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Born Peggy Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Yvonne DeCarlo was best known for playing Lily Munster on the 1964-1966 CBS sitcom The Munsters.
She made her big screen debut in 1941's I Look at You. Her sloe-eyed sultriness was used to great effect in many B-movies and Westerns that followed, but it was 1945's Salome - Where She Danced that marked her emergence as a star. In 1956 she played the role of Sephora, Moses' wife, in the acclaimed epic The Ten Commandments.
An accomplished vocalist, DeCarlo performed opera at the Hollywood Bowl, and in 1957 released an LP of standards called Yvonne DeCarlo Sings. After The Munsters, DeCarlo made Broadway history in the role of Carlotta in Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman's 1971 musical Follies, belting out the showstopper I'm Still Here.
She was married once, to stuntman Robert Morgan. The marriage lasted from 1955 to 1968 and ended in divorce. The couple had two sons, Bruce and Michael. In her 1987 autobiography DeCarlo detailed her diverse career and liaisons with lovers including Howard Hughes, Billy Wilder, Burt Lancaster, Aly Khan, Robert Stack, and Robert Taylor.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, DeCarlo was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6124 Hollywood Blvd. She was honored with a second star, located at 6715 Hollywood Blvd., for her contribution to television.
Yvonne DeCarlo passed away on Monday, January 8, 2007 of natural causes at the Motion Picture & Television Fund's Retirement Home in Woodland Hills, California. She was 84. |
