a closeup of Shelley from a promo pic
for Cutter to Houston, 1983
Shelley starred in the 1983 TV series Cutter to Houston with then newcomers Jim Metzler and Alec Baldwin. The title referred to the computer link between the clinic in small town Cutter, Texas, and the Texas Medical Centre in Houston - a groundbreaking innovation at the time. Shelley played Dr. Beth Gilbert, an ambitious surgeon who wanted out of Cutter and had her eye on a big-city hospital in Houston. Jim played Dr. Andy Fenton, a general practitioner who grew up in Cutter and was happy to be home. Alec played Dr. Hal Wexler, an internist on probation for writing unnecessary prescriptions, who hadn't quite figured out whether he liked it there or not.
a writeup about Shelley in Cutter to Houston, 1983
Shelley was praised for her acting in Cutter to Houston and was considered by many as one of the bright spots in the TV series. After the vicious criticism she received when she was on Charlie's Angels, many were surprised by how far she had come acting-wise in her subsequent projects. By 1983, Shelley had impressed her critics when she performed onstage in the plays Vanities, Close Ties and Born Yesterday. On TV, she had delivered great work opposite acting veterans George Segal (Trackdown: Finding the Goodbar Killer), Dick Van Dyke and Sid Caesar (Found Money). But most notably, Shelley's performance in the Martin Scorsese film The King of Comedy opposite acting legend Robert De Niro was a big revelation.
Alec Baldwin, Shelley Hack and Jim Metzler
in a promo pic for Cutter to Houston, 1983
