Frances Todman

Frances Holmes Burson was born on July 25, 1926, in Jackson County, Georgia, to Fanette Lee "Fannie" (née Wood) and Lucius Holmes Burson.[1][2][3][4] Her parents separated shortly after her birth, divorcing in 1932,[3][5][6] and Burson grew up in the home of her maternal grandparents, Lutie Pearl (née Simmons, Wood) and William S. Thrasher.[7][8]

Burson attended Orlando High School, graduating in 1944.[9] She graduated from Chevy Chase Junior College in Chevy Chase, Maryland, in 1946. She went on to study journalism at Barmore Junior College in New York City.[9][10] During her schooling in New York, she worked for an advertising agency and then did modeling and make-up classes for Richard Hudnut Cosmetics.[10]

On December 17, 1950, at the St. Regis New York, she married William Selden Todman, a television and radio producer of Goodson-Todman Productions.[9] After their marriage, the couple made their home in Westchester County, New York,[10] where they raised two children, William Jr. and Lisa.[1] In 1974, they moved to Palm Springs, Florida, for the winter season.[10]

Todman began her involvement in charitable work when her husband developed a heart condition in the 1970s and she needed a break from tending to him.[10] He died in 1979, aged 62.[1] That same year, she became the chair of the Retina Foundation's annual fundraising gala.[10] Over the years, she served as general chairman, co-chairman, and committee member of the gala.[11] As a member of the board of trustees, she led the entertainment fundraiser for the American Cancer Society's Palm Beach Benefit in 1982.[12]

Todman was involved in numerous charitable activities for the Boys Club of America, the Royal Poinciana Children's Theater, and the Eye Research Institute, among others.[13] In 1984, she donated $1 million (equivalent to $2,816,784 in 2022) to New York University Tisch School of the Arts to establish the William S. and Frances B. Todman Film and Television Center.[14] In 1986, the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Boston named its electrophysiology laboratory in her honor.[11] She remained active in charitable work with the Retina Foundation and the American Heart Association through 2000.[15][16][17]

Todman died on January 23, 2008, in New York City.[18] Her son, Bill Todman Jr., became a film producer.[10]