Editing Shirley MacLaine (section)

===1970–1976: Continued success===
MacLaine was top-billed in ''[[Two Mules for Sister Sara]]'' (1970), in a role written for Elizabeth Taylor, who chose not to appear in the movie. The [[Western film]] was a hit, primarily due to her co-star [[Clint Eastwood]], one of the top box office stars in the world at that time. The film's director, [[Don Siegel]], said of her: "It's hard to feel any great warmth to her. She's too unfeminine, and has too much balls. She's very, very hard."<ref>Patrick McGilligan, ''Clint: The Life and Legend'' (1999), p. 182</ref>

She then moved on to television, cast as a [[Photojournalism|photojournalist]] in a short-lived sitcom, ''[[Shirley's World]]'' (1971–1972). Co-produced by [[Sheldon Leonard]] and [[ITC Entertainment]], the series was shot in the United Kingdom. As part of the deal, [[Lew Grade]] produced the low-budget drama ''[[Desperate Characters (film)|Desperate Characters]]'' (1970).

MacLaine put her career on hold as she campaigned for [[George McGovern]] during the [[1972 United States presidential election|1972 presidential election]], including the Democratic primaries.

In 1973, her friend, writer and director [[William Peter Blatty]] wanted to cast her for the role as the mother in ''[[The Exorcist]]''. The role was eventually played by [[Ellen Burstyn]].<ref name="AFI Exorcist">{{cite web |title=Shirley MacLaine On THE EXORCIST |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2G15LwAvko |website=youtube.com | date=October 14, 2010 |publisher=American Film Institute |access-date=October 22, 2023}}</ref><ref name="EW">{{cite web |last1=Collis |first1=Clark |title=The Exorcist Legacy: The most head-spinning revelations from history of horror franchise |url=https://ew.com/movies/the-exorcist-legacy-book-revelations/ |website=ew.com |publisher=Entertainment Weekly |access-date=October 22, 2023}}</ref> MacLaine declined the part since she had recently appeared in another film about the supernatural, ''[[The Possession of Joel Delaney (film)|The Possession of Joel Delaney]]'' (1972).

MacLaine’s documentary film ''[[The Other Half of the Sky: A China Memoir]]'' (1975), co-directed with film and television director [[Claudia Weill]], about the first women's delegation to China in 1973, was released theatrically and on PBS, and was nominated for the year's [[Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film]].

MacLaine returned to onstage live performances during the 1970s. In 1976, she appeared in a series of concerts at the [[London Palladium]] and New York's [[Palace Theatre (New York City)|Palace Theatre]]. The latter of these was released as the live album ''[[Shirley MacLaine Live at the Palace]]''.<ref name="Discogs">{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Shirley-MacLaine-Live-At-The-Palace/release/2082726|title=Shirley MacLaine - Live at the Palace at Discogs |year=1976 |publisher=discogs.com|access-date=April 11, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Playbill">{{cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/article/shirley-maclaine-live-at-the-palace-gets-cd-release-april-23-com-105258|title=Shirley MacLaine Live at the Palace Gets CD Release April 23|date=April 23, 2002|publisher=[[Playbill (magazine)|Playbill]]|access-date=April 11, 2017}}</ref>