Arlene Francis American actress, radio talk show host and television game show participant Date of Birth: 20.10.1907 Country: USA

1. Biography of Arlene Francis
2. Early Life and Career
3. Radio and Television Career
4. Acting Career
5. Writing and Personal Life

Biography of Arlene Francis

Arlene Francis Kazanjian, born on October 20, 1907, in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, was an American actress, radio talk show host, and television game show panelist. She is best known for her participation in the television game show "What's My Line?", where she appeared regularly for 25 years from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

Early Life and Career

Arline Francis Kazanjian was the 16-year-old daughter of Lee Davis and Armenian Aram Kazanjian. She was studying art in Paris when she learned that both of her parents had been found dead, victims of the Armenian Massacre committed by the Ottoman Empire in Anatolia. Arlene immigrated to the United States, where she worked as a portrait photographer and opened her own studio in Boston in the early 20th century.

After studying at Finch College, Kazanjian embarked on a career as a versatile performer. She appeared in 25 Broadway plays, starting with "The Stranger" in 1928 and ending with "Don't Call Back" in 1975. Additionally, Arlene performed in many local theaters and non-Broadway productions.

Radio and Television Career

In New York, Francis became known as a radio host, responsible for the success of several programs, including a chat show on WOR-AM that ran from 1960 to 1984. In 1943, she began hosting the radio game show "Blind Date," and later its television version from 1949 to 1952. Arlene was one of the first women on television to host programs that were not music or drama-related.

From 1954 to 1957, she hosted the female-oriented program "Home" and became its chief editor. "Newsweek" featured Arlene's image on its cover, calling her the "first lady of television." During the mid-1950s, she also hosted "Talent Patrol."

Acting Career

A native of Boston, Arlene appeared in several films, making her debut as a prostitute in Robert Florey's crime film "Murders in the Rue Morgue" in 1932. In the 1960s, she played Phyllis MacNamara, James Cagney's wife, in Billy Wilder's comedy film "One, Two, Three," which was shot in Munich. She also appeared in Norman Jewison's comedy-drama "The Art of Love" and in a television version of the play "Laura," in which she performed multiple times on stage.

Her final film appearances were in the television comedy "Harvey" in 1972 and the Franco-German drama "Fedora" in 1978, directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden.

Writing and Personal Life

Francis wrote her autobiography in 1978, titled "Arlene Francis: A Memoir." Prior to that, she published the book "That Certain Something: The Magic of Charm" in 1960 and the cookbook "No Time for Cooking" in 1961.

Arlene Francis was married twice. Her first marriage was to Neil Agnew in 1935. He worked in the sales department of Paramount Pictures, often leaving his wife alone due to business trips, which led to their divorce in 1945. Her second husband was actor and producer Martin Gabel, whom she married in 1946 until his death from a heart attack on May 22, 1986. They had a son named Peter Gabel, born on January 28, 1947, who became an assistant editor of the magazine "Tikkun."

On one of the World's Fairs, Peter was surprised to see his mother as a "mystery guest" on an episode of the game show "What's My Line?" in 1964. He was by Kazanjian's side when she passed away.

Arlene Francis died on May 31, 2001, in San Francisco at the age of 93 after battling cancer and Alzheimer's disease.