Jenilee Harrison

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Jenilee Harrison
Jenilee Harrison ABC photo, cropped.jpg
Harrison in an ABC television press photograph promoting Three's Company, early 1981
Born (1958-06-12) June 12, 1958 (age 67)
Occupations
  • Actress
  • cheerleader
Years active1978–2002
Known for Three's Company
Dallas
Spouse
Bruce Oppenheim
​
​
(m. 1993;div. 2022)​

Jenilee Harrison (born June 12, 1958) [1] is a retired American actress who appeared as Cindy Snow, a cousin of and replacement for blonde roommate Chrissy Snow on the hit sitcom Three's Company , between 1980 and 1982. She went on to play Jamie Ewing Barnes on Dallas from 1984 to 1986.

Contents

Career

Before breaking into show business, Harrison was a cheerleader from 1978 to 1980 for the Los Angeles Rams. [2]

Harrison was just 21 when she landed the role of Cindy on Three's Company after Suzanne Somers asked for a raise in salary, and her role was reduced. Both Harrison and Somers suffered in popularity. [3] As a result, Priscilla Barnes was cast as Terri permanently replacing Somers, while Harrison was made a supporting cast member and disappeared from the series after two and a half seasons, with producers saying she was too "inexperienced and unseasoned". [4] This period of her life was later dramatized in the television movie Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three's Company (2003) with Liz Crawford playing Harrison.

After Three's Company, Harrison continued with her acting career, appearing in the feature film Tank and the television series Dallas in which she played Jamie Ewing Barnes for two years. She reunited with her former Three's Company co-stars Suzanne Somers and Don Knotts in a guest starring role on She's the Sheriff in 1988. She performed with another Three's Company co-star Richard Kline in dinner theater for the play Shear Madness in Canada in 1992. [5]

She left showbiz in 2002 to focus on her real estate investments, caring for animals and car racing. [4] In 2017, she did reunite with some of the surviving stars of Three's Company for the show's 40th anniversary celebration on Antenna TV. [6]

Personal life

In the early 1980s, Harrison dated L.A. Rams guard Dennis Harrah and Major League Baseball star Reggie Jackson. [7]

In 1993, Harrison married Dr. Bruce Oppenheim, a Los Angeles–area chiropractor and the ex-husband of actress Cybill Shepherd. [8] Oppenheim and Harrison divorced in 2022.[ citation needed ]

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978 CHiPs CheerleaderEpisode: "High Flyer"
1979 240-Robert College Girl / JillEpisodes: "Stuntman" and "The Applicant"
1980–82 Three's Company Cindy Snow Main cast (32 episodes)
1981 The Love Boat Connie WilkerEpisodes: "The Three R's" (Parts 1 & 2)
1981 Fantasy Island Ginger DonovanEpisode: "Slam Dunk"
1981 Battle of the Network Stars X Herself - ABC TeamTV special
1982 Fantasy Island Jenny RyanEpisode: "Natchez Bound"
1983 The Love Boat Erica DupontEpisode: "Here Comes the Bride - Maybe"
1983 Malibu CindyTV movie
1983 Bring 'Em Back Alive StaceyEpisode: "The Shadow Women of Chung Tai"
1984 Fantasy Island Barbara JessupEpisode: "Games People Play"
1984 The Love Boat SheilaEpisode: "The Babymakers"
1984 The New Mike Hammer Shelley SteeleEpisode: "Shots in the Dark"
1984 Tank Sarah
1984–86 Dallas Jamie Ewing Main cast (69 episodes)
1985 Battle of the Network Stars XVIII Herself - CBS TeamTV special
1986 Simon & Simon Jennifer TuckerEpisode: "Just Because I'm Paranoid"
1987 The Love Boat: Who Killed Maxwell Thorn? Sarah YorkTV movie
1987 Hotel Brenda ThompkinsEpisode: "Class of '72"
1987 The New Mike Hammer MaggieEpisode: "Lady Killer"
1987 Murder, She Wrote SerenaEpisode: "The Way to Dusty Death"
1988 She's the Sheriff GraceEpisode: "Hair"
1991 They Came from Outer Space Dr. H.J. PretzelEpisode: "Play Doctor"
1991 Curse III: Blood Sacrifice Elizabeth ArmstrongAlternative title: Panga
1991Prime TargetKathy Bloodstone
1992Illicit BehaviorCharlene Lernoux
1995Karate Tiger 8: Fists of IronJulie Weaver
1999AbSlideTV movie
1999 That '70s Show CarolEpisode: "Red's Birthday"
2000The RedemptionSarah Snyder
2002The PowerHillaryTV movie

References

  1. ↑ "Today in history". ABC News . Associated Press. June 12, 2014. Archived from the original on June 15, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ Neuman, Joshua (October 23, 2015). "The Embraceable Ewes, L.A.'s First Pro Cheerleaders, Reunite". Los Angeles Magazine . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ Maksian, George. "Poll Has Some Bad News For Suzanne Somers". The Blade . Knight News Service. p. P2. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Miller, Victoria (January 15, 2022). "Whatever Happened to Jenilee Harrison from Three's Company?". Looper . Retrieved August 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Telpner, Gene (September 23, 1992). "Spivak upbeat about "Showstoppers"". The Jewish Post & News . Winnipeg.
  6. ↑ "'Three's Company' cast celebrates 40th anniversary with Antenna TV marathon". WPIX . March 10, 2017.
  7. ↑ Bricker, Rebecca (July 24, 1985). "Take One". People . Vol. 24, no. 2. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
  8. ↑ Ryon, Ruth (November 22, 1998). "'Bird' Leaves Los Feliz Coop". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
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