Fran Jeffries (born Frances Ann Makris; May 18, 1937 – December 15, 2016) was an American multi-talented singer, dancer, actress, and model.
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| Jeffries & Haymes |
In her early teens Frances won a local talent contest, the Del Courtney Amateur Hour, performing the Betty Grable song “What Did I Do?” She took home a Bulova watch and a sack of groceries. After graduating from high school she began singing in San Francisco nightclubs as part of a trio. One night she found herself on the same bill with Mr. Haymes, a crooning balladeer in his 40s. They formed a duo, married and for the next several years enjoyed success in nightclubs, cabarets and Las Vegas casinos.
After appearing in a bit part in the 1958 film “The Buccaneer,” this was followed by "The Pink Panther" (1963); the latter in which she sings "Meglio Stasera" ("It Had Better Be Tonight") while glamorously leading a line-dance around a fireplace, including Peter Sellers and David Niven among other movie celebrities of that period.
Additionally, she performed on such programs as "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Jack Paar Show", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "Hollywood Palace" and "The Dean Martin Show".
Ms. Jeffries recorded the albums “Fran Can Really Hang You Up the Most” (1960), “Fran Jeffries Sings of Sex and the Single Girl” (1964) and “This Is Fran Jeffries” (1966).
As Jeffries’ popularity grew, Monument issued a number of additional 45rpm records over the next few years such as: “Honey and Wine/Take Me (1966)”; “My Lonely Corner (1967)”; and
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“Gone Now (1968).” One source asserts that none of those later 45rpms ever appeared on any of her albums.
“Gone Now (1968).” One source asserts that none of those later 45rpms ever appeared on any of her albums.She was featured in Playboy in the February 1971 issue at the age of 33 in a pictorial titled "Fran-tastic!" In September 1982 she posed a second time for Playboy, this time at the age of 45
In the late 1960s and early ’70s she toured Europe with Sammy Davis Jr. and Southeast Asia with Bob Hope. She sang on The Tom Jones Show in 1969 with the host, doing a duet of "You've Got What it Takes," as ell as The Smokey Robinson Show
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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.
She performed for decades in supper clubs and cabarets, and in 2000 recorded a set of ballads and standards, “All the Love.”
She performed for decades in supper clubs and cabarets, and in 2000 recorded a set of ballads and standards, “All the Love.”
Jeffries suffered from multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, in her last years. She died of the disease at her home on December 15, 2016 in Los Angeles, California, at the age of 79. She is buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
(Edited from various sources mainly Wikipedia & The NY Times)