Sharon Gless

Blonde leading-lady Sharon Gless owns the distinction of being the last-ever "contract player" at Universal Studios. Signed by Universal in 1969, Gless did yeoman work as a supporting player on such series as the ABC medical drama Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969-76) and films including Airport 1975 (1974). She was a regular on the short-lived detective drama series Faraday and Company (1973-74) before achieving a degree of stardom as Maggie, "girl Friday" to Robert Wagner and Eddie Albert, on the popular crime-caper series "Switch" (1975-78). Her next series was the weekly "House Calls" (1979-82), in which she replaced departing regular Lynn Redgrave amid Redgrave's contractual dispute with series producers. It was another replacement assignment that solidified Gless as a bankable (and versatile) name: in 1982, she replaced Meg Foster as NYPD officer Chris Cagney on the detective series "Cagney and... Full Biography