the Stepford Wives
Revenge of the Stepford Wives is a 1980 made-for-television sci-fi/horror film inspired by the Ira Levin novel The Stepford Wives. It was directed by Robert Fuest with a screenplay by David Wiltse. Sharon Gless, Julie Kavner, Don Johnson, Arthur Hill, and Audra Lindley starred in the film...
, Faraday & Company
Faraday & Company
Faraday & Company is a crime drama television series that was part of the NBC Mystery Movie. It lasted for only four episodes, which were rotated with Banacek, The Snoop Sisters, and Tenafly on Wednesday nights during the 1973-1974 season....
with Dan Daily and James Naughton
James Naughton
James Naughton is an American director, theater, film and television actor.-Early life:Naughton was born in Middletown, Connecticut, the son of Rosemary and Joseph Naughton, both of whom were teachers He is the brother of actor David Naughton.-Career:Naughton graduated from Brown University and...
(1973–1974) and Emergency!
Emergency!
Emergency! is an American television series that combines the medical drama and action-adventure genres. It was produced by Mark VII Limited and distributed by Universal Studios...
She played small parts in Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D.
Marcus Welby, M.D. is an American medical drama television program that aired on ABC from September 23, 1969, to July 29, 1976. It starred Robert Young as a family practitioner with a kind bedside manner, and was produced by David Victor and David J. O'Connell...
(1969–1976), until being offered the role of Kathleen Faverty, which she played from 1974 to 1976. This was in addition to a variety of guest-starring roles on television, including the part of the classy young secretary, Maggie Philbin, opposite Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
and Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
on the CBS private detective/con artist series Switch
Switch (TV series)
Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation...
(1975–1978). Despite being a newcomer on the show, she got along very well with both Albert and Wagner, both on and off-screen. When the show was canceled after the third season, she thanked both Albert and Wagner for giving a jump start to her career.
While under contract with Universal, she co-starred with John Schuck
John Schuck
Conrad John Schuck Jr. is an American actor, primarily in stage, movies and television. He is best-known for his roles as police commissioner Rock Hudson's mildly slow-witted assistant, Sgt. Charles Enright in the 1970s crime drama McMillan & Wife, and as Lee Meriwether's husband, Herman Munster...
in the 1979 Steven Bochco television sitcom, Turnabout (based on the Thorne Smith
Thorne Smith
James Thorne Smith Jr. , was an American writer of humorous supernatural fantasy fiction.He is best known today for the three Topper novels, comic fantasy fiction that sold millions of copies in the early 1930s...
1931 novel about a husband and wife who temporarily switch bodies), which failed to be a ratings blockbuster.
Beginning with the series' seventh episode/first full season, Gless replaced actress Meg Foster
Meg Foster
Megan "Meg" Foster is an American actress best known for her roles in the TV miniseries version of The Scarlet Letter, Ticket to Heaven, The Osterman Weekend, and They Live .-Life and career:...
in the role of NYPD police detective Christine Cagney on Cagney & Lacey. In 1991, she married the series' executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig. Rosenzweig created the 1990–1992 CBS drama series 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...
for Gless and, uncredited, played the only partially seen psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
to whom attorney O'Neill confided at the beginning of each episode. Gless, who had garnered five Emmy nominations – including two wins and a Golden Globe win for her role as Cagney – earned two additional Emmy nominations for this subsequent series.
In 1993 and 1995, Gless and her television partner, Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly
Tyne Daly is an American stage and screen actress, widely known for her work as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the television series Cagney & Lacey and as Maxine Gray in the television series Judging Amy. She is also known for her role as Alice Henderson in television series Christy...
, joined together to recreate their title roles in a quartet of critically acclaimed and popular Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey
Cagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
television movies. Gless and Tyne Daly jokingly called these "The Menopause Years".
In 1998, Gless narrated the documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life is a 1997 American documentary film written, produced, and directed by Michael Paxton. Its focus is on novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, the author of the bestselling novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, who promoted her philosophy of Objectivism through her books,...
, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature
Academy Award for Documentary Feature
The Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
. Between 2000 and 2005, Gless appeared as Hal Sparks
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...
's supportive and somewhat overbearing mother, Debbie Novotny, in the acclaimed Showtime cable television series Queer as Folk.
In 2000, she was on an episode of Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel
Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della...
entitled "The Perfect Game".
On May 26, 2005, Gless was one of the mourners at Eddie Albert
Eddie Albert
Edward Albert Heimberger , known professionally as Eddie Albert, was an American actor and activist. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.Other well-known screen roles of his include Bing...
's funeral, along with ex-Switch
Switch (TV series)
Switch is an American action-adventure, tongue-in-cheek detective series starring Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner, who worked as private eyes, for a deceptive sting operation...
co-stars Robert Wagner
Robert Wagner
Robert John Wagner is an American actor of stage, screen, and television.A veteran of many films in the 1950s and 1960s, Wagner gained prominence in three American television series that spanned three decades: It Takes a Thief , Switch , and Hart to Hart...
and Charlie Callas
Charlie Callas
Charlie Callas was an American comedian and actor most commonly known for his work with Mel Brooks, Jerry Lewis, and Dean Martin and his many stand-up appearances on television talk shows in the 1970s...
. In 2006, Gless starred in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series The State Within
The State Within
The State Within is a 2006 Seven-episode British television political drama, written by Lizzie Mickery and Daniel Percival, produced by Grainne Marmion as a joint BBC–BBC America production, that was broadcast by BBC1 in the United Kingdom from Thursday, 2 November 2006.The protagonist of The State...
. The following year she co-starred in the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
cable television series Burn Notice
Burn notice
A burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
, playing Michael Westen
Michael Westen
Michael Westen is a fictional character played by Jeffrey Donovan in the television series Burn Notice. Michael, a spy, was abruptly blacklisted while on an assignment. Forced to go back to his hometown of Miami, Florida, he finds himself cut off from the United States Intelligence Community...
's (Jeffrey Donovan
Jeffrey Donovan
Jeffrey Donovan is an American television, film and stage actor. He plays the lead Michael Westen on the American cable television series, Burn Notice. Notable starring roles in film include: Hitch, Believe in Me, Changeling, and Come Early Morning. He portrayed Robert F. Kennedy in Clint...
) mother, Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen
Madeline Westen is a fictional character in the television series Burn Notice portrayed by Sharon Gless. She is the main character Michael Westen's neurotic, chain-smoking, hypochondriac mother.-Overview:...
. In addition, Gless was a guest star on several episodes of the FX Network cable television series Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck
Nip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
as an unstable agent named Colleen Rose, a role that netted her an 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...
nomination.
In 2009, Gless starred in her first leading role as a lesbian character in the independent film Hannah Free
Hannah Free (film)
Hannah Free is a 2009 American lesbian romance film, adapted from Claudia Allen's play of the same name. It is a story about living, loving, and letting go. Hannah and Rachel grew up as little girls in the same small Midwest town, where traditional gender expectations eventually challenged their...
(Ripe Fruit Films), described as a film about a lifelong love affair between an independent spirit and the woman she calls home. The film is based on a screenplay by the Jeff Award-winning playwright Claudia Allen and directed by Wendy Jo Carlton.
In 2010 and 2011, she starred in a stage adaptation of Jane Juska's A Round-Heeled Woman http://aroundheeledwoman.com, which is due to come to the London UK stage in fall, 2011.
Theater
Gless's most recent stage appearance was in A Round-Heeled WomanA Round-Heeled Woman : the play
A Round-Heeled Woman: the play is a stage adaptation, by British playwright Jane Prowse, of Jane Juska's book A Round-Heeled Woman: my Late-life Adventures in Sex and Romance....
, Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse
Jane Prowse writes and directs theatre and television.Her most recent play is A Round-Heeled Woman, the stage adaptation of Jane Juska's book A Round-Heeled Woman: My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance...
's stage adaptation of Jane Juska
Jane Juska
Jane Juska is an American author and retired English schoolteacher whose first book, A Round-Heeled Woman : My Late-Life Adventures in Sex and Romance , documented her search for sex at 67 years of age....
's book A Round-Heeled Woman: my Late-life Adventures in Sex and Romance, the first production of which took place in January – February 2010, at Z Space at Artaud, San Francisco, USA. There was a new production at GableStage in Miami, December 30, 2010 – February 6, 2011.
Gless made her stage debut in Lillian Hellman's Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine
Watch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
at Stage West in Springfield, Massachusetts. Gless has extensive stage experience including two appearances in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
, first in 1993 with Bill Paterson, when she created the role of Annie Wilkes in the stage version of Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
's Misery at the Criterion Theatre, and then in 1996, where she appeared opposite Tom Conti
Tom Conti
Thomas "Tom" Conti is a Scottish actor, theatre director and novelist.-Early life:Born Thomas Conti in Paisley, Renfrewshire, he was brought up Roman Catholic, but he considers himself anti-religious...
in Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
's Chapter 2, at the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
. She starred at Chicago playhouse The Victory Gardens Theater in Claudia Allen's Cahoots, as well as several stints, including an evening at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
with the National Company of EveEnsler's The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues
The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play written by Eve Ensler which ran at the Off Broadway Westside Theatre after a limited run at AFRICA in 1996. Ensler originally starred in the production which was produced by David Stone, Nina Essman, Dan Markley, The Araca Group, Willa Shalit, Mike Skipper...
. Gless appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show
The Alan Titchmarsh Show is a British daytime TV chat show broadcast between 3 and 4pm weekdays on the ITV Network.-Format:The programme made its debut on ITV in 2007. It focused on the theme of "The Best of British" focusing on food, entertainment and celebrities in a mid-afternoon slot...
in the UK on October 17th 2011.
Author
Sharon Gless announced, shyly, on the 2007 Queer As Folk Reunion Luncheon that she is writing a book – presumably an autobiography – about, among other things, her time on QAF and alluded to it not being published until after she is "gone".Awards and honors
- 1985: Q Award for ‘Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series’ for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
- 1986: Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn 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...
for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series' for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988... - 1986: Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama' for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988... - 1986: Q Award for ‘Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series’ for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
- 1987: Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn 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...
for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988... - 1987: Q Award for ‘Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series’ for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
- 1988: Q Award for ‘Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series’ for Cagney & LaceyCagney & LaceyCagney & Lacey is an American television series that originally aired on the CBS television network for seven seasons from October 8, 1981 to May 16, 1988...
- 1991: Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Drama' for The Trials of Rosie O'NeillThe Trials of Rosie O'NeillThe 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...
; tied with Patricia WettigPatricia WettigPatricia Wettig is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her roles in the television series Thirtysomething, Prison Break and Brothers & Sisters...
for Thirtysomething - 1995: Star on the Hollywood Walk of FameHollywood Walk of FameThe Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
(for television) at 7065 Hollywood Blvd. - 2008: Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn 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...
for ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series’ for Nip/TuckNip/TuckNip/Tuck is an American drama series created by Ryan Murphy, which aired on FX in the United States. The series focuses on McNamara/Troy, a plastic surgery practice, and follows its founders, Sean McNamara and Christian Troy...
(Nominated) - 2010: Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn 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...
for ‘Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series’ for Burn NoticeBurn noticeA burn notice is an official statement issued by one intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an individual or a group is unreliable for one or more reasons...
(Nominated)
External links
- Official Sharon Gless site:
- Archive of American Television
- Official A Round-Heeled Woman : the play site:
- Museum of Broadcast Communications: Sharon Gless
- OutSmart magazine interview
- theTVaddict.com Interviews Sharon Gless