Fran Jeffries
Fran Jeffries | |
---|---|
Born | Frances Ann Makris May 18, 1937 |
Died | December 15, 2016 Los Angeles, California U.S. | (aged 79)
Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
Years active | 1958–2000 |
Spouses |
|
Children | 1 |
Fran Jeffries (born Frances Ann Makris; May 18, 1937 – December 15, 2016) was an American singer, dancer, actress, and model.
Early life
Jeffries was born Frances Ann Makris on May 18, 1937, in Palo Alto, California, the daughter of Esther A. (née Gautier) and Steven G. Makris, a Greek-immigrant barbershop owner.[1]
Career
Jeffries sang with Bob Scobey's orchestra for a year.[2] While she was married to Dick Haymes, they had a nightclub act together.[3] During this time, Haymes asked songwriter-pianist Dave Frishberg to "write something for Fran -- a cute, sexy piece," which became Frishberg's classic song "Peel Me a Grape."[4]
Jeffries's film debut came in the 1958 film The Buccaneer.[5] She appeared in the 1963 film The Pink Panther, in which she sang "Meglio Stasera (It Had Better Be Tonight)" while leading a line-dance with Peter Sellers, David Niven, and others.[6] Her supporting role as a professional entertainer in Sex and the Single Girl featured her as a singer-dancer.
Her last film role was in A Talent for Loving, directed by then-husband Richard Quine. On set, "The Quines were constantly quarreling," according to writer Anne Edwards, who was married to one of the producers. "Fran Jeffries was a singer, not an actress, and did not like her role, especially the scarcity of her scenes. By the end of shooting, she had filed for divorce."[7]
Jeffries sang on
She was featured in Playboy in the February 1971 issue (Volume 18 Number 2) at the age of 33 in a pictorial titled "Fran-tastic!"[11] In September 1982 she posed a second time for Playboy, this time at the age of 45. This second pictorial (Volume 29 Number 9) was titled "Still Fran-tastic!"[12]
Personal life
Jeffries had a daughter, Stephanie, with second husband Dick Haymes (1958–1965).[1] She was then married to director Richard Quine (1965–1970) and Steven Schaeffer (1971–1973).[5]
Death
Jeffries died from multiple myeloma on December 15, 2016, in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 79.[1]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1958 | The Buccaneer | Cariba – Mawbee Girl | |
1963 | The Pink Panther | Greek "cousin" | |
1964 | Sex and the Single Girl | Gretchen | |
1965 | Harum Scarum | Aishah | |
1969 | A Talent for Loving | Maria |
Discography
"Sex and the Single Girl" was released on
Albums
Recorded | Title | Label | Catalogue No. | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|
1960 | Fran Can Really Hang You Up the Most | Warwick | W2020 | LP/CD |
1964 | Fran Jeffries Sings of Sex and the Single Girl | MGM Records | SE-4268 | LP/CD |
1966 | This Is Fran Jeffries | Monument Records | SLP-18069 | LP/CD |
2000 | All the Love | Varèse Sarabande | 302 066 187 2 | CD |
Singles
Recorded | Title | Label | Catalogue No. | Format |
---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Sex and the Single Girl? | MGM Records | 45 r.p.m. | |
1966 | Take Me (Tutta La Gente Del Mondo)/Honey and Wine | Monument | 45-1036 | |
1967 | Life Goes On/My Lonely Corner | 45-1015 | ||
1968 | Gone Now/I've Been Wrong Before | 45-1089 |
References
- ^ a b c d Grimes, William (December 20, 2016). "Fran Jeffries, an Actress Who Performed a Sexy Samba in 'The Pink Panther,' Dies at 79". The New York Times. p. A19. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
...she is survived by a daughter, Stephanie Haymes-Roven...
- Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 9780415943338. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
- ISBN 9780698172517.
- ^ a b Lentz, Harris III. "Fran Jeffries, 79". Classic Images (500): 55–56.
- YouTube
- ISBN 9780810882003.
- ISBN 978-0786421985.
- ^ "Specials Give Barnett New $". Billboard. Vol. 82, no. 49. December 5, 1970.
- ISBN 9781439140284.
- ^ "Playboy Magazine February 1971 vol. 18, no. 2". Vintage Playboy Mags. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
- ^ "Playboy Magazine September 1982 vol. 29, no. 9". Vintage Playboy Mags. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
External links
- Fran Jeffries at IMDb
- Timeline
- Fran Jeffries at Find a Grave