Fran Jeffries

Fran Jeffries
Jeffries in The Pink Panther (1963)
Born
Frances Ann Makris

(1937-05-18)May 18, 1937
Palo Alto, California U.S.
DiedDecember 15, 2016(2016-12-15) (aged 79)
Los Angeles, California U.S.
Resting placeHollywood Forever Cemetery
Years active1958–2000
Spouses
  • Edward E. Belasco
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1955, divorced)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1958; div. 1965)​
  • ​
    ​
    (m. 1965; div. 1970)​
  • Steven Schaeffer
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1971; div. 1973)​
Children1

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] When she was young, her father moved the family to San Jose to open a restaurant.[2]

Career

Jeffries sang with Bob Scobey's orchestra for a year.[3] While she was married to Dick Haymes, they had a nightclub act together.[4] 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."[5]

Jeffries's film debut came in the 1958 film The Buccaneer.[6] 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.[7] 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."[8]

Jeffries sang on The Tom Jones Show in 1969 with the host, doing a duet of "You've Got What it Takes,"[9] as well as The Smokey Robinson Show the following year, in which she did solo numbers as well as a duet with Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder and the rest of the cast.[10] Jeffries also performed on Bob Hope's final USO tour of Vietnam in December 1972.[11]

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!"[12] 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!"[13]

Personal life

Jeffries had a daughter with second husband Dick Haymes (1958–1965).[1] She was then married to director Richard Quine (1965–1970) and Steven Schaeffer (1971–1973).[6]

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 MGM in 1964 as a single and an LP. She also sang the songs "Meglio Stasera" and "The Anniversary Song" in films. In 1966, Jeffries recorded an album for Monument Records entitled This Is Fran Jeffries, which was a collection of standards and popular songs, produced by Fred Foster with arrangements by Dick Grove and Bill Justis, including a rendition of Lennon–McCartney's "Yesterday". In 2000, she released a recording All the Love, again a collection of standards.[1]

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

  1. ^ 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...
  2. ^ Grimes, William (December 20, 2016) [December 20, 2016]. "Fran Jeffries, an Actress Who Performed a Sexy Samba in 'The Pink Panther,' Dies at 79". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2024.
  3. ^ Novak, Ralph (February 25, 1972). "Fran Jeffries More Than Starlet". The Town Talk. Louisiana, Alexandria. p. 18. Retrieved June 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Parish, James Robert; Pitts, Michael R. (2003). Hollywood Songsters: Garland to O'Connor. Taylor & Francis. p. 376. ISBN 9780415943338. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  5. ^ Yagoda, Ben (2015). The B Side: The Death of Tin Pan Alley and the Rebirth of the Great American Song. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9780698172517.
  6. ^ a b Lentz, Harris III. "Fran Jeffries, 79". Classic Images (500): 55–56.
  7. ^ Video on YouTube
  8. ^ Edwards, Anne (2012). Leaving Home. Scarecrow Press. p. 202. ISBN 9780810882003.
  9. ^ Inman, David M. (2014). Television Variety Shows: Histories and Episode Guides to 57 Programs. McFarland. p. 237. ISBN 978-0786421985.
  10. ^ "Specials Give Barnett New $". Billboard. Vol. 82, no. 49. December 5, 1970.
  11. ^ Zoglin, Richard (2014). Hope:Entertainer of the Century. Simon & Schuster. p. 413. ISBN 9781439140284.
  12. ^ "Playboy Magazine February 1971 vol. 18, no. 2". Vintage Playboy Mags. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  13. ^ "Playboy Magazine September 1982 vol. 29, no. 9". Vintage Playboy Mags. Retrieved April 30, 2022.