Actor Shelley Fabares Dies at 82 in Los Angeles

Actor Shelley Fabares, who gained fame as a teenage star on "The Donna Reed Show" before starring in "Coach" and topping music charts with "Johnny Angel," died Saturday in Los Angeles at age 82, according to a statement from her family to The Associated Press.

No official cause of death was disclosed for the veteran performer, who began her acting career at age 10 on "The Loretta Young Show" in 1954 after being born in Santa Monica, California.

“To her family and friends, Shelley was a source of love, strength, laughter, and comfort,” her family said in a statement. “She had a remarkable ability to make people feel welcomed, valued, and cared for.”

Fabares spent five years playing Mary Stone on "The Donna Reed Show" starting in 1958, a period during which she signed a recording contract and co-starred in three films alongside Elvis Presley, including "Girl Happy," "Spinout," and "Clambake."

“I think the years on ‘The Donna Reed Show,’ the years from 14 to 19, were so incredibly important,” Fabares said in a 1993 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “Donna Reed was simply an extraordinary woman, a woman of great strength, kindness, integrity and compassion. I am not trying to make her sound like a saint, but she had the most profound influence on me. I carry her with me today.”

She later appeared as Francine Webster on "One Day at a Time" and portrayed Christine Armstrong on the long-running sitcom "Coach," in addition to appearing in the TV movie "Brian's Song."

“I did always feel from the very beginning if they could find the right spot for us, this was a show that would last,” Fabares said in the 1993 Los Angeles Times interview regarding her work on "Coach."

Off the screen, Fabares married producer Lou Adler in 1964 and later wed "M-A-S-H" actor Mike Farrell in 1984, while actively advocating for Alzheimer's awareness following her mother's diagnosis.

Following an esophageal bleed in 1999, doctors diagnosed her with progressive liver failure, leading to a liver transplant surgery in October 2000 after 22 months on a donor waiting list.

In a interview with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center three years after her procedure, Fabares stated that she had been “changed by the experience” and remained grateful to Farrell for standing by her side.

“We will remember Shelley for her kindness, loyalty, wit, courage, and beautiful spirit,” her family said in their statement. “We will miss her deeply — not only as a celebrated performer, but as the loving and extraordinary person she was in our everyday lives.”