Anne Francis | 'Honey West' star, 80

Anne Francis, 80, who was the love interest in the 1950s science-fiction classic

Forbidden Planet

and later was a sexy private eye in TV's

Honey West

, died Sunday at a Santa Barbara, Calif., nursing home.

Ms. Francis, who had surgery and chemotherapy after being diagnosed with lung cancer in 2007, died of complications of pancreatic cancer, her daughter Jane Uemura told the Los Angeles Times.

Ms. Francis, a stunning blonde with a prominent beauty mark, appeared opposite such stars as Spencer Tracy, Paul Newman, Robert Taylor, and Glenn Ford in some of the most popular films of the 1950s. But Forbidden Planet and Honey West made her reputation.

Forbidden Planet was hailed in Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide as "one of the most ambitious and intelligent films of its genre." A science-fiction retelling of Shakespeare's The Tempest, the 1956 film had Leslie Nielsen and other space travelers visiting a planet where expatriate scientist Walter Pidgeon, his daughter (Francis), and their helper, Robby the Robot, built a settlement.

In Honey West, which aired from 1965 to 1966, Ms. Francis' private-detective character was a female James Bond: sexy, stylish, and as good with martial arts as she was with a gun. She was nominated for an Emmy for the role, which lasted 30 episodes.

"A lot of people speak to me about Honey West," Ms. Francis recalled. "The character made young women think there was more they could reach for. It encouraged a lot of people."

After a childhood career in New York radio and on Broadway, she arrived in Hollywood.

In Blackboard Jungle, the 1955 film about an idealistic teacher (Ford) in a violent city school, Francis played his pregnant wife, who is targeted for harassment by one of his students.

When her movie career declined, she got active in TV, appearing in dozens of series, including Charlie's Angels, The Golden Girls, and Home Improvement.

In addition to her daughter Jane, Ms. Francis is survived by her second husband, Robert Abeloff; their daughter, Maggie; and a grandson.

- AP