Shelley Fabares Reveals Her Lasting Bond With TV Mom Donna Reed
In an interview with That’s Classic TV, a YouTube and Instagram account dedicated to classic shows, Shelley Fabares discussed her bond with her late TV mom Donna Reed; the two appeared as mother and daughter in the iconic 1950s series The Donna Reed Show. Fabares recalled her time on the show fondly, and said that Reed truly was like a second mother to her.
“We were really close, the four of us, Donna, Carl Betz, Paul Petersen and yours truly … we really were like a family and we did the show for many, many years,” she shared in the video clip.
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“I idolized Donna,” she added. She said that if you watched the show, Reed was just like her character on TV and truly embodied the warmth of a loving mother and wife.
In recent years, 81-year-old Fabares has stepped away from the spotlight to focus on a quieter life, though her legacy as a beloved TV star continues to shine. After retiring from acting, she stayed active behind the scenes, serving as a producer for the Screen Actors Guild Awards from 2004 to 2011.
She has also been open about her health journey, including her battle with autoimmune hepatitis, which led to a life-saving liver transplant in 2000. She has been married to fellow TV icon, M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell since 1984 and both are involved in activist work.
Now tell us, what was your favorite sitcom from the ’50s and ’60s?
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TVs Top Moms
May 2022
Celebrate top TV moms from the ’50 to the ’90s including 8 things you didn’t know about Donna Reed plus weird and wacky TV moms.
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