ARLENE FRANCIS

Arlene Francis was born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 20, 1907.

She became a popular voice on radio during the early 1930s, appearing in a plethora of soap operas and dramatic serials. Named the third most famous woman in America in the 1950s, her NBC radio program Family Living won the Peabody Award for public service in 1959, and she served on the Peabody Board of Jurors from 1980-1982. 

A broadcast pioneer, she was the first woman to host NBC’s Monitor and presided over the Arlene Francis Show on WOR-AM for nearly a quarter of a century. In addition to her meritorious service in radio, film, and television, she made numerous appearances on Broadway and regional theaters. Known for her famous wit and vivacious personality, she spent 25 years as a panelist on the game show What’s My Line, securing her position as a legend of entertainment. 

Arlene Francis died on May 31, 2001.  

She was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2021.