Frances Upton

Frances Upton (15 April 1904 – 27 November 1975, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) was a Broadway actress and comedienne who starred with Eddie Cantor in the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1928" and "Whoopee!". She also had a featured role in the early talkie "Night Work". In 1929, she performed on a radio program specially broadcast to Richard Byrd's expedition to the South Pole. In 1931, she starred in one of the first experimental television broadcasts in New York City, appearing with Gertrude Lawrence, Lionel Atwill and boxer Primo Carnera.

Her father, Francis, was a decorated New York City detective and World War I veteran. Her grandfather, William C. Upton, was a noted member of Ireland's Fenian movement of the late 19th century, and wrote a controversial novel, "Uncle Pat's Cabin" (1882), about life under English rule.

On 6 May 1934, she married Bert Bell, later commissioner of the National Football League.

External links

*ibdb name|id=62927|name=Frances Upton
*imdb name|id=0881500|name=Frances Upton
* [http://www.solowey.com/newsletter/FrancesUpton.html Portrait] by Ben Solowey