Sharon Farrell

Acting

Sharon Farrell

Born 1940-12-24 · Sioux City, Iowa, U.S

Sharon Farrell (born Sharon Forsmoe; December 24, 1940 – May 15, 2023) was an American television and film actress, and dancer. Originally beginning her career as a ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre company, Farrell made her film debut in 1959 in Kiss Her Goodbye, followed by roles in 40 Pounds of Trouble (1962), A Lovely Way to Die (1968), and the neo-noir Marlowe (1969). She worked prolifically in television, including recurring parts in the series Saints and Sinners (1962), Dr. Kildare (1965), and Hawaii Five-O (1980). Farrell was born in Sioux City, Iowa, to Hazel Ruth (née Huffman) and Darrel LaValle Forsmoe. She was of Norwegian descent, and was raised with sister, Dale Candice, in a Lutheran family. During her childhood, Farrell studied ballet and was involved in the theater department during high school. Farrell toured with the American Ballet Theatre Company as a dancer, which brought her to New York City. In New York, Farrell began her acting career in the theater, appearing in productions of "The Crucible" and "A View from the Bridge". She made her film debut in 1959 in Kiss Her Goodbye, and went on to appear in a number of films in the 1960s, including 40 Pounds of Trouble, A Lovely Way to Die, and Marlowe. Farrell's television career began in the early 1960s, with appearances in such series as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Gunsmoke, and Dr. Kildare. She had a recurring role on the soap opera Saints and Sinners from 1962 to 1963, and starred in the short-lived series The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang in 1967. In 1980, she joined the cast of Hawaii Five-O, playing the role of Lori Wilson for two seasons. Farrell was also active in the horror genre, appearing in the films It's Alive (1974) and Night of the Comet (1984). She continued to work in television and film throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and her final film appearance was in the 2000 comedy Can't Buy Me Love. In addition to her acting career, Farrell was also a dancer and choreographer. She taught dance at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a member of the board of directors of the American Ballet Theatre. Farrell was married five times, to Andrew Prine, Ron DeBlasio, Steve Salkin, and Dale Trevillion. She had one son, Chance Boyer, from her marriage to Prine. Farrell died on May 15, 2023, at the age of 82, from natural causes. She was buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, California.

Acting credits

Can't Buy Me Love poster
6.9

Nerdy high schooler Ronald Miller rescues cheerleader Cindy Mancini from parental punishment after she accidentally destroys her mother's designer clothes. Ronald agrees to pay for the $1,000 outfit on one condition: that she will act as though they're a couple for an entire month. As the days pass, however, Cindy grows fond of Ronald, making him popular. But when Ronald's former best friend gets left behind, he realizes that social success isn't everything.

Can't Buy Me Love

1987

Lone Wolf McQuade poster
6.5

The archetypical renegade Texas Ranger wages war against a drug kingpin with automatic weapons, his wits and martial arts after a gun battle leaves his partner dead. All of this inevitably culminates in a martial arts showdown between the drug lord and the ranger, and involving the woman they both love.

Lone Wolf McQuade

1983

The Stunt Man poster
6.6

A fugitive stumbles onto a movie set just when they need a new stunt man, takes the job as a way to hide out and falls for the leading lady while facing off with his manipulative director.

The Stunt Man

1980

Night of the Comet poster
6.2

After a comet wipes out most of life on Earth, two Valley Girls find themselves fighting against cannibal zombies and a sinister group of scientists.

Night of the Comet

1984

Marlowe poster
6.1

Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.

Marlowe

1969

The Love Machine poster
5.0

An ambitious TV newscaster has an affair with the wife of a network executive to get a promotion.

The Love Machine

1971

The Reivers poster
6.4

In turn-of-the-century Mississippi, an 11-year-old boy comes of age as two mischievous adult friends talk him into sneaking the family car out for a trip to Memphis and a series of adventures.

The Reivers

1969

It's Alive poster
6.0

The Davises are expecting a baby, which turns out to be a monster with a nasty habit of killing people whenever scared. And it's easily scared.

It's Alive

1974

Not With My Wife, You Don't! poster
5.8

During the Korean War, Italian nurse Virna Lisi falls in love with two American fliers, Tony Curtis and George C. Scott. Lisi marries Curtis after he convinces her that Scott has been killed in a plane crash. She soon discovers Scott is alive, but remains happily married to Curtis until Scott re-enters their lives 14 years later.

Not With My Wife, You Don't!

1966

Out of the Blue poster
7.0

A young girl whose father is an ex-convict and whose mother is a junkie finds it difficult to conform and tries to find comfort in a quirky combination of Elvis and the punk scene.

Out of the Blue

1981

Sweet Sixteen poster
4.9

A beautiful lonely girl named Melissa tries to make new friends from a town she's currently living in. The only problem is, each of the boys that she spends time with end up brutally murdered. Her sixteenth birthday is on the way, but Melissa turns out to be a suspect when it seems she's the last person who has seen her boyfriends alive.

Sweet Sixteen

1983

A Gift from Heaven poster
4.0

Born from incest, Charlie is a mentally disabled young man living with his family in the rural South. When his Cousin Anna arrives. her presence changes the fragile dynamic of the household, leading to a series of emotional confrontations.

A Gift from Heaven

1994

A Lovely Way to Die poster
4.8

A cop quits the force after too much disappointment in the system. He becomes a bodyguard of a rich recent widow. She is on trial for her husband's murder. He decides to help her clear her name... and get over her husband.

A Lovely Way to Die

1968

The Eyes of Charles Sand poster
6.3

A young man inherits the ability to see visions beyond the grave.

The Eyes of Charles Sand

1972

Arcade poster
4.7

Alex Manning and her friends decide to visit the local video arcade known as "Dante's Inferno" where a new virtual reality arcade game called "Arcade" is being test marketed by a computer company CEO. However, it soon becomes clear that the teenagers who lose are being imprisoned inside the virtual reality world by the central villain "Arcade" and takes over their minds.

Arcade

1993

Lonely Hearts poster
4.0

Alma, a lonely woman, falls for the conman who steals her money after seducing her. Frank doesn't want Alma around him, but he cannot do anything about the situation in case she goes to the police. Hot on the trail of the two is a female private detective, working for another of Frank's victims.

Lonely Hearts

1991

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang poster
3.9

A light-hearted view of the Dalton Gang's legendary raid on Coffeyville, Kansas and the years leading up to it as the brothers form themselves into a gang of horse thieves and train and bank robbers with their arch enemy, Detective Will Smith, constantly on their heels.

The Last Ride of the Dalton Gang

1979

The Fifth Floor poster
5.0

A young woman collapses on the disco dance floor of what's revealed to be strychnine poisoning. Assuming that this is an attempt at suicide, her boyfriend and doctor have her committed to the Fifth Floor, an asylum with obviously crazy inmates and a predatory orderly. The problem is, she's still sane!

The Fifth Floor

1978

Last Chance Love poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Last Chance Love

1997

40 Pounds of Trouble poster
5.5

Hilarity ensues when a casino manager spends a day at Disneyland with a cute but troublesome little girl.

40 Pounds of Trouble

1962

The Young Runaways poster
7.0

Heartless parents C.L. Doyle and his wife take two of their older children, Rosebud & Joseph T. Doyle, on a family vacation to Alaska, but dump their younger ones, Freddy & Margaret Jean, in a Los Angeles foster home. Infuriated by this, Rosebud talks Joseph T. into running away with her so that they can break their younger siblings out of the system, which sparks a manhunt, and an outburst of sympathy among kids everywhere. [Wonderful World of Disney (1954), Season 24, Episode 17]

The Young Runaways

1978

The Spy with My Face poster
5.6

Napoleon Solo is captured by Thrush and replaced with a double.

The Spy with My Face

1965

The Underground Man poster
6.3

A private detective goes after the kidnappers of his ex-girlfriend's son and becomes involved in a series of murders.

The Underground Man

1974

Born to Be Sold poster
4.6

A social worker tries to break up a ring of crooks who buy newborn babies from teenaged mothers and sell them to couples who can't obtain them through legal adoption channels.

Born to Be Sold

1981