A Deeper Look Into TV Superstar Morgan Fairchild's Amazing 50-Year-Long Journey

The Shy Child

Born on February third, 1980 as Patsy Ann McClenny, Morgan Fairchild spent her childhood in Dallas, Texas. Surprisingly, she suffered from acute shyness as a child. Any kind of public performance made her extremely nervous.

This severe problem became prominent, when in fifth grade, she almost fainted from nervousness while reading a book report in front of the class. Nobody could have ever imagined that this shy girl would become a future television superstar!

The Rescue Mission!

Taking her daughter's severe shyness seriously, her mother came to the rescue. She enrolled her in an 'expression class', at age nine. After enrolling, Fairchild's fate took a different turn altogether. After taking some introductory drama lessons, she started to perform in children's and dinner theater.

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By age 12, she was already working with theater companies around the Dallas area. As a teen, she also appeared in several television commercials for local television stations.

Uncredited Hollywood Break

Morgan Fairchild's first, but uncredited, Hollywood break came with the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde. In the film, she worked as a body double for lead actress Faye Dunaway. She was hired specially for the driving sequence, because she could drive a stick-shift, which Faye couldn't.

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The film's lead star, Warren Beatty, reportedly even asked Fairchild out for a date. Though Beatty had a notorious reputation with women, Morgan recalled that he was always very nice to her.

First Love

Morgan Fairchild found her first love in inventor, executive, and musician Jack Calmes. After dating for 10 months, they got married on 18th November, 1967. This was the same year that she landed her body-double role for Bonny and Clyde.

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Calmes was a notable figure at the time as the cofounder and founder of revolutionary lighting companies like Showco and Syncrolite. It was a fairytale ride for young Morgan, who was just 17 years old at the time of their marriage.

The Heartbreak

Unfortunately, not every fairytale story has a happy ending. In 1973, after just five years, the short-lived marriage of Calmes and Fairchild ended in divorce .

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According to the actress, they had a "rotten marriage." Fairchild believed that they married too quickly, and that she was too young and immature at the time. At one point, Fairchild even considered having a child in order to save her marriage, but she couldn't convince her husband.