Pamela Franklin

Early life and career

Franklin, who had three brothers, was born in Yokohama, Japan, and grew up in the Far East, where her father was an importer/exporter. The family lived in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, and Ceylon before returning to England. At the age of eight she was sent to the Elmhurst School of Ballet in the UK (now the Elmhurst School for Dance). She made her film debut at age 11 in The Innocents (1961), and her television debut in the Wonderful World of Disney's The Horse Without a Head.

In 1962 she played opposite William Holden and Trevor Howard in the British film The Lion. A year later, she co-starred with Luke Halpin in Flipper's New Adventure as a wealthy industrialist's daughter abandoned on a tropical island but saved by Halpin and his pet dolphin Flipper. In 1963, Franklin was voted 10th place for the Laurel Awards Top New Female Personality. She was 14 when she made The Third Secret in 1964, in which she played a troubled young daughter. When she was interviewed about the film in 1979, she said that "she and Stephen Boyd had become friends and the warmth on screen was genuine." In 1966 she had a lead role in the BBC TV series Quick Before They Catch Us.

Later career in film and television

Franklin received favourable notices for her portrayal of an unusually worldly teenager in the suspense film The Nanny starring Bette Davis (1965). She also received an Emmy nomination for her supporting role in the 1965 TV movie Eagle in a Cage in which she again acted opposite Trevor Howard. She acted with Dirk Bogarde, who played her father in Our Mother's House, a film that was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1967. In the same year, Franklin played opposite Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno in The Night of the Following Day as the kidnap victim in the crime thriller. This was her first "adult" role, with one scene showing her topless. In 1970, she appeared with Michele Dotrice in the horror thriller And Soon the Darkness, a film that was remade in 2010.

For her role as Sandy in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969), Franklin won the National Board of Review award for Best Supporting Actress. In the same year, she starred in the John Huston movie Sinful Davey with a young John Hurt, which was not successful and failed to boost her career.

As an adult, Franklin became somewhat typecast in horror films after her performance in the occult thriller The Legend of Hell House in 1973 opposite Roddy McDowall. This was followed with the television horror movie Satan's School for Girls. Her last film role was in The Food of the Gods, although she made television appearances until 1981, including an episode of Police Story, in which she became physically ill playing a rape victim.

Franklin made other notable television appearances including The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, The Six Million Dollar Man, Hawaii Five-O, Barnaby Jones, Vega$, and Trapper John, M.D. She gave a memorable performance as the title character in "Jenny Wilde is Drowning," an episode of The Name of the Game, starring Tony Franciosa. Her character was an aspiring actress trying to succeed in Hollywood.

Personal life

Franklin met actor Harvey Jason on the set of Necromancy, which came out in 1972. The couple married and settled near Hollywood and had two sons. Her husband, along with one of their sons, Louis, co-owns the bookstore Mystery Pier Books, Inc in West Hollywood.