Anne Francis, Star of TV's Honey West
Francis earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for her performance as the stylish private detective Honey West. She also co-starred in the classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet
Anne Francis, an actress best know for roles in the science-fiction film Forbidden Planet and as a private eye in the television series Honey West, has died January 2, 2011, at a nursing home in Santa Barbara, California 80.
According to news reports, the cause was complications of pancreatic cancer.
During the 1950s, Francis appeared opposite some of Hollywood’s most popular leading men, including Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Robert Taylor, James Cagney, and Glenn Ford.
Forbidden Planet, released in 1956, was a science-fiction retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, about a group of space travelers visiting a planet where an expatriate scientist, his daughter (played by Francis) and their helper, Robby the Robot, built a settlement.
Other movies of note included Blackboard Jungle, Bad Day at Black Rock, Rogue Cop, The Rack, A Lion Is in the Streets, and Hook, Line and Sinker.
In Honey West, which aired from 1965 to 1966, Francis was an alluring private detective in the mold of a female James Bond, able to defend herself with her martial arts skill as well as a gun. Adding to her cool factor, she kept an ocelot as a pet ocelot.
Although the series lasted just 30 episodes, Francis earned a Primetime Emmy he was nomination for her performance.
She was born Ann Marvak on September 16, 1930, in Ossining, New York. By age 5 she was working as a model, and by 11 she was appearing on daytime radio serials, which earned her the nickname the “Little Queen of Soap Operas.” She also had small roles on Broadway.
A contract with MGM brought her to Los Angeles. She later went to 20th Century-Fox, then returned to MGM —toggling between the two large studios allowed her to act opposite many of the biggest actors of the era.
After her first MGM contract she returned for a time to New York, and during that period she appeared in several shows from television’s Golden Age, including Studio One and The U.S. Steel Hour.
Later TV work included episodes of such series as
When her movie career declined, Francis became active in television, appearing in dozens of series, including Mission: Impossible, The Virginian, My Three Sons, Ironside, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Charlie’s Angels, The Golden Girls, Home Improvement and Nash Bridges.
Francis married twice; both ended in divorce.
Survivors include tow daughters and a grandson.