First Leslie Nielsen, now Anne Francis. Immortalized in the theme song to Rocky Horror Picture Show ( “See androids fighting Brad and Janet….Anne Francis stars in, Forbidden Planet….”), Anne Francis has followed Leslie Nielsen up to that great sound studio in the sky, passing away from complications related to pancreatic cancer.
If you want a walk down memory lane, go read Ms. Francis’ IMDB page. She was in, and I’m being very literal about this, everything:
Rawhide. Route 66. Dr. Kildare. Twilight Zone. Ben Casey. Man from UNCLE. The Fugitive. Mission: Impossible. My Three Sons. Gunsmoke. Columbo. Ironside. Kung Fu. Barnaby Jones. SWAT. Wonder Woman. Hawaii Five-O. CHiPs. Trapper John MD. Love Boat. Fantasy Island. Hardcastle and McCormack. Jake and the Fatman. Matlock. Golden Girls. Murder She Wrote. Quincy. Vega$.Charlie’s Angels. Dallas. Police Woman.
That’s just the ones I recognize. That’s a small portion of her appearances. Woman was everywhere.
A lovely human being. Kind, considerate, extremely intelligent, social activist, no "I'm a star" attitude. Although she was quite the looker, she wasn't your "stereotypical" blond bombshell (though Hollywood pigeon-holed her as such). She did a film with Sidney Poitier–"Blackboard Jungle"–quite good. Got to know her fairly well for a time. I had the pleasure of slow dancing with her on stage eight times a week for eight weeks in a production of Cactus Flower once upon a time. She kept in touch over some time afterwards. This really saddens me.
You can rest now Annie.