Arlene Francis
Encyclopedia
Arlene Francis was an American actress, radio
talk show
host, and game show
panelist. She is known for her long-standing role as a panelist on the television
game show What's My Line?
, on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 through the mid-1970s.
father was studying art in Paris
at age 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the Hamidian massacres
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire
in Anatolia
between 1894 and 1896. He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer, opening his own studio in Boston
in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of dogwood
s, "rabbits in flight," and other nature scenes, selling them at auction in New York.
When Francis was seven years old, her father decided that opportunities were greater in New York and moved the family to a flat in Washington Heights, Manhattan
. Francis remained a New Yorker until her son moved her to a San Francisco nursing home in 1995.
, Francis had a broad and varied career as an entertainer. She was an accomplished actress, with 25 Broadway
plays to her credit, from La Gringa in 1928 to Don't Call Back in 1975. She also performed in many local theatre and off-Broadway
plays.
Francis became a well-known New York City
radio personality, hosting several programs, including a long-running midday chat show on WOR-AM
that ran from 1960 to 1984. In 1943, she began as host of a network radio game show
, Blind Date
which she also hosted on television on ABC and NBC from 1949 to 1952. She was one of the regular contributors to NBC Radio's Monitor
in the 1950s and 1960s.
Francis was a panelist on the weekly game show What's My Line?
from its second-ever episode on CBS
in 1950 until its network cancellation in 1967, and also in its daily syndicated version from 1968 to 1975. The original show, which featured guests whose occupation, or "line," the panelists were to guess, became one of the classic television game shows, noted for the urbanity of its host and panelists. Francis also appeared on many other game shows, including Match Game
, Password
, and other programs produced by Mark Goodson
and Bill Todman
.
Francis was the emcee on the last episodes of the short-lived The Comeback Story
, a 1954 reality show on ABC
in which mostly celebrities shared stories of having overcome adversities in their personal lives.
Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954-57, she was host and editor-in-chief of Home, NBC
's hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president Pat Weaver
to complement the network's Today and Tonight
programs. Newsweek
magazine put her on its cover as the "first lady of television." She also hosted Talent Patrol in the mid-1950s.
She acted in several films, debuting in the role of a prostitute in Murders in the Rue Morgue
(1932), which had her falling prey to mad scientist Bela Lugosi
. Francis was cast even though her only acting experience at that point was in a small Shakespearean production in the convent school from which she had recently graduated.
In the 1960s, Arlene Francis appeared as the wife of James Cagney
in the comedy One, Two, Three
(1961), directed by Billy Wilder
and filmed on location in Munich
. She also made The Thrill of It All
(1963) and the television version of the play Laura (1968), which she had played on stage several times. Her final film performance was in the Wilder film Fedora
(1978).
Francis wrote an autobiography
in 1978 entitled Arlene Francis: A Memoir with help from a longtime friend, Florence Rome. She also wrote That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm in 1960 and a book/cookbook, No Time for Cooking, in 1961.
, which necessitated frequent business trips during which Francis stayed home alone. The marriage ended in divorce in 1945. In her 1978 autobiography, she writes of this experience. "Having made the actual physical break, it was easier for me than I had thought to explain to Neil some of what I felt, what I had been feeling for so long a time. Not all, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss even then, which would be too hurtful to him, I felt. I saw him fairly often, and he courted me as though we had just met, but I was building up strengths which enabled me to resist not only his blandishments (including a lovely little house which he bought in New York as an enticement to get me to change my mind) but those of my parents, who also would have given anything to see me go back to the status which had been quo."
Francis' second marriage was to actor/producer Martin Gabel
from 1946 until his death on May 22, 1986, of a heart attack. He was a frequent guest panelist on What's My Line?. The couple, who often exchanged endearments on the show, had a son, Peter Gabel
, born January 28, 1947, a law academic formerly associated with New College of California
in San Francisco and associate editor of Tikkun
. While working at the New York World's Fair
, son Peter surprised his mother as a contestant on a 1964 episode of What's My Line. Peter was with his mother when she died, on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco at the age of 93 as a result of Alzheimer's disease
and cancer.
Francis was known for a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her What's My Line appearances; the pendant was stolen by a mugger, as Francis was exiting a New York City taxi in 1988.
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
talk show
Talk show
A talk show or chat show is a television program or radio program where one person discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host....
host, and game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
panelist. She is known for her long-standing role as a panelist on the television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
, on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 through the mid-1970s.
Early life
Francis was born on October 20, 1907, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Leah (née Davis) and Aram Kazanjian. Her ArmenianArmenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
father was studying art in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
at age 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the Hamidian massacres
Hamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres , also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result...
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
between 1894 and 1896. He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer, opening his own studio in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of dogwood
Dogwood
The genus Cornus is a group of about 30-60 species of woody plants in the family Cornaceae, commonly known as dogwoods. Most dogwoods are deciduous trees or shrubs, but a few species are nearly herbaceous perennial subshrubs, and a few of the woody species are evergreen...
s, "rabbits in flight," and other nature scenes, selling them at auction in New York.
When Francis was seven years old, her father decided that opportunities were greater in New York and moved the family to a flat in Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
. Francis remained a New Yorker until her son moved her to a San Francisco nursing home in 1995.
Career
After attending Finch CollegeFinch College
Finch College was a baccalaureate women's college located in Manhattan, New York City, New York. It began as a finishing school for wealthy young women and later evolved into a liberal arts college...
, Francis had a broad and varied career as an entertainer. She was an accomplished actress, with 25 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
plays to her credit, from La Gringa in 1928 to Don't Call Back in 1975. She also performed in many local theatre and off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
plays.
Francis became a well-known New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
radio personality, hosting several programs, including a long-running midday chat show on WOR-AM
WOR (AM)
WOR is a class A , AM radio station located in New York, New York, U.S., operating on 710 kHz. The station has a talk format and has been owned by Buckley Broadcasting since 1987, after the station was sold by RKO. The station has conservative, or right-of-center hosts.Its call letters have no...
that ran from 1960 to 1984. In 1943, she began as host of a network radio game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
, Blind Date
Blind Date (1950s game show)
Blind Date was a television game show, also known as Your Big Moment, which aired on ABC, NBC, and then DuMont after many years on radio.-Broadcast history:...
which she also hosted on television on ABC and NBC from 1949 to 1952. She was one of the regular contributors to NBC Radio's Monitor
Monitor (NBC Radio)
NBC Monitor was an American weekend radio program broadcast from June 12, 1955, until January 26, 1975. Airing live and nationwide on the NBC Radio Network, it originally aired beginning Saturday morning at 8am and continuing through the weekend until 12 midnight on Sunday...
in the 1950s and 1960s.
Francis was a panelist on the weekly game show What's My Line?
What's My Line?
What's My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. The game tasked celebrity panelists with questioning contestants in order to determine their occupations....
from its second-ever episode on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1950 until its network cancellation in 1967, and also in its daily syndicated version from 1968 to 1975. The original show, which featured guests whose occupation, or "line," the panelists were to guess, became one of the classic television game shows, noted for the urbanity of its host and panelists. Francis also appeared on many other game shows, including Match Game
Match Game
Match Game is an American television game show in which contestants attempted to match celebrities' answers to fill-in-the-blank questions...
, Password
Password (game)
Password is an American television game show which was created by Bob Stewart for Goodson-Todman Productions. The host was Allen Ludden, who had previously been well known as the host of the G.E...
, and other programs produced by Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson
Mark Goodson was an American television producer who specialized in game shows.-Life and early career:...
and Bill Todman
Bill Todman
William S. "Bill" Todman was an American television producer born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest running shows with business partner Mark Goodson.-Early life:...
.
Francis was the emcee on the last episodes of the short-lived The Comeback Story
The Comeback Story
The Comeback Story is a half-hour drama reality show which aired on ABC from October 2, 1953 to February 5, 1954, in which celebrities explain how they overcame physical disabilities or other kinds of adverse fortunes in their lives.-Production history:...
, a 1954 reality show on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
in which mostly celebrities shared stories of having overcome adversities in their personal lives.
Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954-57, she was host and editor-in-chief of Home, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
's hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president Pat Weaver
Pat Weaver
Sylvester Barnabee "Pat" Weaver was an American radio advertising executive, who became president of NBC between 1953 and 1955. He has been credited with reshaping commercial broadcasting's format and philosophy as radio gave way to television as America's dominant home entertainment...
to complement the network's Today and Tonight
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
programs. Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine put her on its cover as the "first lady of television." She also hosted Talent Patrol in the mid-1950s.
She acted in several films, debuting in the role of a prostitute in Murders in the Rue Morgue
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)
Murders in the Rue Morgue is a 1932 horror film, loosely based on Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue". Bela Lugosi portrays a lunatic scientist who abducts women and injects them with blood from his ill-tempered caged ape...
(1932), which had her falling prey to mad scientist Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
. Francis was cast even though her only acting experience at that point was in a small Shakespearean production in the convent school from which she had recently graduated.
In the 1960s, Arlene Francis appeared as the wife of James Cagney
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
in the comedy One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three
One, Two, Three is a 1961 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and written by him and I.A.L. Diamond. It is based on the 1929 Hungarian one-act play Egy, kettö, három by Ferenc Molnár, with a "plot borrowed partly from" Ninotchka, a 1939 film co-written by Wilder...
(1961), directed by Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...
and filmed on location in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
. She also made The Thrill of It All
The Thrill of It All
The Thrill of It All is a romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison starring Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, and ZaSu Pitts. The screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner...
(1963) and the television version of the play Laura (1968), which she had played on stage several times. Her final film performance was in the Wilder film Fedora
Fedora (film)
Fedora is a 1978 American drama film directed by Billy Wilder. The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on a novella by Tom Tryon included in his collection Crowned Heads, published in 1976.-Plot:...
(1978).
Francis wrote an autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
in 1978 entitled Arlene Francis: A Memoir with help from a longtime friend, Florence Rome. She also wrote That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm in 1960 and a book/cookbook, No Time for Cooking, in 1961.
Personal life
Francis was married twice, first to Neil Agnew from 1935 to 1945. He worked in the sales department of Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
, which necessitated frequent business trips during which Francis stayed home alone. The marriage ended in divorce in 1945. In her 1978 autobiography, she writes of this experience. "Having made the actual physical break, it was easier for me than I had thought to explain to Neil some of what I felt, what I had been feeling for so long a time. Not all, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss even then, which would be too hurtful to him, I felt. I saw him fairly often, and he courted me as though we had just met, but I was building up strengths which enabled me to resist not only his blandishments (including a lovely little house which he bought in New York as an enticement to get me to change my mind) but those of my parents, who also would have given anything to see me go back to the status which had been quo."
Francis' second marriage was to actor/producer Martin Gabel
Martin Gabel
Martin Gabel was an American actor, film director and film producer.-Life and career:Gabel was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Ruth and Israel Gabel, who was a jeweler...
from 1946 until his death on May 22, 1986, of a heart attack. He was a frequent guest panelist on What's My Line?. The couple, who often exchanged endearments on the show, had a son, Peter Gabel
Peter Gabel
Peter Gabel, Ph.D., is an American law academic and associate editor of Tikkun, a bi-monthly Jewish critique of politics, culture, and society and has written a number of articles for the magazine on subjects ranging from the original intent of the framers of the Constitution to the...
, born January 28, 1947, a law academic formerly associated with New College of California
New College of California
New College of California was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President, Father John Leary. After 37 years, it ceased operations in early 2008....
in San Francisco and associate editor of Tikkun
Tikkun (magazine)
Tikkun is a quarterly English-language magazine, published in the United States, that analyzes American and Israeli culture, politics, religion and history from a leftist-progressive viewpoint, and provides commentary about Israeli politics and Jewish life in North America...
. While working at the New York World's Fair
New York World's Fair
New York World's Fair may refer to:* 1939 New York World's Fair* 1964 New York World's Fair...
, son Peter surprised his mother as a contestant on a 1964 episode of What's My Line. Peter was with his mother when she died, on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco at the age of 93 as a result of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and cancer.
Francis was known for a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her What's My Line appearances; the pendant was stolen by a mugger, as Francis was exiting a New York City taxi in 1988.