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 ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'' (1970–1994).

Early life

Heflin was born in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, 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 the actor Van Heflin. Through Martin, she was the aunt of actress Marta Heflin.

Career

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 Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

's ''

Galileo Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

'' on July 30, 1947 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Other Broadway credits included ''The Physicists'', ''A Streetcar Named Desire'', ''The Tempest'', ''Sheppey'', ''All in Favor'', and ''The Walrus and the Carpenter''. She starred in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

's West End, in John Gielgud's UK premiere of '' The Glass Menagerie'' as Laura opposite

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

. Heflin's film debut came in '' The Molly Maguires'' (1970), as she portrayed the wife of a leader of that Irish secret society. A life member of

The Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining ...

, Heflin had varying roles on many television series in the 1950s and 1960s, including small roles on ''

Kraft Television Theatre ''Kraft Television Theatre'' is an American anthology drama television series running from 1947 to 1958. It began May 7, 1947, on NBC, airing at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. It first promoted MacLaren's Impe ...

'' 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 ''

''. She played the role from January 1970 until her death in June 1994. Heflin began her professional career on radio, where she was heard on '' Aunt Jenny'', ''

Betty and Bob ''Betty and Bob'' is a 1932-1940 radio soap opera. The soap opera follows the lives of Betty and Bob Drake. Betty was a secretary who falls madly in love with her boss, bachelor Bob Drake. The two wed and each day, the subject matter dealt with ...

'', ''Cavalcade'', '' Columbia Workshop'', '' Grand Central Station'', and other programs. She portrayed Nora Holiday in the CBS radio comedy '' Holiday and Company''.

Personal life

Heflin was briefly married to filmmaker Sidney Kaufman from 1944 to 1945, before marrying composer Sol Kaplan in 1945. Heflin and Kaplan remained together until his death in 1990, and had three children:

Jonathan Kaplan Jonathan Kaplan (born November 25, 1947) is an American film producer and film director, director. His film ''The Accused (1988 film), The Accused'' (1988) earned actress Jodie Foster the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Actress ...

, a film director, and Nora Heflin and Mady Kaplan, both actresses.

Death

Heflin died of lung cancer on June 1, 1994 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She was 73 years old.

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio appearances

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heflin, Frances 1920 births 1994 deaths 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Oklahoma City American film actresses American soap opera actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state)