Fran Allison
Fran Allison (November 20, 1907 – June 13, 1989) was an American television and radio comedian, singer, and personality. She is best known for starring in the NBC puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, which ran from 1947 to 1957 and later returned in the 1960s and beyond. The show, created in Chicago, featured her with puppets Kukla and Ollie and was largely improvised. She also helped host The CBS Children's Film Festival from 1967 to 1977, introducing international children’s films.
Born in La Porte City, Iowa, Allison studied at Coe College and taught fourth grade before starting in radio. She began her broadcasting career at WMT in Cedar Rapids and moved to Chicago in 1937 to work for NBC Radio. There she became a familiar voice on The Breakfast Club for about 25 years as “Aunt Fanny,” a kind of gossip-loving small-town aunt. The Aunt Fanny character later appeared on Ozark Jubilee on TV in the late 1950s.
After Kukla, Fran and Ollie, Allison hosted The Fran Allison Show on WGN-TV (1958–1960) and appeared in TV specials and musicals. She also released songs with RCA Victor; her records “Peter Cottontail” (1950) and “Too Young” (1951) were minor hits.
Allison earned several awards, including an Emmy nomination in 1950 and Chicago Emmy wins in 1959. She later received the Chicago Silver Circle honor and an honorary doctorate from Iowa Wesleyan University in 1967. She married Archie Levington in 1940; he died in 1978. She worked to promote mental health and was active with the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters.
Fran Allison died of myelodysplasia in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1989 at age 81. She is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was honored in the Chicago Television Silver Circle in 2002. In 2009, she was featured on a U.S. postage stamp in the Early TV Memories series.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 07:46 (CET).