Fran Allison

Frances Helen Allison (November 20, 1907 – June 13, 1989) 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.

Fran Allison
Allison in 1953
Born
Frances Helen Allison

(1907-11-20)November 20, 1907
La Porte City, Iowa, U.S.
DiedJune 13, 1989(1989-06-13) (aged 81)
Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
Years active1937–1980s
Spouse(s)Archie Levington (June 8, 1940 – April 25, 1978)

Biography

Early years

Frances Helen Allison was born to Jesse Louis (1871–1941) Allison and Anna M "Nan" (née Halpin; 1876–1957) 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 (née Booth) Allison. Their house still stands on Sycamore Street in LaPorte City, IA.[1]

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

Radio
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
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] She was the only human to appear on the live series, filling the role of big sister and cheery voice of reason as the puppets, known as the Kuklapolitan Players, engaged each other.

Other television work

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

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

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

Allison was married to music publisher Archie Levington.[3] In her free time, she devoted her efforts to promoting mental health. One reporter wrote, "For mental health, she will travel anywhere, anytime."[16]

Death

In later life, Allison lived in Van Nuys, California. She died June 13, 1989, aged 81,[17] from myelodysplasia in Sherman Oaks, California,[18] and was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was survived by a brother, saxophonist Lynn.[19]

Legacy

For contributions to the television industry, Allison was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6763 Hollywood Boulevard.[20] She was inducted into the Chicago Television Academy's Silver Circle in 2002.[21]

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.[22]

References
  1. Remenih, Anton (March 26, 1950). "Here Is Story of Fran Allison in Wonderland". Illinois, Chicago. Chicago Tribune. p. Part 3-Page 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. Longden, Tom. "Fran Allison". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  4. "Iowan Wins". Iowa, Mason City. The Mason City Globe-Gazette. August 11, 1934. p. 16. Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Gibberman, Susan. "Fran Allison". The Museum of Broadcast Communications. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  6. Butterfield, C.E (July 26, 1937). "The Radio Forecast". Pennsylvania, Wilkes-Barre. The Wilkes-Barre Record. p. 14. Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  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'". California, San Rafael. Daily Independent Journal. October 12, 1957. p. 47. Retrieved February 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Ryan, James (June 14, 1989). "TV Personality Fran Allison Dead At 81". Pennsylvania, Tyrone. Tyrone Daily Herald. p. 8. Retrieved February 19, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  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". Illinois, Chicago. Chicago Tribune. p. 11. Retrieved February 20, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  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". Illinois, Freeport. Freeport Journal-Standard. p. 6. Retrieved February 18, 2016 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. 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
  18. "Fran Allison, 81, the Human Side Of 'Kukla, Fran and Ollie' Show". The New York Times. June 14, 1989. Retrieved April 26, 2008.
  19. Kogan, Rick (June 14, 1989). "Fran Allison, of 'Kukla, Fran & Ollie'". Chicago Tribune. p. 14. Retrieved February 21, 2016.
  20. "Hollywood Walk of Fame database". HWOF.com.
  21. "'Fran' To Be Honored By Home Town". Studio Briefing. January 16, 2002. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
  22. "Kukla, Fran and Ollie". U.S. Stamp Gallery. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
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