Wow, two in one day! The Grim Reaper isn’t fooling around in 2011, the prick. Earlier today we were all sad to discover that Pete Postlethwaite had passed away at the too-young age of 64, and now we’re hit with the depressing news that Anne Francis has died at the age of 80.
If you’re not familiar with Ms. Francis, may I be the first to say, shame on you! Have you never seen FORBIDDEN PLANET?! She played “Altaira”, the comely young daughter to Walter Pidgeon’s Dr. Morbius. How about the famous “Twilight Zone” episode “The After Hours”, where Francis played a young woman who is shocked to discover that she is, in fact, a mannequin? Surely that rings a bell. (She also starred in the less-great, hour-long TZ entry “Jess-Belle” as a witch.)
Francis also appeared in the short-lived but well-liked television series “Honey West” as the tiular private eye; evidently, the very first female detective on TV. You’re under arrest, sugar!
Francis died of complications of pancreatic cancer in Santa Barbara. She leaves behind two daughters and a grandson. R.I.P.