James Franciscus

James Franciscus married Kathleen Wellman on March 28, 1960. Kathleen was the daughter of William A. Wellman, a film director. The couple had four children.

After divorcing Kathleen, he married Carla Ankney in 1980.

Franciscus was a heavy smoker. In 1991, he died from emphysema.. He was still married to Carla Ankney at the time of death.

James Franciscus was born on January 31, 1934, at Clayton, Missouri in the United States, to Lorraine (nee Grover) and John Allen Franciscus. John, a soldier in the Second World War, was killed in action.

Having a creative bend of mind, Franciscus joined a Bachelors program in English and theatre arts at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated magna cum laude in 1957.

Franciscus’ first major role was in television. He played the role of Jim Halloran, a detective, in a half-hour episode of ‘The Naked City’, a television series that was produced by ABC.

Following his debut in television, he appeared in a few other television shows like the military sitcom, ‘Hennesey.’ In the show, produced by CBS, James Franciscus appeared alongside the American actor, Jackie Cooper.

Another important television drama in which Franciscus appeared was the NBC production called ‘The Americans.’ It was a family drama revolving around the American Civil War.

James Franciscus got a major break in television when CBS cast him for the lead role in their 13-episode series, ‘The Investigators.’ In the show, aired from October 5 to December 28, 1961, Franciscus played the character, Russ Andrews, an insurance investigator. James Philbrook was his co-star on the show.

Continuing his stint with CBS, Franciscus was also part of the cast in an episode in the anthology series, ‘The DuPont Show with June Allyson.’ The episode in which Franciscus appeared was titled ‘The Empty Heart’ and was aired in 1961.

At the time of his death, Franciscus was working as the screenwriter and associate producer, on the movie, ‘29th Street.’ The film starred Danny Aiello and Anthony LaPaglia.