Frances Mary "Fran" Ryan (November 29, 1916 – January 15, 2000) was an American character actress featured in television and films. She was born in Los Angeles, California.

Biography

Fran's first husband, Walter Kenneth Wayne (whom she married in Fairbanks, Alaska in 1949), died in a plane crash, in a plane he was piloting in January 1951, while Fran was pregnant with their first and only child. She would give birth to their son, Christopher, in April 1951. Fran got remarried in January 1953 to Howard Schafer. Howard too would perish in a plane crash in Oregon in May 1953 in a plane Howard was piloting. The wreckage of Howard's plane would not be discovered until 15 years later in November 1968. The remains of Howard and his passengers were never found. All that was found at the crash site was a woman's shoe, 4 combs, and 2 sets of eyeglasses.