| Morgan Fairchild | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Patsy Ann McClenny |
| Born: | February 3, 1950 |
| Birth Hometown: | Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation: | actress |
| Years active: | 1967-present |
| Known for: | Achieving prominence during the late 1970s and early 1980s. |
| Website/URL: | http://www.morganfairchild.com |
Morgan Fairchild (originally born as Patsy Ann McClenny on February 3, 1950) is an American actress. Fairchild achieved prominence during the 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in several television series in which she usually conveyed a glamorous image.
Fairchild began her career in the CBS daytime soap opera Search for Tommorrow as Jennifer Pace from 1973 to 1977. In 1978, Fairchild appeared on the primetime soap opera Dallas as the first actress to portray Jenna Wade, before taking a lead role in the NBC Flamingo Road in 1980 (for which she was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Drama Series) In 1984, Morgan Fairchild co-starred in ABC's short-lived primetime soap opera Paper Dolls and then appeared in Falcon Crest as attorney Jordan Roberts from 1985 to 1986. Fairchild has also performed in theater and played guest roles in television comedies including: Murphy Brown (for which she nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series) Roseanne, Cybill and Friends. Fairchild is a board member of SAG-AFTRA.
Early Life[]
Born Patsy Ann McClenny in Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Martha Jane (nee Hartt) a high school English teacher who taught at Richardson High School (in Richardson, Texas) and Edward Milton McClenny. Fairchild has a younger sister, Cathryn Hartt, who is also an actress. As a younger child, she was seen on WFAA-TV's Mr. Peppermint show with host Jerry Haynes. In her teens she was in the audience on WFAA-TV's Sump'n Else bandstand show. Fairchild auditioned three times to be in The Little Group which was WFAA-TV's Sump'n Else show's dance group. Also during this time, she appeared in several locally broadcast commercial on Dallas Fort Worth television stations. As a child, she suffered a bout of scarlet fever which left her apparently deaf.
Career[]
Fairchild's first acting job was as a double for Faye Dunaway during local filming for the film titled Bonnie and Clyde (1967). She took her new first name, Morgan, from the 1966 David Warner film Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment. Fairchild then moved to New York City, where she secured her first credited onscreen role as the maniacal Jennifer Pace in the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow from 1973 until 1977. From the mid-1970s, Fairchild began to make various appearances on episodic primetime television series such as Kojak, Happy Days, Police Woman and few episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theatre.
Fairchild played Jenna Wade in the soap opera Dallas for one episode in 1978. The character was later brought back, played briefly by Francine Tacker in 1980 and then as a regular character played by Priscilla Presley from 1983-88. In 1978, Fairchild made the television film The Initiation of Sarah and also had a recurring role on the sitcom Mork & Mindy. In 1980, she scored her first regular primetime role as Constance Weldon Caryle on the soap opera Flamingo Road. Through the series had an impressive beginning, the ratings soon dropped and it was cancelled after two seasons. Fairchild was nominated for a Golden Globe award for her role.
After the cancellation of Flamingo Road, Fairchild continued to make guest appearances in a variety of episodic television series as Hotel, Simon & Simon, Magnum, P.I. and The Love Boat. Fairchild also starred in the 1982 theatrical film The Seduction. In 1984, along with Joan Collins, she co-hosted the ABC-TV special Blondes vs. Brunettes, a one-hour variety show that gently poked fun at popular culture's blonde vs. brunette rivalry. In that same year she also co-starred in another primetime soap opera Paper Dolls playing modeling agency owner Racine. The series was cancelled halfway through its first season, but by this time, Fairchild was established as a television actress and in a 1985 she joined the hit series Falcon Crest, playing the glamorous lawyer Jordan Roberts for a season. Fairchild also appeared in the miniseries North and South in 1985 and its sequel in 1986.
1985 was the years when Jon Lovitz on Saturday Night Live created the "Tommy Flanagan, The Pathological Liar" character who claimed outlandish achievements for himself, culminating in the grand illusion that his wife was Morgan Fairchild. The obvious remoteness of such a possibility and its mainstream comic appeal, was testimonial to the board popularity and desirability of Fairchild at the time.
Fairchild continued to make appearance in films and television series throughout the 1980s and garnered an Emmy Award nomination for her guest appearance in a 1989 episode of Murphy Brown. In the early 1990s, she was cast in a recurring role in Roseanne as Sandra Bernhard's bisexual girlfriend Marla. In 1994, Fairchild appeared in an unexpectedly campy ad campaign for clothing retailer Old Navy with Joan Collins and other formerly familiar faces on television. Her reprised role as the over-the-top glamour vixen was so successful that the company created numerous sequels around her persona, including a Family Feud spoof called Family Fleece.
In 1995, Fairchild returned to daytime soap opera as the catty on The City. She played the role for a year, after which she went on to appear in General Hospital. Fairchild also made guest appearances on the hit sitcoms appearances on the hit sitcoms Friends (as Chandler Bing's mother, Nora) and was a recurring role guest star on Cybill as Andrea, a rival of Cybill Sheridan (played by Cybill Shepherd).
Through the years, Fairchild has also appeared in various theater products. More recently, she starred in the role of Mrs. Robinson in the stage adaptation of the film The Graduate. She also fronted an international advertising campaign tooth whitening product Dental White. In 2005, Fairchild appeared in the competition reality show But Can They Sing? on VH1.
In 2006, she was cast in yet another of her "rich b*tch" roles in My TV Network series Fashion House, playing Sophia Blakely, a rival to Bo Derek's character, Maria Gianni. Morgan Fairchild has also appeared on the television series Chuck as Dr. Honey Woodcomb, the money of Captain Awesome. Fairchild made another return to soap opera in 2009 when she had a guest role in the daytime series The Bold and the Beautiful. In recent years she guest-starred in Bones, Revenge and Hot in Cleveland.
In addition to her work as an actress, Fairchild has maintained a strong role within Screen Actors Guild, now SAG-AFTRA Relations Committee, Commercials Contracts Committee, Honors and Tributes Committee (HATS) and Guild Governors and Rules Committee.
In 2014, Fairchild was named spokesperson for burialplanning.com a website created to help customers make burial preplanning choices. In that capacity, she appeared on television commercials and in a direct mail campaign.
Personal Life[]
- Fairchild was married to Jack Calmes from 1967 to 1973. Fairchild dated United States Senator and later-presidential candidate John Kerri in the early 1980s. Fairchild stated that although she has no plans to marry, she has been in a relationship with film company executive, Mark Seller for more than 25 years.
- Fairchild is active in raising awareness of AIDS-related issues and environmental protection.
- During the early 1970s Fairchild was kidnapped against her will on two separate occasions.
Video Slot Machine appearance[]
Although Morgan Fairchild has never appeared in an episode of any incarnation of Match Game itself. In 2003, a very simulated caricature of her appeared as one of the six panelists in a five-reel only video slot machine version of Match Game released by WMS Gaming.
Politics[]
Fairchild is a Democrat, contributing to the well-known liberal politicians such as: Dick Gephardt, John Kerry, Hilary Clinton and Howard Dean.
Show hosted[]
Shows appeared[]
- Star Search (1984)
- Pyramid (2003)
- But Can They Sing? (2005)
- Celebrity Food Fight (2006)
Show judged[]
- He's A Lady (2004)