Fran Allison

Frances Helen "Fran" Allison (November 20, 1907 – June 13, 1989) was an American television and radio comedian, personality and singer. She is best known for her starring role on the weekday NBC-TV puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, which ran from 1947 to 1957, occasionally returning to the air until the mid-1980s. The trio also hosted The CBS Children's Film Festival, introducing international children's films, from 1967 to 1977.

Biography

Early years

Frances Helen was born to Jesse Louis (1871–1941) and Anna M "Nan" (née Halpin 1876–1957) Allison in La Porte City, Iowa. She was a 1927 graduate of Coe College, where she was a member of Alpha Gamma Delta. She was a teacher before beginning her broadcasting career at WMT in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She moved to Chicago, Illinois in 1937, where she was hired as a staff singer and personality on NBC Radio. Beginning in 1937, she was a regular performer on The Breakfast Club, a popular Chicago (and NBC) radio show, and was a fixture for 25 years as "Aunt Fanny," a gossipy small-town spinster. Her Aunt Fanny character also appeared on the ABC-TV series, Ozark Jubilee, during the late 1950s.