Actress SHARON GLESS

Met her in Miami. I just thought she was a nice older woman shooting the breeze. Then later found out who she was.

Tell us more, please [R1].

She was fun on Burn Notice

That is really all I have to say. In Miami she has a reputation for being a sweetheart. You do not hear anything negative.

Does her husband have a brother who is a plastic surgeon?

It would be cool to have her as a friend.

I worked with her. Very nice person, a slight case of airhead. Despite playing tough, confident women, she is the exact opposite. Has a hard time existing in the real world.

Are we sure that's not James Spader in OP's pic?

She was so entertaining on Nip/Tuck. She played an absolutely insane character.

They show Cagney and Lacey on some low-rent channel on my Xfinity. They're still entertaining but man the resolution of the broadcast is terrible.

[quote]It would be cool to have her as a friend.

The Frau-Speakification of the DL continues.

I saw her in the 90s in Mysery in London. She was good and gracious afterwards.

Her and Tyne Daley are both SISTERS OF SAPPHO

Shows how much you know, R11. Troll-dar me and then tell me who I am.

She's a national treasure. Love her as Debbie Novotny in Showtime's Queer As Folk.

I thought she dragged it down, but I detested the whole american series

I’m a flight attendant and I’ve had her as a passenger on several flights. Always in first class and always an absolute sweetheart!

She has trouble applying lipstick.

I interviewed her for a magazine in 2008. The is just fantastic! Completely down to earth, friendly, and fun. Told me a lot of great stories, including the time Cybil Shepard stopped Bogdonovich from hiring her for a movie. Also a lot of great stories. She loved Robert Wagner. When I told her I had read his recent autobiography and that he spoke highly of her, she cried. Total sweetheart.

Julie Chen’s husband did NOT touch her no-no.

Cybill Shepherd v. Sharon Gless for the next Feud.

I heard a recent podcast with Tyne Daly and she had nothing but good things to say about Gless. You can tell they are close in a non-dyke way.

I saw her in London in 1996. opposite Tom Conti in Neil Simon's Chapter Two. . It was my impression that she radiated from the stage- that she had the "it" quality The guy I was with felt the same.

"Cristeeeeen!"

I agree, R3 - that was a good role, I loved that character.

Burn Notice was the most random of shows I ended up really enjoying. It's a solid, fun show to pass the time. It made no pretense about aiming for "prestige TV" status - it was more like network shows from the past - aiming squarely for the the middle.

I just finished re-watching QAF this week after not watching it for 15 years. I didn't love the show when it first came out and it received a heap of criticism, but, in hindsight, it was actually very good - much better than I remember.

Whenever Sharon was on screen, her acting always stood out. She was a pro and the others were still learning their craft - the contrast was that stark.

Her roles in QAF and Cagney and Lacey will always keep her in my favs category.

We had zillions of threads about Burn Notice when it was in its heyday. And she’s lovely.

The US QAF was terrible, esp. once they exhausted the British storylines. Not a bad actress, overall, though. The one off move I recall was her narration of an Ayn Rand hagiography. It was obvious, though, that Rand had a tendency to write like a Soviet propagandist---windy, verbose screeds.

Beating Tyne, Joan and Angela at the’86 Golden Globes.

I worked with her once - she’s an evil monster!

R28 - actually, in a binge-watch, it was better than I remembered. It tackled almost every topic in the gay community. Yes, there were some filler episodes but that's to be expected.

It also was at a major change in how gays were perceived with gay marriage in Canada, Queer Eye, and so many other issues. For me, it really encapsulated the transition of gay culture and acceptance. I'm watched it with my partner who never saw it and it gives you a whole different perspective on it.

You can't compare 8 UK episodes against 83.

She never sucked MY cock!

[quote]r9 She was so entertaining on Nip/Tuck. She played an absolutely insane character.

YES!

I never watched her other shows, but she was amazing in that. She starts out as a brusque executive, playing that perfectly ... but then you realize the character's a disturbed, nobody fraud.

[quote]r19 [Gless] told me a lot of great stories, including the time Cybil Shepard stopped Bogdonovich from hiring her for a movie.

OMG ... what was THAT about??

I have kind of a love/hate feeling about Cybill. She's amazing looking and I like her in some things, and she's been supportive of gay rights - but she also has that sort of blunt arrogance that comes when people think they're smarter than they are.

Joan Rivers called her "The President of the Fucking Lucky Club."

That lipstick in the OP is off putting. Especially on the bottom lip.

[quote]Her and Tyne Daley are both SISTERS OF SAPPHO

1. Oh, dear. SHE and Tyne ...

2. Oh, dear. ... Tyne DALY ...

I always thought she was quite lovely, but in an understated, not in-your-face kind of way. And she certainly works very regularly, so she must be considered "good to work with" by producers and directors.

Tyne Daley appeared on Burn Notice. Gless' character befriends her and then uses some leverage against her for something or other that her son the spy needed. I started watching the show for Bruce Campbell and stayed because it was fun without requiring my full attention.

R35. Cyril was jealous because she wanted the part. Bless told me that Cybill called her a cunt to Bogdonovich. I think she told me the story after I asked her if there was anyone in her career she didn’t like. She also mentioned the producer of Cagney and Lacey, who she loathed!

Told me that when she ran into Helen Mirren at some theater of the West End in London, Mitten dropped to her knees and kissed her feet! A dramatic thanks for inspiring the Prime Suspect series. That led to talks for a combined Prime Suspect/ Cagney & Lacey special, but the producer she hated killed it. He said something along the lines of: No one is going to watch those old broads.

Also, when I interviewed her, she seemed very happily married. Spoke very highly and warmly of her husband.

Just a great gal!

Less Gless, man!

Mirren kissed her feet!

I used to see Sharon Gless around Toronto when she was filming Queer as Folk and she seemed really down to Earth.

She is to lesbians what Tony Randall was to gay men.

R40 - what movie role was this?

Wasn't she the third Cagney they hired? Tyne must have gone through Cagneys like Kleenex.

Entertaining appearance on Graham Norton over a decade ago.

R46 - Lotetta was fully committed to another series at the time.

When Cagney & Lacey was saved from cancellation (the second time) the networks had a number of conditions. One of which was re-fashioning the hair, clothes and make-up of the Christine Cagney character

Mary Beth could look butch, they had no problem with that. But they wanted an up-grade of the Cagney character to be feminine. Specifically they wanted Sharon Gless hair to "bounce" - which meant an extra hour of hair and make-up for Gless

Gless agreed, if that was one of the conditions to get the show back on the air.

But as the years went on the costume designers had Mary Beth in dresses (but she still looked butch) while Chris was dressed like a tomboy (sweaters and slacks) - but she still looked very feminine.

R46 Yes, Loretta Swit played in the movie.

Then the original TV show Christine was Meg Foster, who after a few episodes was replaced by Gless (apparently Foster either was too similar to Daly or read as too butch onscreen, depending on who you ask).

Fun fact: It was seeing Tyne Daly on stage doing Gypsy that encouraged Sharon Gless to try stage work.

I thought Tyne was pretty cool for letting the show trade up on who would get the first credit in the opening titles each week.

Also - I always had to stop and watch the credits to see Martin Kove’s shirtless scene! Although he turned out to be kind of a jerk according to Bill Hader.

Why I watched

Bill Hader’s Martin Kove story 😆

She played a butch lesbian on the tv show Cagney & Lacy

Thank you, R55, for your timely comment.

She single-handedly revived lemon squares.

Loved her in the "Scarlett O'Hara War" as Carole Lombard.

Terrific on C&L. Some of the scenes with her father(actor Dick O'Neill) were quite poignant.

"MaryBet!!!!!" It had to be said.

Cagney and Lacey was a terrific, underrated show, and the fact that it's never included in the Top ten of the greatest TV shows of all time lists is a complete shame.

There's a reason Sharon and Tyne had the Emmys locked down all of those years. They gave masterclasses in acting.

I always got a strong odor of power tools, scissors, canes, Hanes underwear, flannel shirts and Subarus from her.

I always get her mixed up with Lainie Kazan, who is funnier but more of a ham.

When I was a kid, around 8 years old, I remember watching it on Monday nights with my mom. I remember her saying that Cagney & Lacy we’re lesbian lovers.

She narrated a documentary about Ayn Rand a few years ago. It was nominated for an Oscar and oddly enough the first time I ever heard of Ayn Rand was on Queer as Folk. When George Schickel first met Bryan he referred to him as the lovechild of Ayn Rand and James Dean.

LOVED this made for TV sequel as a gayling!

Star Chamber was a decent thriller but it ranked at the box office.

Julie Kavner as a Stepford Wife?!

There's something endearing about accomplished old ladies who put on lipstick outside their actual lips. Diana Rigg always did it as well.

She was one of the last actors in Hollywood to be on a studio contract.

It's a shame two women couldn't be friends without accusations of being lesbians.

Accusation? It's not a crime.

I must be in the minority big time because I loathed the British version of "Queer as Folk" with its cutesy to-the-camera shit and its zero star quality lead that was supposed to be "hot" (unlike the much better cast Gale). Hunanan was cute but making him 15 felt like a big mistake.

John Karlen recently died, knew him back in the day and he was nice guy (with a cute blond son, Adam). Hated that he didn't get much press when he passed since he was a bit part of two hit shows along the way.

Gale Harold would kill to have Aidan Gillen's career.

Yes, R70 - Aidan Gillen and Charlie Hunnam both work consistently and have great careers. Gale Harold is pumping gas.

[quote] Julie Kavner as a Stepford Wife?!

Julie Kavner as a Stepford Wife...married to Don Johnson!!!

Still, Gale was actually fuckable for a time. Unlike the other rat faced fuggos.

Gale Harold no longer working says more about our culture in terms of stereotyping actors on gay series than it does about his talent. Britain is much more evolved on these matters.

Doesn't help that Gale held out for too much money to play Darryl on "Walking Dead", I guess.

Hal Sparks seems really bitter about his lack of work since, by the way. Not a single gig, it seems.

[Quote] Gale Harold no longer working says more about our culture in terms of stereotyping actors on gay series than it does about his talent. Britain is much more evolved on these matters.

Wasn't Aidan Gillen a cast member on "The Wire"?

[quote]r75 Gale Harold no longer working says more about our culture in terms of stereotyping actors on gay series than it does about his talent.

We had a chance for a major gay icon in the 80s, which could have paved the way for others, sooner. But we didn't push him.

Queer As Folk UK was better!

R33 and R34 I loved her in that role and am always surprised that Colleen isn't considered one of the great TV villains.

One of Gless’ first roles was a very minor one as a stewardess in AIRPORT ‘75.

“Conference Christine!”

She was also in "The Last Convertible," a mini series in the 80s based on a book by Anton Myrer. It's a great book and a really good mini-series. Also stars Bruce Boxleitner, Perry King and others.

Oops, not the 80s, 1979!

YES, Loretta Swift then Meg Foster. Meg Foster guest stared on "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill", she was awesome. Many actors from C & L guest stared on that show.

After her contract ended and the start of C & L then the real fame started, even if she was talked into it from her agent. I'm glad she cave and so was the cast.

One of my first crushes. The reruns of Cagney and Lacey running all the time confirm I had good taste!

Eldergay here. I am remember seeing Sharon Gless in the early-70s TV movie “All my Darling Daughters” and she was a delight! Have liked her ever since.

Just saw her on Rizzoli & Isles from 7/25/2016 series appearing as a prisoner for writing bad checks then getting sprung for helping Rizzoli. Never know when you will see one of your favorite actors.