According to The Hollywood Reporter, television vet and character actor James B. Sikking was announced by his publicist, Cynthia Snyder, to have passed away this Saturday at his Los Angeles home due to complications with dementia. Sikking was a regular and a frequent collaborator of Steven Bochco shows. The actor is known for portraying the stern Lt. Howard Hunter on the cop series, Hill Street Blues, as well as playing the dad to the titular teenage doctor character played by Neil Patrick Harris on the drama Doogie Howser M.D. Sikking was 90 at the time of his passing.
In addition to being known for television, Sikking can also be seen in a bevy of notable film roles. He played a mocking hitman in the John Boorman film Point Blank (1967). He was also the stuffy Captain Styles who James T. Kirk would defy in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), directed by Leonard Nimoy.
In addition to being known for television, Sikking can also be seen in a bevy of notable film roles. He played a mocking hitman in the John Boorman film Point Blank (1967). He was also the stuffy Captain Styles who James T. Kirk would defy in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984), directed by Leonard Nimoy.
- 7/15/2024
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
James B. Sikking, the Steven Bochco favorite who portrayed the no-nonsense Lt. Howard Hunter on Hill Street Blues and the good-hearted doctor dad on Doogie Howser, M.D., has died. He was 90.
Sikking died Saturday at his Los Angeles home of complications from dementia, publicist Cynthia Snyder announced.
Although best known for his TV work, Sikking did have notable turns on the big screen as a mocking hitman in John Boorman’s Point Blank (1967), as the stuffy Captain Styles in Leonard Nimoy‘s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and as the director of the FBI in Alan J. Pakula’s The Pelican Brief (1993).
After spending the better part of two decades showing up on such shows as The Outer Limits, Honey West, The Fugitive, Hogan’s Heroes and Mannix, Sikking was cast as the pipe-smoking Hunter, leader of the Swat-like Emergency Action Team, on NBC’s Hill Street Blues.
Sikking died Saturday at his Los Angeles home of complications from dementia, publicist Cynthia Snyder announced.
Although best known for his TV work, Sikking did have notable turns on the big screen as a mocking hitman in John Boorman’s Point Blank (1967), as the stuffy Captain Styles in Leonard Nimoy‘s Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and as the director of the FBI in Alan J. Pakula’s The Pelican Brief (1993).
After spending the better part of two decades showing up on such shows as The Outer Limits, Honey West, The Fugitive, Hogan’s Heroes and Mannix, Sikking was cast as the pipe-smoking Hunter, leader of the Swat-like Emergency Action Team, on NBC’s Hill Street Blues.
- 7/15/2024
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
By Lee Pfeiffer
Among the many gems released by the Warner Archive is the obscure Girl of the Night which afforded Anne Francis a rare starring role in a theatrical feature. The 1960 modestly-budgeted movie purports to examine the pitfalls of a young woman who becomes a high-priced call girl. Francis plays Robin Williams (not the hairy guy from Mork and Mindy), a charismatic 24 year-old trying to carve a life for herself in New York City. She soon falls in love with Larry Taylor (John Kerr), a charismatic cad who pretends to love her while acting as her pimp. For a while, Robin seems content. She's pulling in enough loot to maintain a high lifestyle for herself and Larry, taking "appointments" from floozy madame Rowena (Kay Medford.) When she learns Larry has been cheating on her, she despairs and seeks advice from psychiatrist Dr. Mitchell (Lloyd Nolan in typically stoic Lloyd Nolan mode.
Among the many gems released by the Warner Archive is the obscure Girl of the Night which afforded Anne Francis a rare starring role in a theatrical feature. The 1960 modestly-budgeted movie purports to examine the pitfalls of a young woman who becomes a high-priced call girl. Francis plays Robin Williams (not the hairy guy from Mork and Mindy), a charismatic 24 year-old trying to carve a life for herself in New York City. She soon falls in love with Larry Taylor (John Kerr), a charismatic cad who pretends to love her while acting as her pimp. For a while, Robin seems content. She's pulling in enough loot to maintain a high lifestyle for herself and Larry, taking "appointments" from floozy madame Rowena (Kay Medford.) When she learns Larry has been cheating on her, she despairs and seeks advice from psychiatrist Dr. Mitchell (Lloyd Nolan in typically stoic Lloyd Nolan mode.
- 1/25/2022
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Bernie Kahn, a sitcom writer who contributed to episodes of such shows as Bewitched, Get Smart, Maude and Three’s Company, has died. He was 90.
Kahn died Wednesday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
Kahn wrote more than 100 episodes of television during his career; his credits included My Favorite Martian, My Mother the Car, Petticoat Junction, My World and Welcome to It, Honey West, The Addams Family, Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man and The Love Boat.
A two-time WGA Award nominee, Kahn penned 15 episodes of ABC’s Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, from 1967-72 and ...
Kahn died Wednesday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
Kahn wrote more than 100 episodes of television during his career; his credits included My Favorite Martian, My Mother the Car, Petticoat Junction, My World and Welcome to It, Honey West, The Addams Family, Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man and The Love Boat.
A two-time WGA Award nominee, Kahn penned 15 episodes of ABC’s Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, from 1967-72 and ...
- 4/26/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Bernie Kahn, a sitcom writer who contributed to episodes of such shows as Bewitched, Get Smart, Maude and Three’s Company, has died. He was 90.
Kahn died Wednesday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
Kahn wrote more than 100 episodes of television during his career; his credits included My Favorite Martian, My Mother the Car, Petticoat Junction, My World and Welcome to It, Honey West, The Addams Family, Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man and The Love Boat.
A two-time WGA Award nominee, Kahn penned 15 episodes of ABC’s Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, from 1967-72 and ...
Kahn died Wednesday at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, his family announced.
Kahn wrote more than 100 episodes of television during his career; his credits included My Favorite Martian, My Mother the Car, Petticoat Junction, My World and Welcome to It, Honey West, The Addams Family, Love, American Style, The Brady Bunch, Room 222, The Partridge Family, Chico and the Man and The Love Boat.
A two-time WGA Award nominee, Kahn penned 15 episodes of ABC’s Bewitched, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, from 1967-72 and ...
- 4/26/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
John Ericson, a star of Hollywood’s Golden Age who appeared in multiple MGM films and in the 1960s TV show “Honey West,” died in Santa Fe, New Mexico, of pneumonia on Sunday. He was 93.
Born Joseph Meibes in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ericson emigrated with his family to the United States to escape the Nazis as they rose to power. Ericson trained in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and soon appeared in the original production of “Stalag 17” in 1951.
Shortly after that, Ericson signed a contract with MGM and made his cinematic debut alongside Pier Angeli in “Teresa,” playing a World War II veteran struggling to cope with post-war life after marrying a woman he met in Italy. He continued to take on supporting roles in MGM films through the ’50s, starring alongside stars like Elizabeth Taylor in “Rhapsody,” Spencer Tracy in “Bad Day at Black Rock,...
Born Joseph Meibes in Dusseldorf, Germany, Ericson emigrated with his family to the United States to escape the Nazis as they rose to power. Ericson trained in acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and soon appeared in the original production of “Stalag 17” in 1951.
Shortly after that, Ericson signed a contract with MGM and made his cinematic debut alongside Pier Angeli in “Teresa,” playing a World War II veteran struggling to cope with post-war life after marrying a woman he met in Italy. He continued to take on supporting roles in MGM films through the ’50s, starring alongside stars like Elizabeth Taylor in “Rhapsody,” Spencer Tracy in “Bad Day at Black Rock,...
- 5/4/2020
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
John Ericson, who starred alongside Anne Francis on TV's Honey West and with Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock and with Angela Lansbury in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, has died. He was 93.
Ericson died Sunday of pneumonia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had been living since the mid-1990s, a family spokesman said.
Ericson appeared on Broadway in the original production 1951 of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer, and he made his film debut in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Three years later, he starred with Elizabeth Taylor in Rhapsody (1954).
Ericson played "Man Friday" Sam ...
Ericson died Sunday of pneumonia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had been living since the mid-1990s, a family spokesman said.
Ericson appeared on Broadway in the original production 1951 of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer, and he made his film debut in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Three years later, he starred with Elizabeth Taylor in Rhapsody (1954).
Ericson played "Man Friday" Sam ...
John Ericson, who starred alongside Anne Francis on TV's Honey West and with Spencer Tracy in Bad Day at Black Rock and with Angela Lansbury in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, has died. He was 93.
Ericson died Sunday of pneumonia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had been living since the mid-1990s, a family spokesman said.
Ericson appeared on Broadway in the original production 1951 of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer, and he made his film debut in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Three years later, he starred with Elizabeth Taylor in Rhapsody (1954).
Ericson played "Man Friday" Sam ...
Ericson died Sunday of pneumonia in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he had been living since the mid-1990s, a family spokesman said.
Ericson appeared on Broadway in the original production 1951 of Stalag 17, directed by José Ferrer, and he made his film debut in Teresa (1951), directed by Fred Zinnemann. Three years later, he starred with Elizabeth Taylor in Rhapsody (1954).
Ericson played "Man Friday" Sam ...
Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, the 77 Sunset Strip actor whose wavy hair and penchant for combing it made him an early TV teen idol, died Thursday natural causes at his Santa Monica home, according to his son, San Diego TV news anchor Logan Byrnes. He was 87.
The actor was one of the guiding inspirations for director Quentin Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio, informing the Rick Dalton character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Byrnes came to attention as one of the stars of the detective show 77 Sunset Strip, which aired on ABC from 1958-64. Byrnes played Kookie, the rock ‘n’ roll-loving parking attendant who always was quick with a quip to his next-door neighbors at the detective agency. His striking good looks made him an instant hit with the teenagers of the late 1950s, culminating in a gold record with actress Connie Stevens, “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb).” The song reached No.
The actor was one of the guiding inspirations for director Quentin Tarantino and Leonardo DiCaprio, informing the Rick Dalton character in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
Byrnes came to attention as one of the stars of the detective show 77 Sunset Strip, which aired on ABC from 1958-64. Byrnes played Kookie, the rock ‘n’ roll-loving parking attendant who always was quick with a quip to his next-door neighbors at the detective agency. His striking good looks made him an instant hit with the teenagers of the late 1950s, culminating in a gold record with actress Connie Stevens, “Kookie, Kookie (Lend Me Your Comb).” The song reached No.
- 1/9/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
Edd Byrnes, star of the 1950s and ’60s TV hit “77 Sunset Strip” who went on to co-star in the 1978 smash “Grease,” has died, the actor’s son, Logan Byrnes, confirmed Thursday via Facebook. He was 87.
Byrnes died at his home in Santa Monica, according to Logan Byrnes, who is a news anchor for Kusi-tv San Diego.
Byrnes became a comedic sensation as the co-star of the ABC detective drama “77 Sunset Strip,” starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as a hip L.A. private detective. Byrnes played Kookie, the parking lot attendant with a habit of running his comb through his slick hair. His character, Gerald Kookson III, introduced a host of early ’60s slang into mainstream primetime culture.
The series was among a slew of slick action-dramas that the fledgling Warner Bros. Television division produced for the Big Three networks in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
The Kookie character...
Byrnes died at his home in Santa Monica, according to Logan Byrnes, who is a news anchor for Kusi-tv San Diego.
Byrnes became a comedic sensation as the co-star of the ABC detective drama “77 Sunset Strip,” starring Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as a hip L.A. private detective. Byrnes played Kookie, the parking lot attendant with a habit of running his comb through his slick hair. His character, Gerald Kookson III, introduced a host of early ’60s slang into mainstream primetime culture.
The series was among a slew of slick action-dramas that the fledgling Warner Bros. Television division produced for the Big Three networks in the late 1950s and early ’60s.
The Kookie character...
- 1/9/2020
- by Cynthia Littleton
- Variety Film + TV
As we head into the holiday season, Wamg brings you our list of the Best Non-Traditional Christmas Movies to watch after the Holiday ham, pretty presents, and multiple viewings of White Christmas, Home Alone and Miracle On 34th Street are a thing of Christmas Past.
Our choices are filled snarky mistletoe carnage and crafty comedy – Geek style. Santa Claus is coming to town in these “More Naughty Than Nice”. films.
We’ve made a list and checked it twice with our lineup of not just the 20 Best holiday films but the Top 21 Non-Traditional Christmas Movies. After the success of Krampus, we just had to add it!
We kick off our list with our Honorable Mention –
Jingle All The Way
Christmas; It’s the most magical time of the year. High powered businessman Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is hard at work taking last-minute orders from customers to whom he just can...
Our choices are filled snarky mistletoe carnage and crafty comedy – Geek style. Santa Claus is coming to town in these “More Naughty Than Nice”. films.
We’ve made a list and checked it twice with our lineup of not just the 20 Best holiday films but the Top 21 Non-Traditional Christmas Movies. After the success of Krampus, we just had to add it!
We kick off our list with our Honorable Mention –
Jingle All The Way
Christmas; It’s the most magical time of the year. High powered businessman Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is hard at work taking last-minute orders from customers to whom he just can...
- 12/24/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
There are shows that have been justly lauded as the best the medium has to offer. And then there are those series that have been unjustly obscured by history ... for the moment. Some are cult faves that never crossed over; others were short-lived hits that didn’t get kissed by the rerun gods. And some were just plain trash. But as Oscar the Grouch used to sing, we love trash — anything dirty or dingy or dusty. Here are a dozen shows that didn't make our "100 Greatest TV Shows" list but damn,...
- 9/30/2016
- Rollingstone.com
The web site TMZ has reported that actor Richard Kiel has passed away at age 74. Details are sketchy but the site states that Kiel entered the hospital last week in Fresno, California, for treatment of a broken leg. It is not known whether any complications from that injury contributed to his death.
Kiel was an iconic figure in both television and feature films. His imposing stature often led to him being cast as a heavy. Those of us who were privileged to call him our friend always found this ironic, since he was a kind, gentle man who virtually never said an unkind word about anyone else. Kiel appeared in the 1960s in a slew of major TV shows and played the role of the seemingly benign alien in the classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man". Although his role had no dialogue, Kiel's presence was so impressive that, decades after the telecast,...
Kiel was an iconic figure in both television and feature films. His imposing stature often led to him being cast as a heavy. Those of us who were privileged to call him our friend always found this ironic, since he was a kind, gentle man who virtually never said an unkind word about anyone else. Kiel appeared in the 1960s in a slew of major TV shows and played the role of the seemingly benign alien in the classic Twilight Zone episode "To Serve Man". Although his role had no dialogue, Kiel's presence was so impressive that, decades after the telecast,...
- 9/11/2014
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Last year Wamg brought you our list of the 15 Best Non-Traditional Christmas Movies to watch after the Holiday ham, pretty presents, and multiple viewings of White Christmas, Home Alone and Miracle On 34th Street were a thing of Christmas Past.
Minus the warm and fuzzy, our choices are filled snarky mistletoe carnage and crafty comedy – Geek style.
We made a list and checked it twice with our new lineup of the Top 20 Non-Traditional Christmas Movies. You better believe that Santa Claus is coming to town in these “More Naughty Than Nice”. films.
We kick off our list with our Honorable Mention -
Jingle All The Way
Christmas; It’s the most magical time of the year. High powered businessman Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is hard at work taking last-minute orders from customers to whom he just can’t say no; like his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), asking for the hottest...
Minus the warm and fuzzy, our choices are filled snarky mistletoe carnage and crafty comedy – Geek style.
We made a list and checked it twice with our new lineup of the Top 20 Non-Traditional Christmas Movies. You better believe that Santa Claus is coming to town in these “More Naughty Than Nice”. films.
We kick off our list with our Honorable Mention -
Jingle All The Way
Christmas; It’s the most magical time of the year. High powered businessman Howard Langston (Arnold Schwarzenegger), is hard at work taking last-minute orders from customers to whom he just can’t say no; like his son, Jamie (Jake Lloyd), asking for the hottest...
- 12/24/2013
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Now that you’ve had your fill of peppermint, presents, and multiple viewings of AMC’s White Christmas and Miracle On 34th Street, how about a little snark to go along with that special Holiday movie – sans the warm and fuzzy. It’s time for some mistletoe carnage and crafty comedy Geek style. In our gift to you, Wamg presents our list of the 15 best non-traditional films. Lovers of It’S A Wonderful Life can consider yourselves excused cuz Santa Claus is coming to town in these “More Naughty Than Nice”. movies.
Black Christmas
Black Christmas (the 1974 version of course), generally acknowledged as the forerunner of the ‘slasher’. genre, is so graphic in its imagination that you don’t even need to see any gore or murder. Black Christmas, which holds up spectacularly well after almost 40 years, tells the tale of a group of sorority sisters that are hounded and...
Black Christmas
Black Christmas (the 1974 version of course), generally acknowledged as the forerunner of the ‘slasher’. genre, is so graphic in its imagination that you don’t even need to see any gore or murder. Black Christmas, which holds up spectacularly well after almost 40 years, tells the tale of a group of sorority sisters that are hounded and...
- 12/25/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In October of 2010, Sound on Sight asked me to do my first commemorative piece on the passing of filmmaker Arthur Penn. I suspect I was asked because I was the only one writing for the site old enough to have seen Penn’s films in theaters. Whatever the reason, it was an unexpectedly rewarding if expectedly bittersweet experience which led to a series of equally rewarding but bittersweet experiences writing on the passing of other filmdom notables.
I say rewarding because it gave me a nostalgic-flavored chance to revisit certain work and the people behind it; a revisiting which often brought back the nearly-forgotten youthful excitement that went with an eye-opening, a discovery, the thrill of the new. Writing them has also been bittersweet because each of these pieces is a formal acknowledgment that something precious is gone. A talent may be perhaps preserved forever on celluloid, but the filmography...
I say rewarding because it gave me a nostalgic-flavored chance to revisit certain work and the people behind it; a revisiting which often brought back the nearly-forgotten youthful excitement that went with an eye-opening, a discovery, the thrill of the new. Writing them has also been bittersweet because each of these pieces is a formal acknowledgment that something precious is gone. A talent may be perhaps preserved forever on celluloid, but the filmography...
- 12/24/2011
- by Bill Mesce
- SoundOnSight
Moonstone Books' "The Honey West Files" Volume 1, available March 2012, is written by G. G. Fickling :
"...the first female private eye is back in action: a volatile combination of Marilyn Monroe and Mike Hammer..."
Debuting in 1957, the 'Honey West' character appeared in eleven novels, followed by a 1965 TV series starring actress Anne Francis.
For the first time, the original 'Honey West' novels will be reprinted in one series of books including 'This Girl for Hire';
'A Gun for Honey';
and 'Girl on the Loose'..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Honey West"..
"...the first female private eye is back in action: a volatile combination of Marilyn Monroe and Mike Hammer..."
Debuting in 1957, the 'Honey West' character appeared in eleven novels, followed by a 1965 TV series starring actress Anne Francis.
For the first time, the original 'Honey West' novels will be reprinted in one series of books including 'This Girl for Hire';
'A Gun for Honey';
and 'Girl on the Loose'..."
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Honey West"..
- 11/16/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Moonstone Entertainment's "Honey West" #6, available January 2012, is written by Trina Robbins, with illustrations by Silvestre Szilagyi and covers by Franchesco :
"...detective 'Honey West' goes undercover in a corset and pushup bra at a 'Medieval Faire' to find out who's threatening to kill the 'May Queen'. And when those beauty queens go at it tooth and nail, battling for a prize that could lead to stardom, woe betide the girl who wins..."
In other "Honey West" news, the AudioComics Company continues to push forward as the official audio theatre production arm for Moonstone, producing full-cast adaptations of its licensed, original comic books/graphic novels and short story anthologies.
The first audio dramatization will be 'Honey West', adapted by Elaine Lee from her comic book mini-series "Murder on Mars", starring Carrington MacDuffie as 'Honey West'.
The original three issue story arc featured Honey joining the cast of...
"...detective 'Honey West' goes undercover in a corset and pushup bra at a 'Medieval Faire' to find out who's threatening to kill the 'May Queen'. And when those beauty queens go at it tooth and nail, battling for a prize that could lead to stardom, woe betide the girl who wins..."
In other "Honey West" news, the AudioComics Company continues to push forward as the official audio theatre production arm for Moonstone, producing full-cast adaptations of its licensed, original comic books/graphic novels and short story anthologies.
The first audio dramatization will be 'Honey West', adapted by Elaine Lee from her comic book mini-series "Murder on Mars", starring Carrington MacDuffie as 'Honey West'.
The original three issue story arc featured Honey joining the cast of...
- 10/3/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The AudioComics Company reports it will be the official audio theatre production arm for comic book publishers Moonstone Entertainment, producing full-cast adaptations of its licensed and original comic books and graphic novels, as well as selections from their line of short story anthologies.
The pieces will be available on compact disc and pay-per-Mp3 digital download through a variety of outlets, including Moonstone's online store, at comic book conventions, the iTunes store and community audio drama showcases across North America.
The first collaboration will be 'Honey West', adapted by Elaine Lee from her mini-series "Murder on Mars", starring Carrington MacDuffie as 'Honey West'.
The original three issue story arc featured detective Honey West joining the cast of a mid-1960s low-budget science fiction movie (“Amazons of Mars”) to investigate the murder of the film’s starlet, 'Zu Zu Varga'. Honey must find out if the culprit is a scheming ingenue,...
The pieces will be available on compact disc and pay-per-Mp3 digital download through a variety of outlets, including Moonstone's online store, at comic book conventions, the iTunes store and community audio drama showcases across North America.
The first collaboration will be 'Honey West', adapted by Elaine Lee from her mini-series "Murder on Mars", starring Carrington MacDuffie as 'Honey West'.
The original three issue story arc featured detective Honey West joining the cast of a mid-1960s low-budget science fiction movie (“Amazons of Mars”) to investigate the murder of the film’s starlet, 'Zu Zu Varga'. Honey must find out if the culprit is a scheming ingenue,...
- 9/15/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
As part of its "Summer Under the Stars" film series, Turner Classic Movies is showing 12 Anne Francis movies today, including three TCM premieres. Those are actor-director William Conrad's Brainstorm (1965), veteran Raoul Walsh's A Lion Is in the Streets (1953), and actor-director Richard Benedict's Impasse (1969). [Anne Francis Movie Schedule.] Brainstorm is about a scientist intent on killing the husband of the woman he loves. The B thriller stars performers who had seen better big-screen days in the '40s and/or '50s: Jeffrey Hunter, Dana Andrews, Viveca Lindfors, and Francis. At the time, however, Francis was doing well for herself on television in the series Honey West, in which she played a sexy gumshoe whose partner was an ocelot. Based on a novel by Adria Locke Langley, A Lion Is in the Streets (1953) is a political drama that got made probably thanks to Robert Rossen's 1949 Oscar winner All the King's Men.
- 8/29/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Retro-active: The Best From Cinema Retro's Arcives
As someone who has written extensively about the spy craze of the 1960s, I'm ashamed to admit I'd never seen an episode of Honey West. The series premiered in 1965 but lasted a mere one season, a casualty of high ratings from its time slot rival Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Thus, I had no preconceived notions when Vci's complete series arrived for review. The 4 DVD set consists of all thirty episodes. I have not watched all of them, but I've seen enough to get a general taste of the show- and I love it. It's been said that Honey West was the first kick-ass female action hero on TV, but in fact, that honor probably goes to the character of Cathy Gale on The Avengers. Nevertheless, Honey had great influence despite the brevity of her series. In fact, its amazing how loyal...
As someone who has written extensively about the spy craze of the 1960s, I'm ashamed to admit I'd never seen an episode of Honey West. The series premiered in 1965 but lasted a mere one season, a casualty of high ratings from its time slot rival Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Thus, I had no preconceived notions when Vci's complete series arrived for review. The 4 DVD set consists of all thirty episodes. I have not watched all of them, but I've seen enough to get a general taste of the show- and I love it. It's been said that Honey West was the first kick-ass female action hero on TV, but in fact, that honor probably goes to the character of Cathy Gale on The Avengers. Nevertheless, Honey had great influence despite the brevity of her series. In fact, its amazing how loyal...
- 7/13/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
I was just mulling over the unfortunate fact that a lot of big-time TV folks have bitten the dust over the last few weeks and months — “Honey West” star Anne Francis (January 3 at 80), “Ozzie and Harriet” star David Nelson (January 11 at 74), “Batman” star Michael Gough (March 17 at 94), early live TV director Sidney Lumet (April 9 at 86), “M*A*S*H” director Jackie Cooper (May 4 at 88), “The Cosby Show” star Clarice Taylor (May 30 at 93), “Gunsmoke” star James Arness (June 3 at 88), and “Columbo” star Peter Falk (June 23 at 83), among others.
How can one explain this apparent surge? Well, it could just be a coincidence, but it could also be something else. TV only really came into its own in the fifties and sixties… most of the big names on the small screen at the time were then in their thirties and forties, which would place them in their eighties or nineties now… which...
How can one explain this apparent surge? Well, it could just be a coincidence, but it could also be something else. TV only really came into its own in the fifties and sixties… most of the big names on the small screen at the time were then in their thirties and forties, which would place them in their eighties or nineties now… which...
- 6/28/2011
- by Scott Feinberg
- Scott Feinberg
Anne Francis, star of Forbidden Planet lost her battle with cancer on Sunday, January 2nd, 2011. Diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, Francis died of complications due to pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, California. The actress was 80 years old. A New York native, Francis co-starred alongside Leslie Nielsen in the classic science-fiction film, Forbidden Planet, and was awarded a Golden Globe for her portrayal of ‘Honey West.’ Francis also starred in numerous classic television programs including ‘The Twilight Zone’ where she took on the title role of ‘Jess-Belle’ and played the very frightened and confused Marsha White in the classic episode ‘The After-Hours.’ Anne Francis is survived by her daughter, Jane Elizabeth Abeloff. Source: http://www.examiner.com/ Related Posts:Piranha 3D: Piranha causing a frenzy already…Film Review: Forbidden Planet (1956)Film Review: The Phantom Planet (1961)Rip Pete Postlethwaite (1946–2011)Film Review: Voyage To The Planet Of Prehistoric Women...
- 1/5/2011
- by Cara Madison
- Horror News
Goodbye to Anne Francis, star of the 1960s detective show Honey West, a pioneering portrayal of a female detective. Francis passed away Sunday from complications from pancreatic cancer at age 80.
In news I can get behind, the Navy, responding to growing outrage has suspended Captain Honors from command of the USS Enterprise pending an investigation into the homophobic and misogynistic videos he produced on the carrier in 2006-2007 while serving as Xo.
Simon Cowell has chosen Pepsi as the exclusive soft drink sponsor for The X Factor in the U.S. when it launches next year.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $2 million to a sanctuary in Namibia, birthplace of their daughter Shiloh. It seems to me like it’s been forever since either of them had a hit movie, so they must be amazing investors to give away as much cash as they seem to.
Could Denis O...
In news I can get behind, the Navy, responding to growing outrage has suspended Captain Honors from command of the USS Enterprise pending an investigation into the homophobic and misogynistic videos he produced on the carrier in 2006-2007 while serving as Xo.
Simon Cowell has chosen Pepsi as the exclusive soft drink sponsor for The X Factor in the U.S. when it launches next year.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have donated $2 million to a sanctuary in Namibia, birthplace of their daughter Shiloh. It seems to me like it’s been forever since either of them had a hit movie, so they must be amazing investors to give away as much cash as they seem to.
Could Denis O...
- 1/4/2011
- by Ed Kennedy
- The Backlot
We just reported about the death of Pete Postlethwaite (Inception) and Per Oscarsson (The Girl Who Played With Fire) and now comes word that Anne Francis and Bill Erwin have also passed away. Francis is best known for her starring roles in the 1960s TV series "Honey West" and in "Forbidden Planet," co-starring Leslie Nielsen, who passed away in November. She died from pancreatic cancer and was 80 years old. Erwin was a character actor best known for his role on "Seinfeld," for which he received an Emmy nomination. He also appeared on such shows as "The Twilight Zone," "I Love Lucy," "Married with Children," and "My Name is Earl." Erwin was 96 years old.
- 1/4/2011
- WorstPreviews.com
The first photo of the new cast in the Red Dawn remake, two stills from Water for Elephants, and set photos from the Vancouver shoot for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
"Ewan McGregor is rumoured to be playing Greenpeace activist and 'eco-pirate' Captain Paul Watson in the biopic "Ocean Warrior". Keith Ross Leckie and Julie Allan are writing the script…" (full details)
"Jodie Foster will join Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley in "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp's next sci-fi feature "Elysium" at Media Rights Capital. Story details are still being kept under wraps..." (full details)
"Warner Bros. Pictures has won the 2010 domestic box-office race with $1.89 billion in revenue. Paramount came in second with $1.67 billion, Fox third with $1.45 billion, Disney fourth with $1.4 billion, Sony fifth with $1.26 billion and Universal sixth with $842.2 million…" (full details)
"Brit rapper Mike Skinner (aka. The Streets) says he’s working with collaborator Ted Mayhem on a...
"Ewan McGregor is rumoured to be playing Greenpeace activist and 'eco-pirate' Captain Paul Watson in the biopic "Ocean Warrior". Keith Ross Leckie and Julie Allan are writing the script…" (full details)
"Jodie Foster will join Matt Damon and Sharlto Copley in "District 9" director Neill Blomkamp's next sci-fi feature "Elysium" at Media Rights Capital. Story details are still being kept under wraps..." (full details)
"Warner Bros. Pictures has won the 2010 domestic box-office race with $1.89 billion in revenue. Paramount came in second with $1.67 billion, Fox third with $1.45 billion, Disney fourth with $1.4 billion, Sony fifth with $1.26 billion and Universal sixth with $842.2 million…" (full details)
"Brit rapper Mike Skinner (aka. The Streets) says he’s working with collaborator Ted Mayhem on a...
- 1/4/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Actress Anne Francis has died at the age of 80. The veteran star, best known for her role opposite Leslie Nielsen in 1956 sci-fi classic "Forbidden Planet", passed away on Sunday, January 2 at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, California after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Francis started her career as a child model and later worked as a radio actress before moving on to the big screen in the late 1940s. She enjoyed roles in more than 30 movies, including "Funny Girl" and "Summer Holiday", as well as TV appearances in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "Honey West" and "The Fugitive".
Francis, who was twice-divorced, is survived by her daughters Jane and Margaret.
Francis started her career as a child model and later worked as a radio actress before moving on to the big screen in the late 1940s. She enjoyed roles in more than 30 movies, including "Funny Girl" and "Summer Holiday", as well as TV appearances in "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", "Honey West" and "The Fugitive".
Francis, who was twice-divorced, is survived by her daughters Jane and Margaret.
- 1/4/2011
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Anne Francis (minus beauty mark), William Lundigan in Henry Koster's Elopement Anne Francis, best known for sporting a futuristic mini-skirt in Fred M. Wilcox's classic sci-fier Forbidden Planet (1956, right with Robby the Robot) and for her tough, smart and sexy private detective in the 1960s television series Honey West, died Sunday, Jan. 2, at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, about 150kms northwest of Los Angeles. Francis (born Sept. 16, 1930, in Ossining, N.Y.) had previously undergone an operation for lung cancer, though the official cause of death was pancreatic cancer. She was 80. Anne Francis' filmography is quite short. Thirty-six film appearances during the course of nearly half a century. Her career as a leading lady was even briefer; in fact, it was surprisingly brief, spanning from 1951 to 1957 — a period during which she usually alternated leads in programmers with supporting roles in major releases. That's it. Yet, [...]...
- 1/4/2011
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Actress Anne Francis has died from complications of pancreatic cancer. She was 80.
Francis, who was a sex siren in the 1950s also memorably starred in the science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet, but her star-turn as a private eye in television show Honey West made her an icon.
Soap fans will remember Francis for her role as Arliss Cooper on Dallas in 1981.
The stunning blonde died Sunday (Jan. 2) at a Santa Barbara nursing home, said Bill Guntle, a funeral director McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara.
Francis, who was a sex siren in the 1950s also memorably starred in the science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet, but her star-turn as a private eye in television show Honey West made her an icon.
Soap fans will remember Francis for her role as Arliss Cooper on Dallas in 1981.
The stunning blonde died Sunday (Jan. 2) at a Santa Barbara nursing home, said Bill Guntle, a funeral director McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara.
- 1/4/2011
- by We Love Soaps TV
- We Love Soaps
Anne Francis, the actress best known for her roles in the 1956 science fiction film Forbidden Planet and the 1960s TV show Honey West, has died. She was 80.
Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times.
Get the rest of today's news
Born as Ann Marvak in Ossining, N.Y., Francis, known for the prominent beauty mark near her mouth, rose to fame starring alongside such actors as Spencer Tracy and Paul Newman in the 1950s...
Read More >...
Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times.
Get the rest of today's news
Born as Ann Marvak in Ossining, N.Y., Francis, known for the prominent beauty mark near her mouth, rose to fame starring alongside such actors as Spencer Tracy and Paul Newman in the 1950s...
Read More >...
- 1/3/2011
- by Adam Bryant
- TVGuide - Breaking News
Anne Francis, the sultry blonde actress who pioneered the image of women as action heroes in Honey West, has died at age 80 after battling cancer for several years. Francis entered show business at an early age, modeling as a child. She later performed on radio before landing roles in some high profile films such as Bad Day at Black Rock and the 1950s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet. In the mid-60s, Francis broke new ground by starring as Honey West, the sexy private eye who solved cases while toting around a pet ocelot. The show only lasted a single season, but quickly developed a cult following that endures to this day. Francis was among the first actresses to portray a woman as credible hero in an era where most females were consigned to playing demure housewives. Francis also appeared in a classic episode of The Twilight Zone as a woman...
- 1/3/2011
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Best known for her role in Forbidden Planet and playing the private eye in TV’s Honey West, Anne Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home. Per Oscarsson—who played the Monster in 1977’s Terror Of Frankenstein and was in the 1971 psychological horror film The Night Visitor with fellow Swede Max von Sydow—is believed to have been killed, along with his wife, in a house fire.
- 1/3/2011
- by samueldzimmerman@gmail.com (Allan Dart)
- Fangoria
Another actress from Hollywood's golden age has passed on, leaving behind some truly classic films and a ton of television appearances, making her a staple for many growing up over the last five decades.
Anne Francis, known by many television fans as cheesecake private investigator Honey West, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in a Santa Barbara retirement home. She was 80 years old.
Francis made numerous television appearances, including genre favorites such as "The Twilight Zone", "The Invaders", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", and "Suspense", and starred in the Sixties horror thriller The Satan Bug; but she was especially well known for her role in 1956's classic sci-fi adventure Forbidden Planet.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest condolences to Anne's friends, family, and constituents. We'll miss that sexy smile and signature beauty mark for sure! Here's to ya, kid!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
Anne Francis, known by many television fans as cheesecake private investigator Honey West, died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in a Santa Barbara retirement home. She was 80 years old.
Francis made numerous television appearances, including genre favorites such as "The Twilight Zone", "The Invaders", "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour", and "Suspense", and starred in the Sixties horror thriller The Satan Bug; but she was especially well known for her role in 1956's classic sci-fi adventure Forbidden Planet.
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest condolences to Anne's friends, family, and constituents. We'll miss that sexy smile and signature beauty mark for sure! Here's to ya, kid!
- Uncle Creepy
Visit The Evilshop @ Amazon!
- 1/3/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Anne Francis, legendary science fiction actress and star of Forbidden Planet, succumbs to pancreatic at age of 80 – Celebrity actress Anne Francis, who once starred in a movie that popular movie critic Leonard Maltin once called "one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre," died on Sunday due to complications from pancreatic cancer at a nursing home in Santa Barbara, California. [Jan. 3] The 80-year-old former star of the TV series Honey West had been suffering from lung cancer as well, and her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times that the cancer had spread to her pancreas. Known in Hollywood for her elegant looks and prominent beauty mark, Anne Francis starred in dozens of movies throughout the 1950s and 1960s, with her most memorable role on the big screen playing the daughter of a scientist living on another planet in the movie Forbidden Planet. About ten years later,...
- 1/3/2011
- by Doug Mead
- Green Celebrity
"Anne Francis, who costarred in the 1950s science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and later played the title role in Honey West, the mid-1960s TV series about a sexy female private detective with a pet ocelot, died Sunday. She was 80." Dennis McLellan in the Los Angeles Times: "A shapely blond with a signature beauty mark next to her lower lip, Francis was a former child model and radio actress when she first came to notice on the big screen in the early 1950s. She had leading or supporting roles in more than 30 movies, including Bad Day at Black Rock, Battle Cry, Blackboard Jungle, The Hired Gun, Don't Go Near the Water, Brainstorm, Funny Girl and Hook, Line and Sinker."
She "was active until just a few years ago, still doing TV guest shots into her 70s," notes the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore.
The Guardian's Ronald Bergan calls her performance in Blackboard Jungle "strong,...
She "was active until just a few years ago, still doing TV guest shots into her 70s," notes the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore.
The Guardian's Ronald Bergan calls her performance in Blackboard Jungle "strong,...
- 1/3/2011
- MUBI
The actress Anne Francis, best known for playing Altaira in the classic 1956 science-fiction film Forbidden Planet, has passed away at age 80.
Francis also played the titular character in ABC's Aaron Spelling-produced Honey West, the first female detective to be featured in a weekly television series in 1965. In the 30-episode series, Francis' character inherited her father's Pi business with the help of her partner and a pet ocelot and was nominated for an Emmy.
Francis also appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Rip.
Francis also played the titular character in ABC's Aaron Spelling-produced Honey West, the first female detective to be featured in a weekly television series in 1965. In the 30-episode series, Francis' character inherited her father's Pi business with the help of her partner and a pet ocelot and was nominated for an Emmy.
Francis also appeared in an episode of The Twilight Zone. Rip.
- 1/3/2011
- by Anna Breslaw
- Filmology
Anne Francis, a sweet-voiced honey blonde who starred as a sexy Jane Bond-type detective on TV's Honey West in the mid-'60s and was a CinemaScope eyeful in the '50s sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, died Sunday of complications of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, Calif., the Los Angeles Times reports. She was 80. With a distinctive beauty mark below her lower right lip, Francis, though never a top-ranking star, always had her devoted cult followers. Among her better-known movies were Bad Day at Black Rock, Blackboard Jungle, Don't Go Near the Water and Funny Girl,...
- 1/3/2011
- by Stephen M. Silverman
- PEOPLE.com
Science Fiction fans the world over are mourning the passing of Miss Anne Francis. Francis played Altaira ‘Alta’ Morbius opposite Walter Pidgeon’s Dr. Edward Morbius in the 1956 science fiction classic Forbidden Planet. Francis once quipped, in a 1990s Starlog interview, that she “got that part because I was under contract to MGM and I had good legs.”
Francis, as a contract player, performed in main stream films as well. No less that Bad Day at Black Rock (as Liz Wirth) and The Blackboard Jungle (as Anne Dadier) were graced by her performances.She also performed in over 130 television shows over the years, most recently in a guest star turn in the popular crime show Without A Trace in 2004. Her most famous television role however, was that of the “female James Bond” of 1960s television–and the first TV show with a female Pi–Honey West.
Miss Francis was diagnosed...
Francis, as a contract player, performed in main stream films as well. No less that Bad Day at Black Rock (as Liz Wirth) and The Blackboard Jungle (as Anne Dadier) were graced by her performances.She also performed in over 130 television shows over the years, most recently in a guest star turn in the popular crime show Without A Trace in 2004. Her most famous television role however, was that of the “female James Bond” of 1960s television–and the first TV show with a female Pi–Honey West.
Miss Francis was diagnosed...
- 1/3/2011
- by Jessie
- FamousMonsters of Filmland
Actress Anne Francis, best known for her roles in the campy sci-fi cult classic "Forbidden Planet" and the 1960s TV series "Honey West," has died. She was 80.
Francis died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in a Santa Barbara retirement home, a family spokeswoman told L.A. Times.com. Friends and family members were with her.
With her signature beauty mark next to her lower lip, Francis started her career as a child model and radio actress...
Francis died Sunday of pancreatic cancer in a Santa Barbara retirement home, a family spokeswoman told L.A. Times.com. Friends and family members were with her.
With her signature beauty mark next to her lower lip, Francis started her career as a child model and radio actress...
- 1/3/2011
- Extra
Her Forbidden Planet costar Leslie Nielsen passed just a month ago. Anne Francis was also known for playing the first female detective in a weekly TV series with ‘Honey West’. I’d met Ms Francis at Wonderfest in Louisville a few years ago and she was delightful and still very beautiful. Such a lovely and talented lady. Rip, Altaira
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Anne Francis, who played the first female detective to be featured in a weekly TV series in 1965′s Honey West, died Sunday of complications of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara.
Francis also starred in the 1956 science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and had roles in more than 30 movies, including Bad Day at Black Rock; Battle Cry; Blackboard Jungle; The Hired Gun; Don’t Go Near the Water; Brainstorm; Funny Girl; and Hook, Line and Sinker.
Honey West was introduced to ABC viewers in an episode...
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Anne Francis, who played the first female detective to be featured in a weekly TV series in 1965′s Honey West, died Sunday of complications of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara.
Francis also starred in the 1956 science-fiction classic Forbidden Planet and had roles in more than 30 movies, including Bad Day at Black Rock; Battle Cry; Blackboard Jungle; The Hired Gun; Don’t Go Near the Water; Brainstorm; Funny Girl; and Hook, Line and Sinker.
Honey West was introduced to ABC viewers in an episode...
- 1/3/2011
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Actress Anne Francis, the star of the 1960's private eye TV series "Honey West" has died.
Francis, a former contract player with MGM studios, had numerous film roles, including "Forbidden Planet" and "Blackboard Jungle", as well as starring in a memorable 2-part episode of "The Untouchables" TV series.
In "Honey West", airing 30 episodes from 1965-1966, Francis' Emmy-nominated private detective was a female James Bond, sexy, stylish and"...as good with martial arts as she was with a gun..."
"The character made young women think there was more they could reach for," said Francis.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Honey West"...
Francis, a former contract player with MGM studios, had numerous film roles, including "Forbidden Planet" and "Blackboard Jungle", as well as starring in a memorable 2-part episode of "The Untouchables" TV series.
In "Honey West", airing 30 episodes from 1965-1966, Francis' Emmy-nominated private detective was a female James Bond, sexy, stylish and"...as good with martial arts as she was with a gun..."
"The character made young women think there was more they could reach for," said Francis.
Click the images to enlarge and Sneak Peek "Honey West"...
- 1/3/2011
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Anne Francis, who has died of complications of pancreatic cancer aged 80, is now best remembered mainly due to the lyrics "Anne Francis stars in Forbidden Planet \ Oh-oh at the late night, double-feature, picture show", which were sung over the opening credits of The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), and for the cult science-fiction movie to which they refer, Forbidden Planet (1956). The only woman in the cast of Forbidden Planet, Francis had a sprightly charm and a wide-eyed child-like innocence as Altaira, the space-age Miranda in the transposition of Shakespeare's The Tempest to a distant planet.
The mini-skirted teenaged daughter of the exiled Dr Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) has never seen any man except her father until a group of Us astronauts, led by Commander John J Adams (Leslie Nielsen), arrive. While never exactly exclaiming "O brave new world that has such people in it!
The mini-skirted teenaged daughter of the exiled Dr Morbius (Walter Pidgeon) has never seen any man except her father until a group of Us astronauts, led by Commander John J Adams (Leslie Nielsen), arrive. While never exactly exclaiming "O brave new world that has such people in it!
- 1/3/2011
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Actress Anne Francis, who was the love interest in the 1950s science-fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and later was sexy private eye in "Honey West" on TV, has died at age 80. Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home, said Bill Guntle, a funeral director McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara. Francis, who had surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, died of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times. Francis, a stunningly beautiful blonde with a prominent beauty mark, appeared opposite such stars...
- 1/3/2011
- by Bob Thomas (AP)
- Hitfix
Los Angeles — Actress Anne Francis, who was the love interest in the 1950s science-fiction classic "Forbidden Planet" and later was sexy private eye in "Honey West" on TV, has died at age 80.
Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home, said Bill Guntle, a funeral director McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara.
Francis, who had surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, died of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times.
Francis, a stunningly beautiful blonde with a prominent beauty mark, appeared opposite such stars as Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Robert Taylor and Glenn Ford in some of the most popular films of the 1950s. But "Forbidden Planet" and "Honey West" made her reputation.
"Forbidden Planet" was hailed in Leonard Maltin's "2006 Movie Guide" as "one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre."
A science-fiction retelling of Shakespeare's "The Tempest,...
Francis died Sunday at a Santa Barbara nursing home, said Bill Guntle, a funeral director McDermott-Crockett & Associates Mortuary in Santa Barbara.
Francis, who had surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, died of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter, Jane Uemura, told the Los Angeles Times.
Francis, a stunningly beautiful blonde with a prominent beauty mark, appeared opposite such stars as Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Robert Taylor and Glenn Ford in some of the most popular films of the 1950s. But "Forbidden Planet" and "Honey West" made her reputation.
"Forbidden Planet" was hailed in Leonard Maltin's "2006 Movie Guide" as "one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre."
A science-fiction retelling of Shakespeare's "The Tempest,...
- 1/3/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Actress Francis Dies At 80
Actress Anne Francis has died at the age of 80.
The veteran star, best known for her role opposite Leslie Nielsen in 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, passed away on Sunday at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, California after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Francis started her career as a child model and later worked as a radio actress before moving on to the big screen in the late 1940s.
She enjoyed roles in more than 30 movies, including Funny Girl and Summer Holiday, as well as TV appearances in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Honey West and The Fugitive.
Francis, who was twice-divorced, is survived by her daughters Jane and Margaret.
The veteran star, best known for her role opposite Leslie Nielsen in 1956 sci-fi classic Forbidden Planet, passed away on Sunday at a retirement home in Santa Barbara, California after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Francis started her career as a child model and later worked as a radio actress before moving on to the big screen in the late 1940s.
She enjoyed roles in more than 30 movies, including Funny Girl and Summer Holiday, as well as TV appearances in The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Honey West and The Fugitive.
Francis, who was twice-divorced, is survived by her daughters Jane and Margaret.
- 1/3/2011
- WENN
Adding further sadness to today's news at the loss of Pete Postlethwaite is the further announcement that Forbidden Planet star Anne Francis has passed away at the age of 80. The actress, who also played the title role in 1960s TV detective show Honey West, had been diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007 and succumbed finally from complications with a secondary bout of pancreatic cancer at a retirement home in Santa Barbara. Francis's daughter Jane Uemura made the announcement, and said that family and friends were with her until the end.
Anne Francis had the rare gift of professionally portraying naiveté, and it's hard to say if the innocence she was able to convey was any part of the fact that her quite sensational turn as a mad scientist Walter Pidgeon's daughter in Forbidden Planet (1956) didn't lead to any notable Hollywood career, for she was at least as good an actor...
Anne Francis had the rare gift of professionally portraying naiveté, and it's hard to say if the innocence she was able to convey was any part of the fact that her quite sensational turn as a mad scientist Walter Pidgeon's daughter in Forbidden Planet (1956) didn't lead to any notable Hollywood career, for she was at least as good an actor...
- 1/3/2011
- Shadowlocked
Filed under: Reality-Free, TV News
Anne Francis, who played the first female detective on a TV series in ABC's 'Honey West' in 1965, has passed away.
Francis died of pancreatic cancer in Santa Barbara, Calif. She was 80.
To list Francis' roles on TV would be like listing all of the shows that were made between 1949 and 2004. Let's just say she appeared in a lot of programs, including 'Kraft Theater,' 'Rawhide,' 'The Untouchables,' 'Route 66,' 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,' 'The Invaders,' 'Mission: Impossible,' 'My Three Sons,' 'Columbo,' 'Dallas,' 'Home Improvement,' 'Wings' and 'Without a Trace.'
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
Anne Francis, who played the first female detective on a TV series in ABC's 'Honey West' in 1965, has passed away.
Francis died of pancreatic cancer in Santa Barbara, Calif. She was 80.
To list Francis' roles on TV would be like listing all of the shows that were made between 1949 and 2004. Let's just say she appeared in a lot of programs, including 'Kraft Theater,' 'Rawhide,' 'The Untouchables,' 'Route 66,' 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents,' 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.,' 'The Invaders,' 'Mission: Impossible,' 'My Three Sons,' 'Columbo,' 'Dallas,' 'Home Improvement,' 'Wings' and 'Without a Trace.'
Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments...
- 1/3/2011
- by Bob Sassone
- Aol TV.
Anne Francis, best known for her leading role in 1956's Forbidden Planet and for the title role in the 60's television series "Honey West," passed away on Sunday, following a several-year battle with pancreatic cancer, The Associated Press reports. With dozens of roles in both television and film, Francis' first leading part was in 1955's The Blackboard Jungle , appearing opposite Glenn Ford, Loius Calhern and Sidney Poitier (in one of his earliest roles). Tragically, the news of Francis' passing comes just a month after the death of her Forbidden Planet co-star, Leslie Nielsen. Francis leaves behind two children and one grandchild.
- 1/3/2011
- Comingsoon.net
Moonstone's "Honey West", written by Trina Robbins, illustrated by Cynthia Martin, signals the return of the world's first TV female private eye.
"...When piano player/dancer 'Mimi Malloy' walks into Honey West's office saying there's been a killing at her nightclub, the 'Purple Pussy', Honey goes undercover as a go-go dancer and mixes it up with Hollywood hippies to uncover the "Killer on the Keys..."
The original "Honey West" TV series, produced by the ABC network, ran for 30 episodes during the 1965-1966 television season, starring Anne Francis as female private detective 'Honey West.
The show was based on the Honey West character created by Gloria and Forrest E. "Skip" Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling" in the late 1950's.
Looking to be the 'American answer' to popular female TV characters like 'Emma Peel' ' in the UK series "The Avengers", Anne Francis went on to win a Golden...
"...When piano player/dancer 'Mimi Malloy' walks into Honey West's office saying there's been a killing at her nightclub, the 'Purple Pussy', Honey goes undercover as a go-go dancer and mixes it up with Hollywood hippies to uncover the "Killer on the Keys..."
The original "Honey West" TV series, produced by the ABC network, ran for 30 episodes during the 1965-1966 television season, starring Anne Francis as female private detective 'Honey West.
The show was based on the Honey West character created by Gloria and Forrest E. "Skip" Fickling under the pseudonym "G.G. Fickling" in the late 1950's.
Looking to be the 'American answer' to popular female TV characters like 'Emma Peel' ' in the UK series "The Avengers", Anne Francis went on to win a Golden...
- 5/12/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
This week, EW University takes a look at the people who helped shape the modern TV landscape. Our first class on TV Auteurs takes a look at the illustrious, often licentious oeuvre of Aaron Spelling. Class is now in session! Yes, kids, the late Aaron Spelling gave television more than the future star of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood. Far, far more, in fact. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Spelling holds the record for the most executive producer credits: 218. That alone, of course, does not an auteur make, but from The Mod Squad to Charlie’s Angels, from Beverly Hills, 90210, to Charmed, a distinct and almost incomprehensibly influential vision emerged. Spelling practically invented the modern TV guilty indulgence, a formula tougher to execute than it looks. When you're watching Burn Notice or Gossip Girl or Desperate Housewives and that "zap" hits the pleasure center of your brain,...
- 8/31/2009
- by Jennifer Armstrong
- EW.com - PopWatch
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