Top TV Moments: Sherry Jackson

In an interview looking back on her career, Sherry Jackson recalled what it was like to be a child star in the 1950s: “I couldn’t stand it when they called me “pigtailed moppet Sherry Jackson,” she said. “I said, ‘Someday, I’m going to change that.”

As anyone familiar with her memorable 1960s TV roles can attest – mission accomplished.

After appearing in about 130 episodes of The Danny Thomas Show beginning at age 11, Sherry Jackson blossomed into a stunning chestnut-haired beauty who could act, but wasn’t always challenged to do so by the decorative roles she played. She was classic TV’s Elizabeth Taylor, though Taylor at least did break through occasionally and won two Oscars. Sherry had no such luck, though her appearances in several classic and cult TV series have earned her a loyal following.

Fireside Theatre (1949)

Jackson was seven years old when she made her first TV appearance on this, one of television’s first anthology dramas. The series featured two 15 minute stories in each episode. Jackson played a little girl in “The Doll.” I know that’s not a very detailed description, but 70 years later it’s all we’ve got.

The Danny Thomas Show (1953)

This is the incarnation of the series that predates the one with Marjorie Lord and Angela Cartwright, which still shows up in syndication from time to time. The original had Jean Hagen as the wife of nightclub entertainer Danny Williams, and Sherry Jackson as his pigtailed (and often emotionally distraught) daughter, Terry. Terry’s little brother (Rusty Hamer) got most of the punch lines, though his bad attitude never wore well with me. 

Jackson left the show after Jean Hagen’s departure and was almost replaced by Mary Tyler Moore. She reprised the role of Terry in a 1970 episode of Make Room for Granddaddy.

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis (1960)

Dobie’s dad needs a bank loan to keep his store open. The banker’s daughter takes a liking to Dobie, who she plans to mold into a man worthy of her. “The Prettiest Collateral in Town” is a typically fast-talking, cynical episode of this outlier series from the cozy Comfort TV era, and Jackson is delightful as yet another beautiful girl beyond Dobie’s grasp.

The Magical World of Disney (1960)

 “The Swamp Fox,” starring Leslie Nielsen as Revolutionary War hero Francis Marion, Never caught on the way Davy Crockett did, though it wasn’t for lack of trying on the part of Walt Disney. Leslie Nielsen made a dashing hero in his pre-Police Squad days, and no studio did this type of un-ironic patriotism better. I love Walt’s reverent introductions to each episode almost as much as the shows themselves.

Sherry Jackson appears in two episodes in this eight-show miniseries as Melody, a young schoolteacher betrothed to one of the Fox’s young officers (Disney favorite Tim Considine). This is Jackson amid the transition between her ingénue and pin-up phase, and she couldn’t be more charming.

Mr. Novak (1963)

She doesn’t have a lot of scenes or lines in “The Risk”, but in that limited screen time Jackson creates a moving, tragic figure in Cathy Ferguson, the young wife of a schoolteacher. When she shows up drunk at the school where he’s trying to make a good impression and creates a huge disturbance, it’s a devastating scene to watch. And yet amid the discomfort and embarrassment it’s a powerful thing to witness how the principal and faculty react not with anger or judgment, but compassion for both Cathy and her husband. I haven’t seen all of Jackson’s film and TV work, but I’d be surprised if she was ever better than she was here.

Lost in Space (1966)

Conventional wisdom on Lost in Space is that the first season, shot in black-and-white, offered more straightforward science fiction adventures, and the following two seasons shot in day-glo pop art color took a turn for the wacky. But “The Space Croppers” was a season one show that would have fit right in amidst such later ‘classics’ as “Space Circus” and “The Great Vegetable Rebellion.”

The story has Will Robinson and Dr. Smith tracking a werewolf, and instead running into a family of intergalactic hillbillies. Oscar-winner Mercedes McCambridge, clearly getting bad advice from her agent, plays the family matriarch. Jackson, in the first of three memorable 1966 guest spots, plays her daughter Effra, the Elly Mae of the Milky Way. Between takes, I wonder if she swapped Danny Thomas stories with Angela Cartwright. 

Batman (1966)

“Death in Slow Motion”/“The Riddler’s False Notion” returns Frank Gorshin as The Riddler, unleashing a crime spree based on silent films. Sherry Jackson plays his sidekick, Pauline – and I’m not sure if this was intentional, but her resemblance to Paulette Goddard, when she played opposite The Riddler dressed as Charlie Chaplin, was a nice extra touch for silent film buffs. 

This was a bigger part than usual for that type of role – Pauline even gets to visit the Batcave along with Commissioner Gordon. That’s where Batman subjects her to a lie detector test that was probably illegal, and will let her walk out of court when her case comes to trial.

Star Trek (1966)

A fan favorite episode from the series’ first and best season, “What Are Little Girls Made Of?” presents Sherry as Andrea, an amorous android serving a scientist who thinks humanity would be better off without bodies that wither and age.

Her performance is fine, but it would be silly to not acknowledge that what most viewers remember is her costume, one of the greatest feats of modern engineering since the Suez Canal. She later revealed that William Shatner hit on her frequently while they shot the episode, which is not at all surprising. 

All of these high-profile 1966 roles didn’t lead to better parts, but it did get her a pictorial in Playboy in 1967.

The Wild, Wild West (1967)

“The Night of the Vicious Valentine” is one of the series’ most celebrated shows. Agnes Moorehead earned an Emmy for playing society maven Emma Valentine, who recruits beautiful young women to marry America’s wealthiest men, who then inherit their fortunes after they are mysteriously murdered. Jackson is Michele, who has second thoughts about her mission on the way to the altar. 

Charlie’s Angels (1980)

Yes, we just skipped the entire 1970s. Jackson worked steadily through that decade but usually in standard guest appearances, where she was often cast for how good she looked in a skimpy wardrobe – fans will certainly recall how she rocked a red bikini in both The Rockford Files and Fantasy Island. 

So perhaps it’s ironic that Charlie’s Angels was the series that found a more substantive use for her. In “Homes Sweet Homes” she played Tina Fuller, who works for a real estate agency that loots the homes of its Beverly Hills clients. It’s not great art but it sure is fun.

Two years later, she was done. While Jackson still gives an occasional interview, she hasn’t played another role in nearly 40 years. But if you’re ever in the vicinity of 6324 Hollywood Blvd., you can check out her star on the Walk of Fame.