Shelley Long

Biography

Shelley Long ~ drop the name and you're guaranteed a reaction; endearingly simple to some, intensely irritating to others! The afflicted go ga ga at the sonerous quality of her name. Protractors compare her to a torture akin to fingernails on chalkboard. It's been said that her movies are the ultimate punishment for wayward kids. As one such doomed miscreant once said, 'No, Mommy, no ~ not that woman again!"Shelley Lee Long was born two weeks early at precisely 07:15 am on Tuesday, 23 August 1949 to Evandine and Leland Long, of Indian Village, Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was an only child. Her mother was a school teacher and her father worked in the rubber industry before also becoming a teacher. She attended grades 6 - 9 at Kekionga Junior High and grades 10 - 12 at South Side High School. Her school report, rather incisiveley, stated, "good grades and a lot of enthusiasm for make believe".In 1965, while at South Side High School, Shelley enrolled into Wranglers, a club for individuals who strove to better their public speaking abilities and compete in interscholastic speech contests. She also became a member of the Meterite club, a society run for sophomore and first-semester junior girls with at least a B- average in English and who had an interest in the creative aspects of the English language. On the drama side, Shelley was involved in the Assemblies Workshop which presented performances at Thanksgiving and Christmas. But it was during the annual Junior Banquet, a secret agent farce, that Shelley, in one of her earliest acting roles, would swoon with reverence over Secret Agent, 'Mr Big' in a scene that would play again in a more recent swooning act over a certain Richard Gere, in 'Dr. T & The Women'1966-67 ~ in her final year, Shelley continued to hone her communication and public speaking skills, but now as president of the Wranglers club, winning the 'Girls' Extemporaneous Speaking' Oratory Competitioninfoorganised by the National Forensic League with a humourous speech on sex education in high schools. Shelley was the first female in 20 years to win such a presigious prize. On the writing side, she became a reporter for the in-house publications, South Side Times, Pegasus and Totem, visiting Fort Wayne Newpapers on the way to gain first-hand knowledge of journalism. But it was back in the Assemblies Workshop that Senior Shelley could be found blossoming; leading and narrating, "A Turkey's View of Thanksgiving" as, what else, the turkey, perched atop a stepladder. If this rings a bell in your mind, then maybe it's because you recall an episode of Cheers [ep. 83, Suspicion] where Diane imitates a Cornish chickenClearly, in these early days, Shelley was no shrinking violet. She was a Senior Class Social Council Member, took part in the National Honor Society and more surpisingly, perhaps, he was a member of the Concert Choir. And you thought she couldn't sing, huh? Well if you were lucky enough to be around at the time you could have experienced the undoubted pleasure of hearing her warble to a range of compositions from classical to spiritiual to modern pop. If only she'd do a little of that now. It's a string to her bow she's kept quiet for far too long.

On leaving Southside, Shelley could look back with some pride on an extensive rollcall of drama and oratory achievements ~ a gold medal for the Assemblies Workshop; winning the 'Girls' Extemporaneous Speaking' Oratory Competition; coming third in Humourous and second in Dramatic speaking in the National Forensic League (1967 State finals); a second again in Dramatic speaking (1966 State finals); winner of a Meterite short story contest; winner of the Outstanding Meterite Trophy and winner of the Drama Humour Trophy. There could be no doubt that Shelley was at home with theatrics and the spoken word. But could she turn this extraordinary talent to effect? She enrolled into Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois in 1967 as an undergraduate studying drama and it was here she got her first job was as a meal plan checker. More importantly, she met her room-mate and life-long friend, Ann Ryerson (see her in Troop Beverly Hills, as Bitsy Barnfell) who first introduced her to modelling and, later on, the Second City Improvisational Troop. She met her first husband whom she married after a whirlwind romance and had a son. Luckily, for Long's career, he was a film producer and with his knowledge and contacts she learned how to put together short films for local businesses such as the Chicago-based, Encylopaedia Brittanica. Her future in front of the camera was beginning to click.

Her drama background, her speech awards, her reporting for the school magazines, her modelling contracts, her locally-based film work; all this together with her irrefutable fresh-faced looks made her ideal for the local NBC tv network who, in 1975, was scouting for a front person for the topical tv magazine series, 'Sorting it Out'. They picked Shelley, and so, for the next two years, as a fetching, short-haired brunette, she found herself co-hosting, producing, directing and writing for the series. Airing in the Chicago area, 'Sorting it Out', (1975-77)