RIP, Anne Francis

[mark speck]

Another beloved icon of our youth has passed...
http://blog.zap2it.com/pop2it/2011/0...ic-cancer.html

RIP, Miss Francis, and thank you...

Best,

Mark

[sophisticated_soul]

"Forbidden Planet" was on the tube the other day. I was watching thinking about Leslie Nielsen. How young he was then and what a perfect couple he and Anne Francis made. Now they are both gone. Aside from being an absolute knock out Anne was a good actress too. "Honey West" was the "Charlie's Angels" of it's time, a fun show and way ahead of it's time and Anne made it what it was. That was one show the eight kids in my family could agree on watching! I had no idea she was 80. She did have a good run and will be remembered. Thank you, Anne Francis. Rest In Peace.

[GeeTee(HPK)]

I'm sorry to hear of her passing. They're currently showing the "Honey West" episodes on MeTV here in Chicago.
R.I.P.

[smark21]

Her Twilight Zone episode in which she's caught in a department store after hours and menaced by mannequins is a classic of that show. She died of pancreatic cancer, the same condition Aretha Franklin is said to have.

[arrr&bee]

Ahh man what a bummer,ann francis was a fox and a great actress...r.i.p.

[stephanie]

Smark that Twilight Zone episode of hers was spooky and one of the best ones in the pack.
I will always remember her as Honey West though great show, good story line and paved the way for Police Woman and Get Christie Love but I think it didnt last long because people were not ready for a lady cop yet.

[smark21]

Smark that Twilight Zone episode of hers was spooky and one of the best ones in the pack.
I will always remember her as Honey West though great show, good story line and paved the way for Police Woman and Get Christie Love but I think it didnt last long because people were not ready for a lady cop yet.

Honey West was produced by Aaron Spelling who would of course in the 70's produce Charlie's Angels, a similar show.

[sophisticated_soul]

Her Twilight Zone episode in which she's caught in a department store after hours and menaced by mannequins is a classic of that show.

I think the episode was called "The After Hours". And it truly is one of the best Twilight Zone episodes ever. When I saw it for the first time as a kid it scared the crap out of me. I started wondering if I was a mannequin, and my 30 days was up! LOL! She also did another episode called "Jess-Belle" where she played a lovelorn girl who becomes a witch to secure her love. It ended badly - for her. If I recall correctly she played the role in a black wig.

[stephanie]

Sophisticated after I saw that show as a child I actually went into a dept store and pretended
that I was a mannequin and scared someone. I did some research and found out she was on next to Gomer Pyle and that is why the show didnt get huge ratings but it was such a good premise. There are some episodes on youtube if anyone is interested in seeing it and how far ahead of its time it was.

Smark I did not know Mr Spelling did this that explains everything. Thanks for the knowledge.

[sophisticated_soul]

Sophisticated after I saw that show as a child I actually went into a dept store and pretended
that I was a mannequin and scared someone. I did some research and found out she was on next to Gomer Pyle and that is why the show didnt get huge ratings but it was such a good premise. There are some episodes on youtube if anyone is interested in seeing it and how far ahead of its time it was.

Smark I did not know Mr Spelling did this that explains everything. Thanks for the knowledge.

Stephanie, it might have been me you scared! LOL!! "The Complete Honey West" is available in a 4 disc edition. In the Amazon Marketplace, Import CDs has it for $23.00. I also didn't realize it was an Aaron Spelling Productions. I guess he came full circle with "Charlie's Angels".

[stephanie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uazUABgTGGw

Here is the mannequin episode for those who want to see it.

[mark speck]

Honey West was canceled by ABC because they felt it would be a lot cheaper to bring over a similar show from England rather than switch the show from B&W to color...that show was The Avengers. Spelling stole a storyline from an old Avengers episode for an episode of Burke's Law, and later remade that story as a Honey West episode.

Honey West was also Spelling's last hurrah as a producer for Four Star Television...he was one of Dick Powell's right-hand men for many years. Powell's death was the start of a decline for the company. Spelling admitted in his autobiography that he knew it was time to leave the company when someone scraped Powell's name off the door and went looking for other producing opportunities, eventually landing in an arranged partnership with Danny Thomas...that was Thomas-Spelling Productions, his first company, and after a couple of missteps, landed his first hit as an indie producer with The Mod Squad. The rest is history.

Best,

Mark

[sophisticated_soul]

Thanks for the info, Mark. I wasn't aware of most of this. It's good to know. And thank you for starting the thread, which was the first I heard of her passing.

[blueskies]

It's seldom mentioned that Anne was in "Funny Girl". A small role, but, she was certainly 'glamorous"!

[smark21]

It's seldom mentioned that Anne was in "Funny Girl". A small role, but, she was certainly 'glamorous"!

It was a much larger role during filming but Streisand demanded that Francis be cut out of the movie as she perceived Francis as a threat.

[stephanie]

Streisand jealous of Anne Francis! I am amazed at people who have loads of talent who want to diminish others for fear of competition Barbara was hot at this time I couldnt see Anne overshadowing her.

[brother_love]

Anne Francis R.I.P. [[1930-2011)

[sophisticated_soul]

Honey and her pet ocelot, Bruce. Great photo, Thanks.

[catwoman55]

That ocelot is gorgeous BTW, for those who can tune into the MeTV Network, they are running a tribute to Anne Francis this Saturday night, starting at 7 pm CST, with lots of episodes of "Honey West", as well as other dramas on classic TV shows where she had roles, years ago. Check your local listings or www.metvnetwork.com

[GeeTee(HPK)]

Thanks Cat for the info. I'll be tuning in tomorrow night.

[brother_love]

Anne was a beautiful lady to the very end....

[sophisticated_soul]

Wonderful photos. Thank you very much. Actually, I have not seen any of these before. Great choices.

[positivesoul]

' "Honey West" was the "Charlie's Angels" of it's time, a fun show and way ahead of it's time and Anne made it what it was.' -Soph Soul...Perfect description -Nuff said! [[except that I LUV'd that gorgeous lady!)