Posted by Tom Stockman in General News, Obits | 3 Comments
Anne Francis, FORBIDDEN PLANET Star, Dead at 80
Her FORBIDDEN PLANET costar Leslie Nielsen passed just a month ago. Anne Francis was also known for playing the first female detective in a weekly TV series with ‘Honey West’. I’d met Ms Francis at Wonderfest in Louisville a few years ago and she was delightful and still very beautiful. Such a lovely and talented lady. RIP, Altaira
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Anne Francis, who played the first female detective to be featured in a weekly TV series in 1965′s Honey West, died Sunday of complications of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara.
Francis also starred in the 1956 science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and had roles in more than 30 movies, including Bad Day at Black Rock; Battle Cry; Blackboard Jungle; The Hired Gun; Don’t Go Near the Water; Brainstorm; Funny Girl; and Hook, Line and Sinker.
Honey West was introduced to ABC viewers in an episode of Burke’s Law in spring 1965. It served as the pilot for the half-hour series, which was executive produced by Aaron Spelling. In the show, Francis’ character inherited a Los Angeles detective agency from her father and had a partner (played by John Ericson) and a pet ocelot. She won a Golden Glove for her role in the show, which ran for 30 episodes.
Francis also appeared in many other TV series, including an episode of The Twilight Zone in which she played a department store mannequin that comes to life at night.
A native of Ossining, N.Y., the former child actress came to Hollywood and signed contracts with Fox and then MGM. She achieved cult status as one of the stars of MGM’s Forbidden Planet as Altaira, the daughter of the scientist played by Walter Pidgeon.
A longer obit can be found at the Los Angeles Times HERE
