Anne Francis

Bewitching Anne Francis in publicity for the 1952 film LYDIA BAILEY. Anne was born in Ossining, New York, on September 16, 1930. She made her first film appearance in “This Time for Keeps” (1947) and soon starred in a number of promising ingenue roles, including “Elopement” (1951), “Lydia Bailey” (1952), and “Dreamboat” (1952). At MGM, she found promising leading lady work in a few noteworthy 1950s classics: “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1955) and “Blackboard Jungle” (1955). Her best-known film role is that of Altaira in “Forbidden Planet” (1956), a science-fiction classic that was nominated for a best-effects Oscar. In the 1960s, Anne began refocusing strongly on the smaller screen, finding a comfortable niche on television series. She found a most appreciative audience in two classic “The Twilight Zone” (1959) episodes and then as a self-sufficient, Emma Peel-like detective in the cult series “Honey West” (1965), where she combined glamour and a sexy veneer with judo throws, karate chops and trendy fashions. Her movie roles were mostly confined to low-budget efforts: a call girl in “Girl of the Night” (1960), a scheming trophy wife in “Brainstorm” (1965), as Jerry Lewis's wife in “Hook, Line & Sinker” (1969), and as co-star to a young Burt Reynolds in the adventure movie “Impasse” (1969). An exception was her role as lead chorine Georgia James in “Funny Girl” (1968). For the next couple of decades, Anne remained a welcome and steadfast presence in a slew of television movies (The Intruders (1970), Haunts of the Very Rich (1972), Little Mo (1978), A Masterpiece of Murder (1986)), usually providing colorful, wisecracking support. A smoker for much of her adult life, Anne said that she quit the habit in the mid-1980s, but was diagnosed with nonsmall-cell lung cancer in 2006. The star passed away from complications due to pancreatic cancer on January 2, 2011 (at age 80).

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