Entertainer. She was half of the comic team of Shields and Yarnell, who won popularity on US television during the 1970s. Raised in Southern California, she studied dance from age four, and was an accomplished performer by her mid-teens. After dancing on "The Dean Martin Show", "The Carol Burnett Show", and other television variety fare of the day, she met mime Robert Shields while working on the 1972 television special "Fol-de Rol". The pair moved to San Francisco where they supported themselves as street performers in Union Square and Ghirardelli Square. Married in an October 1972 Union Square ceremony, they returned to Los Angeles in 1975 and became regulars on "The Mac Davis Show". After numerous appearances on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour", the couple had their own "Shields and Yarnell" show on CBS in 1977 and 1978. Most noted as the robot couple "The Clinkers", their mixture of comedy, dance, and mime was well-received, but competition from ABC's "Laverne & Shirley" doomed their ratings. The team then headlined in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and elsewhere, while appearing in commercials and on television specials. Divorced in 1986, Shields and Yarnell continued their professional partnership until 2009. Yarnell appeared as the robot Dot Matrix in Mel Brooks' 1987 "Spaceballs", and in 1998 married her fourth husband, Bjorn Jansson, and moved to Norway. She had her own studio where she taught various types of dance until her sudden death from a brain aneurysm.
Entertainer. She was half of the comic team of Shields and Yarnell, who won popularity on US television during the 1970s. Raised in Southern California, she studied dance from age four, and was an accomplished performer by her mid-teens. After dancing on "The Dean Martin Show", "The Carol Burnett Show", and other television variety fare of the day, she met mime Robert Shields while working on the 1972 television special "Fol-de Rol". The pair moved to San Francisco where they supported themselves as street performers in Union Square and Ghirardelli Square. Married in an October 1972 Union Square ceremony, they returned to Los Angeles in 1975 and became regulars on "The Mac Davis Show". After numerous appearances on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour", the couple had their own "Shields and Yarnell" show on CBS in 1977 and 1978. Most noted as the robot couple "The Clinkers", their mixture of comedy, dance, and mime was well-received, but competition from ABC's "Laverne & Shirley" doomed their ratings. The team then headlined in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, and elsewhere, while appearing in commercials and on television specials. Divorced in 1986, Shields and Yarnell continued their professional partnership until 2009. Yarnell appeared as the robot Dot Matrix in Mel Brooks' 1987 "Spaceballs", and in 1998 married her fourth husband, Bjorn Jansson, and moved to Norway. She had her own studio where she taught various types of dance until her sudden death from a brain aneurysm.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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