DEATHS : Kukla and Ollie’s Fran Allison Dies
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Fran Allison, best remembered as the warmhearted human foil for puppets on the popular “Kukla, Fran & Ollie” television show, died today at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital. She was 81.
The cause of death was not immediately available.
Allison joined the late Burr Tillstrom’s puppet show when it began in 1947 on local TV in Chicago. She had worked as a singer and radio personality in shows originating from Chicago during the 1930s and 1940s, including playing “Aunt Fanny” on Don McNeill’s “Breakfast Club.”
The whimsical puppet program, featuring Tillstrom’s “Kuklapolitan Players,” was one of television’s longest-running children’s programs and focused on the perpetually worried Kukla and the carefree Oliver J. Dragon.
Allison essentially played herself, a Chicago singer and actress who appeared in front of the puppet stage. Her sweet interaction with the puppets was so natural that she brought the little drama to life for millions of youngsters.
Allison was born in La Porte City, Iowa. After studying at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, she worked as a public school teacher for a time.
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