Melissa Michaelsen (born March 26, 1968) is an American actress best known for her roles in the 1979 television film Orphan Train and as the title character in the sitcom Me and Maxx.[1]
Michaelsen's father, Alwin Michaelsen, is a financial consultant who graduated from Princeton in 1954,[2][3] and her mother, Gail, was once Alwin's secretary. Gail is the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley. Gail's cousin, Glenn Billingsley, was briefly married to actress Barbara Billingsley who continued to use his last name for her stage name.[4]
Gail was the one who initially took the children around to auditions. Michaelsen's four siblings all acted as children, most notably Peter Billingsley[5][6] and, to a lesser extent, Neil, who began playing Danny Walton on the daytime soap operaSearch for Tomorrow in 1975.[7]
Michaelsen's played the title role, Maxx Davis, on the sitcom Me and Maxx in 1980. She was picked for the role when a commercial starring Joe Santos aired during one of Melissa's early projects. NBC president Fred Silverman saw the commercial while watching Melissa's TV-movie and reportedly said "I want that guy with that girl."[15] This was Melissa's second attempt at a network series. In an interview about Goldie and the Boxer, her co-star and producer, O. J. Simpson, mentioned that he first saw Michaelsen in an unaired ABCpilot a few days before the film was to begin shooting.[16]
Michaelsen received favorable reviews from both critics and her costars. The New York Times singled her out in their review of Memories Never Die in which she co-starred opposite Lindsay Wagner: "The entire supporting cast is uncommonly good, but special notice might be taken of young Miss Michaelsen. Her pouting, sulking, resentful Kathy is in startling contrast to the sunny Shirley Temple type she has played in such television movies as Goldie and the Boxer. Like Miss Wagner, she, too, is proceeding nicely with her career."[17] Television writer Jerry Buck quoted Melissa's co-star Joe Santos as saying that "She's a terrific actress and a wonderful human being", as he went on to praise her work ethic.[15]
Michaelsen made two more attempts at series television. In 1981, she filmed a pilot for CBS. The show was an attempt to bring the film Little Darlings to television.[18] It never aired. In 1984, Melissa made another pilot with a role as Stella Stevens' youngest daughter in the western No Man's Land. The two other sisters were played by Terri Garber and Donna Dixon. The show was not picked up, but the pilot was broadcast as a two-hour TV-movie.[19] Aside from acting, she has done public speaking during her youth. For example, in 1983 she was one of the keynote speakers at a conference on Indian unity.[20]
Later life
Following her acting career, Michaelsen spent some time as a representative for New York's Morgans Hotel Group.[21]
References
^Me and Maxx TV Show - Me and Maxx Television Show, TV.com; accessed May 10, 2014.
melissa, michaelsen, born, march, 1968, american, actress, best, known, roles, 1979, television, film, orphan, train, title, character, sitcom, maxx, contents, family, career, later, life, references, external, linksfamily, editmichaelsen, father, alwin, micha. Melissa Michaelsen born March 26 1968 is an American actress best known for her roles in the 1979 television film Orphan Train and as the title character in the sitcom Me and Maxx 1 Contents 1 Family 2 Career 3 Later life 4 References 5 External linksFamily EditMichaelsen s father Alwin Michaelsen is a financial consultant who graduated from Princeton in 1954 2 3 and her mother Gail was once Alwin s secretary Gail is the niece of Stork Club owner Sherman Billingsley Gail s cousin Glenn Billingsley was briefly married to actress Barbara Billingsley who continued to use his last name for her stage name 4 Gail was the one who initially took the children around to auditions Michaelsen s four siblings all acted as children most notably Peter Billingsley 5 6 and to a lesser extent Neil who began playing Danny Walton on the daytime soap opera Search for Tomorrow in 1975 7 Career EditShe appeared in many television commercials and guest starring in quite a number of television shows including Code Red 8 Here s Boomer The Young Riders 9 and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers 10 Melissa starred in several made for TV movies such as Orphan Train 11 Broken Promise 12 and Goldie and the Boxer films 13 14 Michaelsen s played the title role Maxx Davis on the sitcom Me and Maxx in 1980 She was picked for the role when a commercial starring Joe Santos aired during one of Melissa s early projects NBC president Fred Silverman saw the commercial while watching Melissa s TV movie and reportedly said I want that guy with that girl 15 This was Melissa s second attempt at a network series In an interview about Goldie and the Boxer her co star and producer O J Simpson mentioned that he first saw Michaelsen in an unaired ABC pilot a few days before the film was to begin shooting 16 Michaelsen received favorable reviews from both critics and her costars The New York Times singled her out in their review of Memories Never Die in which she co starred opposite Lindsay Wagner The entire supporting cast is uncommonly good but special notice might be taken of young Miss Michaelsen Her pouting sulking resentful Kathy is in startling contrast to the sunny Shirley Temple type she has played in such television movies as Goldie and the Boxer Like Miss Wagner she too is proceeding nicely with her career 17 Television writer Jerry Buck quoted Melissa s co star Joe Santos as saying that She s a terrific actress and a wonderful human being as he went on to praise her work ethic 15 Michaelsen made two more attempts at series television In 1981 she filmed a pilot for CBS The show was an attempt to bring the film Little Darlings to television 18 It never aired In 1984 Melissa made another pilot with a role as Stella Stevens youngest daughter in the western No Man s Land The two other sisters were played by Terri Garber and Donna Dixon The show was not picked up but the pilot was broadcast as a two hour TV movie 19 Aside from acting she has done public speaking during her youth For example in 1983 she was one of the keynote speakers at a conference on Indian unity 20 Later life EditFollowing her acting career Michaelsen spent some time as a representative for New York s Morgans Hotel Group 21 References Edit Me and Maxx TV Show Me and Maxx Television Show TV com accessed May 10 2014 Class of 1954 2003 2004 Dues Honor Roll tigernet princeton edu accessed May 10 2014 Princeton University Senior Theses Full Record Archived 2009 01 22 at the Wayback Machine libweb5 princeton edu accessed May 10 2014 Barbara Billingsley profile imdb com accessed May 10 2014 Rothenberg Fred December 15 1982 Memories Never Die Airs Tonight Gettysburg Times Thompson Ruth August 28 1982 Peter s Just One Fifth Of Active Acting Family Casa Grande Dispatch Casa Grande AZ Scott Vernon May 5 1981 Child Star s Luck Better Than In Film Daily Herald Chicago Code Red Wildfire TV com accessed May 10 2014 The Young Riders 1990 imdb com accessed May 10 2014 Seven Brides For Seven Brothers Episode Guide Archived 2007 06 25 at the Wayback Machine rdanderson com accessed May 10 2014 Orphan Train 1979 William A Graham AllMovie February 7 2005 Retrieved May 12 2020 Broken Promise 1981 TV imdb com accessed May 10 2014 Goldie and the Boxer 1979 TV imdb com accessed May 10 2014 Goldie and the Boxer Go to Hollywood 1981 TV imdb com accessed May 10 2014 a b Buck Jerry March 30 1980 Santos Bucks Cop Role To Play Father To A Blonde Charmer Daily Herald Chicago Vadeboncoeur Joan E December 30 1979 O J Forms Film Company Post Standard Syracuse NY O Connor John J December 15 1982 TV Memories Never Die With Lindsay Wagner New York Times Staff March 25 1981 SLURP Indiana Gazette Indiana PA No Man s Land tv yahoo com accessed May 10 2014 Conference Held In Sacaton Casa Grande Dispatch Casa Grande AZ December 20 1983 Bloom Jennifer December 4 1994 Neighborhood Report Upper West Side After 6 Years Landmark Eyesore Is Still an Eyesore New York TimesExternal links EditMelissa Michaelsen at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Melissa Michaelsen amp oldid 1062013492, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
