Biography
Mary Frann, born Mary Frances Luecke on February 27, 1943, in St. Louis, Missouri, began her career as a child model and appeared in television commercials. At eighteen, she earned the title of America's Junior Miss. She studied drama at Northwestern University but left college in 1964 to move to Chicago, where she hosted a morning talk show and performed in local theater. In 1966, she made her film debut in Nashville Rebel, starring Waylon Jennings. Later, she relocated to Los Angeles to star in My Friend Tony (1969). There, she became close friends and roommates with actress Joan Van Ark. On August 11, 1973, she married actor and talent agent T.J. Escott.
From 1974 to 1979, she had a starring role on Days of Our Lives and guest-starred on numerous television shows, including Fantasy Island (1977), The Rockford Files (1974), WKRP in Cincinnati (1978), Hotel (1983), Hawaii Five-O (1968), and The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970). She and Escott separated in 1982. That same year, she won the role of Joanna Loudon on Newhart (1982), beating out two hundred other actresses. The series became a major success, establishing her as a popular television star.
Following her divorce, she fell in love with John E. Cookman Jr., an insurance executive. As she aged, she became increasingly concerned about her weight, resorting to diet pills, calorie counting, and daily exercise. After eight seasons, Newhart ended in 1990. In 1993, she was diagnosed with a heart arrhythmia but continued acting, making guest appearances on Diagnosis Murder and Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. In her free time, she enjoyed gardening, reading, and attending garage sales. She and John planned to marry in late 1998, and she adopted a strict diet to be slim for the wedding.
On September 22, 1998, after attending a charity event for the Los Angeles mission, she passed away in her sleep from a heart attack at age 55. Her recent dieting reportedly placed excessive strain on her heart. Her fiancé said, "I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. She was a wonderful woman." Mary Frann was laid to rest at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
