Shelley with Jill Schoelen and Terry O'Quinn
in a promo pic for The Stepfather, 1987
Shelley starred in the cult classic movie The Stepfather which was originally released in theaters in 1987. It was directed by Joseph Ruben and had Terry O'Quinn in the title role. Terry played Jerry Blake (the stepfather), a man who has a knack of marrying into the "perfect" family and then killing the family off when he deems that the family is not perfect after all. Shelley played Susan Maine, the woman who marries Jerry and is willing look past the cracks on Jerry's façade. Jill Schoelen played Stephanie, Susan's daughter by her first marriage. Stephanie doesn't like Jerry, finds him creepy and is determined to find out who he really is. The screenplay was written by Carolyn Lefcourt, Brian Garfield and Donald E. Westlake. It was loosely based on the story of John List, the New Jersey man who killed his own family in 1971 and then disappeared.
a newspaper promo ad
for The Stepfather, 1987
Shelley was cast by the film's director Joseph Ruben who was impressed by her work in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy. "Shelley didn't have to test," said Ruben, "Shelley got it really off King of Comedy, because I thought she was just so believable and natural and easy. She doesn't strain on camera. And I was just knocked out by her in that movie." The film was shot on location in Canada and when it was released, Shelley told Channel Surfing: Charlie's Angels that she sneaked in alone when the film was being shown in theaters and got pretty scared with what she saw. Shelley received glowing reviews for her performance in this cult classic. The film has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray formats. A Collector's Edition Blu-ray of the film was released in 2024 in 4K Ultra HD format.
Shelley in a promo pic
for The Stepfather, 1987
