Mary Frances Heflin (September 20, 1920 – June 1, 1994) was an American actress. She is best known for her role as Mona Kane Tyler on the soap opera All My Children (1970–1994).
Frances Heflin | |
|---|---|
 Heflin in an undated publicity photo | |
| Born | Mary Frances Heflin September 20, 1920 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | June 1, 1994 (aged 73) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1941–1994 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3; including Jonathan Kaplan |
| Relatives |
|
Early life
editHeflin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, the daughter of Fanny Bleecker (née Shippey) and Dr. Emmett Evan Heflin, a dentist. She had two older brothers, Martin, a public relations executive, and the actor Van Heflin.[1][2] Through Martin, she was the aunt of actress Marta Heflin.[3]
Career
editHeflin made her Broadway debut in her teens and was later featured in the original productions of The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), The World's Full of Girls (1943), I Remember Mama (1944), and the U.S. premiere of Bertolt Brecht's Galileo on July 30, 1947 in Los Angeles.
Other Broadway credits included The Physicists, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Tempest, Sheppey, All in Favor, and The Walrus and the Carpenter.[4]
She starred in London's West End, in John Gielgud's UK premiere of The Glass Menagerie as Laura opposite Helen Hayes.[5]
A life member of The Actors Studio,[6] Heflin had varying roles on many television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including small roles on Kraft Television Theatre and The Patty Duke Show. But her most notable and enduring role was of Mona Kane Tyler, mother of Erica Kane, on the soap opera All My Children. She played the role from January 1970 until her death in June 1994.
Personal life
editHeflin was briefly married to filmmaker Sidney Kaufman from 1944 to 1945, before marrying composer Sol Kaplan in 1945. Heflin and Kaplan remained together until his death in 1990, and had three children: Jonathan Kaplan, a film director, and Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan, both actresses.[7][8]
Death
editHeflin died of lung cancer on June 1, 1994 in New York City. She was 73 years old.[7][8]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | The Molly Maguires | Mrs. Frazier | |
| 1973 | The Student Teachers | Mrs. Updegrove | |
| 1977 | Mr. Billion | Mrs. Apple Pie |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Kraft Television Theatre | — | Episode: "Blind Alley" |
| 1955, 1958 | The United States Steel Hour | Grace Ward / Emily | 2 episodes |
| 1961 | Tallahassee 7000 | Jane Rogers | Episode: "The Men from Tallahassee" |
| 1963 | Naked City | Josephine Hendon | Episode: "Her Life in Moving Pictures" |
| 1964, 1965 | The Patty Duke Show | Cissy Lane / Miss Harvey | 2 episodes |
| 1965 | The Defenders | Mrs. Kraft | Episode: "Fires of the Mind" |
| 1970–1994 | All My Children | Mona Kane Tyler | 465 episodes |
Radio appearances
edit| Year | Program | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1947 | Cavalcade of America | Episode: "The School for Men"[9] |
References
edit- ^ "Obituary for Martin Heflin". The Daily Oklahoman. February 14, 1972.
- ^ "Martin Heflin Rites". The New York Times. April 28, 1972.
- ^ Vitello, Paul (September 26, 2013). "Marta Heflin, Actor, Dies at 68; Waif Seen in Altman Films". The New York Times.
- ^ "Search for Frances Heflin". Playbill. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ "The Glass Menagerie". Theatricalia. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
- ^ Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 278. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- ^ a b "Frances "Fra" Heflin Kaplan". The Oklahoman. June 4, 1994.
- ^ a b "Frances Heflin; Stage, Film, TV Actress". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 1994.
- ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 42 (2): 32. Spring 2016.