Sharon Gless Had a Few Complaints, Then Wrote About Them

When Sharon Gless was a teenager, she went to her grandfather, a prominent lawyer in the movie industry, for advice about her entering show business. "Stay out of it, it's a filthy business!" he told her. She didn't take his advice and, later, he turned around and helped her with money for her acting classes. It was well worth the investment: Gless has gone on to a long acting career, most notably for two roles: Sgt. Christine Cagney in the hit 1980s police procedural “Cagney and Lacey,” and as Debbie Novotny in Showtime's “Queer as Folk” in the early 2000s. She continued with series television with the role of Madeline Westen on “Burn Notice” from 2007 - 2013.

Last year Gless put her life experiences into her autobiography, “Apparently There Were Complaints: a Memoir,” which was just released in paperback. The New York Times called the book “a hilarious yet often affecting account of her metamorphosis: from the granddaughter of a film industry lawyer into the Emmy-winning actress behind one of TV's most iconic characters, the New York City cop Christine Cagney. The book's title captures its unflinching spirit: It's how Gless explained to a friend her decision to go to rehab, not long after Cagney struggled with her own alcoholism on the show.”

She won consecutive Emmy Awards in 1986 and 1987 for playing Cagney on the show during a six-year span when she and her co-star, Tyne Daley, dominated the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. (Daley won four times, while Gless was nominated each year from 1983 to 1988.)

EDGE spoke to Gless about just what people complained to her about, as well as her most memorable roles.

EDGE: Was writing a book something that you wanted to do?

Sharon Gless: Not at all. I went to an interview at CBS because “Burn Notice” was ending its long run. CBS heard that it was going to be canceled, and they asked me to please come in for a meeting. When I got there, CBS President Nina Tassler said, “Welcome home Sharon.” Attending that meeting was the head of comedy, drama, and the head of new series. I thought, "This is so fabulous." We talked for an hour, and I did my best entertain everybody. At the end of the meeting she said, “Sharon, we own Simon and Schuster, and we think you have a book in you.” I said, “Nina, I'm not a writer.” She said, “You may not be a writer, but you're a storyteller.” It took me seven years to write it.

EDGE: Now that your book has been out for a year, do you feel a little more exposed to the world?

Sharon Gless: No, I'm of that age where I don't care. My book is full of truths and I have nothing to hide. The book is titled “Apparently There Were Complaints” because there were a lot of complaints about me. It started when I was in Hazelden and there was a big scandal about my alcohol use right after "Cagney and Lacey" ended. Christine Cagney was a very famous alcoholic on television. I got out of Hazelden, a friend of mine said, “You were in Hazelden.” I said, “Yes, because apparently there were complaints.”

EDGE: Were there any hard places for you to go in the story of your life?

Sharon Gless: Some of it was easy because it's right there hanging over my shoulder. A lot of what I wrote, I remember so well. There were some things that were difficult to write about, but I knew I had to tell my truth. I wasn't afraid to tell it. A lot of these complaints came mainly from my grandmother. She was very hard on me, but she made me who I am today. I will admit it was painful at the times. My grandmother was very strict. She had 18 grandchildren, but when I was in my twenties, she told me I was her favorite. That's why she was so hard on me.

EDGE: Do you have a favorite complaint?

Sharon Gless: At the time, no, but they all are now. The one I was the most used to was about my weight and how fat I was when I was young. It was definitely not my favorite. I am surprised and very pleased with myself that I ended up having a lot of humor about myself. I was always able to make jokes about myself before anybody could. It's always the best defense.

I tell this story at the end of my book: My grandmother was formidable, and she held the purse strings. She was also emotionally unavailable. I tried so hard all my life to please her. A few years ago, before I finished the book, I went to a psychic and asked her about my grandmother. I told her that I am successful, married, and I'm respected in my work. Would you ask my grandmother if she is proud of me now? The woman disappeared for a minute and came back and said, “She's still proud of you.”

EDGE: You knew when you were young you wanted to be an actress. Has the appeal of the industry changed for you?

Sharon Gless: Well, they don't really create roles for women my age. That's how it's changed. I've been very fortunate with the roles I have played. I have done more series than any other actress on television except for one – the late great Betty White. I have one more in me, I don't want to be done yet. I just did a film, which I don't do many of. I was asked to do a feature with Pierce Bronson. I only have one scene in the whole script. They sent me just the scene. They said, we think you ought just read this scene in it, but it is the naughtiest, most shocking, and funniest scene I've ever done. It's funny because it's so shocking. The appeal has changed some, but I am still in love with the work.

EDGE: Out of all your groundbreaking roles, is there one you are most proud of?

Sharon Gless: The one that changed my life was “Cagney and Lacey.” I'm especially proud of it because all my other roles were to entertain and to make you happy. With “Cagney and Lacey,” I did not know quite what I was getting into or the responsibility that was being placed on me. This show changed the history of television for women. Up until “C&L,” there'd never been a drama series starring two women as the leads. They'd been Laverne and Shirley and Lucy and Ethel, but this one changed the history of television. We taught women to go after what they wanted and know that they deserved it. In every episode we were teaching women to go for it in a very realistic way. There will never be anything like it again.

EDGE: Tell us what impact that the role of Debbie Novotny from “Queer as Folk” had on you?

Sharon Gless: I went after that role because I'd put on a lot of weight after "Cagney and Lacey" ended, and it was not a good time in my life. I was doing a play in Chicago and was offered a role in a summer stock production of “The Lion in Winter.” I thought I couldn't do “The Lion in Winter,” so I got the best acting coach in Chicago. I was studying with him, but I didn't know that he was also an agent. He calls me one day and asks if I have ever heard of “Queer As Folk?” I said, “No, sorry I haven't.”  He told me it was a big hit in London and that Showtime is going to make a U.S. version and that there would be a part in it for me. I've never responded to a character like I did to Debbie. I knew Debbie was written for me. I picked up the phone and I called Showtime, and I told them I wanted this part. I spoke to the head of Showtime at the time, and he said, “Sharon, I like this idea. I think you'll bring a little class to this project.” I said, “Jerry, class is not what I had in mind.”

EDGE: What does the LGBTQ community mean to you?

Sharon Gless: I have to be very honest with you, when they placed that big LGBTQ pin on Debbie's striped rainbow vest I had to ask, “What's LGBTQ?” I didn't know what it was. I'm ashamed to tell you that now. The LGBTQ community is my family. I am celebrating, supporting, cheering, and helping to raise money for them. What it means is to me is what it accomplishes by letting those within the community know we are their family. If their own families turned against them, there's this other family that's theirs, and we'll fight and protect them.

I never realized the power that the show had until I got a letter from a young man who wrote, “I'm alive because of you.” He wrote his best friend killed himself before the show aired, but when “QAF” came out, he hung in there and believed his friend would still be alive if he had watched it. What a wonderful thing, but what a tragic thing. I am so proud to be part of a show that helped a generation of young queer people.

EDGE: What are you hoping the reader is going to take away from your story?

Sharon Gless: I hope they laugh, and I hope they will be touched by it. I hope they will discover feelings that I may not be expressing. I believe it will certainly make you laugh, make you think, and maybe make you cry.  Hopefully, it won't make people feel alone. I hope that they will see we have a lot of shared experiences.

EDGE: What's next for you?

Sharon Gless: Well, I'd like to be promoting a new series, but I haven't gotten it yet. I hope Netflix reads this. I have one left in me, and I believe I'll get it.

For more information about Sharon Gless and to purchase “Apparently There Were Complaints: a Memoir,”  visit, her website.