Frances Upton
Frances Upton (April 15, 1904 – November 27, 1975) was an American Broadway theatre actress and comedian. Biography. Upton attended a business college after she finished high school, and she worked in a store's music department. She also took dancing lessons, which helped her get a part in a benefit production. Director Julian Mitchell saw her perform and offered her an opportunity to go on Broadway. On Broadway, Upton starred with Eddie Cantor in "Whoopee!" (1928) and the "Ziegfeld Follies of 1927" (1927). Her other Broadway credits included "Hold Your Horses" (1933), "Talk About Girls" (1927), "Lady Do  (1927), Twinkle, Twinkle" (1926), "My Girl" (1924), "Little Jessie James" (1923), and "Pins and Needles" (1922). She also performed in vaudeville. In 1929, Upton performed on a network shortwave radio program specially broadcast to Richard Byrd's expedition to the South Pole. 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, appearing with Gertrude Lawrence, Lionel Atwill, and boxer Primo Carnera. Her father, Frank, was a New York City detective sergeant who apprehended the accomplices of Charles Becker in the  1912 murder of 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, "Uncle Pat's Cabin" (1882), about life under English rule. Upton married Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell on January 4, 1934. Bell later served as commissioner of the National Football League (NFL). They had three children, sons Bert Jr. and Upton, and daughter Jane. Upton died on November 27, 1975, in Lankenau Hospital at age 71.