Profile of Arlene Francis on Famous Like Me

Arlene Francis was born Arlene Francis Kazanjian on October 20, 1907 in Boston, Massachusetts, of Armenian descent. She died on May 31, 2001 in San Francisco, California at the age of 93 after a long bout with Alzheimer's disease and cancer.

Career

Arlene Francis had one of the broader and varied careers of any entertainer of the 20th century. She was an accomplished actress with 25 Broadway plays to her credit, from La Gringa in 1928 all the way up to Don't Call Back in 1975. She also performed in many, many local theatre and off-Broadway plays during her career.

Arlene was also a well known New York radio personality, having hosted several radio shows,including one that she hosted up until her diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease in the 1980s.

Arlene was also an accomplished game player, including some 25 years on the legendary US panel game show What's My Line. She appeared for the first time on the 2nd episode of What's My Line in 1950 and remained right through to the end of the syndicated version of the program in 1975. She also appeared on many other game shows, including Match Game, Password and essentially any other program that Mark Goodson and Bill Todman produced. The cable/satellite network GSN often programs Arlene's What's My Line? episodes in the early morning hours, and occasionally her episodes on other game shows.

Arlene was a pioneer for woman on television. She hosted the "Home" show for NBC in the early 50s and she later hosted "Talent Patrol" in the mid 50s. Arlene was one of the first women to host a non musical or dramatic program.

Arlene also acted in several films in her career, including "One Two Three" (1961), which co-starred James Cagney and the tv version of the play "Laura" (1968), which she had played on stage several times, including just after "What's My Line" went off of the air. Her film debut was as a prostitute in "Murders on the Rue Morgue" in 1932; her final film was "Fedora" in 1978.

Arlene wrote an autobiography in 1978 entitled "Arlene Francis: A Memoir." She also wrote "That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm" in 1960 and an entertaining book/cookbook, "No Time for Cooking", in 1961.

Trivia

• In 1960 a dumbbell she was using to prop open a window in her Manhattan apartment slipped out of its hold and fell eight stories onto a Detroit tourist who was in New York celebrating his 60th birthday, killing him. (as per [])

• In 1963 she was driving in the rain when she collided with another car, and the accident killed the driver. She suffered a concussion and a broken shoulder. (as per [])

• In 1988, while she was walking along New York's Lexington Avenue, a genuine piece of Americana was stolen from her when a thief snatched from around her neck the diamond-shaped necklace her husband had given her on their first wedding anniversary. The necklace had so graced her appearances on "What's My Line?" and so typified her portrayal of the sophisticated cosmopolitan that it had become a bit of an icon in fashion jewelry. (as per [])

• In Andy Rooney's Book "Common Nonsense," there is a story (pages 332-335, "The Cab Driver and the Gold Necklace") about a New York City taxi cab driver who commissioned Tiffany to make a replacement locket from the design sketches they had of the original. The cab driver presented the replacement to Miss Francis.

Personal Life

Arlene was married twice, the first time was to Neil Agnew from 1935 to 1945.

Her second marriage was to actor/producer Martin Gabel from 1946 until his death on May 22, 1986, of a heart attack. Her marriage to Martin Gabel produced a son, Peter Gabel, who was born on January 28, 1947, and who is currently (as of 2004) President of the New College of California in San Francisco, California.

Peter was at his mother's side when she passed away at the age of 93 in San Francisco, California.

External Links

• A Tribute to Arlene Francis
• Arlene Francis at the Internet Movie Database

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