Fran Allison

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Fran Allison
Allison in 1953
Born
Frances Helen Allison

( 1907-11-20 ) November 20, 1907
La Porte City, Iowa , U.S.
Died June 13, 1989 (1989-06-13) (aged 81)
Sherman Oaks, California , U.S.
Years active 1937?1980s
Spouse Archie Levington (June 8, 1940 ? April 25, 1978; his death)

Frances Helen Allison (November 20, 1907 – June 13, 1989), known as Fran Allison , was an American television and radio comedienne, personality, and singer.

She is best known for her starring role on the weekday NBC -TV puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie , which ran from 1947 to 1957, occasionally returning to the air until the mid-1980s. The trio also hosted The CBS Children's Film Festival , introducing international children's films, from 1967 to 1977.

Biography [ edit ]

Early years [ edit ]

Frances Helen Allison was born to Jesse Louis Allison and Anna M. "Nan" (nee Halpin) Allison in La Porte City, Iowa , where her father worked as a clerk in a grocery store until his stroke in 1913. They then moved in with her paternal grandparents, David Allison, a Civil War veteran, and Susan (nee Booth) Allison. Their house still stands on Sycamore Street in LaPorte City. [1]

A 1927 graduate of Coe College , she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta . [2] She was a fourth-grade teacher for four years in Schleswig and Pocahontas (both in Iowa), [1] before beginning her broadcasting career at WMT [3] in Cedar Rapids, Iowa . (Another source describes WMT as " Waterloo radio station WMT." It moved to Cedar Rapids in 1935.) [3] In 1934, Allison was among "14 sectional winners in the Hollywood Hotel radio contest." [4]

Radio [ edit ]

Allison as Aunt Fanny

She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1937, where she was hired as a staff singer and personality on NBC Radio . [5] A July 26, 1937, newspaper item reported, "Fran Allison, singer of WMT, Waterloo, Ia., makes her network debut in the WJZ-NBC club matinee at 3." [6]

Beginning in 1937, she was a regular performer on The Breakfast Club , [3] a popular Chicago (and NBC) radio show, and was a fixture for 25 years as "Aunt Fanny", a gossipy small-town spinster. [7] Her Aunt Fanny character also appeared on the ABC-TV series, Ozark Jubilee , during the late 1950s. While in Chicago, she was also heard on Those Websters . [1]

Kukla, Fran and Ollie [ edit ]

Main article: Kukla, Fran and Ollie

In 1947, the director of WBKB-TV in Chicago asked Burr Tillstrom if he could put together a puppet show for children, and he asked Allison, [3] whom he had met during a World War II war bond tour, to join the show. [8]

Other television work [ edit ]

Her television career continued after the initial run of Kukla, Fran and Ollie : in the late 1950s, she hosted The Fran Allison Show, a panel discussion TV program in Chicago; and appeared in television musical specials displaying her singing abilities, including Many Moons (1954), Pinocchio with Mickey Rooney (1957), [9] Damn Yankees (1967) with Phil Silvers and lastly Miss Pickerell (1972).

She had her own program, The Fran Allison Show on WGN-TV (1958?1960). [10] In the 1980s, she hosted Prime Time , a show for senior citizens, on KHJ-TV in Los Angeles. [5]

Recordings [ edit ]

Allison made records for the RCA Victor label. She had two minor pop hits. In 1950 her recording of " Peter Cottontail " charted at #26 around Easter of 1950. The next year her recording of " Too Young " achieved position #20. In both recordings she is backed by Jack Fascinato , who was the orchestra leader of Kukla, Fran and Ollie. [11]

Recognition [ edit ]

In 1950, Allison was nominated for an Emmy Award as Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality. [12] In 1959, she won two Chicago Emmy awards. [13] In 2002, she was a Silver Circle honoree of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences . [14]

In 1967, Iowa Wesleyan University awarded her an honorary doctorate of letters. [15]

Personal life [ edit ]

Fran Allison was married to music publisher Archie Levington from 1940 until his death in 1978. [3]

In her free time, she devoted her efforts to promoting mental health. From a profile in the Freeport Journal-Standard , "For mental health, she will travel anywhere, anytime." [16]

Allison was on the board of Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters . [17]

Death [ edit ]

In later life, Allison lived in Van Nuys, California . She died on June 13, 1989, aged 81. [18] from myelodysplasia in Sherman Oaks, California , [19] She was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa . She was survived by her brother, James "Lynn" Allison, a saxophonist. [20]

Legacy [ edit ]

For contributions to the television industry, Allison was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6763 Hollywood Boulevard . [21] She was inducted into the Chicago Television Academy's Silver Circle in 2002. [22]

She appeared with puppets Kukla and Ollie on a 44￠ US commemorative postage stamp in the "Early TV Memories" series, issued on August 11, 2009. [23]

References [ edit ]

  1. ^ a b c Remenih, Anton (March 26, 1950). "Here Is Story of Fran Allison in Wonderland" . Illinois, Chicago. Chicago Tribune. p. 12 . Retrieved February 20, 2016 .
  2. ^ "Alpha Gamma Delta ? Accomplished Alpha Gams" . Alpha Gamma Delta. Archived from the original on August 25, 2010 . Retrieved March 12, 2007 .
  3. ^ a b c d e Longden, Tom. "Fran Allison" . The Des Moines Register . Retrieved February 19, 2016 . [ permanent dead link ]
  4. ^ "Iowan Wins" . Globe-Gazette . Iowa, Mason City. The Mason City Globe-Gazette. August 11, 1934. p. 16 . Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ a b Gibberman, Susan. "Fran Allison" . The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on May 9, 2013 . Retrieved January 16, 2010 .
  6. ^ Butterfield, C.E (July 26, 1937). "The Radio Forecast" . The Times Leader . Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. The Wilkes-Barre Record. p. 14 . Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ Bertel, Dick; Corcoran; Ed (May 1972). "Fran Allison" . The Golden Age of Radio . Season 3. Episode 2. Broadcast Plaza, Inc.. WTIC Hartford, Conn.
  8. ^ "Kukla's Daddy" . Radio-TV Mirror . Macfadden Publications: 57, 77?80. November 1949 . Retrieved August 22, 2016 .
  9. ^ "Fran Allison Is A Fairy On 'Pinocchio' " . Daily Independent Journal . California, San Rafael. Daily Independent Journal. October 12, 1957. p. 47 . Retrieved February 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. ^ Ryan, James (June 14, 1989). "TV Personality Fran Allison Dead At 81" . Tyrone Daily Herald . Pennsylvania, Tyrone. Tyrone Daily Herald. p. 8 . Retrieved February 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1986). Pop Memories 1890-1954 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research, Inc. p.  22 . ISBN   0-89820-083-0 .
  12. ^ "Nominees / Winners 1950" . Television Academy . Retrieved August 16, 2020 .
  13. ^ Anderson, Robert (May 7, 1959). "Fran Allison, Norman Ross Emmy Winners" . Chicago Tribune . Illinois, Chicago. Chicago Tribune. p. 11 . Retrieved February 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  14. ^ "2013 Silver Circle Honors" . Chicago Emmy Online . Retrieved February 20, 2016 .
  15. ^ Flora, Doris P. (May 30, 1969). "Arms Reach Out To 'Aunt Fanny' " . The Tuscaloosa News. p. 12 . Retrieved February 20, 2016 .
  16. ^ Carlile, Olga Gize (May 17, 1968). "Fran Allison Without Kukla, Ollie" . Freeport Journal-Standard . Illinois, Freeport. Freeport Journal-Standard. p. 6 . Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  17. ^ Ryan, James (June 14, 1989). " 'Kukla, Fran & Ollie's' Fran dead at 81" . UPI Archives . Retrieved December 23, 2023 .
  18. ^ DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960 , pg. 10, McFarland & Company, Inc.; ISBN   978-0-7864-2834-2
  19. ^ "Fran Allison, 81, the Human Side Of 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' Show" . The New York Times . June 14, 1989 . Retrieved April 26, 2008 .
  20. ^ Kogan, Rick (June 14, 1989). "Fran Allison, of 'Kukla, Fran & Ollie' " . Chicago Tribune. p. 14 . Retrieved February 21, 2016 .
  21. ^ "Hollywood Walk of Fame database" . HWOF.com.
  22. ^ " 'Fran' To Be Honored By Home Town" . Studio Briefing. January 16, 2002 . Retrieved January 16, 2010 .
  23. ^ "Kukla, Fran and Ollie" . U.S. Stamp Gallery . Retrieved February 3, 2018 .

External links [ edit ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fran Allison .
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