Sharon Gless

Sharon Gless
Sharon Gless at the Governor's Ball after the 43rd Annual Emmy Awards, August 25, 1991
Born	Sharon Marguerite Gless (1943-05-31) May 31, 1943 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1970–present
Spouse(s)	Barney Rosenzweig (m. 1991)
Website	sharongless.com

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), as Debbie Novotny in the Showtime cable television series Queer as Folk (2000–2005), and as Madeline Westen on Burn Notice (2007–2013). Gless has won two Emmy Awards and has received 10 Emmy nominations. She has won two Golden Globe Awards (in 1986 and 1991) and has received seven Golden Globe nominations. Gless received her own Star on the Walk of Fame in 1995.

Early life and career

A fifth-generation Californian, Sharon Gless was born in Los Angeles, 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." A few years later, though, when she spoke to him again about acting, he encouraged her, and gave her money for acting classes. 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. Actress Elizabeth Baur is Gless's first cousin.

Career

Film and television

At the beginning of her career, Gless appeared in numerous television series and TV movies, such as Revenge of the Stepford Wives, Faraday & Company with Dan Dailey and James Naughton in 1973 and 1974, Emergency!, and The Rockford Files. 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, alongside 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 in a number of properties, including 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, and, briefly in the sitcom House Calls (in which she replaced Lynn Redgrave, who'd left due to a contract dispute).

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. (The role had been originated, in the pilot installment, by Loretta Swit. Swit, like Foster, was chosen as Cagney because, though the character of Cagney had been created with Gless herself in mind, she was unavailable for the pilot or the first seven installments of the first season.) In 1991, she married the series' executive producer, Barney Rosenzweig, who speaks in his book Cagney & Lacey...and Me about wanting Sharon Gless from the beginning and Gless being unavailable due to her contract with Universal. 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 the attorney Fiona "Rosie" O'Neill confided at the beginning of each episode. Gless, who had garnered six Emmy nominations – including two wins and a Golden Globe win for her role as Cagney – earned two additional Emmy nominations and a second Golden Globe win for this subsequent series.

In 1993 and 1995, Gless and her television partner, Tyne Daly, joined together to re-create 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 mother, Debbie Novotny, in her biggest and most critically acclaimed role since Cagney & Lacey 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 2014, Gless is to co-star in a new comedy pilot for ABC, Saint Francis.

Theater

Gless's most recent stage appearance was as Jane Juska in A Round-Heeled Woman, 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 ran in San Francisco in early 2010. Sharon starred in a new production in Miami, December 2010 - February 2011, directed by Jane Prowse. A production took place in London, transferring in November 2011 from Riverside Studios to the Aldwych Theatre, where the run closed on 14 January 2012.

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 Two, 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 Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues. Gless appeared on The Alan Titchmarsh Show on October 17, 2011.

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Title	Result
1983	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Cagney & Lacey	Nominated
1984	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
1985	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
1986	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Won
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
1987	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Nominated
1988	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series		Won
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Nominated
1989	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama		Nominated
1991	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Trials of Rosie O'Neill	Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Won
1992	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Golden Globe Award	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama		Nominated
1995	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Star on the Walk of Fame at 7065 Hollywood Blvd		Won
2004	TV Land Awards	Favorite Crimestopper Duo	Cagney & Lacey	Nominated
2006	TV Land Awards	Coolest Crime Fighting Team		Nominated
2007	TV Land Awards	Favorite Lady Gumshoe		Nominated
2008	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Nip/Tuck	Nominated
2009	Madrid International Film Festival	Best Actress	Hannah Free	Won
	Film Out San Diego Audience Award	Best Actress in a Feature Film		Won
2010	Gracie Award	Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series	Burn Notice	Won
	Satellite Award	Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Nominated
	Emmy Award	Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972	The Longest Night	Switchboard Operator
1972	All My Darling Daughters	Jennifer	Television movie
1973	Bonnie's Kids	Sharon
1973	My Darling Daughters' Anniversary	Jennifer	Television movie
1974	Airport 1975	Sharon
1976	Richie Brockelman: The Missing 24 Hours	Darcy Davenport	Television movie
1978	The Islander	Shauna Cooke
1978	Crash	Lesley Fuller
1978	The Immigrants	Jean Seldon Lavetta
1979	The Last Convertible	Kay Haddon	Television movie
1980	Hardhat and Legs	Patricia Botsford	Television movie
1980	The Kids Who Knew Too Much	Karen Goldner	Television movie
1980	The Scarlett O'Hara War	Carole Lombard	Television movie
1980	Revenge of the Stepford Wives	Kaye Foster	Television movie
1981	The Miracle of Kathy Miller	Barbara Miller	Television movie
1983	The Star Chamber	Emily Hardin
1983	Hobson's Choice	Maggie Hobson
1984	The Sky's No Limit	Joanna Douglas	Television movie
1985	Letting Go	Kate	Television movie
1989	The Outside Woman	Joyce Mattox	Television movie
1992	Honor Thy Mother	Bonnie Von Stein	Television movie
1994	Separated by Murder	Various	Television movie
1994	Cagney & Lacey: The Return	Christine Cagney-Burton	Television movie
1995	Cagney & Lacey: Together Again	Christine Cagney-Burton	Television movie
1995	Cagney & Lacey: The View Through the Glass Ceiling	Christine Cagney	Television movie
1996	Cagney & Lacey: True Convictions	Christine Cagney	Television movie
1997	Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life	Narrator
1998	The Girl Next Door	Dr. Gayle Bennett	Television movie
2000	Bring Him Home	Mary Daley
2009	Hannah Free	Hannah
2010	Once Fallen	Sue

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1972–1976	Marcus Welby, M.D.	Kathleen Faverty	21 episodes
1972	The Sixth Sense	Kay	Episode: "Coffin, Coffin in the Sky"
1972	McCloud	Sgt. Maggie Clinger	Episode: "The New Mexican Connection"
1973–1974	Faraday and Company	Holly Barrett	4 episodes
1974	The Bob Newhart Show	Rosalie Shaeffer	Episode: "The Modernization of Emily"
1974	The Rockford Files	Susan Jameson	Episode: "This Case Is Closed"
1975–1978	Switch	Maggie Philbin	71 episodes
1975	Lucas Tanner	Miss Reynolds	Episode: "Those Who Cannot, Teach"
1976	The Rockford Files	Lori Jenivan	Episode: "The Fourth Man"
1976	Kojak	Nancy Parks	Episode: "Law Dance"
1979	Centennial	Sidney Endermann	5 episodes
1979	Turnabout	Penny Alston/Sam Alston	7 episodes
1982	House Calls	Jane Jeffries	15 episodes
1982–1988	Cagney & Lacey	Det. Sgt. Christine Cagney	119 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1986–87) Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series (1985–88) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (1985, 1987–89) Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1983–85, 1988)
1983	Tales of the Unexpected	Caroline Coates	Episode: "Youth from Vienna"
1990–1992	The Trials of Rosie O'Neill	Rosie O'Neill	26 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1991–92)
1997	Promised Land	Alex Tolan	2 episodes
2000–2005	Queer as Folk	Debbie Novotny	79 episodes
2000	Touched by an Angel	Ziggy	Episode: "The Perfect Game"
2003	Judging Amy	Dr. Sally Godwin	Episode: "Maxine Interrupted"
2006	The State Within	Lynne Warner	6 episodes
2008–2009	Nip/Tuck	Colleen Rose	5 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
2007–2013	Burn Notice	Madeline Westen	111 episodes Gracie Allen Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film

External links

• Official website
• Profile at Archive of American Television
• A Round-Heeled Woman
• Sharon Gless at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile at Museum of Broadcast Communications