Honey West actress Anne Francis Dies News

Actress Anne Francis, best know for her sexy roles in the 1956 sci-fi-film Frobidden Planet and the 1960s TV series Honey West has died on Sunday in Santa Barbara, Calif at the age of 80 following a battle with cancer. She was 80

Francis got her start in showbiz at an early age beginning as a child model at the age of 5 in the midst of the Great Depression. Soon after, she moved into radio and Broadway before heading to Hollywood for a one year contract with MGM. Her first credited big role came in the 1948 Mickey Rooney musical ‘Summer Holiday’.

It was a good time for a teenager to be signed with MGM. When she wasn’t filming, Francis took classes in the MGM schoolhouse with Elizabeth Taylor, Natalie Wood and other big stars of the day.

When her movie career declined, Ms. Francis became active in television. She appeared in dozens of series, including, Mission: Impossible, Gunsmoke, The Twilight Zone, Charlie’s Angels and The Golden Girls.

Honey West lasted only one season, 1965-66, on ABC. But the character she played, a private detective who was sexy, stylish and as good with martial arts as she was with a gun made an impression.

A lot of people speak to me about Honey West, Ms. Francis once recalled. The character made young women think there was more they could reach for. It encouraged a lot of people.

Ms. Francis’s marriages to the actor and director Bamlet L. Price and Dr. Robert Abel off ended in divorce. In addition to Ms. Uemura, she is survived by another daughter, Maggie, and a grandson.

She was nominated for an Emmy and won a Golden Globe for the role.

Her other films included Bad Day at Black Rock Tracy, Rogue, Cop and A Lion is in the Streets.