Sharon Tate: More Than a “Doll”

Sharon Tate as Jennifer North in 1967's "Valley of the Dolls."

So much as been written about Sharon Tate’s tragic ending, that I wanted to write about her brief but intriguing career, and what might have become of the lovely young starlet. Sharon Tate's resume is pretty slim. Somewhat like Marilyn, you get more of a feeling for her charisma by looking at the many photos taken of Sharon than in her few film roles.

Sharon Tate in "Valley of the Dolls." She reminds me of her good friend & equally gorgeous Joanna Pettet here. 

In the early '60s, Tate got a few bit parts on TV shows and played a recurring role on The Beverly Hillbillies, in a black wig. This was producer Martin Ransohoff’s idea, co-founder of Filmways. Ransohoff wanted Sharon to get more camera experience, but without being recognized! The TV producer was also getting into feature films and put Sharon under personal contract. He cast her in the occult thriller, Eye of the Devil, when Kim Novak had just been replaced by Deborah Kerr. Tate got a lot of attention from the film, though it bombed. Sharon’s otherworldly demeanor and spellbinding beauty reminded me of Kim Novak in Bell, Book, and Candle—though Devil was a suspense film.

Sharon Tate as the scary Odile in 1966's "Eye of the Devil."

Then came two more duds with producer Ransohoff: beach party parody Don't Make Waves and Roman Polanski's spoof The Fearless Vampire Killers. In Don’t Make Waves, Sharon plays beach girl Malibu and seems to have been an inspiration for Bo Derek in 1979’s 10. Tate’s innkeeper’s daughter in Polanski’s Vampire Killers film is a classic saucy beauty, like Kim Novak as Moll Flanders. Both stars fared far better as modern day blondes rather than period era redheads. A few critics commented that Tate had a natural flair for comedy in both films.

Sharon Tate as Malibu in 1967's "Don't Make Waves." Inspiration for Bo Derek's beach girl in 1979's "10?

To recap, under personal contract with Martin Ransohoff, Sharon Tate made Devil, Waves, and Vampire Killers, oh my. This was a far cry from the studio system days, where a starlet was carefully brought up the ranks—this was the hit or miss ‘60s. These movies have their cult fans, but for most audiences, they are forgotten oddities. 

Sharon Tate as Sarah, the innkeeper's daughter, in 1967's "Those Fearless Vampire Killers," which introduced her to Roman Polanski.

Valley of the Dolls, with Sharon Tate as Jennifer North, is the 1967 film for which the actress is most famous. The salacious soap made a fortune but got some of the worst reviews of any '60s film. Ironically, Fox starlet Raquel Welch was offered the part of Jennifer but turned it down, fearing she’d be typecast as “the body beautiful.” Raquel was certainly more statuesque than slim Sharon, but was typecast anyway, and missed the chance to star in a hit movie.  Yet Welch would not have brought the warmth or vulnerability that Tate possessed.

Though Sharon Tate possessed a lovely figure, she was hardly "top-heavy,"
as constantly commented upon throughout "Valley of the Dolls."

On the set of Dolls, veteran reporter Bobbie Wygant asked Tate if she had read the Jacqueline Susann book. Sharon answered yes, adding that she liked the character Jennifer best, for that’s who she had the most sympathy. Like so many starlets, Tate had been touted as the next Marilyn Monroe, in Sharon’s case, by the Saturday Evening Post. Sharon quickly nixed that notion, telling Wygant that there was only one Marilyn: “Nobody could ever be Marilyn Monroe.” Good answer! Ironically, Tate was making Dolls at 20^th Century Fox, where MM had been under contract. I must say that as hard as Tarantino tried in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Margot Robbie, there is also only one Sharon Tate. Robbie may be a good actress, but she didn’t have Sharon’s ethereal quality, not to mention Tate’s exquisite bone structure and expressive doe eyes.

When Wygant asked Tate what her long term goals were, and Sharon’s answer was smart and realistic:  “I want to remain myself as much as possible.”

Sharon's Jennifer North ends her life near the finale of "Valley of the Dolls."

Though Dolls author Jacqueline Susann based Jennifer North on her good friend, tragic starlet Carole Landis, Jackie couldn’t help but be influenced by tragic death of Marilyn Monroe in ’62, when she was writing Dolls. There are echoes of Marilyn in the film version of Dolls. The suicide scene, with reporters asking impertinent questions about Jen, such as her measurements, recalls the scene at Monroe’s bungalow the morning after her death.

I watched screen tests of Sharon as Jennifer and thought she came off even better than in the actual movie scenes. And I noticed reader comments saying the same thing. I do know that some of the Dolls actresses did not enjoy working with old-school studio director Mark Robson, who may have intimidated shy Sharon. But in her big scenes, such as Tony’s illness and Jen’s diagnosis, Tate’s quite touching. One thing Sharon had in common with Marilyn was that Tate also had those wistful eyes, even when she was smiling.

Sharon Tate at 24 as Jennifer North in "Valley of the Dolls."

Some people have downgraded Sharon’s performance as Jen, citing her as beautiful but no-talent. I wonder if that’s because in the movie, the other characters are constantly objectifying Jen, while telling her she has no talent. Jen even says so herself. Perhaps audiences thought Sharon was just playing herself. Tate may have not had the greatest range, but she could certainly identify with Jennifer.

Sharon Tate was a wow in this Travilla gown in "Valley of the Dolls." The designer also dressed Marilyn Monroe in several films, including "Gentleman Prefer Blondes."

The next year came yet another spoof, 1968’s The Wrecking Crew, the last and lowest grossing of Dean Martin's Matt Helm spy satires. Sharon Tate’s Freya is a beautiful, glasses-wearing bumbler, rather like Marilyn Monroe in How to Marry a Millionaire. Tate’s last film was an international comedy, 12 + 1. During filming she was newly pregnant, and the film was released after her death, in 1970.

Sharon Tate as Freya, the bumbling agent in 1968's "The Wrecking Crew."

Terry-Thomas remembered Sharon in his 1990 autobiography: "On the first day of filming 12+1, on location in London's Jermyn Street, Sharon Tate came up and introduced herself. She said, quietly, 'I must tell you something before we start working together. I can't act, but I somehow get by without anyone realizing, so don't worry.' Actually, Sharon turned out to share a distinction with Lena Horne, they were the only two performers I ever knew who were entirely 'natural' before the camera. Everybody else, method actors (and T-T too!) automatically took on a different stance and manner, as soon as the cameras started rolling. So there were no difficulties with Sharon. We were like a double act. She was nice, intelligent, and pretty."

Sharon Tate as Pat in "12+ 1." Sharon was in her early pregnancy during filming.
The European comedy was released in 1970, after her death.

Where would Sharon Tate’s life and career have gone had she lived?

If Jane Fonda couldn't make a go of it with her European playboy director-husband, Roger Vadim, surely Sharon wouldn't have, either. So, what actress avenue would Sharon have gone down? Reclusive, like Kim Novak? Multiple marriages, like Elizabeth Taylor? Live-in boyfriends, like Jacqueline Bisset? Marry well and/or happily, and retire? For some reason, I don’t think she would have gone the Marilyn route, with breakdowns and addiction. Who can say, really?

In my mind, Sharon Tate, Jacqueline Bisset, and Sharon’s BFF Joanna Pettet were the three young film beauties of the late '60s, and all had a hard time getting good roles, often just cast for their looks or as “the girl.” My guess is, in reality, if Sharon didn't just retire, she would have ended up on TV. The early ‘70s cinema was still casting realistic looking actresses like Karen Black. And pretty girls that got cast usually got panned: Candice Bergen, Ali MacGraw, and later, Cybill Shepherd. Perhaps Tate would have caught the eye of Aaron Spelling and become an angel. Why not? Sharon was in the same age range as the original Charlie’s Angels. Or perhaps she could have starred in a prime-time soap—Sharon Tate as Krystle Carrington?  Tate was just a few months younger than Linda Evans, who also had an episodic ‘60s career and a dominating husband.

I can see Sharon Tate as Jill Munroe on "Charlie's Angels." Sharon also had the "three girls" thing down, too. Perhaps if the show had been on in the '60s, Parkins could have played Kelly, and Duke as Sabrina!

Interesting that when a star dies young, they get locked in time, and while eternal, gradually seem far away. On January 24, 2023, Sharon Tate would have turned 80. Sharon’s been gone for over 50 years, a life and career suddenly ended. I choose to look at Tate’s beauty and career, not who and how they ended her life.

Here’s my fun look at “dream team” casting for Valley of the Dolls: https://ricksrealreel.blogspot.com/2017/07/different-dolls-for-valley-of-dolls.html

 

When Sharon as Jen warily watches her "art" films, I flashed on Kim Novak as world-weary star Lylah Clare doing the same the following year. And that Tate would have been much more age-appropriate as that starlet! But who needed both "Dolls" & "Lylah" on their resume!

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Kim Novak as Elsa Brinkmann/Lylah Clare.