Francine York

Francine Yerich was born to Frank and Sophie Yerich in the small mining town Aurora, Minnesota; the elder of two sisters. Her younger sister was named Deanne. In 1941, her family moved to Cleveland, where she began to write short stories and take an interest in acting. At the age of nine, she appeared in the Hodge School's production of Cinderella as the stepsister Griselda, at which point she wished to become an actress.When she was 12, her family moved back to Aurora, where she continued performing in class plays. She wrote, produced, directed, and starred in a three-act play, Keen Teens or Campus Quarantine, charging five cents admission; the whole town attended. While studying journalism and drama at Aurora High School, she worked as the feature editor of her school newspaper, and she won all of the school's declamation contests with her dramatic readings. She was a baton twirling majorette for the school marching band and active in the 4-H club, where she won several blue ribbons for cooking in both county and state fairs.

York's first screen role was in Robert Clarke's Hollywood exploitation film Secret File Hollywood shot in 1960 but not distributed until 1962. Her big break came when Jerry Lewis cast her in It's Only Money, in which she played a tantalizing sexpot, a role which brought her much publicity. This led to Lewis hiring her for five more of his films, including The Nutty Professor, The Patsy, The Disorderly Orderly, The Family Jewels, and Cracking Up, in which she portrayed a 15th-century marquise. Other film appearances include Bedtime Story, Tickle Me, Cannon for Cordoba, and science fiction cult films such as Curse of the Swamp Creature, Mutiny in Outer Space, and Space Probe Taurus. In The Doll Squad (1973), she played CIA agent Sabrina Kincaid. She portrayed Marilyn Monroe in Marilyn: Alive and Behind Bars, and in 2000, she played Nicolas Cage's mother-in-law in The Family Man.

York portrayed Amanda Agnew on It Takes a Thief, Wendy Wendkoski in Slattery's People, and Kate Landis in The Courtship of Eddie's Father. In 1964, she appeared as Nurse Norma in My Favorite Martian S1 E37 " Uncle Martins Wisdom Tooth". York played Lillie Langtry (with Peter Whitney as Judge Roy Bean) in the 1965 episode "A Picture of a Lady" of the syndicated television anthology series, Death Valley Days. York was featured in five episodes of Burke's Law between 1964 and 1965, and made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, including the role of Ursula Quigley in the 1965 episode "the Case of the Wrongful Writ and as co-defendant Bobbi Dane in the 1966 episode "The Case of the Sausalito Sunrise."

On Batman she appeared as Lydia Limpit in episodes 29 and 30 "The Bookworm Turns/While Gotham City Burns" (1966). She continued to act in films and on television, with TV appearances including Hot in Cleveland (as British matriarch Lady Natalie), and The Mindy Project. She appeared as Queen Madusa during the second season of Jason of Star Command in 1979; in episode 3 "Web of the Star Witch," in episode 10 "Little Girl Lost", and in episode 11 "Mimi's Secret".

In March 1991, York made guest appearances on All My Children, One Life to Live, and Santa Barbara.

York never married. She once said, "Like Cinderella, I always wanted to marry the handsome prince...but they don't make glass slippers in size ten!" She died on January 6, 2017, in Van Nuys, California from cancer, aged 78. She had been working on her autobiography. She is interred at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.