Girls, just for the record, Peter Postlethwaite, that wonderful character actor, so brilliant in "The Usual Suspects," was technically the first show biz death of 2011, having died on January 2. But for my girls on here, the REALLY first one, the one that will COUNT to us all, was recorded this morning, when I learned of the death of Anne Francis!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now, Miss Francis, who was 80, was never an Icon, because she was just not MAJOR enough--unlike, say JUDY or MARILYN or even LANA (Turner)--nevertheless, she was an important figure for us Girls, and a Litmus Test of sorts, as will be explained.
For us Girls (baby boomers) of a Certain Age, she was there for us every step of the way, starting when we were small children and "Million Dollar Movie" would broadcast "Forbidden Planet," MGM's brilliant, groundbreaking 1956 reworking of Shakespeare's "The Tempest," in which she played Walter Pidgeon's daughter. Even Robby the Robot could not keep his eyes off Anne; for many of us, she was an early intro to Glamour.
As we grew into ourselves in the Sixties, Anne was there for us again, when she took on her signature TV role, (which must have been groundbreaking, because it preceded Angie Dickinson as Pepper Anderson in "Police Woman" by a good ten years or so) that of legendary TV detective, Honey West. In her form fitting black suit, and her swift kicks, delivered to villains in a style unseen until Diana Rigg played Emma Peel, we ALL wanted to be Anne as Honey!!!!!!!!! And we ALL wanted our Honey West dolls, once those figures hit the Market!!!!!! Would you believe I was not allowed to have one????????? What were my parents thinking???????????? And let me tell you, at the same time, so-called hetero little boys all over America were dressing and accessorizing G.I.Joe, which makes me wonder, in turn, how they even turned out straight in the first place???? You might think they would have gone right to Barbie, or, at the very least, Midge, once they hit puberty!!!!!!! Believe me, with Anne's passing, not only will the value of Honey West dolls go up on E-Bay, but so will the population of therapists' couches, now to be inhabited by generations of Gay men still resentful at not being allowed to own a Honey West doll!!!!!!!!!!!
But then came the role that cemented Anne as a Litmus Test--Ziegfeld glamour girl and chorine Georgia James in "Funny Girl" (1968). This film just happened to have an up and coming Gay icon herself, Barbra Streisand, girls, and the story which has always circulated on the Boulevard was that originally Anne's role was supposed to be larger than it was, but with Barbra, being, well.....BARBRA, the role kept getting pruned back, till all that was left was what we see--like her memorable towel clad entrance from the train!!!!!!!!!!!
Nevertheless, it cemented Anne as a figure among Gay culture. Let me tell you, lambs, if you have a male friend, whose sexuality you are unsure of, simply ask him who played Georgia James in the movie version of "Funny Girl." I guarantee you, if he gets it right, by saying Anne Francis, he is GAY!!!!!!!!!!!! You better believe it, Honey!!!!!!!!!!!!
This point was confirmed a good five or more years back, at New York's Ziegfeld Theater, when they screened a Restored Print of the film, prior to a Restored DVD release. Girls, I am telling you, the moment the name "Anne Francis" appeared on the screen, there was such applause I am sure even Barbra would have been upset. On the other hand, Lainie Kazan would secretly have been thrilled!!!!!!!!!!
And so we say a fond farewell to Anne Francis!!!!! You will always be our honey, Honey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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