Arlene Francis: Difference between revisions

Arlene Francis
Arlene Francis
	Francis in 1958
Born	Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907; Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	May 31, 2001 (aged 93); San Francisco, California, U.S.
Resting place	Roosevelt Memorial Park, Trevose, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Finch College
Occupations	Actress; radio presenter; television personality;
Years active	1928–1991
Spouses	; Neil Agnew; (m. 1935; div. 1945) ; Martin Gabel; (m. 1946; died 1986)
Children	Peter Gabel
Relatives	Seth Gabel (great-nephew)

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Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001)^[1]^[2] was an American game show panelist, actress, radio and television talk show host. She is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show What's My Line?, on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, on both the network and syndicated versions of the show.

Early life

Francis was born on October 20, 1907, in Boston, Massachusetts,^[2] the daughter of Leah (née Davis) and Aram Kazanjian.^[3] Her Armenian father was studying art in Paris at the age of 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the massacres perpetrated by the Ottoman government in Turkey between 1894 and 1896, known as the Hamidian Massacres.^[4] He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer,^[2] opening his own studio in Boston in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of dogwoods, "rabbits in flight", and other nature scenes, selling them at auction in New York.^[5]

When Francis was seven years old, her father decided that opportunities were greater in New York and moved the family to a flat in Washington Heights, Manhattan.^[6] She remained a New York resident until she entered a San Francisco nursing home in 1993.^[1]

Career

After attending Finch College, Francis began a varied career as an entertainer based in New York City.^[7] She became an accomplished stage actress, performing in many local theatre and off-Broadway plays and in 25 Broadway plays through 1975.^[8] In 1932, she made her film debut in Universal's Murders in the Rue Morgue.^[9] She appeared in films sporadically until the 1970s.

Francis became a well-known New York City radio personality, hosting several programs. In 1938 she became the female host of the radio game show What's My Name?.^[10] Although several men appeared as co-hosts over the years, Francis was the sole female host throughout the program's long run (on ABC, NBC, and Mutual networks) until it ended in 1949.^[11]

In 1940, Francis played Betty in Betty and Bob, an early radio soap opera broadcast.^[12]

In 1943, she began as host of a network radio game show, Blind Date, which she hosted also on ABC and NBC television from 1949 to 1952.^[2] From 1952 to 1961 she was a regular substitute for Dave Garroway on the Today Show. She was a regular contributor to NBC Radio's Monitor in the 1950s and 1960s and hosted a long-running midday chat show on WOR-AM that ran from 1960 to 1984.^[1]

Francis was a panelist on the weekly game show What's My Line? from its second episode on CBS in 1950 until its network cancellation in 1967, and in its daily syndicated version from 1968 to 1975.^[13]

The original show, which featured guests whose occupation, or "line," the panelists were to guess, became one of the classic television game shows, noted for the urbanity of its host and panelists.^[1]

She appeared on other game shows, including Match Game, Password, To Tell the Truth, and other programs produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman, including a short-lived hosting stint on the Goodson-Todman show By Popular Demand, replacing original host Robert Alda.^[14]

According to TV Guide, Francis was the highest-earning game show panelist in the 1950s, making $1,000 (equivalent to $9,000 in 2023) per show on the prime time version of What's My Line?. By contrast, the second-highest-paid panelists on TV, Dorothy Kilgallen and Faye Emerson, received $500 (equivalent to $4,500 in 2023) per appearance.^[15]

Francis was the emcee on the last episodes of The Comeback Story, a short-lived 1954 reality show on ABC in which mostly celebrities shared stories of having overcome adversity in their personal lives.^[16]

Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954 to 1957, she was host and editor-in-chief of Home,^[2] NBC's hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president Pat Weaver to complement the network's Today and Tonight programs. In 1954, she appeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine.^[17] She hosted Talent Patrol in the mid-1950s. In 1962, Francis was one of numerous people recruited to guest host Tonight during an interval period before Johnny Carson took over as host from Jack Paar. This made her the first woman to host not only Tonight but a national late-night U.S. network talk show.

She acted in a few Hollywood films, debuting in the role of a streetwalker who falls prey to mad scientist Bela Lugosi in Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932). In her memoir, Francis said she was cast for the movie even though her only acting experience at the time was in a small Shakespearean production in a convent school she had attended.^[18] Some sixteen years later, she appeared in the film version of Arthur Miller's play All My Sons (1948) with Edward G. Robinson.

In the 1960s, Francis made three films: One, Two, Three (1961), directed by Billy Wilder and filmed in Munich, in which she played James Cagney's wife; The Thrill of It All (1963) with Doris Day and James Garner; and, in 1968, the television version of the play Laura, which she had played on stage several times. Her final film performance was in Wilder's Fedora (1978).

In 1978, Francis wrote her autobiography, Arlene Francis: A Memoir, with longtime friend Florence Rome.^[19] In 1960, she wrote That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm,^[2] and she published a cookbook, No Time for Cooking, in 1961. She was a member of the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors from 1980 to 1982.^[20] Francis also guested on television programs including Mrs. G. Goes to College in 1962 in the episode "The Mother Affair".

Francis made sporadic television appearances throughout the 1980s, with her final appearances being during Mark Goodson's birthday party and on The Howard Stern Show with Robin Quivers and Kitty Carlisle, in 1991.

Personal life

Francis was married twice. Her first marriage, from 1935 to 1945, was to Neil Agnew, an executive with Paramount Pictures; they divorced in 1945.^[2]

She wrote of this experience in her 1978 autobiography:

Having made the actual physical break, it was easier for me than I had thought to explain to Neil some of what I felt, what I had been feeling for so long a time. Not all, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss even then, which would be too hurtful to him, I felt. I saw him fairly often, and he courted me as though we had just met, but I was building up strengths which enabled me to resist not only his blandishments (including a lovely little house which he bought in New York as an enticement to get me to change my mind) but those of my parents, who also would have given anything to see me go back to the status which had been quo.^[21]

As she disclosed in her autobiography, she admitted she never should have married Neil Agnew because she was not in love with him. During the marriage, she met producer and actor Martin Gabel and fell in love with him. He encouraged her to divorce Agnew, which was one of the sources of her torment because her parents loved Agnew like a son. After Francis divorced him to marry Gabel, they initially did not like Gabel for several reasons, including her divorce.

Francis's marriage to Gabel lasted from 1946 until his death in 1986.^[2] Gabel was a frequent guest panelist on What's My Line?. The couple, who often exchanged endearments on the show, had a son, Peter Gabel,^[1] born January 28, 1947, a legal scholar associated with New College of California in San Francisco. Peter Gabel was an associate editor of Tikkun, a Jewish-community commentary magazine. While working as a tour guide at the 1964 New York World's Fair, Peter surprised his mother as a contestant on What's My Line?.^[22]

Francis and her husband settled a lawsuit for $185,000 in June 1962 that had been filed by the widow of a Detroit man who was killed when a dumbbell fell from the Gabel family's eighth-floor Ritz Tower apartment and struck him on the head while he was visiting New York to celebrate his birthday.^[23] Francis, Gabel, and their son Peter were vacationing in Connecticut when the 1960 incident happened.^[23] Francis had instructed their maid to shampoo the carpet while they were away.^[19] The maid kept windows open for a long time to minimize the smell of the shampoo.^[19] The dumbbell was part of the equipment that Francis used for her regular exercise of weightlifting.

On May 26, 1963, Francis was involved in a serious car accident while driving alone from a theater on Long Island to the Manhattan studio where she was expected for a live telecast of What's My Line?. The force from a car that struck her car caused her to skid on the wet surface of the Northern State Parkway, jump the highway's concrete divider, and collide with a car containing five passengers, one of whom was killed.^[24] Francis suffered a broken collarbone, a concussion and many cuts and bruises.^[24]

Francis was known for wearing a heart-shaped diamond pendant, a gift from Gabel, which she wore on nearly all of her What's My Line appearances. A mugger robbed her of the pendant as she was leaving a New York City taxi in 1988.^[25]

Death

Francis died at the age of 93 on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco, California, from Alzheimer's disease and cancer.^[26]^[27] She is interred in Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Pennsylvania.^{[citation needed]}

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Smith, Liz (April 20, 1993). "Bravo for 'Normal Heart'". Los Angeles Times.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Vallance, Tom. "Arlene Francis obituary". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2001.
^ "Arlene Francis profile". FilmReference.com.
^ Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 4–5.
^ Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 11–13.
^ Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome (1978), p. 14.
^ Argrave, Caroline (April 2020). There's No Place Like Home: Arlene Francis and Domesticity in Doubt. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University. p. 45. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
^ Simonson, Robert. "Arlene Francis, Stage, Film and TV Actress, Is Dead at 93". Playbill. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
^ "Stage, Television Star Arlene Francis". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
^ "Television: The Perils of Arlene". Time. September 9, 1957. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
^ Dunning, John (1998). "What's My Name?". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 716. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Dunning, John (1998). "Betty and Bob". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0-1950-7678-3. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
^ Wakin, Daniel J. (June 2, 2001). "Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
^ Gross, Ben (August 31, 1950). "Looking & Listening with Ben Gross". Daily News. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
^ TV Guide January 8–14, 1954 page 6. Retrieved February 21, 2017
^ Marsh, Earle; Brooks, Tim (October 6, 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946-Present (Ninth ed.). Random House Publishing. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.
^ "TV's Arlene Francis: Pots and Puns". Newsweek. Newsweek Magazine. July 19, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2022.
^ Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.
^ "George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members". peabodyawards.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
^ Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. p. 59. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.
^ YouTube; retrieved June 24, 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Stroller Is Felled by Dumbbell Dropping 8 Floors in 57th St". The New York Times. June 24, 1960. p. 10. "Arlene Francis Sued; She and Husband Named in Death by Falling Dumbbell". The New York Times. January 12, 1962. p. 16.
^ ^a ^b "Arlene Francis Hurt in Crash; Woman in Second Auto Killed". The New York Times. May 27, 1963. p. 14.
^ "Thief Steals Arlene Francis' Heart". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. July 7, 1988. p. 4D. Retrieved December 17, 2017.
^ Willis, John; Monush, Barry (2002). "Obituaries for 2001: Arlene Francis". Screen World: 2002 Screen Annual. Vol. 53. New York: Applause Theater & Cinema Books. p. 355. ISBN 1-55783-598-5.
^ "Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV". The New York Times. June 2, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

Bibliography

Francis, Arlene (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. with Florence Rome. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-671-22808-8.

External links

Arlene Francis at IMDb
Arlene Francis at the TCM Movie Database
Arlene Francis at the Internet Broadway Database
Arlene Francis, Actress and TV Panelist, dies at 93
"Arlene Francis". Find a Grave. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
Television: The Perils of Arlene 1957 Time Magazine profile of Francis

[nytobit-1] Smith, Liz (April 20, 1993). "Bravo for 'Normal Heart'". Los Angeles Times.

[independent-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Vallance, Tom. "Arlene Francis obituary". The Independent. Archived from the original on October 28, 2010. Retrieved June 4, 2001.

[3] "Arlene Francis profile". FilmReference.com.

[4] Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 4–5.

[5] Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 11–13.

[6] Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome (1978), p. 14.

[7] Argrave, Caroline (April 2020). There's No Place Like Home: Arlene Francis and Domesticity in Doubt. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana State University. p. 45. Retrieved February 5, 2024.

[8] Simonson, Robert. "Arlene Francis, Stage, Film and TV Actress, Is Dead at 93". Playbill. Retrieved February 5, 2024.

[9] "Stage, Television Star Arlene Francis". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 5, 2024.

[10] "Television: The Perils of Arlene". Time. September 9, 1957. Retrieved February 5, 2024.

[dunningota-11] Dunning, John (1998). "What's My Name?". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Revised ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. p. 716. ISBN 978-0-19-507678-3. Retrieved August 25, 2019.

[ota-12] Dunning, John (1998). "Betty and Bob". On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. pp. 81–82. ISBN 978-0-1950-7678-3. Retrieved June 11, 2023.

[13] Wakin, Daniel J. (June 2, 2001). "Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV". The New York Times. Retrieved February 5, 2024.

[14] Gross, Ben (August 31, 1950). "Looking & Listening with Ben Gross". Daily News. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

[15] TV Guide January 8–14, 1954 page 6. Retrieved February 21, 2017

[16] Marsh, Earle; Brooks, Tim (October 6, 2007). The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946-Present (Ninth ed.). Random House Publishing. p. 275. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4.

[17] "TV's Arlene Francis: Pots and Puns". Newsweek. Newsweek Magazine. July 19, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2022.

[18] Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. pp. 18–19. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.

[Francis_1978-19] Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.

[20] "George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members". peabodyawards.com. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.

[21] Francis, Arlene; Rome, Florence (1978). Arlene Francis: A Memoir. Simon & Schuster. p. 59. ISBN 0-671-22808-0.

[22] YouTube; retrieved June 24, 2024.

[The_New_York_Times-23] "Stroller Is Felled by Dumbbell Dropping 8 Floors in 57th St". The New York Times. June 24, 1960. p. 10. "Arlene Francis Sued; She and Husband Named in Death by Falling Dumbbell". The New York Times. January 12, 1962. p. 16.

[ReferenceA-24] "Arlene Francis Hurt in Crash; Woman in Second Auto Killed". The New York Times. May 27, 1963. p. 14.

[25] "Thief Steals Arlene Francis' Heart". Kentucky New Era. Associated Press. July 7, 1988. p. 4D. Retrieved December 17, 2017.

[26] Willis, John; Monush, Barry (2002). "Obituaries for 2001: Arlene Francis". Screen World: 2002 Screen Annual. Vol. 53. New York: Applause Theater & Cinema Books. p. 355. ISBN 1-55783-598-5.

[27] "Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV". The New York Times. June 2, 2001. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American actress and TV host (1907–2001)}}
 {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
-{{short description|American actress and television host (1907–2001)}}
 {{Infobox person
 | name               = Arlene Francis
@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 | birth_name         = Arline Francis Kazanjian
 | birth_date         = {{birth date|1907|10|20}}
-| birth_place        = [[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S.
+| birth_place        = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
 | death_date         = {{death date and age|2001|5|31|1907|10|20}}
-| death_place        = [[San Francisco, California]], U.S.
+| death_place        = San Francisco, California, U.S.
 | resting_place      = Roosevelt Memorial Park,  [[Trevose, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
 | occupation         = {{flatlist|
@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 | years_active       = 1928–1991
 | education          = [[Finch College]]
-| spouse             = {{marriage|Neil Agnew<br />|1935|1945|end=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|[[Martin Gabel]]<br />|1946|1986|end=died}}
+| spouse             = {{plainlist|
+* {{marriage|Neil Agnew<br />|1935|1945|end=divorced}}
+* {{marriage|[[Martin Gabel]]<br />|1946|1986|end=died}}
+}}
 | children           = [[Peter Gabel]]
+| relatives = [[Seth Gabel]] (great-nephew)
 }}
-'''Arlene Francis''' (born '''Arline Francis Kazanjian'''; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001)<ref name="nytobit" /><ref name="independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/arlene-francis-729185.html| title=Arlene Francis obituary| newspaper=[[The Independent]]| last=Vallance| first=Tom| access-date=June 4, 2001| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028084735/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/arlene-francis-729185.html| archive-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref> was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show '' [[What's My Line?]]'', on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, on both the network and syndicated versions of the show.
+'''Arlene Francis''' (born '''Arline Francis Kazanjian'''; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001)<ref name="nytobit" /><ref name="independent">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/arlene-francis-729185.html| title=Arlene Francis obituary| newspaper=[[The Independent]]| last=Vallance| first=Tom| access-date=June 4, 2001| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101028084735/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/arlene-francis-729185.html| archive-date=October 28, 2010}}</ref> was an American game show panelist, actress, radio and television talk show host. She is best known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game show '' [[What's My Line?]]'', on which she regularly appeared for 25 years, from 1950 to 1975, on both the network and syndicated versions of the show.
 == Early life ==
-Francis was born on October 20, 1907, in [[Boston]], Massachusetts,<ref name="independent" /> the daughter of Leah (née Davis) and Aram Kazanjian.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/10/Arlene-Francis.html| title=Arlene Francis profile | publisher=FilmReference.com}}</ref> Her [[Armenians|Armenian]] father was studying art in [[Paris]] at the age of 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the [[massacre]]s perpetrated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman government]] in [[Turkey]] between 1894 and 1896, known as the [[Hamidian Massacres]].<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 4–5.</ref> He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer,<ref name="independent" /> opening his own studio in [[Boston]] in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of [[dogwood]]s, "rabbits in flight", and other nature scenes, selling them at auction in New York.<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 11–13.</ref>
+Francis was born on October 20, 1907, in [[Boston]], Massachusetts,<ref name="independent" /> the daughter of Leah (née Davis) and Aram Kazanjian.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/10/Arlene-Francis.html| title=Arlene Francis profile | publisher=FilmReference.com}}</ref> Her Armenian father was studying art in Paris at the age of 16 when he learned that both his parents had died in one of the [[massacre]]s perpetrated by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman government]] in Turkey between 1894 and 1896, known as the [[Hamidian Massacres]].<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 4–5.</ref> He emigrated to the United States and became a portrait photographer,<ref name="independent" /> opening his own studio in [[Boston]] in the early 20th century. Later in life, Kazanjian painted canvases of [[dogwood]]s, "rabbits in flight", and other nature scenes, selling them at auction in New York.<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome, pp. 11–13.</ref>
-When Francis was seven years old, her father decided that opportunities were greater in New York and moved the family to a flat in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]].<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome (1978), p. 14.</ref> She remained a New York resident until she entered a [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] nursing home in 1993.<ref name="nytobit" />
+When Francis was seven years old, her father decided that opportunities were greater in New York and moved the family to a flat in [[Washington Heights, Manhattan]].<ref>Francis, Arlene, with Florence Rome (1978), p. 14.</ref> She remained a New York resident until she entered a San Francisco nursing home in 1993.<ref name="nytobit" />
 == Career ==
 [[File:Arlene Francis.JPG|thumb|left|Francis c. 1950]]
-After attending [[Finch College]], Francis began a varied career as an entertainer based in New York City. She became an accomplished stage actress, performing in many local theatre and [[off-Broadway]] plays and in 25&nbsp;[[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] plays through 1975. In 1932, she made her film debut in [[Universal Studios|Universal's]] ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]''. She appeared in films sporadically until the 1970s.
+After attending [[Finch College]], Francis began a varied career as an entertainer based in New York City.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Argrave |first1=Caroline |title=There's No Place Like Home: Arlene Francis and Domesticity in Doubt |date=April 2020 |publisher=Louisiana State University |location=Baton Rouge, Louisiana |page=45 |url=https://repository.lsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6169&context=gradschool_theses |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> She became an accomplished stage actress, performing in many local theatre and [[off-Broadway]] plays and in 25&nbsp;[[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] plays through 1975.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simonson |first1=Robert |title=Arlene Francis, Stage, Film and TV Actress, Is Dead at 93 |url=https://playbill.com/article/arlene-francis-stage-film-and-tv-actress-is-dead-at-93-com-96974 |website=Playbill |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> In 1932, she made her film debut in [[Universal Pictures|Universal's]] ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stage, Television Star Arlene Francis |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2001/06/02/stage-television-star-arlene-francis/76aec651-9ff7-4674-8253-b98aca7834ae/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> She appeared in films sporadically until the 1970s.
-Francis became a well-known New York City radio personality, hosting several programs. In 1938 she became the female host of the radio game show ''[[What's My Name? (radio program)|What's My Name?]]''. Although several men appeared as co-hosts over the years, Francis was the sole female host throughout the program's long run (on [[ABC Radio Network|ABC]], [[NBC Radio Network|NBC]], and [[Mutual Broadcasting System|Mutual]] networks) until it ended in 1949.<ref name="dunningota">{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn |url-access=registration |quote=What's My Name, game show. |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=[https://archive.org/details/onairencyclop00dunn/page/716 716] |edition=Revised |access-date=August 25, 2019}}</ref>
+Francis became a well-known New York City radio personality, hosting several programs. In 1938 she became the female host of the radio game show ''[[What's My Name? (radio program)|What's My Name?]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Television: The Perils of Arlene |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,893650,00.html |access-date=5 February 2024 |magazine=Time |date=September 9, 1957}}</ref> Although several men appeared as co-hosts over the years, Francis was the sole female host throughout the program's long run (on [[ABC Radio Network|ABC]], [[NBC Radio Network|NBC]], and [[Mutual Broadcasting System|Mutual]] networks) until it ended in 1949.<ref name="dunningota">{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=John |author-link=John Dunning (detective fiction author) |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22What's+My+Name,+game+show%22&pg=PA716 |section=What's My Name? |date=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-19-507678-3 |page=716 |edition=Revised |accessdate=2019-08-25}}</ref>
-In 1940, Francis played Betty in ''[[Betty and Bob]]'', an early radio [[soap opera]] broadcast.<ref>{{cite journal|title=What's New from Coast to Coast|journal=Radio and Television Mirror|date=April 1940|volume=13|issue=6|pages=6–9|url=http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Mirror/40/Mirror-1940-Apr.pdf|access-date=February 25, 2015}}</ref>
+In 1940, Francis played Betty in ''[[Betty and Bob]]'', an early radio soap opera broadcast.<ref name=ota>{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=John |date=1998 |title=On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtRbXNca0oC&dq=%22betty+and+bob,+soap+opera%22&pg=PA81 |section=Betty and Bob |location=New York, NY |publisher=Oxford University Press |pages=81–82 |isbn=978-0-1950-7678-3 |access-date=June 11, 2023}}</ref>
-In 1943, she began as host of a network radio [[game show]], ''[[Blind Date (1950s game show)|Blind Date]]'', which she hosted also on ABC and NBC television from 1949 to 1952.<ref name="independent" /> She was a regular contributor to [[NBC Radio]]'s ''[[Monitor (NBC radio)|Monitor]]'' in the 1950s and 1960s and hosted a long-running midday chat show on [[WOR (AM)|WOR-AM]] that ran from 1960 to 1984.<ref name="nytobit" />
+In 1943, she began as host of a network radio game show, ''[[Blind Date (1950s game show)|Blind Date]]'', which she hosted also on ABC and NBC television from 1949 to 1952.<ref name="independent" /> From 1952 to 1961 she was a regular substitute for [[Dave Garroway]] on the [[Today (American TV program)|Today Show]]. She was a regular contributor to [[NBC Radio]]'s ''[[Monitor (NBC radio)|Monitor]]'' in the 1950s and 1960s and hosted a long-running midday chat show on [[WOR (AM)|WOR-AM]] that ran from 1960 to 1984.<ref name="nytobit" />
 [[File:Whats My Line original television panel 1952.JPG|thumb|right|The ''[[What's My Line?]]'' panel in 1952. From left: [[Dorothy Kilgallen]], [[Bennett Cerf]], Francis, and [[Hal Block]]; newscaster [[John Charles Daly|John Daly]] was host of the show.]]
 [[File:What's My Line 1965.JPG|thumb|Francis (left) with Cerf, Kilgallen, and Daly on ''What's My Line?'' in 1965]]
-Francis was a panelist on the weekly game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'' from its second episode on [[CBS]] in 1950 until its network cancellation in 1967, and in its daily syndicated version from 1968 to 1975.
+Francis was a panelist on the weekly game show ''[[What's My Line?]]'' from its second episode on [[CBS]] in 1950 until its network cancellation in 1967, and in its daily syndicated version from 1968 to 1975.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wakin |first1=Daniel J. |title=Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV |work=The New York Times |date=June 2, 2001 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/02/arts/arlene-francis-93-mainstay-of-what-s-my-line-on-tv.html |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref>
 The original show, which featured guests whose occupation, or "line," the panelists were to guess, became one of the classic television game shows, noted for the urbanity of its host and panelists.<ref name="nytobit" />
@@ Line 48: / Line 52: @@
 She appeared on other game shows, including ''[[Match Game]]'', ''[[Password (American game show)|Password]]'', ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'', and other programs produced by [[Mark Goodson]] and [[Bill Todman]], including a short-lived hosting stint on the Goodson-Todman show ''By Popular Demand'', replacing original host [[Robert Alda]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/450102366/?terms=%22arlene+francis%22+%22popular+demand%22|title=Looking & Listening with Ben Gross|last=Gross|first=Ben|date=August 31, 1950|work=Daily News|access-date=October 23, 2018|language=en}}</ref>
-According to ''[[TV Guide]]'', Francis was the highest-earning game show panelist in the 1950s, making $1,000 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|1000|1954|2020|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) per show on the prime time version of ''What's My Line?''. By contrast, the second-highest-paid panelists on TV, [[Dorothy Kilgallen]] and [[Faye Emerson]], received $500 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|500|1954|2020|fmt=eq|cursign=$}}) per appearance.<ref>''[[TV Guide]]'' January 8–14, 1954 page 6. Retrieved February 21, 2017</ref>
+According to ''[[TV Guide]]'', Francis was the highest-earning game show panelist in the 1950s, making $1,000 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|1000|1954|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}) per show on the prime time version of ''What's My Line?''. By contrast, the second-highest-paid panelists on TV, [[Dorothy Kilgallen]] and [[Faye Emerson]], received $500 ({{Inflation|US-GDP|500|1954|fmt=eq|r=-2|cursign=$}}) per appearance.<ref>''[[TV Guide]]'' January 8–14, 1954 page 6. Retrieved February 21, 2017</ref>
-Francis was the emcee on the last episodes of ''The Comeback Story'', a short-lived 1954 [[reality show]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in which mostly celebrities shared stories of having overcome adversity in their personal lives.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Earle|last1=Marsh|first2=Tim|last2=Brooks|title=The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946- Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&q=the+comeback+story|page=237|date=October 6, 2007|edition=Ninth|isbn=978-0-345-49773-4}}</ref>
+Francis was the emcee on the last episodes of ''The Comeback Story'', a short-lived 1954 reality show on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] in which mostly celebrities shared stories of having overcome adversity in their personal lives.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Earle|last1=Marsh|first2=Tim|last2=Brooks|title=The Complete Directory to Prime-Time Network and Cable Television Shows, 1946-Present|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w8KztFy6QYwC&dq=%22Comeback+Story,+The%22+%22Arlene+Francis%22&pg=PA275 |page=275|date=October 6, 2007|publisher=Random House Publishing |edition=Ninth|isbn=978-0-345-49773-4}}</ref>
-Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954 to 1957, she was host and editor-in-chief of ''[[Home (1954 TV series)|Home]],''<ref name="independent" /> [[NBC]]'s hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president [[Pat Weaver]] to complement the network's ''[[Today (NBC Program)|Today]]'' and ''[[The Tonight Show|Tonight]]'' programs. In 1954, she appeared on the cover of ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |title=TV's Arlene Francis: Pots and Puns|date=July 19, 1954 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1954-07-19_44_3/mode/1up|magazine=Newsweek |location= |publisher=Newsweek Magazine |access-date=October 5, 2022}}</ref> She hosted ''Talent Patrol'' in the mid 1950s. In 1962, Francis was one of numerous people recruited to guest host ''Tonight'' during an interval period before [[Johnny Carson]] took over as host from [[Jack Paar]]. This made her the first woman to host not only ''Tonight'' but a national late-night U.S. network talk show.
+Francis was a pioneer for women on television, one of the first to host a program that was not musical or dramatic in nature. From 1954 to 1957, she was host and editor-in-chief of ''[[Home (1954 TV series)|Home]],''<ref name="independent" /> [[NBC]]'s hour-long daytime magazine program oriented toward women, which was conceived by network president [[Pat Weaver]] to complement the network's ''[[Today (NBC Program)|Today]]'' and ''[[The Tonight Show|Tonight]]'' programs. In 1954, she appeared on the cover of ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine |last= |first= |title=TV's Arlene Francis: Pots and Puns|date=July 19, 1954 |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_newsweek-us_1954-07-19_44_3/mode/1up|magazine=Newsweek |location= |publisher=Newsweek Magazine |access-date=October 5, 2022}}</ref> She hosted ''Talent Patrol'' in the mid-1950s. In 1962, Francis was one of numerous people recruited to guest host ''Tonight'' during an interval period before [[Johnny Carson]] took over as host from [[Jack Paar]]. This made her the first woman to host not only ''Tonight'' but a national late-night U.S. network talk show.
 She acted in a few Hollywood films, debuting in the role of a streetwalker who falls prey to mad scientist [[Bela Lugosi]] in ''[[Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932 film)|Murders in the Rue Morgue]]'' (1932). In her memoir, Francis said she was cast for the movie even though her only acting experience at the time was in a small Shakespearean production in a convent school she had attended.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Arlene Francis: A Memoir|last1=Francis|first1=Arlene|last2=Rome|first2=Florence|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1978|isbn=0-671-22808-0|pages=18–19}}</ref> Some sixteen years later, she appeared in the film version of Arthur Miller's play ''[[All My Sons (film)|All My Sons]]'' (1948) with [[Edward G. Robinson]].
@@ Line 58: / Line 62: @@
 In the 1960s, Francis made three films: ''[[One, Two, Three]]'' (1961), directed by [[Billy Wilder]] and filmed in [[Munich]], in which she played [[James Cagney]]'s wife; ''[[The Thrill of It All (film)|The Thrill of It All]]'' (1963) with [[Doris Day]] and [[James Garner]]; and, in 1968, the television version of the play ''[[Laura (1968 film)|Laura]]'', which she had played on stage several times. Her final film performance was in Wilder's ''[[Fedora (1978 film)|Fedora]]'' (1978).
-In 1978, Francis wrote her [[autobiography]], ''Arlene Francis: A Memoir'', with longtime friend Florence Rome.<ref name="Francis 1978">{{Cite book|title=Arlene Francis: A Memoir|last1=Francis|first1=Arlene|last2=Rome|first2=Florence|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1978|isbn=0-671-22808-0}}</ref> In 1960, she wrote ''That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm'',<ref name="independent" /> and she published a cookbook, ''No Time for Cooking'', in 1961. She was a member of the [[Peabody Awards]] Board of Jurors from 1980–82.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/george-foster-peabody-awards-board-members|title=George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members|publisher=peabodyawards.com|access-date=October 3, 2015}}</ref>  Francis also guested on television programs including ''[[Mrs. G. Goes to College]]'' in 1962 in the episode "The Mother Affair".
+In 1978, Francis wrote her autobiography, ''Arlene Francis: A Memoir'', with longtime friend Florence Rome.<ref name="Francis 1978">{{Cite book|title=Arlene Francis: A Memoir|last1=Francis|first1=Arlene|last2=Rome|first2=Florence|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1978|isbn=0-671-22808-0}}</ref> In 1960, she wrote ''That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm'',<ref name="independent" /> and she published a cookbook, ''No Time for Cooking'', in 1961. She was a member of the [[Peabody Awards]] Board of Jurors from 1980 to 1982.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/george-foster-peabody-awards-board-members|title=George Foster Peabody Awards Board Members|publisher=peabodyawards.com|access-date=October 3, 2015|archive-date=May 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091724/http://www.peabodyawards.com/stories/story/george-foster-peabody-awards-board-members|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Francis also guested on television programs including ''[[Mrs. G. Goes to College]]'' in 1962 in the episode "The Mother Affair".
+Francis made sporadic television appearances throughout the 1980s, with her final appearances being during [[Mark Goodson]]'s birthday party and on ''[[The Howard Stern Show]]'' with [[Robin Quivers]] and [[Kitty Carlisle]], in 1991.
 == Personal life ==
 Francis was married twice. Her first marriage, from 1935 to 1945, was to Neil Agnew, an executive with [[Paramount Pictures]]; they divorced in 1945.<ref name="independent" />
-She wrote of this experience in her 1978 autobiography: <blockquote>Having made the actual physical break, it was easier for me than I had thought to explain to Neil some of what I felt, what I had been feeling for so long a time. Not all, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss even then, which would be too hurtful to him, I felt. I saw him fairly often, and he courted me as though we had just met, but I was building up strengths which enabled me to resist not only his blandishments (including a lovely little house which he bought in New York as an enticement to get me to change my mind) but those of my parents, who also would have given anything to see me go back to the status which had been quo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Arlene Francis: A Memoir|last1=Francis|first1=Arlene|last2=Rome|first2=Florence|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1978|isbn=0-671-22808-0|page=59}}</ref></blockquote>  As she disclosed in her autobiography, she admitted she never should have married Neil Agnew because she wasn't in love with him.  During the marriage, she met producer and actor [[Martin Gabel]] and fell in love with him.  He encouraged her to divorce Agnew, which was one of the sources of her torment because her parents loved Agnew like a son. After Francis divorced him to marry Gabel, they initially did not like Gabel for several reasons, including her divorce.
+She wrote of this experience in her 1978 autobiography: {{blockquote|Having made the actual physical break, it was easier for me than I had thought to explain to Neil some of what I felt, what I had been feeling for so long a time. Not all, of course. There were areas which I couldn't discuss even then, which would be too hurtful to him, I felt. I saw him fairly often, and he courted me as though we had just met, but I was building up strengths which enabled me to resist not only his blandishments (including a lovely little house which he bought in New York as an enticement to get me to change my mind) but those of my parents, who also would have given anything to see me go back to the status which had been quo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Arlene Francis: A Memoir|last1=Francis|first1=Arlene|last2=Rome|first2=Florence|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1978|isbn=0-671-22808-0|page=59}}</ref>}}  As she disclosed in her autobiography, she admitted she never should have married Neil Agnew because she was not in love with him.  During the marriage, she met producer and actor [[Martin Gabel]] and fell in love with him.  He encouraged her to divorce Agnew, which was one of the sources of her torment because her parents loved Agnew like a son. After Francis divorced him to marry Gabel, they initially did not like Gabel for several reasons, including her divorce.
-Francis's marriage to Gabel lasted from 1946 until his death in 1986.<ref name="independent" /> Gabel was a frequent guest panelist on ''What's My Line?''. The couple, who often exchanged endearments on the show, had a son, [[Peter Gabel]],<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=http://articles.latimes.com/1993-04-20/entertainment/ca-25103_1_normal-heart|title=Bravo for 'Normal Heart'|last=Smith|first=Liz|date=April 20, 1993|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> born January&nbsp;28, 1947, a legal scholar associated with [[New College of California]] in San Francisco. Peter Gabel was an associate editor of ''[[Tikkun (magazine)|Tikkun]]'', a Jewish-community commentary magazine. While working as a tour guide at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]], Peter surprised his mother as a contestant on ''What's My Line?''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYCkpfoCo5k YouTube]; retrieved July 29, 2013.</ref>
+Francis's marriage to Gabel lasted from 1946 until his death in 1986.<ref name="independent" /> Gabel was a frequent guest panelist on ''What's My Line?''. The couple, who often exchanged endearments on the show, had a son, [[Peter Gabel]],<ref name="nytobit">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-04-20-ca-25103-story.html|title=Bravo for 'Normal Heart'|last=Smith|first=Liz|date=April 20, 1993|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> born January&nbsp;28, 1947, a legal scholar associated with [[New College of California]] in San Francisco. Peter Gabel was an associate editor of ''[[Tikkun (magazine)|Tikkun]]'', a Jewish-community commentary magazine. While working as a tour guide at the [[1964 New York World's Fair]], Peter surprised his mother as a contestant on ''What's My Line?''.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIG4td7p47c YouTube]; retrieved June 24, 2024.</ref>
 Francis and her husband settled a lawsuit for $185,000 in June 1962 that had been filed by the widow of a Detroit man who was killed when a [[dumbbell]] fell from the Gabel family's eighth-floor [[Ritz Tower]] apartment and struck him on the head while he was visiting New York to celebrate his birthday.<ref name="The New York Times">{{Cite news|title=Stroller Is Felled by Dumbbell Dropping 8 Floors in 57th St. |date=June 24, 1960|work=The New York Times|page=10}} {{Cite news|title=Arlene Francis Sued; She and Husband Named in Death by Falling Dumbbell |date=January 12, 1962|work=The New York Times|page=16}}</ref>  Francis, Gabel, and their son Peter were vacationing in Connecticut when the 1960 incident happened.<ref name="The New York Times" /> Francis had instructed their maid to shampoo the carpet while they were away.<ref name="Francis 1978" /> The maid kept windows open for a long time to minimize the smell of the shampoo.<ref name="Francis 1978" /> The dumbbell was part of the equipment that Francis used for her regular exercise of weightlifting.
@@ Line 74: / Line 80: @@
 == Death ==
-Francis died at the age of 93 on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco, California, from [[Alzheimer's disease]] and cancer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Willis |first1=John |last2=Monush |first2=Barry |title=Screen World: 2002 Screen Annual |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmv4nFqwmJ8C&q=Arlene+Francis+died+of+cancer+and+Alzheimer%27s&pg=PA355 |volume=53 |year=2002 |publisher=Applause Theater & Cinema Books |location=New York| isbn=1-55783-598-5 |page=355 |chapter=Obituaries for 2001: Arlene Francis}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/02/arts/arlene-francis-93-mainstay-of-what-s-my-line-on-tv.html |title=Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 2, 2001 |access-date=November 29, 2014}}</ref> She is interred in Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Pennsylvania.
+Francis died at the age of 93 on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco, California, from [[Alzheimer's disease]] and cancer.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Willis |first1=John |last2=Monush |first2=Barry |title=Screen World: 2002 Screen Annual |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wmv4nFqwmJ8C&q=Arlene+Francis+died+of+cancer+and+Alzheimer%27s&pg=PA355 |volume=53 |year=2002 |publisher=Applause Theater & Cinema Books |location=New York| isbn=1-55783-598-5 |page=355 |chapter=Obituaries for 2001: Arlene Francis}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/02/arts/arlene-francis-93-mainstay-of-what-s-my-line-on-tv.html |title=Arlene Francis, 93, Mainstay Of 'What's My Line?' on TV |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 2, 2001 |access-date=November 29, 2014}}</ref> She is interred in Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, Pennsylvania.{{Citation needed |date=May 2024}}
 == References ==
@@ Line 83: / Line 89: @@
 == External links ==
-* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7JriOsllX0 Arlene Francis hosts 1950's game show ''Blind Date'']
+* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7JriOsllX0 Arlene Francis hosts 1950s game show ''Blind Date'']
 * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A5YDjD7k-M Arlene Francis Show with guest Sparky Lyle, WOR radio, October 26, 1977]
 {{Commons category|Arlene Francis}}
 {{Portal|Biography}}
 * {{IMDb name|290086}}
-* {{tcmdb name|id=64976%7C15170|name=Arlene Francis}}
+* {{tcmdb name}}
 * {{IBDB name}}
 * [https://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/01/nyregion/arlene-francis-actress-and-tv-panelist-93.html Arlene Francis, Actress and TV Panelist, dies at 93]
@@ Line 106: / Line 112: @@
 [[Category:American television personalities]]
 [[Category:Finch College alumni]]
-[[Category:Women autobiographers]]
+[[Category:American women autobiographers]]
 [[Category:Federal Theatre Project people]]
 [[Category:20th-century American actresses]]

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