62-525: Patti Dahlstrom is a singer, songwriter, and teacher. She recorded four albums in the 1970s and co-wrote the Helen Reddy hit " Emotion ". One of five children, Dahlstrom was born in Houston, Texas . She began writing songs before her teen years and dreamed of becoming a songwriter while reading the credits on album sleeves. In 1967, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in music. After three years she signed
124-452: A 10-year period, she felt the move was "'long overdue... For the last three years I didn't feel I was getting the support from them.'" Whatever support she received from the new label was not enough to get the album onto Billboard magazine's Top LPs & Tape chart. The album includes the song that was her last to reach Billboard' s Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" made its pop chart debut in
186-601: A 13th-floor apartment with a 180° view of Sydney Harbour ". Her apartment had been recently appraised, causing Reddy concern over its future affordability; however, the New York-based landlord learned his tenant's identity and wrote her: "I had no idea it was the Helen Reddy who was living in my unit. Because of what you have done for millions of women all over the world, I will not sell or raise your rent. I hope you'll be very happy living there for years to come." For several years, Reddy maintained that she would not return to
248-465: A Lady", and " I Am Woman ", reasoning on the latter that the audience "comes to hear" it. She said she refused to sing " Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) " because she disliked the monotony of the repeated chorus. "They used to have a contest on the radio that you could get two free tickets to Helen Reddy's show if you could tell us how many times she sang "leave me alone". I think it was like 42 times," she said. Reddy appeared in downtown Los Angeles at
310-628: A backup singer on Gene Simmons 's solo album on the song "True Confessions". That year also saw the release of Reddy's only live album, Live in London , recorded at the London Palladium . Of Reddy's eight subsequent single releases on Capitol, five reached the Easy Listening top 50 – including " Candle on the Water ", from the 1977 Disney film Pete's Dragon (which starred Reddy). Only three ranked on
372-462: A career in theatre where Wald had no significant influence. In 1990, Reddy issued Feel So Young on her own label – an album that includes remakes of her repertoire favourites. Meanwhile, her one recording in the interim had been the 1987 dance maxisingle "Mysterious Kind", on which Reddy had vocally supported Jessica Williams. The 1997 release of Center Stage was an album of show tunes which Reddy recorded for Varèse Sarabande ;
434-456: A contract with Jobete Music, a division of Motown , and was mentored by Berry Gordy . She began a songwriting relationship with Severin Browne, the brother of Jackson Browne . Her first album was released by Uni Records , while the next three were released by 20th Century Records . She wrote "Sending My Good Thoughts to You" with Artie Wayne and dedicated it to her friend Jim Croce , who died in
496-510: A deal we [Reddy and Wald] couldn't refuse"; "we shopped around and felt the most enthusiasm at MCA". Reddy's new label affiliation would result in only one minor success; her remake of Becky Hobbs 's 1979 country hit "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" returned her for the last time to the Billboard Hot 100 at number 88; it also returned Reddy to the charts in the UK and Ireland (her sole previous hit in both
558-406: A division of major-label Chicago-based Mercury Records . Her first single, " One Way Ticket ", on Fontana was not an American hit but it did give Reddy her first appearance on any chart as it peaked at number 83 in her native Australia. Within a year, Wald moved Reddy and Traci to Los Angeles, where he was hired at Capitol Records , the label under which Reddy was to attain stardom; however, Wald
620-675: A former New Zealand governor-general , is a distant cousin. Reddy was born during World War II . Her father was a sergeant in the Australian Army with a unit of entertainers, serving in New Guinea with one of his actor friends, Peter Finch , at the time of Reddy's birth. Her father returned to service during the Korean War . At age four, Reddy joined her parents on the Australian vaudeville circuit, singing and dancing; she recalled: "It
682-604: A full chorus of backup singers and dancers to standing-room-only crowds on the Las Vegas Strip . Among her opening acts were Joan Rivers , David Letterman , Bill Cosby and Barry Manilow . In 1976, Reddy recorded the Beatles ' song " The Fool on the Hill " for the musical documentary All This and World War II . Reddy was also instrumental in supporting the career of friend Olivia Newton-John , encouraging her to move from England to
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#1732881257546744-469: A hotel room carrying their clothes in paper bags." Reddy recalled: "When we did eat, it was spaghetti , and we spent what little money we had on cockroach spray." They left New York City for Chicago, where Wald landed a job as talent coordinator at Mister Kelly's . While in Chicago, Reddy gained a reputation singing in local lounges, including Mister Kelly's, and in 1968 she landed a deal with Fontana Records ,
806-513: A month. She did " I Believe in Music " penned by Mac Davis backed with " I Don't Know How to Love Him " from Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber 's Jesus Christ Superstar . The A-side fell flat, but then some Canadian DJs flipped the record over and it became a hit – number 13 in June 1971 – and Helen Reddy was on her way." Reddy's stardom was solidified when her single " I Am Woman " reached number one on
868-463: A party with an admission price of US$ 5 (equivalent to $ 43.81 in 2023) to enable Reddy—then down to her last US$ 12 (equivalent to $ 105.14 in 2023)—to pay her rent. On this occasion, Reddy met her future manager and husband, Jeff Wald, a 22-year-old secretary at the William Morris Agency who crashed the party. Reddy told People in 1975, "[Wald] didn't pay the five dollars, but it
930-556: A plane crash in 1973. Her songs were recorded by Anne Murray ("Ain't No Way to Rise Above"), Cilla Black ("Running Out of World"), Helen Reddy ("Emotion"), Thelma Houston ("What If", "I'm Letting Go" and "I Never Did"), Michael Johnson ("Dialogue"), Captain & Tennille ("Feels Like More Than Dancing") Johnny Rivers ("Over the Line"), and Riders in the Sky ("Even Texas Isn't Big Enough Now"). Reddy's version of "Emotion" reached No. 22 on
992-879: A return ticket to Australia, she decided to remain in the United States with three-year-old Traci and pursue a singing career. Reddy recalled her 1966 appearance at the Three Rivers Inn in Syracuse, New York —"[T]here were like twelve people in the audience" —as being typical of her early US performing career. Her lack of a work permit made it difficult to obtain singing jobs and she was forced to make trips to Canada which did not require work permits for citizens of Commonwealth countries. In 1968, Martin St James , an Australian stage hypnotist she had met in New York City, threw Reddy
1054-472: A short time (mostly to study drama) . Her half-sister Toni Lamond and her nephew Tony Sheldon are actor-singers. Reddy had Irish, Scottish and English ancestry. Her great-great-grandfather, Edward Reddy, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1855. Her Scottish great-grandfather, Thomas Lamond, was a one-time mayor of Waterloo, New South Wales , whose patron was Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead . Patsy Reddy ,
1116-573: A show business family, Reddy started her career as an entertainer at age four. She sang on radio and television and won a talent contest on the television program Bandstand in 1966; her prize was a ticket to New York City and a record audition, which was unsuccessful. After a short and unsuccessful singing career in New York, she eventually moved to Chicago, and subsequently, Los Angeles, where she made her debut singles " One Way Ticket " and " I Believe in Music " in 1968 and 1970, respectively. The B-side of
1178-550: A significant role in popular culture, becoming an anthem for second-wave feminism . She came to be known as a "feminist poster girl" or a "feminist icon". In 2011, Billboard named her the number-28 adult contemporary artist of all time (the number-9 woman). In 2013, the Chicago Tribune dubbed her the "Queen of '70s Pop". Helen Maxine Reddy was born into a well-known Australian showbusiness family in Melbourne . Her mother
1240-456: A singer who motivated women. The younger Helen's teenaged rebellion in favour of domesticity manifested as marriage to Kenneth Claude Weate, a considerably older musician and family friend; divorce ensued, and to support herself as a single mother to daughter Traci, she resumed her performing career, concentrating on singing, since health problems precluded dancing (she had a kidney removed at 17). She sang on radio and television, eventually winning
1302-514: A talent contest on the Australian pop music TV show Bandstand , the prize ostensibly being a trip to New York City to cut a single for Mercury Records . After arriving in New York in 1966, she was informed by Mercury that her prize was only the chance to "audition" for the label and that Mercury considered the Bandstand footage to constitute her audition, which was deemed unsuccessful. Despite having only US$ 200 (equivalent to $ 1,878 in 2023) and
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#17328812575461364-478: The Billboard Adult Contemporary chart; 15 made the top 10 and eight reached number one, six consecutively. In 1974, at the inaugural American Music Awards , she won the award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist . On television, she was the first Australian to host a one-hour weekly primetime variety show on an American network, along with specials that were seen in more than 40 countries. Between
1426-463: The Family Guy television show's Star Wars parody, " Blue Harvest ". In 2011, she guest-starred on Family Guy again, singing the opening theme song for the show's fictional Channel 5 News telecast. Reddy became a naturalised American citizen in 1974, saying after the ceremony, "I feel like I'd like to have a cup of tea and a good cry." She resumed her Australian citizenship subsequently, when
1488-491: The 2017 Women's March on 21 January. The march for women's rights and unity following the inauguration of Donald Trump brought out 750,000 people. Reddy was introduced by actress Jamie Lee Curtis and sang an a cappella version of "I Am Woman". In August 2015, unnamed sources revealed that Reddy was diagnosed with dementia and had moved into the Motion Picture and Television Fund 's Samuel Goldwyn Center, where she
1550-525: The Billboard Hot 100 in December 1972. The song was co-written by Reddy with Ray Burton ; Reddy attributed the impetus for writing "I Am Woman" and her early awareness of the women's movement to expatriate Australian rock critic and pioneer feminist Lillian Roxon . Reddy is quoted in Fred Bronson 's The Billboard Book of Number One Hits as having said that she was looking for songs to record which reflected
1612-506: The Billboard Hot 100: "The Happy Girls" (number 57) – the follow-up to "You're My World", and besides "I Am Woman", Reddy's only chart item that she co-wrote – and the disco tracks "Ready or Not" (number 73) and "Make Love to Me" (number 60), the latter a cover of an Australian hit by Kelly Marie , which gave Reddy a lone R&B chart ranking at number 59. Reddy also made it to number 98 on the Country chart with " Laissez les bon Temps Rouler ",
1674-668: The Depression and a world war, and they were just strong women. I certainly didn't see myself as being dainty", she said. Over the next five years following her first success, Reddy had more than a dozen US top-40 hits, including two more number-one hits. These tracks included Kenny Rankin 's " Peaceful " (number 12), the Alex Harvey country ballad " Delta Dawn " (number one), Linda Laurie 's " Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress) " (number three), Danny Janssen & Bobby Hart's " Keep on Singing " (number 15), Paul Williams ' " You and Me Against
1736-575: The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra . The same year, she moved from her longtime residence in Santa Monica, California , back to her native Australia to spend time with her family, living first on Norfolk Island before taking up residence in Sydney . Reddy also earned a degree in clinical hypnotherapy and neuro-linguistic programming . She was a practising clinical hypnotherapist and patron of
1798-706: The Reddy caste from India. Her response was: "I have done some research on my father's side; most of my research has been done on my mother's side. His father was born in Ireland, but his great-grandfather served with an Irish regiment stationed in India, so it is possible that I have Indian ancestry. But it has not yet been established." At age 20, Reddy married Kenneth Claude Weate, an older musician and family friend whom she says she wed to defy her parents, who wished her to follow them into show business. The couple separated not long after
1860-699: The 1980s and 1990s, as her single " I Can't Say Goodbye to You " (1981) became her last to chart in the US, Reddy acted in musicals and recorded albums such as Center Stage before retiring from live performance in 2002. She returned to university in Australia, earned a degree, and practised as a clinical hypnotherapist and motivational speaker. In 2011, after singing " Breezin' Along with the Breeze " with her half-sister, Toni Lamond , for Lamond's birthday, Reddy decided to return to live performing. Reddy's song " I Am Woman " played
1922-665: The Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists. At a ceremony in August 2006, Reddy was inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Hall of Fame by actress singer, Toni Collette , who described her song, "I Am Woman", as "timeless". The song was performed by fellow Australian, Vanessa Amorosi . In April 2008, Reddy was reported to be living "simply and frugally off song royalties, pension funds, and social security ... [renting]
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1984-531: The B-side to "The Happy Girls". Without the impetus of any major hits, Reddy's four Capitol album releases subsequent to Ear Candy failed to chart. In 1981, she said: "I signed [with Capitol] ten years ago ... And when you are with a company so long you tend to be taken for granted. For the last three years, I didn't feel I was getting the support from them." May 1981 had the release of Play Me Out , Reddy's debut album for MCA Records , which she said had "made me
2046-481: The Tasmanian Genealogical Society. "Genealogy is addictive; it begins as an interest, becomes a hobby, then a passion, and finally an obsession. Not only with each generation uncovered does the number of people to investigate double, but so too does the desire to understand the forces that shaped them," she wrote in her autobiography. She was asked in an interview whether her name had any connection to
2108-586: The United States in the early 1970s, giving her professional opportunities that did not exist in the United Kingdom. At a dinner party at Reddy's house, Newton-John met producer Allan Carr , who offered her the starring role in the hit film version of the musical Grease . Reddy was most successful on the Easy Listening chart , scoring eight number-one hits there over a three-year span, from "Delta Dawn" in 1973 to " I Can't Hear You No More " in 1976. However,
2170-561: The World " (featuring daughter Traci reciting the spoken bookends) (number 9), Alan O'Day 's " Angie Baby " (number one), Véronique Sanson and Patti Dahlstrom 's " Emotion " (number 22), Harriet Schock 's " Ain't No Way to Treat a Lady " (number eight) and the Richard Kerr / Will Jennings -penned " Somewhere in the Night " (number 19). She also had two Australian number-one singles, while "Angie Baby"
2232-451: The birth of their daughter, Traci. In 1968, she married Jeff Wald, a native of the Bronx . She converted to Judaism before marrying Wald, with whom she had a son, Jordan, born in 1972. In a 1975 People interview, Reddy admitted that her relationship with then-husband and manager Wald was volatile, with the couple having "huge, healthy fights", but that she owed her success (she was then
2294-403: The department. In 2008 she moved to London to pursue a master's degree in writing. Three years later she moved to San José del Cabo , Mexico. A compilation of her music from the 1970s was released in 2010. Helen Reddy Helen Maxine Reddy (25 October 1941 – 29 September 2020) was an Australian-American singer, actress, television host, and activist. Born in Melbourne to
2356-406: The first Australian singer to top the US charts. Three decades after her Grammy, Reddy discussed the song's iconic status: "I think it came along at the right time. I'd gotten involved in the women's movement , and there were a lot of songs on the radio about being weak and being dainty and all those sort of things. All the women in my family, they were strong women. They worked. They lived through
2418-488: The issue of the magazine dated May 23, 1981, and peaked at number 88 during its three weeks there. That same issue also marked its first appearance on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it spent four weeks and got as high as number 42. It also reached number 43 on the UK singles chart. The album's producer, Joel Diamond, had helmed a recording of " Save Me " by Donna McDaniel in 1977 that got as high as number 90 on
2480-562: The latter single, " I Don't Know How to Love Him ", reached number eight on the pop chart of the Canadian magazine RPM . She was signed to Capitol Records a year later. During the 1970s, Reddy enjoyed international success, especially in the United States, where she placed 15 singles on the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 . Six made the top 10 and three reached number one, including her signature hit " I Am Woman ". She placed 25 songs on
2542-526: The latter track evidenced a sharp drop in popularity for Reddy, with a number-29 peak on the Billboard Hot 100. Reddy's 1977 remake of Cilla Black 's 1964 hit " You're My World " indicated comeback potential, with a number-18 peak, but this track – co-produced by Kim Fowley – would prove to be Reddy's last top-40 hit. Its source album, Ear Candy , Reddy's 10th album, became her first album to not attain at least gold status since her second full-length release, 1972's Helen Reddy . In 1978, Reddy sang as
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2604-510: The mid-1980s, Reddy embarked on a new career in the theatre. She mostly worked in musicals, including Anything Goes , Call Me Madam , The Mystery of Edwin Drood and – both on Broadway and the West End – Blood Brothers . She also appeared in four productions of the one-woman show Shirley Valentine . Reddy's notable stage roles included: In 2007, Reddy had a voice cameo as herself in
2666-439: The opportunity to maintain dual American–Australian citizenship became available. Reddy was active in community affairs: Three of Reddy's forebears left Ireland and went to Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A distant cousin, former New Zealand governor-general Patsy Reddy , is descended from their mutual New Zealand forebear. Reddy was an enthusiastic genealogist ; she researched her family's history extensively and founded
2728-452: The pop music chart. The song was a translation of "Amoureuse" by Véronique Sanson . Dahlstrom stopped recording music in the 1970s, citing exhaustion as the reason. Years later in an interview, Russ Regan said he was surprised that her albums hadn't been more popular. During the 1980s, she continued to write songs and learn photography. Returning to Texas in 1990, she taught songwriting at The Art Institute of Houston and became director of
2790-477: The positive self-image she had gained from joining the women's movement but could not find any, so "I realised that the song I was looking for didn't exist, and I was going to have to write it myself." "I Am Woman" first appeared on her debut album I Don't Know How to Love Him , released in May 1971. A new recording of the song was released as a single in May 1972 but barely dented the charts. Female listeners soon adopted
2852-420: The record company wants." She explained, "One of the reasons that I'm coming back to singing is because I'm not doing the greatest hits. I'm doing the songs that I always loved. So many are album cuts that never got any airplay, and they're gorgeous songs." She also performed many of her best-known songs, including, " Angie Baby ", " You and Me Against the World ", a medley of " Delta Dawn "/"Ain't No Way to Treat
2914-758: The series, The Helen Reddy Show , provided early national exposure for Albert Brooks and the Pointer Sisters . She also served as the semiregular host of the late-night variety show The Midnight Special in 1975 and 1976. Reddy's film career included a starring role in Walt Disney 's Pete's Dragon , introducing the Oscar -nominated song " Candle on the Water " and the role of a nun in Airport 1975 , singing her own composition "Best Friend". For her part in Airport 1975 , Reddy
2976-409: The song as an anthem and began requesting it from their local radio stations in droves, resulting in its September chart re-entry and eventual number-one peak. "I Am Woman" earned Reddy a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance . At the awards ceremony, Reddy concluded her acceptance speech by famously thanking God "because She makes everything possible". The success of "I Am Woman" made Reddy
3038-500: The stage. In 2008, she stated, "It's not going to happen. I've moved on", and explained that her voice had deepened to a lower key and she was not sure if she would be able to sing some of her hits. She also said that she had simply lost interest in performing, saying that "I have very wide-ranging interests". In 2011 she was interviewed by Australian television and said she was very happy to be retired from show business. In 2011, Reddy decided to return to performing after being buoyed by
3100-583: The track "Surrender" – originating in Sunset Boulevard – was remixed for release as a dance maxisingle. Reddy's final album was the 2000 seasonal release The Best Christmas Ever . In April 2015, Reddy released a cover of the Beatles' " All You Need Is Love " for the album Keep Calm and Salute The Beatles on the Purple Pyramid label. Reddy announced her retirement from performing in 2002, giving her farewell performance with
3162-416: The warm reception she received when she sang at her sister's 80th birthday party. "I hadn't heard my voice in 10 years, and when I heard it coming over the speaker, it was like: 'Oh, that's not bad. Maybe I should do that again,'" Reddy explained in 2013. Being more in control of her performances also appealed to Reddy, who said, "I have more leeway in the songs that I choose to sing. I'm not locked into what
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#17328812575463224-478: The world's biggest-selling female vocalist for two consecutive years) to Wald: "He runs it all. Naturally, when the moment of performance comes I have to deliver – but everything else is him. It's not my career; it's our career." I Can%27t Say Goodbye to You Play Me Out is the thirteenth studio album by Australian-American pop singer Helen Reddy that was released in 1981 by MCA Records . Having recorded 12 studio albums at Capitol Records over
3286-495: Was "Angie Baby"). Her 14 November 1981 Top of the Pops performance brought "I Can't Say Goodbye to You" into the UK top 50; the track would rise there no higher than number 43, but in Ireland reached number 16, giving Reddy her final high placing on a major national chart. MCA released one further Reddy album, Imagination , in 1983; it would prove to be Reddy's final release as a career recording artist. The unsuccessful Imagination
3348-642: Was Stella Campbell (née Lamond), an actress, singer and dancer; her father was Maxwell David Reddy (born 1914 in Melbourne, Victoria), a writer, producer and actor. Her mother performed at the Majestic Theatre in Sydney and was best-known as a regular cast member on the television programs Homicide (1964), Bellbird (1967) and Country Town (1971). During Reddy's childhood, she was educated at Tintern Grammar and later Stratherne Girls' School in Hawthorn for
3410-454: Was cared for by family and friends. A frequent guest on talk shows and variety programs of the 1970s and early 1980s – with credits including The Bobby Darin Show , The Carol Burnett Show and The Muppet Show – Reddy helmed the 1973 summer replacement series for The Flip Wilson Show (Reddy had become friends with Flip Wilson when she worked the Chicago club circuit early in her career);
3472-524: Was her only UK top-40 hit. On 23 July 1974, Reddy received a star, located at 1750 Vine Street, on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her work in the music industry. In late 1975, Reddy toured East Asia, Australia and New Zealand and collected 16 gold records, including 6 gold records in Australia and 6 gold records in New Zealand. At the height of her fame in the mid 1970s, Reddy was a headliner, with
3534-714: Was hired and fired the same day. At the same time, in 1969, Reddy enrolled at the University of California Los Angeles to study psychology and philosophy part-time. Reddy became frustrated as Wald found success managing acts such as Deep Purple and Tiny Tim without making any evident effort to promote her; after 18 months of career inactivity, Reddy gave Wald an ultimatum: "he [must] either revitalise her career or get out... Jeff threw himself into his new career as Mr. Helen Reddy. Five months of phone calls to Capitol Records executive Artie Mogull finally paid off; Mogull agreed to let Helen cut one single if Jeff promised not to call for
3596-443: Was instilled in me: 'You will be a star'. So between the ages of 12 and 17, I got rebellious and decided this was not for me. I was going to be a housewife and mother." At age 12, owing to her parents' constant touring nationwide and their arguing, Reddy went to live with her paternal aunt, Helen "Nell" Reddy, "who was her role model"; as her aunt, "she gave her niece stability, a sense of morality, and strength" for her future career as
3658-662: Was love at first sight." Wald recalled that Reddy and he married three days after meeting and, along with daughter Traci, the couple took up residence at the Hotel Albert in Greenwich Village . Reddy later stated that she married Wald "out of desperation over her right to work and live in the United States". According to New York Magazine , Wald was fired from William Morris soon after having met Reddy and "Helen supported them for six months doing $ 35-a-night hospital and charity benefits. They were so broke that they snuck out of
3720-492: Was nominated for a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female . Reddy was one of many musical stars featured in the all-star chorale in the film Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978). She later played cameo roles in the films Disorderlies (1987) and The Perfect Host (2010). Despite her late 1970s decline on the music charts, Reddy still had sufficient star power in 1979 to host The Helen Reddy Special , broadcast that May on ABC-TV , of which Jeff Wald
3782-469: Was released just after the finalisation of Reddy's divorce from Wald, whose alleged subsequent interference in her career she blamed for the decline of her career profile in the mid-1980s: "Several of my performing contracts were cancelled, and one promoter told me he couldn't book me in case a certain someone 'came after him with a shotgun'." Reddy states that she was effectively being blacklisted from her established performance areas, which led to her pursuing
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#17328812575463844-492: Was the producer. In September 1981, Reddy announced she would be shooting the pilot for her own TV sitcom, in which she would play a single mother working as a lounge singer in Lake Tahoe , but the project was abandoned. She was an occasional television guest star as an actress, appearing on the television programs The Love Boat , Fantasy Island , The Jeffersons (as herself), Diagnosis: Murder and BeastMaster . In
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