Frances Heflin

American actress (1920–1994)

Frances Heflin

Heflin in an undated publicity photo

Born|

Mary Frances Heflin

(1920-09-20)September 20, 1920

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.

Died| June 1, 1994(1994-06-01) (aged 73)

New York City, U.S.

Occupation| Actress
Years active| 1941–1994
Spouses|

Sidney Kaufman

(m. 1944; div. 1945)​

Sol Kaplan

(m. 1945; died 1990)​

Children| 3; including Jonathan Kaplan
Relatives|

* Van Heflin (brother)
* Julia Heflin (sister-in-law)
* Marta Heflin (niece)

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).

## Early life

[edit]

Heflin 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 Van, an actor.[1][2] Through Martin, she was the aunt of actress Marta Heflin.[3]

## Career

[edit]

Heflin 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

[edit]

Heflin was briefly married to filmmaker Sidney Kaufman from 1944 to 1945, before marrying composer Sol Kaplan in 1945. They 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

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Heflin died of lung cancer on June 1, 1994 in New York City. She was 73 years old.[7][8]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[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

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Year  | Program  | Notes

|
|

1947  | Cavalcade of America | Episode: "The School for Men"[9]

## References

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1. ^ "Obituary for Martin Heflin". The Daily Oklahoman. February 14, 1972.
2. ^ "Martin Heflin Rites". The New York Times. April 28, 1972.
3. ^ Vitello, Paul (September 26, 2013). "Marta Heflin, Actor, Dies at 68; Waif Seen in Altman Films". The New York Times.
4. ^ "Search for Frances Heflin". Playbill. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
5. ^ "The Glass Menagerie". Theatricalia. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ a b "Frances "Fra" Heflin Kaplan". The Oklahoman. June 4, 1994.
8. ^ a b "Frances Heflin; Stage, Film, TV Actress". Los Angeles Times. June 6, 1994.
9. ^ "Those Were the Days". Nostalgia Digest. 42 (2): 32. Spring 2016.

## External links

[edit]

* Frances Heflin at IMDb
* Frances Heflin at the Internet Broadway Database
* Frances Heflin at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

*[m.]: married
*[div.]: divorced