Mary Frann

Born: February 27, 1943 She is another personal favorite of mine. This lady possessed a bubbly charm and down to earth good looks. She was also incredibly talented… Her first television appearance was on “Kraft Suspense Theatre.” From 1974 to 1979 she was a cast member on “Days of Our Lives.” In 1982 she appeared in ten episodes of “King’s Crossing.” The role that earned her a place in television history though was playing Bob Newhart’s wife on his second sitcom “Newhart” from 1982 to 1990. As Joanna Loudon she became well known for her sweaters and welcoming appeal… She appeared in a few films including Nashville Rebel in 1966 and Woman in the Rain in 1976… Her other television credits include (incomplete): “Get Smart” “That Girl” “The Wild Wild West” “Bonanza” “The Bill Cosby Show” “Hawaii Five-O” “Cannon” “Quincy M.E.” “Fantasy Island” “The Incredible Hulk” “The Rockford Files” “Nero Wolfe” “WKRP in Cincinnati” “Hotel” “Burke’s Law” (1990’s version) “Diagnosis Murder” On the “Mary Tyler Moore” show she gave a memorable performance as woman Mary meets after a minor fender bender. Mary is stunned to learn later on though that the woman is an anti-Semite and doesn’t care for Rhoda (Valerie Harper). On “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” she made a small guest role as Alice White, the then ex-wife of Editor Perry White (Lane Smith). During the entire series Alice was a character that was often referred to but never shown. During the course of the series Perry and Alice separate but they reconcile in the second to last episode of the series in 1997. She also did her fair share of made for television movies in 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s… Her final performance was in an episode of “Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction.” However the episode didn’t air until 2000, two years after the actress passed away…According to the LA Times and I credit the Internet Movie Database for providing this information the actress was discovered dead in her bed by her longtime companion early on the morning of September 23, 1998. She was 55. The autopsy showed that she had a serious heart condition that involved deterioration of the heart muscles… In Memoriam Remembers: Mary Frann