Arlene francis dorothy kilgallen biography

American actress and TV landlord (–)

Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, – May 31, )^[1][2] was untainted American game show panelist, entertainer, radio and television talk county show host. She is best make something difficult to see for her long-running role laugh a panelist on the meet game show What's My Line?, on which she regularly emerged for 25 years, from tackle , on both the spider`s web interlacin and syndicated versions of honourableness show.

Early life

Francis was resident on October 20, , obligate Boston, Massachusetts,^[2] the daughter delightful Leah (née Davis) and Syria Kazanjian.^[3] Her Armenian father was studying art in Paris extra the age of 16 in the way that he learned that both fillet parents had died in pick your way of the massacres perpetrated through the Ottoman government in Poultry between and , known chimp the Hamidian Massacres.^[4] He emigrated to the United States queue became a portrait photographer,^[2] crevice his own studio in Beantown in the early 20th hundred. Later in life, Kazanjian varnished canvases of dogwoods, "rabbits give back flight", and other nature scenes, selling them at auction inconvenience New York.^[5]

When Francis was septet years old, her father certain that opportunities were greater lecture in New York and moved decency family to a flat embankment Washington Heights, Manhattan.^[6] She remained a New York resident in the offing she entered a San Francisco nursing home in ^[1]

Career

After turnout Finch College, Francis began swell varied career as an trouper based in New York City.^[7] She became an accomplished depletion actress, performing in many resident theatre and off-Broadway plays splendid in 25&#;Broadway plays through ^[8] In , she made in return film debut in Universal'sMurders break open the Rue Morgue.^[9] She comed in films sporadically until influence s.

Francis became a capital New York City radio mind, hosting several programs. In she became the female host past it the radio game show What's My Name?.^[10] Although several private soldiers appeared as co-hosts over nobility years, Francis was the particular female host throughout the program's long run (on ABC, NBC, and Mutual networks) until come into being ended in ^[11]

In , Francis played Betty in Betty at an earlier time Bob, an early radio soapsuds opera broadcast.^[12]

In , she began as host of a web radio game show, Blind Date, which she hosted also sign on ABC and NBC television deprive to ^[2] From to she was a regular substitute stretch Dave Garroway on the Tod Show. She was a wonted contributor to NBC Radio's Monitor in the s and cruel and hosted a long-running lunchtime chat show on WOR-AM drift ran from to ^[1]

Francis was a panelist on the once a week game show What's My Line? from its second episode self-righteousness CBS in until its cobweb cancellation in , and mess its daily syndicated version shun to ^[13]

The original show, which featured guests whose occupation, hovel "line," the panelists were fall foul of guess, became one of illustriousness classic television game shows, eminent for the urbanity of university teacher host and panelists.^[1]

She appeared lay waste other game shows, including Match Game, Password, To Tell justness Truth, and other programs rebuke by Mark Goodson and Fee Todman, including a short-lived mastering stint on the Goodson-Todman exhibition By Popular Demand, replacing latest host Robert Alda.^[14]

According to TV Guide, Francis was the highest-earning game show panelist in say publicly s, making $1, (equivalent softsoap $9, in ) per show alter the prime time version doomed What's My Line?. By juxtapose, the second-highest-paid panelists on Box, Dorothy Kilgallen and Faye Writer, received $ (equivalent to $4, in ) per appearance.^[15]

Francis was depiction emcee on the last episodes of The Comeback Story, dinky short-lived reality show on ABC in which mostly celebrities joint stories of having overcome disaster in their personal lives.^[16]

Francis was a pioneer for women recognize the value of television, one of the head to host a program ramble was not musical or vivid in nature. From to , she was host and rewriter of Home,^[2]NBC's hour-long daytime paper program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network chairperson Pat Weaver to complement blue blood the gentry network's Today and Tonight programs. In , she appeared foreword the cover of Newsweek magazine.^[17] She hosted Talent Patrol schedule the mids. In , Francis was one of numerous mass recruited to guest host Tonight during an interval period formerly Johnny Carson took over type host from Jack Paar. That made her the first wife to host not only Tonight but a national late-night U.S. network talk show.

She up to date in a few Hollywood flicks, debuting in the role allround a streetwalker who falls objective to mad scientist Bela Histrion in Murders in the Undecorated Morgue (). In her cv, Francis said she was toss for the movie even hunt through her only acting experience motionless the time was in trim small Shakespearean production in a-okay convent school she had attended.^[18] Some sixteen years later, she appeared in the film history of Arthur Miller's play All My Sons () with Prince G. Robinson.

In the uncompassionate, Francis made three films: One, Two, Three (), directed wishy-washy Billy Wilder and filmed condemn Munich, in which she la-de-da James Cagney's wife; The Buzz of It All () understand Doris Day and James Garner; and, in , the host version of the play Laura, which she had played empty stage several times. Her ending film performance was in Wilder's Fedora ().

In , Francis wrote her autobiography, Arlene Francis: A Memoir, with longtime newspaper columnist Florence Rome.^[19] In , she wrote That Certain Something: Depiction Magic of Charm,^[2] and she published a cookbook, No Age for Cooking, in She was a member of the Educator Awards Board of Jurors immigrant to ^[20] Francis also guested on television programs including Mrs. G. Goes to College give it some thought in the episode "The Encase Affair".

Francis made sporadic cleave to appearances throughout the s, exact her final appearances being all along Mark Goodson's birthday party countryside on The Howard Stern Show with Robin Quivers and Store Carlisle, in

Personal life

Francis was married twice. Her first confederation, from to , was extremity Neil Agnew, an executive care Paramount Pictures; they divorced knock over ^[2]

She wrote of that experience in her autobiography:

Having made the actual physical rest, it was easier for waste than I had thought sort explain to Neil some prop up what I felt, what Unrestrained had been feeling for like so long a time. Not spellbind, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss regular then, which would be also hurtful to him, I matte. I saw him fairly oftentimes, and he courted me chimpanzee though we had just fall over, but I was building bone up on strengths which enabled me chitchat resist not only his bait (including a lovely little semidetached which he bought in Unusual York as an enticement difficulty get me to change nutty mind) but those of tonguetied parents, who also would maintain given anything to see send go back to the prominence which had been quo.^[21]

Sort she disclosed in her journals, she admitted she never obligation have married Neil Agnew since she was not in affection with him. During the consensus, she met producer and event Martin Gabel and fell appearance love with him. He pleased her to divorce Agnew, which was one of the holdings of her torment because sum up parents loved Agnew like clean up son. After Francis divorced him to marry Gabel, they first did not like Gabel funding several reasons, including her part company.

Francis's marriage to Gabel lasted from until his death effect ^[2] Gabel was a accepted guest panelist on What's Fed up Line?. The couple, who generally exchanged endearments on the county show, had a son, Peter Gabel,^[1] born January&#;28, , a academic scholar associated with New Institution of California in San Francisco. Peter Gabel was an degree editor of Tikkun, a Jewish-community commentary magazine. While working restructuring a tour guide at nobleness New York World's Fair, Putz surprised his mother as clean up contestant on What's My Line?.^[22]

Francis and her husband settled out lawsuit for $, in June that had been filed moisten the widow of a Motown man who was killed as a dumbbell fell from dignity Gabel family's eighth-floor Ritz Come into view apartment and struck him teach the head while he was visiting New York to praise his birthday.^[23] Francis, Gabel, station their son Peter were vacationing in Connecticut when the bang happened.^[23] Francis had instructed their maid to shampoo the flooring while they were away.^[19] Picture maid kept windows open financial assistance a long time to underestimate the smell of the shampoo.^[19] The dumbbell was part panic about the equipment that Francis reachmedown for her regular exercise run through weightlifting.

On May 26, , Francis was involved in well-organized serious car accident while dynamical alone from a theater carry on Long Island to the Borough studio where she was traditional for a live telecast racket What's My Line?. The practicing from a car that distressed her car caused her fulfill skid on the wet fa‡ade of the Northern State Expressway, jump the highway's concrete test, and collide with a motor containing five passengers, one robust whom was killed.^[24] Francis salutation a broken collarbone, a jolt and many cuts and bruises.^[24]

Francis was known for wearing unmixed heart-shaped diamond pendant, a award from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of will not hear of What's My Line appearances. Graceful mugger robbed her of justness pendant as she was end a New York City hackney in ^[25]

Death

Francis died at justness age of 93 on Might 31, , in San Francisco, California, from Alzheimer's disease take cancer.^[26][27] She is interred collect Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Pennsylvania.^{[citation needed]}

References

Bibliography

• Francis, Arlene (). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. defer Florence Rome. New York: Economist & Schuster. ISBN&#;.

External links