Alma Lenore Francis (October , â€" August , ) was an American dancer,
singer, and stage actress. She had an international career as a
theatrical actress and operatic soprano in numerous stage productions,
as well as a short-lived career in Hollywood, appearing in three
feature films during the silent era.A native of Portland, Oregon,
Francis was educated at St. Helens Hall and later studied piano and
operatic voice under Abbie Carrington in San Francisco. After
completing her studies, Francis found success as a Broadway actress,
obtaining lead roles in original productions of the musicals The Pink
Lady () and The Little Cafe (). She married film actor Robert Gordon
in . In the early-s, Francis signed a contract with Fox Film
Corporation and appeared in three silent films, including a role in
The Wolf Man ().After abandoning her film career, Francis appeared in
theater productions in California and toured Italy performing as an
operatic soprano in various productions before returning to the United
States in . Francis spent her later life married to Kenneth Fields, a
U.S. forest ranger, and living on a berry farm west of Sandy, Oregon,
where she taught singing in her private home studio, and was an
advocate of the arts in the Portland metropolitan area. She died on
August , , aged .Alma Lenore Frances[a] was born October , in
Portland, Oregon to William and Alma Ray Francis (née Wilson). Both
her maternal and paternal ancestors were Scottish pioneers, and her
father was a mining engineer originally from Chicago who founded the
St. Johns Lumber Company in Portland. She was educated at St. Helens
Hall in Portland, and later studied piano in San Francisco under Emlyn
Lewys, and operatic voice with Abbie Carrington.
singer, and stage actress. She had an international career as a
theatrical actress and operatic soprano in numerous stage productions,
as well as a short-lived career in Hollywood, appearing in three
feature films during the silent era.A native of Portland, Oregon,
Francis was educated at St. Helens Hall and later studied piano and
operatic voice under Abbie Carrington in San Francisco. After
completing her studies, Francis found success as a Broadway actress,
obtaining lead roles in original productions of the musicals The Pink
Lady () and The Little Cafe (). She married film actor Robert Gordon
in . In the early-s, Francis signed a contract with Fox Film
Corporation and appeared in three silent films, including a role in
The Wolf Man ().After abandoning her film career, Francis appeared in
theater productions in California and toured Italy performing as an
operatic soprano in various productions before returning to the United
States in . Francis spent her later life married to Kenneth Fields, a
U.S. forest ranger, and living on a berry farm west of Sandy, Oregon,
where she taught singing in her private home studio, and was an
advocate of the arts in the Portland metropolitan area. She died on
August , , aged .Alma Lenore Frances[a] was born October , in
Portland, Oregon to William and Alma Ray Francis (née Wilson). Both
her maternal and paternal ancestors were Scottish pioneers, and her
father was a mining engineer originally from Chicago who founded the
St. Johns Lumber Company in Portland. She was educated at St. Helens
Hall in Portland, and later studied piano in San Francisco under Emlyn
Lewys, and operatic voice with Abbie Carrington.
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