TWIT is sad to report that "Munsters" star Yvonne De Carlo has died. The actress died of natural causes this Monday. She was 84 years old. De Carlo launched her career by appearing in B-movie desert adventures and westerns, and worked her way up to guest-starring roles in the 50's, where she appeared with legends Rock Hudson, Burt Lancaster, Charlton Heston, and Clark Gable.
De Carlo was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton in Vancouver, British Columbia on September 1, 1922. She was raised by her mother in poor circumstances after her father abandoned them. She took dancing lessons and dropped out of high school to work in night clubs and local theaters, and she continued dancing in clubs when she and her mother moved to Los Angeles. She was also classicly trained in voice, and sang opera at the Hollywood Bowl. When movie roles were scarce, De Carlo turned to stage musicals. Her greatest stage performance came on Broadway in 1971 when she appeared in "Follies," which won the 1972 Tony Award for best original music score. She sang the showstopping song "I'm Still Here" - a song about a former star's account of the highs and lows of her life and career.
In 1956, the actress changed her screen image when Cecil B. DeMille chose her to play Sephora, the wife of Charlton Heston's Moses in "The Ten Commandments." The following year, she co-starred with Clark Gable and Sidney Poitier in "Band Of Angels" as Gable's girlfriend who learns of her African American heritage. Incidentally, "Band Of Angels" was set in Kentucky, and is high on my list of favorite movies.
While De Carlo was one of the biggest beauty queens of the '40s and '50s and co-starred with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, she'll be best remembered as Lily Munster. In fact, she'll probably always be known as Lily Munster. In case you've never watched TV before, she starred opposite Fred Gwynn in the series "The Munsters." The show only ran from 1964 to1966, and then went into immediate syndication, where it remains today. Lily Munster is an icon. Even though Herman wore the pants in the Munster family, it was Lily who presided over the cobweb-filled house at 1313 Mockingbird Lane.
Yvonne De Carlo was in deed one of Hollywood's glamour girls. If they'd used the term "hottie" back in the '40s and '50s, it would have described her to a tee. She was a very beautiful woman behind the pastey Lily Munster makeup, with almost exotic looks. She was one of my all time favorite actresses, and will be missed.
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