Anne Francis
Anne Francis was an American actress known for her role in the science fiction film Forbidden Planet and for having starred in the television series Honey West, which was the first TV series with a female detective character's name in the title. She won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in the series.
Background
Contrary to some sources, which erroneously claim she was born Ann Marvak, her parents' marriage registration and census records from 1925 and 1930 confirm that their names were Philip Ward Francis and Edith Francis. Francis was born in Ossining, New York, on September 16, 1930.She entered show business at a young age, working as a model at age five to help her family during the Great Depression. She made her Broadway debut at the age of 11.
Film
Francis made her film debut in This Time for Keeps. She played supporting roles in the films Susan Slept Here, So Young, So Bad, and Bad Day at Black Rock; her first leading role was in Blackboard Jungle. Her best-known film role is that of "Altaira" in Forbidden Planet, an Oscar-nominated science-fiction classic.Francis was the star of a provocative 1960 movie about a high-priced call girl, Girl of the Night. In 1965, she had a leading role in the William Conrad film noir Brainstorm. In 1968, she played the role of Georgia James in the feature film Funny Girl and in the following year, played Nancy Ingersoll in the comedy Hook, Line & Sinker. She also co-starred in Impasse, an adventure film starring Burt Reynolds.
Her distinctive physical features were her blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a small mole just to the right of her lower lip. The mole was even written into the script of one of her films.
Television
Francis found success in television and was a frequent guest star in 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s made-for-TV movies and series programs. She guest-starred on The Untouchables as the title character in "The Doreen Maney Story", and starred twice in The Twilight Zone. She also appeared in two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and three episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. She also appeared in 1961 on an episode of Route 66 as Jan Johnson.Francis also appeared in two episodes of the Western series The Virginian, two episodes of Columbo and in the episode "Incident of the Shambling Man" on the CBS western, Rawhide. She was cast in an episode of Gene Kelly's drama series, Going My Way, based on the 1944 film of the same name. During 1964, she guest-starred in two episodes, "Hideout" and "Rachel's Mother", of The Reporter, and made two successive appearances in The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
In 1965, Francis was cast as Honey West, a sexy private investigator who drove a Cobra and had a pet ocelot; the character was initially introduced on the ABC series Burke's Law, and then spun off as a series that lasted one season for a total of 30 half-hour episodes; its renown has lasted much longer than the actual series. She made a guest appearance in a 1967 episode of The Fugitive. She appeared in the 1967 episode, The Saucer, in The Invaders. Appears in Mission Impossible 1969, The Double Circle, Gillian Colbee. She guest-starred in a 1973 episode, "Murder In The Doll's House", of Barnaby Jones.
At the start of the final season in 1971 of My Three Sons, Francis played bowling-alley waitress Terri Dowling, who marries character Laird Fergus McBain Douglas of Sithian Bridge, Scotland, and returned to his homeland as royalty. She appeared twice as a guest star on Columbo, once as the manipulated lover of the murderer, and once as the murder victim.
In 1974, she appeared as Ida, the madame of a bawdy house on the series Kung Fu in the episode "Night of the Owls, Day of the Doves". In 1975, she appeared as Abby in an episode of Movin' On titled "The Price of Loving". In 1976, she appeared as Lola Flynn in an episode of Wonder Woman, entitled "Beauty on Parade". In 1977, she appeared as Lieutenant Commander Gladys Hope, the head nurse in two episodes of the World War II series Baa Baa Black Sheep. She portrayed Melissa Osborne in the episode "How Do I Kill Thee?" of The Eddie Capra Mysteries in 1978.
During the 1980–81 season of Dallas, Francis had a recurring role as Arliss Cooper, the mother of Mitch and Afton Cooper. She later played "Mama Jo" in the first few episodes of the 1984 TV-detective series Riptide. In that same year, she guest-starred in the premiere episode of Murder, She Wrote, credited as Anne Lloyd Francis; she went on to guest-star in two more episodes during the show's run. In December of 1984 and again credited as Anne Lloyd Francis, she guest-starred in a Christmas-themed episode of The Love Boat playing the mother of Kim Lankford's character, 'Carol' in the storyline, "Noel's Christmas Carol." She appeared on episodes of Matlock and The Golden Girls.
In 1996, she appeared in the Wings episode "The Lady Vanishes", as Vera, a 1940s gun moll-type character. In 1997 in Home Improvement episode "A Funny Valentine" as Liddy, Tim Allen's highschool classmate's mother. She guest-starred in 1998 on The Drew Carey Show as the mother of Drew's girlfriend Nicki in the episodes "Nicki's Parents" and "Nicki's Wedding". Francis' final television acting role was in "Shadows", a 2004 episode of Without a Trace.
Personal life
Francis was married to United States Air Force pilot Bamlet Lawrence Price, Jr. from May 1952 through April 1955, and to Robert Abeloff from 1960 through 1964; she never remarried after divorcing Abeloff.Francis was a Democrat and supported Adlai Stevenson's campaign during the 1952 presidential election.
Francis and Abeloff had one daughter, Jane Elizabeth Abeloff. Francis later adopted Margaret "Maggie" West in 1970, one of the first adoptions granted to an unmarried person in California.
In 1982, Francis published an autobiography, Voices from Home, subtitled An Inner Journey. On its book cover, she wrote that the book "is my spiritual expose. It is about our essence of being, the inner workings of mind and spirit which contribute to the growth of the invisible and most important part of us."
Francis studied flying toward the end of the 1960s, eventually earning her pilot's license.
Reception
In 2005, TV Guide ranked Francis number 18 on its "50 Sexiest Stars of All Time" list.Death
Anne Francis was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007. She kept her followers informed of her progress on her website. She died on January 2, 2011, aged 80, from complications due to pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, California. She was cremated and her ashes scattered at sea.Complete filmography
- This Time for Keeps – Bobby–Soxer
- Summer Holiday – Elsie Rand
- The Pirate – "Nina" Showgirl
- Portrait of Jennie – Teenager in Art Gallery
- So Young, So Bad – Loretta Wilson
- The Whistle at Eaton Falls – Jean
- Elopement – Jacqueline "Jake" Osborne
- Lydia Bailey – Lydia Bailey
- Dreamboat – Carol Sayre
- A Lion Is in the Streets – Flamingo McManamee
- The Rocket Man – June Brown
- Susan Slept Here – Isabella Alexander
- Rogue Cop – Nancy Corlane
- Bad Day at Black Rock – Liz Wirth
- Battle Cry – Rae
- Blackboard Jungle – Anne Dadier
- The Scarlet Coat – Sally Cameron
- Forbidden Planet – Altaira Morbius
- The Rack – Aggie Hall
- The Great American Pastime – Betty Hallerton
- The Hired Gun – Ellen Beldon
- Don't Go Near the Water – Lt. Alice Tomlen
- The Ten Commandments
- The Untouchables – Doreen Maney
- The Crowded Sky – Kitty Foster
- Girl of the Night – Robin "Bobbie" Williams
- Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Julia Reddy / Nyla Foster
- The Twilight Zone – Jess-Belle Stone / Marsha White
- The Satan Bug – Ann Williams
- The Virginian - Victoria Greenly
- Brainstorm – Lorrie Benson
- Funny Girl – Georgia James
- More Dead Than Alive – Monica Alton
- Hook, Line & Sinker – Nancy Ingersoll
- Impasse – Bobby Jones
- The Love God? – Lisa LaMonica
- Lost Flight – Gina Talbott
- Wild Women – Jean Marshek
- The Intruders – Leora Garrison
- The Forgotten Man – Marie Hardy Forrest
- Steel Wreath – Angel
- Fireball Forward – Helen Sawyer
- Haunts of the Very Rich – Annette Larrier
- Pancho Villa – Flo
- ' – Sarah
- ' – Nurse Sharon Martin
- Cry Panic – Julie
- The F.B.I. Story: The FBI Versus Alvin Karpis, Public Enemy Number One – Colette
- The Last Survivors – Helen Dixon
- A Girl Named Sooner – Selma Goss
- Banjo Hackett: Roamin' Free – Flora Dobbs
- Survive! – Anne
- Little Mo – Sophie Fisher
- Born Again – Patty Colson
- The Rebels – Mrs. Harris
- Beggarman, Thief – Teresa Kraler
- Detour to Terror – Sheila
- Dan August: The Jealousy Factor – Nina Porter
- Mazes and Monsters – Ellie
- O'Malley – Amanda O'Malley
- Charley's Aunt – Donna Lucia D'Alvadorez
- Return – Eileen Sedgeley
- A Masterpiece of Murder – Ruth Beekman
- Laguna Heat – Helene Long
- – Marjorie Post Hutton
- My First Love – Terry
- Little Vegas – Martha
- Love Can Be Murder – Maggie O'Brien
- The Double 0 Kid – Maggie O'Brien
- Lover's Knot – Marian Hunter
- Have You Seen My Son – Catherine Pritcher