Francine Beers was born on November 26, 1924 in New York City and lived there for her entire life. She was an actress, appearing in
multiple films, television programs, Broadway shows, and radio and television commercials. She is perhaps best known as Mrs. Lefkowitz in
In Her Shoes (2005), as Archie and Edith's neighbor Sybil Gooley on
All in the Family (1971), and as Judge Janis Silver on
Law & Order (1990). She became interested in show business as a child when an aunt who played on Vaudeville came to her house to practice singing accompanied by Francine's mother. Her entry into show business was singing radio jingles in the 1930s. With the advent of television, she played many
character parts and she was associated in the 1950s and 1960s with
Carol Burnett and
Jerry Orbach. She died on March 27, 2014.