Ally Sheedy At Age 12 On TO TELL THE TRUTH

Before she took her seat at THE BREAKFAST CLUB, a 12 year old Ally Sheedy wrote a novel. It was a NY Times bestseller back in 1975 when it was published called SHE WAS NICE TO MICE which was an illustrated children's book about mice and Queen Elizabeth.  I have a vague recollection of the book from my own childhood though I'm not sure I fully read it...I may have just looked at the pictures. 

Anyway, as a clever way of promoting the book, Sheedy made an appearance on the game show TO TELL THE TRUTH. (The fact that her mother is legendary literary agent Charlotte Sheedy may have helped make this happen--as well as maybe getting the book published too.) This game/chat show was one of my 70s' favorites as it always had cool celebrity panelists like Kitty Carlisle Hart and Gene Rayburn (from MATCH GAME, another fave!).  I came across this clip recently when a friend was putting together their own version of this show for a variety act and, while trying to find a clip of Jimmy Carter's appearance on the show when he was the governor of Georgia (actually turns out he was on WHAT'S MY LINE), I found a 12 year old Sheedy instead.  

It's a fun clip as Sheedy does not make a most convincing child author. We thought the red-head was better and, as it turns out, the red-head is the illustrator of Sheedy's book.