ANNE FRANCIS: R.I.P.

Anne Frances - 1930-2011

Anne Francis was born Ann Marvak on Sept. 16, 1930, in Ossining, N.Y. She was working as a model by the time she was 5 and appearing on daytime radio serials by age 11. She also had some small roles on Broadway.

She began her movie career at MGM in 1947 and went on to act opposite some of the biggest male stars of the day.

In “Blackboard Jungle” (1955), she played the pregnant wife of an idealistic teacher Glenn Ford. Among her other films were “Bad Day at Black Rock” (1955) with Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan, “A Lion Is in the Streets” (1953) with James Cagney, and “Hook, Line and Sinker” (1969) with Jerry Lewis.

When her movie career declined, Ms. Francis became active in television. She appeared in dozens of series, including “Mission: Impossible,” “Gunsmoke,” “The Twilight Zone,” “Charlie’s Angels” and “The Golden Girls.”

Ms. Francis’s marriages to the actor and director Bamlet L. Price Jr. and Dr. Robert Abeloff ended in divorce. In addition to Ms. Uemura, she is survived by another daughter, Maggie, and a grandson.