Alma Francis

Alma Lenore Francis (October 15, 1890 — August 21, 1968) was an American dancer, singer, and stage actress. She had an international career as a theatrical actress and operatic soprano in numerous stage productions, as well as a short-lived career in Hollywood, appearing in three feature films during the silent era.

A native of Portland, Oregon, Francis was educated at St. Helens Hall and later studied piano and operatic voice under Abbie Carrington in San Francisco. After completing her studies, Francis found success as a Broadway actress, obtaining lead roles in original productions of the musicals The Pink Lady (1911) and The Little Cafe (1913). She married film actor Robert Gordon in 1919. In the early-1920s, Francis signed a contract with Fox Film Corporation and appeared in three silent films, including a role in The Wolf Man (1924).

After abandoning her film career, Francis appeared in theater productions in California and toured Italy performing as an operatic soprano in various productions before returning to the United States in 1934. Francis spent her later life married to Kenneth Fields, a U.S. forest ranger, and living on a berry farm west of Sandy, Oregon, where she taught singing in her private home studio, and was an advocate of the arts in the Portland metropolitan area. She died on August 21, 1968, aged 77.