Fran Allison | |
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 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 | |
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 weekdayNBC-TVpuppet showKukla, Fran and Ollie, which ran from 1947 to 1957, occasionally returning to the air until the mid-1980s. The trio also hostedTheCBS Children's Film Festival, introducing international children's films, from 1967 to 1977.
Frances Helen Allison was born to Jesse Louis Allison and Anna M. "Nan" (née Halpin) Allison inLa 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.[1]
A 1927 graduate ofCoe College, she was a member ofAlpha Gamma Delta.[2] She was a fourth-grade teacher for four years inSchleswig andPocahontas (both in Iowa),[1] before beginning her broadcasting career atWMT[3] inCedar 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 theHollywood Hotel radio contest."[4]
She moved toChicago, Illinois in 1937, where she was hired as a staff singer and personality onNBC 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 onThe Breakfast Club,[3] a popularChicago originating national 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 onThose Websters.[1]
In 1947, the director ofWBKB-TV in Chicago askedBurr Tillstrom if he could put together a puppet show for children, and he asked Allison,[3] whom he had met during a World War IIwar bond tour, to join the show.[8]
The show was an early Americantelevision show usingpuppets. It was created for children, but was soon watched by more adults than children. It did not have a script and was entirelyad-libbed. It was broadcast from Chicago between October 13, 1947, and August 30, 1957.[9] Comedienne Fran Allison starred, interacting withhand puppets Kukla and Ollie (and sometimes other puppets) whose puppeteer was the show's creator,Burr Tillstrom.[citation needed]
Her television career continued after the initial run ofKukla, Fran and Ollie: in the late 1950s, she hostedThe Fran Allison Show, a panel discussion TV program in Chicago; and appeared in television musical specials displaying her singing abilities, includingMany Moons (1954),Pinocchio withMickey Rooney (1957),[10]Damn Yankees (1967) withPhil Silvers and lastlyMiss Pickerell (1972).[citation needed]
She had her own program,The Fran Allison Show onWGN-TV (1958–1960).[11] In the 1980s, she hostedPrime Time, a show for senior citizens, onKHJ-TV in Los Angeles.[5]
Allison made records for theRCA Victor label. She had two minor pop hits. 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 byJack Fascinato, who was the orchestra leader of Kukla, Fran and Ollie.[12]
In 1950, Allison was nominated for anEmmy Award as Most Outstanding Kinescoped Personality.[13] In 1959, she won two Chicago Emmy awards.[14] In 2002, she was a Silver Circle honoree of the Chicago/Midwest Chapter of theNational Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.[15]
In 1967,Iowa Wesleyan University awarded her an honorary doctorate of letters.[16]
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 theFreeport Journal-Standard, "For mental health, she will travel anywhere, anytime."[17]
Allison was on the board ofPacific Pioneer Broadcasters.[18]
In later life, Allison lived inVan Nuys, California. She died on June 13, 1989, aged 81.[19] frommyelodysplasia inSherman Oaks, California,[20] She was buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery inCedar Rapids, Iowa. She was survived by her brother, James "Lynn" Allison, a saxophonist.[21]
For contributions to the television industry, Allison was honored with a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame at 6763Hollywood Boulevard.[22] She was inducted into the Chicago Television Academy's Silver Circle in 2002.[23]
She appeared with puppets Kukla and Ollie on a 44¢ UScommemorative postage stamp in the "Early TV Memories" series, issued on August 11, 2009.[24]
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