Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that answer the question.
Query: Where was Fran Drescher born?
Drescher was born on September 30, 1957, in Kew Gardens Hills, New York,[3] the daughter of Sylvia, a bridal consultant, and Morty Drescher, a naval systems analyst.[4] Her family is from Southeast and Central Europe. Her maternal great-grandmother Yetta was born in Focșani, Romania, and emigrated to the United States,[5] while her father's family came from Poland.[6] She has an older sister, Nadine.
Peter Marc Jacobson (born October 27, 1957) is an American television writer, director and producer, and actor. He is best known as the co-creator of the popular sitcom "The Nanny", which he created and wrote with his then wife actress Fran Drescher, who was the star of the series. He was often credited as Peter Marc in his early acting roles.Jacobson and Fran Drescher married in 1978 and moved to Los Angeles to launch their careers. Jacobson and Drescher divorced in 1999, after being separated for a number of years. The couple had no children. He came out as gay to her after their marriage ended. The couple developed the 2011 television series "Happily Divorced" for TV Land based on their lives.
Drescher was born in Maplewood, NJ. One of three children to James and Peggy (McKenna) Drescher, the family moved to Milwaukee, Wis., in 1962, where he spent the remainder of his childhood. Drescher attended University of Wisconsin-Madison and Boston College, where he studied business marketing and theatre.
Back in Los Angeles, the pair pitched their idea to Tim Flack and Joe Voci, both in comedy development at CBS. Sagansky brought in experienced producers Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser, another husband-and-wife team with whom Drescher had worked before while guesting on "Who's the Boss?" in 1985 and 1986. Interested, both couples teamed up to write the script for the pilot together, creating a character with the intention to build off Drescher's image. "Our business strategy was to create a show that was going to complement our writing, complement me as a talent," Drescher said in a 1997 interview with "The Hollywood Reporter". As a result, the characters draw deeply on the Drescher family, including Fran Fine's parents, Sylvia and Morty, and grandmother Yetta, who all were named after their real-life counterparts. Drescher also drew from her own life in creating her character. Like the character in "The Nanny", Drescher was born and raised in Flushing, Queens, and attended beauty school. However, unlike her on-screen counterpart, Drescher never worked in a bridal shop; Drescher wrote that into the character as a tribute to her mother, who did work in a bridal shop. While visiting with his relatives in Fort Lauderdale around the holidays, Sagansky watched a few episodes with his relatives, realized that he had a hit, and ordered a full 22 episodes for the first season.
In 2011, Higgins was cast in "Happily Divorced" opposite Fran Drescher. He played Fran's gay ex-husband, Peter Lovett, a character based on Drescher's real-life gay ex-husband Peter Marc Jacobson.
At times, they would also make humorous references to the stars' previous careers or real life off-screen time. This was noticeable when Yetta saw her reflection in the mirror and thought she was seeing Millie Helper from "The Dick Van Dyke Show" (the role that Guilbert played on that long-running show), Maxwell remembering how he wanted to hire a former cast member from "Days of Our Lives" but thought he wasn't "British" enough (a reference to Charles Shaughnessy's former series), C.C. using props to hide Lauren Lane's real-life pregnancy at the time, and Fran meeting her idol—Fran Drescher—who gave her a hint on what she (the TV Fran) was going to do in the next scene in the second-to-last episode in the last season. Drescher also appeared in the series as tough-talking music publicist Bobbi Fleckman, reprising her role from the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap", setting up an obvious visual gag where Drescher (as the Nanny) would disguise herself as Fleckman in order to get Mr. Sheffield's attention.
Drescher was a first runner-up for "Miss New York Teenager" in 1973.[7] She attended Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, where she met her future husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, whom she married in 1978, at age 21. They divorced in 1999.[8] Jacobson was Drescher's constant supporter in her show-business career, and he wrote, directed, and produced her signature television series, The Nanny. Drescher graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975; one of her classmates was comedian Ray Romano.[9] Drescher's character Fran Fine from The Nanny and Romano's character Ray Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond met at a 20th high school reunion on an episode of The Nanny.[10]
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Francine Joy Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American actress, comedian, writer and activist. She is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the hit TV series The Nanny (1993–99), and for her nasal voice and thick New York accent.
Drescher described what she would bring to the program: "I'm thrilled to be able to bring "The Fran Drescher Tawk Show" to daytime TV, which fits me hand in glove," and added that "It will cover all of my passions, everything from pedicures to politics. America will have a chance to see the real Fran Drescher, beyond "The Nanny". I'm the girl next door, a self-made woman who has been to hell and back a few times."
In 2008, Drescher announced that she was developing a new sitcom entitled The New Thirty, also starring Rosie O'Donnell. A series about two old high school friends coping with midlife crises, Drescher described the premature plot of the show as "kind of Sex and the City but we ain't getting any! It'll probably be more like The Odd Couple."[13] The sitcom failed to materialize however.[13] In 2010, Drescher returned to television with her own daytime talk show, The Fran Drescher Tawk Show. While the program debuted to strong ratings, it ended its three-week test run to moderate success, resulting in its shelving.[14][15] The following year, the sitcom Happily Divorced, created by Drescher and her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, was picked up by TV Land for a ten-episode order. It premiered there June 15, 2011.[16] The show was renewed in July 2011 for a second season of 12 episodes, which aired in spring 2012. On May 1, 2012, TV Land extended the second season and picked up 12 additional episodes, taking the second season total to 24. The back-order of season two debuted later in 2012. Happily Divorced was cancelled in August 2013.
After separating in 1996, Drescher and Jacobson divorced in 1999. They had no children. Drescher stated, "I would have been able to conceive but not hold on."[21] Drescher has worked to support LGBT rights issues after her former husband came out.[22] Drescher has stated that the primary reason for the divorce was her need to change directions in life. Drescher and Jacobson remain friends and business partners. She has stated that "we choose to be in each other's lives in any capacity. Our love is unique, rare, and unconditional; unless he's being annoying."[23][24]
Shaughnessy is also well known for his portrayal of Maxwell Sheffield opposite Fran Drescher on CBS' "The Nanny" from 1993 to 1999. He and Drescher resumed acting together in Drescher's next sitcom, "Living with Fran", wherein Shaughnessy appeared fairly frequently as her philandering but needy ex-husband, Ted. "Living with Fran" was cancelled on 17 May 2006, after two seasons.
Arnold played the best friend of Fran Drescher in the TV Land sitcom "Happily Divorced", which is based on Fran Drescher's real-life marriage and divorce to series co-creator Peter Marc Jacobson.
After two years of symptoms and misdiagnoses by eight doctors, Drescher was admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars Sinai Hospital on June 21, 2000, after doctors diagnosed her with uterine cancer. She had to undergo an immediate radical hysterectomy to treat the disease. Drescher was given a clean bill of health and no post-operative treatment was ordered.
Drescher and Jacobson created their own television show, The Nanny, in 1993. The show aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999, and Drescher became an instant star. In this sitcom, she played a woman named Fran Fine who casually became the nanny of Margaret ("Maggie") (played by Nicholle Tom), Brighton ("B") (played by Benjamin Salisbury), and Grace ("Gracie") Sheffield (played by Madeline Zima); with her wit and her charm, she endeared herself to their widower father: stuffy, composed, proper British gentleman, and Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy). She reprised her This is Spinal Tap character of Bobbi Flekman, a look-alike for her Fran Fine character, in Season 5, Episode 3 of The Nanny.
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
On February 4, 2014, Drescher made her Broadway debut in Cinderella as stepmother Madame.[2]
Based on an idea inspired by Drescher's visit with a friend and "The Sound of Music", the season revolves around Fran Fine, a Jewish woman from Flushing, Queens, New York, who is hired by a wealthy Broadway producer to be the nanny to his three children. Drescher stars as the titular character, Charles Shaughnessy as British-born producer Maxwell Sheffield, and the children – Maggie, Brighton and Grace – portrayed by Nicholle Tom, Benjamin Salisbury, and Madeline Zima. The series also features Daniel Davis as Niles, the family butler, and Lauren Lane as C.C. Babcock, Maxwell's associate in his production company who is smitten with him. Several recurring characters also played a role in the sitcoms plotlines, many of whom were related to Fran.
Sylvia Fine (née Rosenberg), is the mother of Fran Fine, portrayed by actress Renée Taylor, and in early seasons by Fran Drescher (in flashbacks to Fran Fine's childhood).
Marvin Hamlisch appeared as Fran's former high school music teacher, a Marvin Hamlisch look-alike. Fran Drescher also reprised her role of Bobbi Fleckman from the 1984 film "This Is Spinal Tap" and made a cameo appearance as herself in the third to last episode. Charles Shaughnessy had a double role as a foreign sultan in one episode. Drescher's real-life parents, Morty and Sylvia, initially appeared as a couple in the waiting room of Grace's therapist and made subsequent appearances as Fran's Uncle Stanley and Aunt Rose; her Pomeranian Chester appeared as C.C.'s pet in more than a dozen episodes. Renée Taylor's husband, actor Joseph Bologna, and their son Gabriel Bologna, had minor roles as doctors on the show. Ray Romano appeared as Fran's former high school classmate Ray Barone, linking "The Nanny" with his comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond". Romano and Drescher actually did know each other in high school. Tom Bergeron appeared as himself, the host of "Hollywood Squares", in an episode in which Maxwell appeared as a star on the show's board as a replacement for Andrew Lloyd Webber. Tyne Daly appeared as a fellow nanny facing forced retirement. David Letterman made an uncredited appearance during a fantasy sequence, where Fran describes how she exaggerated her fame to impress a pen pal.
"Happily Divorced" is inspired by the real lives of series creators Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, who had been high school sweethearts and then married in 1978. They divorced in 1999. Jacobson later came out as gay to Drescher and the two remained friends. In 2010 the pair, who had previously created Drescher's earlier series "The Nanny", began developing the series based on their life experiences. Initially Drescher planned only to write and produce "Happily Divorced" but eventually decided to star as well. Set in Los Angeles, Fran's gay ex-husband still lives with her for economic reasons, with "a very traditional family. Everyone's very accepting that he's gay. They're both dating; he's new at it, she's new at it." TV Land gave the green light to a pilot episode in November 2010. The network announced on March 21, 2011, that the series had been picked up with a ten-episode order. The show is shot in front of a live studio audience at CBS Radford in Studio City., which provides "Happily Divorced" the typical style of the 1990s' sitcoms. There are still more parallels to "The Nanny": the opener is an animation, underlaid with specially composed music and also, Drescher refuses a role name and is just called 'Fran'. "The Nanny" regulars, Renée Taylor and Charles Shaughnessy, have made guest appearances; the latter having also co-starred on "Living With Fran". The show premiered on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, in the 10:30 time slot after the television show "Hot in Cleveland".
"Happily Divorced" is an American sitcom created for TV Land by Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson, based upon their own real-life experiences. It is TV Land's third sitcom after "Hot in Cleveland" and "Retired at 35". Fran Drescher stars as Fran, a Los Angeles florist who finds out her husband Peter (John Michael Higgins), to whom she has been married for eighteen years, is gay. Naturally, they get a divorce but, because of their tight financial situation, they continue to live in the same house together. The series is based on Drescher and Jacobson's real-life divorce and his eventual coming out. The series ran from June 15, 2011 to February 13, 2013. On August 23, 2013, TV Land cancelled the series after two seasons. A total of thirty-four episodes were produced and aired.
In the 2000s, Drescher made a return to television both with leading and guest roles. In 2003, Drescher appeared in episodes of the short lived sitcom, Good Morning, Miami as Roberta Diaz. In 2005, she returned with the sitcom Living with Fran, in which she played Fran Reeves, a middle-aged mother of two, living with Riley Martin (Ryan McPartlin), a man half her age and not much older than her son. Former Nanny costar Charles Shaughnessy appeared as her philandering ex-husband, Ted. Living with Fran was cancelled on May 17, 2006, after two seasons.