Shary Marshall, born Sharlayne Adell Williamson in Monmouth, Oregon, embarked on a journey to Hollywood after winning a beauty contest, and subsequently made two television appearances in 1958 under the pseudonym 'Shary Layne', prior to making an uncredited appearance in the film Gidget in 1959.
Throughout her career, Shary secured over 40 television roles between 1958 and 1967, with her credits listed as 'Shary Layne' from 1958 to 1961 and 'Shary Marshall' from 1962 onwards.
In addition to her television work, Shary made a limited number of feature films, including Panic in Year Zero! in 1962, alongside Frankie Avalon and Mary Mitchel, and Your Cheatin' Heart in 1964, directed by Gene Nelson, starring George Hamilton and Susan Oliver.
In June 1966, Shary found herself arrested alongside her then-boyfriend, heavyweight boxer Eddie Machen, for public drunkenness following an altercation at an all-night restaurant in Los Angeles.
Later in her life, Shary relocated back to the Pacific Northwest, where she married realtor Armand Santilli in 1970, her third marriage, which lasted 43 years until his passing at the age of 90 in 2013.
Following her husband's death, Shary sadly passed away six months later, succumbing to a stroke at her daughter's residence in California.
