Editing Connie Francis (section)

==Personal life==

===Marriages===
Francis was married four times. In 1964, she was briefly married to Dick Kanellis, a press agent and entertainment director for the [[Aladdin Hotel]].<ref name="Kannellis">"[https://books.google.com/books?id=GAkEAAAAMBAJ&dq=richard+kanellis+publicist&pg=PA86 Inside Track]", ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]''. June 23, 1973. p. 86. Retrieved July 8, 2020.</ref> In January 1971, she married Izzy Marion, a hair-salon owner, divorcing 10 months later.<ref>"[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/01/17/archives/connie-francis-is-bride.html Connie Francis Is Bride]", [[Associated Press]]. January 17, 1971. Retrieved July 8, 2020.</ref><ref>Eder, Shirley. "'Marigolds' Sends Patient for a Change", ''[[Detroit Free Press]]''. October 31, 1971. p. 33.</ref> In 1973, Francis married for the third time{{snd}}her only marriage to last more than a few months{{snd}} to Joseph Garzilli, a restaurateur and travel-agency owner; they divorced in 1977.<ref name="Nuptials">"[https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-10-25-8502160943-story.html Diana Ross Preparing Nuptials]", ''[[New York Daily News]]''. October 25, 1985. Retrieved July 8, 2020.</ref> It was during the third marriage that Francis adopted a baby boy, Joey.<ref>''The Washington Post'' [https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1981/12/16/connie-francis-crusade/bbf949bc-cffa-44ae-95d0-4c1f97e7c452/ Connie Francis' Crusade]</ref> Francis married TV producer Bob Parkinson on June 27, 1985, divorcing later that year.<ref name="Nuptials"/>

===Relationship with Bobby Darin===
Early in her career, Francis was introduced to [[Bobby Darin]], then an up-and-coming singer and songwriter. Darin's manager arranged for him to help write several songs for her. Despite some disagreement about material, after several weeks Darin and Francis developed a romantic relationship. Francis' strict Italian father would separate the couple whenever possible. When her father learned that Darin had suggested the two elope after one of her shows, he ran Darin out of the building at gunpoint.<ref>Nolasco, Stephanie. "[https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/connie-francis-reflects-on-her-romance-with-bobby-darin-before-his-untimely-death Connie Francis reflects on her romance with Bobby Darin before his untimely death]", [[Fox News]]. February 9, 2018. Retrieved March 10, 2021.</ref><ref>Eby, Margaret (2012). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=TpxRTlukdxgC&pg=PT14 Rock and Roll Baby Names: Over 2,000 Music-Inspired Names, from Alison to Ziggy]''. [[Penguin Books]]. Retrieved March 10, 2021.</ref>

Francis saw Darin only two more times: once when the two were scheduled to sing together for a television show, and again when she was spotlighted on the TV series ''[[This Is Your Life (American franchise)|This Is Your Life]]''. By the time of the latter's taping, Darin had married actress [[Sandra Dee]]. In her autobiography, Francis stated she and her father were driving into the [[Lincoln Tunnel]] when the radio [[DJ]] announced Dee and Darin's marriage. Her father made a negative comment about Darin finally being out of their lives. Angered, Francis wrote she hoped the [[Hudson River]] would fill the Lincoln Tunnel, killing both her and her father; she later wrote that not marrying Darin was the biggest mistake of her life.<ref name=Autobiography/>

===Relationship with Tony Ferretti===
In a Facebook post dated January 22, 2022, Francis reported the passing of Tony Ferretti, "my sole companion of the past 18 years."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Facebook |url=https://www.facebook.com/100044438949402/posts/486492762842018/ |access-date=2024-10-07 |website=www.facebook.com}}</ref> On February 13, a video uploaded to her official YouTube channel featured Francis and Ferretti performing a duet of the song "You Made Me Love You."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6KmXFQwUjs |title=Connie Francis & Tony Ferretti - You Made Me Love You |date=2022-02-13 |last=Connie Francis - Official |access-date=2024-10-07 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

===Biopic===
Francis and singer [[Gloria Estefan]] completed a screenplay for a movie based on Francis' life titled ''Who's Sorry Now?'' Estefan announced that she would produce and play the lead. She said, "[Connie Francis] isn't even in the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], and yet she was the first female pop star worldwide, and has recorded in nine languages. She has done a lot of things for victims' rights since her rape in the '70s.... There's a major story there." In December 2009 the film project was dropped. According to Francis:
{{blockquote|text=They chose to use amateur writers to write the screenplay. I wanted the writer [[Robert L. Freedman|Robert Freeman]] who wrote that miniseries ''[[Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows]]'', which won I don't know how many [[Emmy Award]]s, but Gloria and company were unwilling to hire that writer. I absolutely adored his screenplay of [[Judy Garland|Judy]]'s life ... he was so eager to do my life story for film, but she [Gloria] wouldn't agree to hire him and that was the end of that. And I'm sorry I wasted ten years with those people [i.e. the Estefans].<ref name=Daeida>''Daeida Magazine'' (December 2009) – Interview by: David Ybarra, p. 26, webpage: [http://www.daeida.com/DAEIDA_2010_Archive_Holiday2009.html daeida-AH] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104184749/http://www.daeida.com/DAEIDA_2010_Archive_Holiday2009.html |date=January 4, 2016 }}.</ref>}}

In the same article, Francis said that [[Dolly Parton]] had been contacting her for years trying to produce her life story, but owing to her previous commitment to Estefan's organization, she was not able to accept Parton's offer.  She noted in the article that both she and Parton had considered, independently of each other, actress [[Valerie Bertinelli]] to play Francis.<ref name=Daeida/>

===Characterization on Broadway===
Francis is currently being portrayed by singer [[Gracie Lawrence]] in the Broadway musical ''[[Just in Time (musical)|Just in Time]]'' based on the life of singer [[Bobby Darin]] which premiered on April 23, 2025.<ref>Just In Time Cast. "[https://justintimebroadway.com/cast Just In Time Cast Listing]" Retrieved April 25, 2025.</ref>

===Politics and activism===
Francis supported [[Richard Nixon]]'s [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]] bid for the [[President of the United States|presidency]] when she recorded a [[campaign song]] for him.<ref>Tsioulcas, Anastasia. "[https://www.kqed.org/arts/12123103/the-long-strange-history-of-campaign-endorsement-songs The Long, Strange History of Campaign Endorsement Songs]", [[KQED-FM]]. September 27, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2020.</ref>

In the 1980s, [[Ronald Reagan]] appointed her as head of his task force on violent crime. She has also been the spokeswoman for Mental Health America's trauma campaign, as well as an involved worker for the [[USO]] and [[UNICEF]].

In a 2011 interview, Francis described herself as "a die-hard [[Liberal (politics)|liberal]]".<ref name="village">{{cite web |title=Connie Francis Interview About Her Struggle With Mental Health |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/06/03/connie-francis-interview-about-her-struggle-with-mental-health/ |website=The Village Voice |access-date=18 March 2021 |date=3 June 2011}}</ref>

===Lawsuits===
Francis brought a suit alleging that [[Universal Music Group]] (UMG) took advantage of her condition and stopped paying royalties.  The lawsuit was dismissed.

On November 27, 2002, she filed a second suit against UMG alleging the label had inflicted severe emotional distress on her and violated her [[Moral rights (copyright law)|moral rights]] when, without her permission, it synchronized several of her songs into "sexually themed" movies: the 1994 film ''[[Post Cards from America]]'', the 1996 film ''[[The Craft (film)|The Craft]]'', and the 1999 film ''[[Jawbreaker (film)|Jawbreaker]]''.<ref name=Lawsuit2002>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lavelysinger.com/MoralRights.pdf |last=Self |first=Henry |title=Moral Rights and Musicians in the United States |work=2003–2004 Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts Handbook 165 |year=2003 |access-date=April 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916073046/http://www.lavelysinger.com/MoralRights.pdf |archive-date=September 16, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This suit was also dismissed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bureau of |first1=National Affairs |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KXUoAQAAMAAJ |title=BNA's Patent, Trademark & Copyright Journal |year=2003 |page=228 |access-date=2017-10-17 }}</ref>

Francis also sued the producers of ''[[Jawbreaker (film)|Jawbreaker]]'' for using her song "Lollipop Lips," which is heard during a sex scene.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Who's+sorry+now,+indeed.+(the+Buzz).-a084669421 | title=Who's sorry now, indeed – the Buzz – Connie Francis suit against Universal Music Corp |publisher=Liberation Publications, Inc.
| magazine=The Advocate |date=April 16, 2002 |access-date=2013-09-21}}</ref>