Dead, Anne Francis on January 2, 2011, she was an American actress known for her role in the science fiction film classic Forbidden Planet (1956) and for having starred in the television series Honey West (1965–1966) which was the first TV series with a female detective character’s name in the title.
Born as Ann Marvakin Ossining, New York, on September 16, 1930, however, based on her parents’ marriage registration and census records from 1925 and 1930, her parents were Philip Ward Francis (1900-1974) and Edith (née Albertson) Francis (1901-1995).
Francis made her film debut in This Time for Keeps (1947).
In her film career, 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 (1955). Her best-known film role is that of Altaira in Forbidden Planet (1956).
Her career as a child model led to acting roles on the children’s radio shows “Let’s Pretend” and “Coast-to-Coast on a Bus,” and she then moved on to radio soap operas.
In 1941, she also appeared on Broadway, playing Gertrude Lawrence as a child in “Lady in the Dark.” Francis arrived in Hollywood for the first time in 1946 and was signed to a contract with MGM.
But after a year of “grooming” at the studio, during which she had a small part in the Mickey Rooney musical “Summer Holiday,” the teenage Francis returned to New York, where she began appearing in live TV productions.
In 1965, Francis was cast as Honey West, a sexy private detective 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.
She made a guest appearance in a 1967 episode of The Fugitive.
he appeared in the 1967 episode, The Saucer, in The Invaders.
She guest starred in a 1973 episode, “Murder in The Doll’s House”, of Barnaby Jones. In 1968, she played the role of Georgia James in the feature film Funny Girl and in the following year, played Nancy Ingersoll (the wife of Jerry Lewis’ character) in Hook, Line and Sinker.
She also co-starred in Impasse, an adventure film starring Burt Reynolds.
For such a promising start and with such amazing stamina and longevity, the girl with the sexy beauty mark probably deserved better.
Yet in reflection, her output, especially in her character years, has been strong and varied, and her realistic take on the whole Hollywood industry quite balanced.
Twice divorced with one daughter from her second marriage, Anne adopted (as a single mother) a girl back in 1970 in California.
She has long been involved with a metaphysical-based church, channelling her own thoughts and feelings into the inspirational 1982 book “Voices from Home: An Inner Journey”.
Lately, she has spent more time off-camera and involved in such charitable programs as “Direct Relief”, “Angel View” and the “Desert AIDS Project”, among others.