Born Arlene Francis Kazanjian on October 20, 1907, in Boston, Massachusetts, Arlene Francis had a long and successful career as an actress on the stage and screen, and as a well-known performer on radio and television.

Her father was an Armenian immigrant, a refugee from the Turkish massacres of 1905-06, who became a successful painter and photographer, and her mother was the daughter of actor Alfred Davis, who instilled in the young Arlene a love of performing that came to shape her entire life.

Pictured above: (Left) Young Arlene Francis Kazanjian with her father and mother. (Right) Arlene, the April graduate from Mount St. Vincents, with her proud mother.

Sent by her rather conservative family to study at Mount St.Vincent Convent and later Finch's Finishing School in New York, Arlene resisted her father's efforts to cure her of her infatuation with acting and became a star on radio soap operas in the early 1930's, around the time that she won her first film role as a "Woman of the Streets" in Bela Lugosi's Murders of the Rue Morgue (to her father's shock and dismay, Bela unsuccessfully sought to mix her blood with the blood of an ape and dumped her through a trap door, clad only in a slip, into the sewers of Paris). In her earlier radio days, she was dubbed "Radio's Oomph Girl" because of her vitality and vivacious charm.

Married to Broadway actor Martin Gabel in 1946, Arlene was for more than fifteen years the leading female personality on television, known best for her 25 years as a panelist on What's My Line but also establishing herself as the first woman to host a network television newsmagazine as "Editor-in Chief" of NBC's Home for several years in the late 1950's. During this time she appeared on the cover of Newsweek as the "first lady of television" and several times on the cover of TV Guide and other magazines of the day.

Pictured above: (Left) Arlene, Bennett Cerf, Dorothy Kilgallen, and John Daly of the widely acclaimed "What's My Line?" television game show. (Right) Arlene, on the set of "Home", where no woman had dared to go.

In spite of her fame as a televison star, Arlene's first love remained the stage, serving first in the 1930's as a member of Orson Welles' experimental Mercury Theater and over the course of her career starring in many Broadway plays, including The Women, Once More with Feeling (with Joseph Cotton), Tchin-Tchin, Mrs. Dally Has A Lover, and many other critical successes. She also starred or co-starred in a number of well-known movies, including Arthur Miller's All My Sons (with Edward G. Robinson), Billy Wilder's One, Two, Three (with James Cagney), and The Thrill of It All (with James Garner and Doris Day).

___ From the early 1960's until 1990, her 83rd year, Arlene had a highly rated daily interview show on WOR in New York City, and she is a recipient of the prestigious lifetime Broadcaster's Award for her skill and longevity as an outstanding interviewer.

___ According to Arlene, her interview with Rock Hudson on the WOR show,"Luncheon at Sardi's", helped to build her ratings!

___ As an author, Arlene has three books to her credit, the 50's best-seller, That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm, a 1950's/60's cookbook, No Time For Cooking, and her autobiography, Arlene Francis: A Memoir.

___ In the closing chapter of her autobiography, perhaps Arlene shared with us the essence of her success as a artist and as a person:

___ "...the learning process is never-ending, and growth will continue if only you will allow it to. As I see life now, it is constant discovery along a road, and I look eagerly forward to the rest of the journy."

___ Arlene and her husband, the late Martin Gabel, have one son, Peter, born January 28, 1947.

Arlene and young Peter Gabel in the 1950's


Peter Gabel

Mr. Gabel received his B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University in 1968 and 1972, respectively, and was awarded his Ph.D. from the Wright Institute in 1981. He has served as president of New College of California in San Francisco since 1987 and is currently Associate Editor of the respected journal of opinion Tikkun.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

At the age of 93, Arlene Francis died May 31, 2001, in San Francisco, California. Her son, Peter, was at her side at the time of her death.

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This Site Created May 16, 2000



This Page Last Updated October 2005