Karen Sharpe | |
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 Sharpe in 2011 | |
| Born | Karen Kay Sharpe[1] (1934-09-20)September 20, 1934 (age 90) San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film and television actress |
| Years active | 1952–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
Karen Kay Sharpe (born September 20, 1934)[1] is an American film and television actress.[3][4] She is known for playing Laura Thomas in the Americanwestern television seriesJohnny Ringo.[1]
Sharpe was born inSan Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Shrout and Kirk Howard Sharpe.[1] Her father was abusinessman[1] andoilman.[5] She was anice skater inHollywood, California and a student at theHollywood Professional School.[1] She studied dancing withballet dancer andchoreographerAdolph Bolm inLos Angeles, California.[6]
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Sharpe had unsuccessful screen tests while she worked as amodel.[1] After she was discovered by a talent scout, she began her career in 1952, starring in the filmArmy Bound.[1] Sharpe also appeared in the filmsThe Sniper,Bomba and the Jungle Girl,Holiday for Sinners,The Vanquished,Strange Fascination andMexican Manhunt.[7] She guest-starred in television programs, includingGunsmoke (1957 episode “Sweet and Sour”),Bonanza,Death Valley Days,Perry Mason,The Wild Wild West,The Texan,Rawhide,Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,Trackdown,Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer,77 Sunset Strip,The Man from U.N.C.L.E.,The Millionaire andI Dream of Jeannie.[8] In 1955, Sharpe won theGolden Globe Award in the categoryNew Star of the Year – Actress for her acting performance as Nell Buck in the 1954 filmThe High and the Mighty,[8] along with actressesShirley MacLaine andKim Novak.[9]
In 1959, Sharpe starred in the newCBSwestern television seriesJohnny Ringo, playing Laura Thomas.[1] She retired in 1966, last appearing in thetelevision filmValley of Mystery,[1] playing Connie Lane.[10]
Sharpe married Chester Stevens Marshall, an actor, in 1957.[1] She later filed for divorce from Marshall, on the grounds that he hadphysically abused her. According to theOdessa American, due to beatings at the hands of Marshall, herrib cage was contused and her head was smashed intobrickwork.[11] The divorce became final on September 18, 1962.[1][12] Chester Stevens Marshall was murdered at his home in 1974.[1]
In the early 1960s Sharpe inherited her father's business, and spent several years running it in Texas before selling up and returning to California.[13]
Sharpe subsequently marriedStanley Kramer, afilm director andproducer, on September 1, 1966.[1][8] They were married inBeverly Hills, California.[8] They had two children, Jennifer and Katharine.[1]
Sharpe settled inSeattle, Washington in 1978[1] and moved to Beverly Hills, California, in 1985.[1]
In 2022, Sharpe revealed that she wassexually assaulted andharassed by comic actorJerry Lewis on the set ofThe Disorderly Orderly (1964).[14][15] She stated that Lewis had sent for Sharpe to come to his office, whereupon he grabbed and fondled her, then unzipped his pants.[14] Sharpe stated that "I was dumbstruck."[14] She rebuffed his advances, which enraged Lewis so much that that was the last time she ever worked with him.[14] ActressHope Holiday shared that she was similarly sexually assaulted by Lewis.[16]
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