Frances Upton

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Frances Upton
circa 1930[1]
Born(1904-04-15)April 15, 1904
Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedNovember 27, 1975(1975-11-27) (aged 71)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, comedian
SpouseBert Bell
Children3, including Upton Bell
The Smart Set, 1927
Ziegfeld girl, 1928
Poster for Night Work (1930)

Frances Upton (April 15, 1904[2] – November 27, 1975) was an American Broadway theatre actress and comedian.

Early life[edit]

Upton attended a business college after she finished high school.[citation needed]

Her father, Francis, was a decorated New York City detective sergeant and World War I veteran.,[3][4][5] formerly of the Italian Squad, and recalled from retirement, to help investigate, apprehended "Dago" Frank Cirofici, among the accomplices of NYPD Lieutenant Charles Becker in the 1912 murder of bookmaker Herman Rosenthal. Her paternal grandfather, William C. Upton, was a member of Ireland's Fenian movement of the late 19th century, and wrote a novel, about life under English rule, Uncle Pat's Cabin (1882).[6]

Career[edit]

She worked in at Macy's perfume counter,[4] also a store's music department.[citation needed] She also took dancing lessons,[citation needed] which helped her get a part in a benefit production.[citation needed] Director Julian Mitchell saw her perform and offered her an opportunity to go on Broadway.[5] On Broadway, Upton appeared in Pins and Needles (Feb 01, 1922 - Mar 11, 1922) Shubert Theatre (Broadway), and Little Jessie James (Aug 15, 1923 - Jan 27, 1924) Longacre Theatre.[7][8]

In 1923 and 1927, she is known to have signed contracts with the Ziegfeld Follies.[4][9]

On Broadway, Upton starred with Eddie Cantor in Whoopee! (1928)[10] and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1927 (1927). Her other Broadway credits included Hold Your Horses (1933),[11] Girl Crazy (1931),[12] Talk About Girls (1927),[13] Lady Do (1927), Twinkle, Twinkle (1926), and My Girl (1924).[7] She also performed in vaudeville.[8]

In 1929, Upton performed on a network shortwave radio program specially broadcast to Richard Byrd's expedition to the South Pole.[citation needed] She had a featured role in the early sound film Night Work (1930). In 1931, she starred in one of the first experimental television broadcasts in New York City,[citation needed] appearing with Gertrude Lawrence, Lionel Atwill, and boxer Primo Carnera.

On July 9, 1933, Upton provided the money, $2,500,[14][15] prior to marriage, to her later-husband to buy the NFL rights for the Philadelphia area that had formerly belonged to the Frankford Athletic Association which became the Philadelphia Eagles.[16][17][18]

Personal life[edit]

In 1932, Bert Bell met Upton, who later said, "It's alcohol or me". He finished his drink and turned it upside down and never drank again.[19][20][21][22]

With his colorful personal life and hell-raising early years over, Bell's marriage to Upton was, at first, secret.[23] On 4 January 1934, Upton married Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell.[24][a] Bell later served as commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). They had three children, sons John "Bert Jr."[27] and Upton, and daughter Jane.[8]

Upton died on November 27, 1975, in Lankenau Hospital at age 71.[8]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Newspapers reported the marriage in May 1934,[25] following an April column by Walter Winchell where he mentioned that Bell and Upton had been married "months ago".[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ cropped from: Portrait of Frances Upton. Upton Bell Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst
  2. ^ The Football History Dude (June 17, 2019). "Upton Bell Interview (Part 1) Growing Up With Bert Bell". FlurrySports. Archived from the original on September 22, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2022.
  3. ^ Annual report. New York: Police Dept., City of New York. 1923. p. 233.
  4. ^ a b c Frances Upton. Upton Bell Collection, Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst
  5. ^ a b "Thumb-Nail Sketches". Courier-Post. New Jersey, Camden. December 16, 1933. p. 4. Retrieved January 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Upton, William C. (1882). Uncle Pat's cabin, or Life among the agricultural labourers of Ireland. Dublin: Gill. via google books
  7. ^ a b "Frances Upton". Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d "Frances Upton Bell, Widow of NFL Head". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. November 29, 1975. p. 25. Retrieved January 29, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "FRANCES UPTON SIGNATURE CONTRACT DOCUMENT ZIEGFIELD FOLLIES". Worthpoint. Archived from the original on May 20, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2022. Up for auction is a 1927 original signed contract between Frances Upton (1904-1975) and F. Ziegfield ( ZIEGFIELD FOLLIES) for a any Ziegfield musical play.
  10. ^ Hirschfeld, Al (August 18, 1929). "Frances Upton". Al Hirschfeld Foundation. The New York Times. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  11. ^ Dietz, Dan (March 29, 2018). The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-0277-0.
  12. ^ "October 8th, 1931 - Garrick Theatre Playbill - Girl Crazy - Frances Upton". eBay. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  13. ^ Dietz, Dan (April 10, 2019). The Complete Book of 1920s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-5381-1282-3.
  14. ^ Bell, Upton; Borges, Ron (November 1, 2017). Present at the Creation: My Life in the NFL and the Rise of America’s Game. U of Nebraska Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4962-0039-6.
  15. ^ Peterson, Robert (1997). Pigskin: The Early Years of Pro Football. Oxford University Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-19-507607-3.
  16. ^
  17. ^ "Meet the power couple that created the Philadelphia Eagles". The Why. WHYY-FM. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  18. ^ "Bert Bell was more than the father of the NFL draft". The Seattle Times. September 20, 2019. Retrieved May 19, 2022.
  19. ^ Christine, Bill (January 17, 1974). "Playing Games". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 7. Retrieved May 19, 2022. via google books
  20. ^ Rand, Jonathan (October 31, 2008). The Year That Changed the Game: The Memorable Months That Shaped Pro Football. Potomac Books, Inc. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-59797-215-4.
  21. ^ Willis, Chris (August 19, 2010). The Man Who Built the National Football League: Joe F. Carr. Scarecrow Press. p. 310. ISBN 978-0-8108-7670-5.
  22. ^ McHugh, Roy (2008). Ruanaidh - The Story of Art Rooney and His Clan. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-9814760-2-5.
  23. ^
    • Lyons, Robert S. (2010). On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-731-2. JSTOR j.ctt14bs7vj. … He also provides insight into Bell's colorful personal life-including his hell-raising early years and his secret marriage to Frances Upton, a golden name in show business. On Any Given …
    • Lyons, Robert (2009). On Any Given Sunday. Temple University Press. ISBN 978-1-59213-733-6. Project MUSE 9603.[page needed]
  24. ^ MacCambridge, Michael (2008). America's Game. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 42. ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  25. ^ "Frances Upton, of the Stage, Is Married to Bert Bell". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 7, 1934. p. 1. Retrieved October 14, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Winchell, Walter (April 19, 1934). "On Broadway". The Times. Shreveport, Louisiana. p. 6. Retrieved October 14, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "John "Bert" Bell Obituary (2021) The Press of Atlantic City". Legacy.com. Retrieved May 19, 2022.

External links[edit]

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