Killed at the age of 26 by the Manson family, Sharon Tate's promise as an actor was left
sadly unfulfilled. But during her tragically short career, she did manage to make her mark,
so here are all of her onscreen performances ranked worst to best.
1963's The Wheeler Dealers and 1964's The Americanization of Emily default to the bottom
of any list of Sharon Tate's performances for one simple reason: there's no surviving
footage of her to judge. By 1963, Tate had caught the attention of producer Martin Ransohoff,
who signed her to a seven-year contract. Her work in The Wheeler Dealers, produced by Ransohoff,
was likely cut. But what's significant is that Ransohoff had been extremely protective
of her image, careful not to overexpose her or put her in roles before she was ready.
In The Americanization of Emily, also produced by Ransohoff, Tate is credited as "Beautiful
Girl." As with The Wheeler Dealers, pretty much all we can say about this one is that
the fact that Ransohoff was putting Tate out there in movies meant that he thought she
had the potential to succeed.
Sharon Tate spent part of her childhood in Verona, Italy, where her Army officer father
was stationed. As a teenager, she and some friends stumbled upon a movie shoot and ended
up as extras. American movie companies often filmed in the area, recruiting extras from
the nearby army base, and Tate put her name in for any more extra work that came up.
In 1961, when she was 18, the production team for the religious epic Barabbas came to town.
The movie told the biblical story of Barabbas, whose freedom is granted by Pontius Pilate,
instead of Jesus Christ. Tate and two friends were selected to appear in some of the crowd
scenes that required a large number of extras in an era before digital crowds
Although it was a tiny non-speaking role, Tate's work in Barabbas is significant because
it impressed one of the film's stars, Jack Palance. He talked to her about acting and
offered advice for how she might manage a showbiz career. He then took the unusual step
of arranging for her to travel to Rome to have a film test done. That test didn't directly
result in any work, but the experience did encourage Tate to pursue a life on screen.
If you're not familiar with Mister Ed, it was a deeply silly sitcom about a talking
horse named, naturally enough, Mister Ed. It aired in syndication and then on CBS from
1961 to 1966, and it also featured Sharon Tate's television debut in the Season 4 episode
"Ed Discovers America." Martin Ransohoff got her the role to give her some experience.
She's officially credited simply as "Girl," and her performance consists of making out
with two different men and being nearly unrecognizable in period costume.
Ransohoff later brought Tate back to Mister Ed for the episode "Love Thy New Neighbor,"
and this time around, she had dialogue. She plays straight woman to the talking horse
in a brief bit in which Mister Ed tries to start a conversation, and says some relatively
sexist things to a harried telephone operator. These are very minor roles, so it's difficult
to extrapolate much about Tate's abilities here. But everyone has to start somewhere,
and she looks great, appears comfortable on camera, and demonstrates a knack for comedy.
By 1964, James Bond had inspired a full-on craze for suave secret agents, and The Man
from U.N.C.L.E. was one of the many properties cashing in. Airing on NBC from 1964 to 1968,
it featured American and Russian agents working for a secret international intelligence and
law enforcement agency.
Tate appeared in the Season One episode "The Girls of Nazarone Affair" and was credited
as "Therapist." She played one of four women who use a secret serum to gain incredible
strength. It's a small role, and her main function is to run around and look good. But
it's significant as the first significant screen time of her career. She's in plenty
of scenes, and she gets to show off her physical acting skills. It also served as a lesson
for Tate in Hollywood politics, as series lead Robert Vaughn was apparently fairly condescending
to her. That prompted Tate to surprise him with an unusually hard choreographed punch
to the stomach while shooting a scene, which in turn caused the crew to erupt into laughter
and proved that Tate was tough enough for the business.
"She was just dumbfoundingly attractive."
In 1966, Martin Ransohoff cast Tate in a small but pivotal role in the horror film Eye of
the Devil. She was supposed to make her big screen debut as a witch living on an ancient
French estate, but the film was plagued by production problems that had nothing to do
with Tate. Original lead actress Kim Novak was injured, and Deborah Kerr replaced her
and had to reshoot most of her scenes. Also the writer left, and no fewer than three directors
worked on the film.
This was Tate's first major role, and her performance is strange. A review in The New
York Times at the time described her acting as, quote,
"chillingly beautiful but expressionless."
The performance is indeed expressionless, but this also seemed to be a deliberate choice
for the character, who is meant to be supernaturally ominous. For her first major role, Tate achieved
what she needed to, as she proved she could do more than stand around and look pretty.
"What hypocrites you are. What stupid hypocrites."
If you want to watch an actress literally learn her craft right in front of your eyes,
then check out Sharon Tate's appearances on The Beverly Hillbillies. She showed up in
15 episodes of the CBS sitcom about a family of poor hillbillies who discover oil on their
property and move to Beverly Hills, California, where hilarity ensues. Once again, Martin
Ransohoff got Tate the role. She first appeared in the fourth episode of Season Two, "Elly
Starts to School," as a student named Mary. It was a disaster. As author Greg King noted
in his book Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders,
"It was hard for her to read a line."
Ransohoff leapt into action by signing Tate up for speech and acting classes, and insisting
that she apply new discipline to rehearsing her lines and working on her craft. It paid
off. When she later returned to the show, she had a regular role in a brunette wig as
bank teller Janet Trego. This role gave Tate invaluable experience, and it also demonstrated
that she could not only perform but also that she could take criticism and do the work.
"Do we get Possum Day off?"
"Get out of here!”
1967's Don't Make Waves is an odd film. It stars Tony Curtis as a middle-aged man who
arrives in hippie-central California and pursues a much younger surfer and skydiver named Malibu,
played by Tate. It's not exactly a comedy and not exactly a drama. As for Tate, Malibu
is a pretty shallow role; the actress' main job is to look beautiful. She was paid only
$750 a week for her work on the $4 million film, but it nevertheless ended up being her
breakout role. The marketing campaign heavily featured her in a bikini, and she also appeared
in a product tie-in with Coppertone. Photos of her in skydiving gear were even mailed
out to all branches of the Parachute Club of America.
Considering the limited size of her role, Tate does a good job, and she received decent
reviews for her performance. She's relaxed and funny, and more importantly she impressed
everyone involved with her work ethic and attitude, which convinced other directors
to cast her.
The Fearless Vampire Killers, also released in 1967, is a horror-comedy directed by and
starring Tate's future husband Roman Polanski, whose work as a filmmaker has long been overshadowed
by his flight from the United States in 1978, after pleading guilty to the rape of a 13
year old girl. Martin Ransohoff bought the American distribution rights to the film and
radically edited it for domestic audiences, much to Polanksi's dismay. But in both cuts
of the film, Tate stands out. This is easily her first truly good performance.
Tate conveys a joy and innocence that works well for her character, who's the love interest
for Polanski and victim of the local vampire. In a film that somehow combines silly slapstick
humor with genuinely chilling imagery, she imbues her character with a depth that isn't
in the script, as she uses facial expressions and body language to rise above being merely
pretty scenery.
Also known as 12 + 1, 1969's The Thirteen Chairs was the last film that Sharon Tate
worked on. She was pregnant during filming and some scenes had to resort to tricks to
hide her growing baby bump. This was also the film that best showcases what Tate could've
been had she lived longer. It's a perfect match of oddball comedy and Tate's own sensibilities.
Based on the 1928 novel The Twelve Chairs, which would be adapted again a year later
by Mel Brooks, the story concerns an Italian barber named Mario who travels to England
when his wealthy aunt dies, only to discover that his inheritance is just 13 antique chairs.
He sells them and then learns that a fortune in jewels is hidden inside one. He doesn't
know which one, though, so he teams up with an antiques dealer played by Tate to track
down each of the chairs.
Simply put, Tate is very good in this, as she handles the physical comedy and leans
into the absurdity of the film, as she and Mario go to ridiculous lengths to track down
and retrieve the chairs. When watching Thirteen Chairs, it's obvious that this should've been
the kind of film that Tate pursued throughout the rest of her career, as she had a genuine
talent for comedy.
The 1967 drama Valley of the Dolls was the film that firmly established Sharon Tate as
an actress. Overall, though, the movie isn't particularly great. Roger Ebert, for one,
wrote that,
"The story is so confused that we can hardly keep straight just who has done what, but
it doesn't matter: They all do something."
But despite the confusion, Tate stood out and was even nominated for a Golden Globe
for Most Promising Newcomer. The role of Jennifer North was custom-made for her. Jennifer is
an attractive actress who's insecure and worried that she'll only be appreciated for her body.
Tate's life up to this point prepared her well for the role, but that doesn't mean that
there wasn't any acting required.
Considering how famously bad the film is, the fact that Tate's performance could shine
through it all is very telling. She finds a real sadness and sense of injustice in a
character who exists solely for the melodramatic end that she meets. And even in that end Tate
captivates, looking glamorously despairing as she takes a bottle of pills and drifts
away.
"She's lovely. I bet 100 beads pop out every time she moves."
There's a reason Quentin Tarantino focused on The Wrecking Crew during the scenes with
Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, as it's hands-down Tate’s
best performance.
"That's me, the girl from Valley of the Dolls."
The Wrecking Crew was the fourth and final film starring Dean Martin as secret agent
Matt Helm. Martin was in an indifferent phase of his career, and the films aren't highly
regarded even as mildly funny parodies of James Bond.
Nevertheless, the clumsy and frustrated character Freya Carlson turns out to be the role that
Sharon Tate was born to play. She's easily the best thing in the film, and really the
only reason anyone talks about it or bothers to watch it today. She has great comic timing
and performs some excellent fight choreography. Her performance works as well as it does because
she takes it seriously even if none of the other actors do. If you ever had any doubt
that Sharon Tate had what it takes to be a big star in Hollywood, then just watch her
in The Wrecking Crew, and that'll be sure to change your mind.
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