Artist:Shelley Plimpton
Song:Frank Mills
Album:Hair: The Original Broadway Cast Recording
Shelley Plimpton's claim to fame is she played Crissy in the original production of the musical Hair and she sang the song Frank Mills. She didn't have much of an acting career other than that. And in fact, her daughter Martha Plimpton is better known than her. She was born Feb. 27, 1947 in Roseburg, OR. Her father owned an auto parts store and her mother was a medical researcher. Her parents divorced when she was five and her father died when she was twelve. Then her mom took a job in New York City. After graduating high school, Shelley worked as a nightclub cashier. Hair co-writer James Rado says that the inspiration for Hair was young people that he and Gerome Ragni met in the streets of New York. Shelley was one of several cast members who were recruited off the street. So like most of the cast, she had no acting experience. Shelley played Crissy in the off-Broadway and the Broadway productions of Hair. And if you have heard the Original Cast album, you have heard Shelley sing Frank Mills. Shelley also appeared in a scene with Arlo Guthrie in the 1969 film Alice's Restaurant and she appeared in Robert Downey Sr.'s classic satire film Putney Swope. She starred in Jim McBride's 1971 film Glen and Randa. And after a small role in John G. Avildsen's 1975 film Foreplay, she retired from acting to raise her daughter Martha Plimpton who has had a very successful acting career. Shelley returned in an episode of the 1986 sitcom Throb. That was her final appearance. She moved to Seattle in 1990. She was married to Seattle Repertory Theater director Daniel Sullivan. He was an assistant director on Hair. According to a 2017 Vanity Fair article about the 50th anniversary of Hair, Shelley has returned to Oregon. Here's a video of Frank Mills by Shelley Plimpton.
No comments:
Post a Comment