Mary Frann

Born in St. Louis, Frann was a child model and appeared in commercials for a local television station while she attended Nerinx Hall High School. At the age of 18, she was voted Missouri's "Junior Miss". She went on to win the 1961 national title of America's Junior Miss and earned a college scholarship to study drama at Northwestern University.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19870104&id=XUUsAAAAIBAJ&pg=5617,1302318&hl=en| title=Mary Frann has character's spirit| last=Reinhold| first=Toni| date=January 4, 1987| newspaper=The Herald Journal TV Week| page=62| access-date=July 29, 2015| location=Logan, Utah}} As America's Junior Miss, she starred in a Jam Handy educational film (Prom: It's a Pleasure) extolling the etiquette and fun of the high school prom.{{cite web| via=Internet Archive| title=The Prom: It's a Pleasure| year=1961| url=https://archive.org/details/PromItsA1961| publisher=Jam Handy| access-date=7 February 2013}} While attending Northwestern, Frann worked as a weather reporter for the NBC station in St. Louis.{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/09/25/arts/mary-frann-55-bemused-wife-on-newhart.html| title=Mary Frann, 55, Bemused Wife on 'Newhart'| last=Carter| first=Bill| date=September 25, 1998| newspaper=The New York Times| access-date=2009-09-24| url-access=subscription}}{{cite web| url=http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-98/09-24-98/zzzddobi.htm#XINDEX13| title=Mary Frann, played Bob Newhart's wife on TV series| newspaper=The Standard-Times| location=New Bedford, Mass| access-date=September 24, 2009| archive-date=July 18, 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718114841/http://archive.southcoasttoday.com/daily/09-98/09-24-98/zzzddobi.htm#XINDEX13| url-status=dead}} After a year, she dropped out of Northwestern and moved to Chicago where she co-hosted a morning show on an ABC affiliate. While working as a host, Frann worked in local theatre productions and began working in television and films.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19860323&id=xldTAAAAIBAJ&pg=4983,6401775&hl=en| title=Joking Around Way of Life on Set of 'Newhart'| last=Guttman| first=Monika| date=March 23, 1986| newspaper=The Victoria Advocate| page=8| access-date=July 29, 2015}} In 1964, Frann made her television debut in the Kraft Suspense Theatre episode "Once Upon a Savage Night", which was subsequently expanded into the TV movie Nightmare in Chicago. In 1966, Frann made her feature film debut in the low-budget musical drama Nashville Rebel, starring Waylon Jennings.{{cite book| last1=Bogdanov| first1=Vladimir |last2=Woodstra| first2=Chris| last3=Erlewine| first3=Stephen Thomas| editor=Bogdanov, Vladimir| editor2=Woodstra, Chris| editor3=Erlewine, Stephen Thomas| title=All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music| year=2003| edition=2nd| publisher=Backbeat Books| isbn=978-0-8793-0760-8| page=897}}

After receiving an offer to host another morning show, Frann realized she wanted to pursue a career as an actress rather than a broadcaster. In 1968, she moved to Los Angeles where she stayed with her best friend, actress Joan Van Ark. Shortly after her arrival, Frann won a role on the NBC crime drama series My Friend Tony. After winning the role, Frann's agent told her that he felt she should change her name to something more appealing. Frann adopted the stage name "Jennifer Douglas", a name she picked from the phone book. After My Friend Tony was canceled after one season, Frann returned to using the name "Mary Frann" (which she had gone by since high school) as her professional name.

For the next five years, Frann continued to work in television and also worked in theatre in Los Angeles and New York. In 1974, she landed the role of Amanda Howard on the daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. She would remain on the show until 1979.{{cite web| url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/99313290/the-philadelphia-inquirer/| title=Proving The Allure Of An 'Older Woman'| last=Norbom| first=Mary Ann| date=July 20, 1986| newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer| access-date=April 7, 2022}} While on the series, Frann also made guest appearances on Quincy, M.E.; The Rockford Files; Fantasy Island; The Mary Tyler Moore Show and WKRP in Cincinnati. In 1978, Frann was nearly cast as Sue Ellen Ewing on the CBS primetime drama Dallas. Producers later decided to cast actress Linda Gray.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1291&dat=19810508&id=LyJUAAAAIBAJ&pg=5588,1734526&hl=en| title=Jane Wyman lands new TV series role| last=Gold| first=Aaron| date=May 8, 1981| newspaper=Boca Raton News| page=20| access-date=July 29, 2015}} In 1982, she starred on the short-lived series King's Crossing with Linda Hamilton. That series was canceled after one season due to low ratings.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19821009&id=3gwhAAAAIBAJ&pg=2338,3465113&hl=en| title='Newhart' Actress Mary Frann Knows 'Inns' and Outs of Role| last=Heldenfels| first=R.D.| date=October 9, 1982| newspaper=Schenectady Gazette| page=5| access-date=July 29, 2015}} Later that year, she landed her most memorable role as Joanna Loudon, the wife of Vermont inn owner Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart), in the sitcom Newhart.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1876&dat=19840617&id=RWMsAAAAIBAJ&pg=4177,5081726&hl=en| title=Mary Frann Falls In Love With 'Newhart'| last=Haviland| first=Joe| date=June 17, 1984| newspaper=Spartanburg Herald-Journal| page=36| access-date=July 29, 2015}} The series, which aired from October 1982 to May 1990, was a hit with audiences and was nominated for 25 Emmys and five Golden Globes. Shortly after filming the series finale, Frann was cast as "Clementine Duke" in the miniseries Lucky/Chances.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19900523&id=lThSAAAAIBAJ&pg=5552,4651255&hl=en| title=Vamp role up next| date=May 23, 1990| newspaper=The Victoria Advocate| page=9D| access-date=July 29, 2015}} The series was based on two of Jackie Collins' novels, Lucky and Chances. The role was a dramatic departure from Frann's work on Newhart and surprised audiences. She later told the Los Angeles Times, "I thought it would be outrageous, flamboyant, glamorous. I wanted to remind people that I was capable of playing many different roles."{{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-24-me-26035-story.html| title=Mary Frann; Veteran Actress Played Wife on 'Newhart'| last=Oliver| first=Myrna| date=September 24, 1998| newspaper=Los Angeles Times| access-date=July 29, 2015}}

During the run of Newhart, Frann continued acting in various projects. In 1985, she co-starred in the TV movie Gidget's Summer Reunion,{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1982&dat=19850608&id=W8NGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4523,811997&hl=en| title='Gidget' returns to the tube| last=Anderson| first=Nancy| date=June 8, 1985| newspaper=The Evening News| page=5E| access-date=July 29, 2015| agency=Copley News Service| location=Newburgh, New York}} and in 1988, she appeared in Dance 'til Dawn with Alyssa Milano, Christina Applegate and Kelsey Grammer.{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19881021&id=ycFPAAAAIBAJ&pg=6611,3765308&hl=en| title='Mission: Impossible' Is Back!| last=Burlingame| first=Jon| date=October 21, 1988| newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner| page=8B| access-date=July 29, 2015}} Frann also co-hosted the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants of 1986 and 1987,{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1346&dat=19860521&id=uapOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6790,2782712&hl=en| title=Texas Wins Miss USA Title| date=May 21, 1986| newspaper=Lakeland Ledger| page=8A| accessdate=July 29, 2015| agency=Associated Press}}{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2245&dat=19870217&id=MJszAAAAIBAJ&pg=7135,6227802&hl=en| title=Miss Texas wins...|date=February 18, 1987| newspaper=Lodi News-Sentinel| page=12| accessdate=July 29, 2015}}{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1345&dat=19860721&id=AQBXAAAAIBAJ&pg=6808,1135186&hl=en| title=Miss Universe crowned tonight| last=Zuckerman| first=Faye B.| date=July 21, 1986| newspaper=Spokane Chronicle| page=B5| access-date=July 29, 2015}}{{cite news| url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19870218&id=5KEaAAAAIBAJ&pg=6806,4168445&hl=en| title=Barker wins; furs cut from pageant| last=Major Holmes| first=Sue| date=February 18, 1987| newspaper=The Times-News| page=14| access-date=July 29, 2015| location=Hendersonville, North Carolina}} and acted as hostess for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Rose Parade.

Her last acting role came in an episode of the series Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction. Due to the sporadic airing of the series, the episode she was in, "The Curse of Hampton Manor", aired two years after her death.

Frann married T.J. Escott in 1973. They separated in 1982 and divorced the following year.

Frann was active as a volunteer fund-raiser and with several charitable works. She was a member of the Celebrity Action Council, a volunteer group of celebrity women who served the women's outreach of the Los Angeles Mission, for seven years. The night before her death, she had attended a meeting at the Mission.

On September 23, 1998, Frann died in her sleep at her home in Beverly Hills.{{cite news| last=Errico |first=Marcus| title="Newhart" Wife Mary Frann Dies| website=E! News| date=September 24, 1998| url=http://eonline.com/news/newhart_wife_mary_frann_dies/37051| access-date=April 7, 2022}} Her body was discovered by longtime boyfriend Jonathan Cookman, Jr. An autopsy determined she died of a heart attack, and found myocardial scars suggesting earlier undiagnosed infarction.{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/News/9811/05/showbuzz/#story2| title=Coroner: 'Newhart's Mary Frann died of heart attack| date=November 5, 1998| website=CNN| access-date=September 24, 2009}} Her remains are interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.{{cite book| last=Ellenberger| first=Allan R.| title=Celebrities in Los Angeles Cemeteries: A Directory| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bOJCgAAQBAJ&q=frann| date=May 1, 2001| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-0-7864-0983-9| page=164| url-access=subscription}}

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Category:1943 births

Category:1998 deaths

Category:20th-century American actresses

Category:Actresses from St. Louis

Category:American beauty pageant winners

Category:American child models

Category:American film actresses

Category:American musical theatre actresses

Category:American soap opera actresses

Category:American stage actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:American television personalities

Category:American women television personalities

Category:Female models from Missouri

Category:Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City

Category:Northwestern University School of Communication alumni