Francke, Caroline

Caroline Francke was born in the New York City borough of Queens on July 19, 1899. She and her sister Katherine were raised by their mother Caroline. Francke attended the Connecticut College for Women and Columbia University where she studied playwriting. Highlights from her career include the Broadway produced Exceeding Small (1928) and the unproduced play on which Bombshell (1938) starring Jean Harlow is based. Caroline Francke wrote for The Aldrich Family radio program in the 1940s. Her final play, The 49th Cousin debuted on Broadway three months after her death. Caroline Francke and her husband, Kenneth Downer, had one adopted daughter. Francke died from a cerebral hemorrhage May 22, 1960.