Yvonne De Carlo

Yvonne De Carlo, born Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922 – January 8, 2007)

She obtained her breakthrough role in Salome, Where She Danced (1945), produced by Walter Wanger, who described her as "the most beautiful girl in the world." Success followed in films such as Criss Cross (1949) and The Captain's Paradise (1953). Her film career reached its peak when director Cecil B. DeMille cast her as Sephora, the wife of Moses, her most prominent role, in his biblical epic The Ten Commandments (1956). After her lead performance in Band of Angels (1957) and supporting role in McLintock! (1963), she played Lily Munster, the wife of Herman Munster, in the CBS sitcom The Munsters (1964-1966). De Carlo pair made several trips to Los Angeles until 1940, when she was first runner-up to "Miss Venice Beach". She also came fifth 1940s Miss California competition. In May 1941 she appeared in a revue, Hollywood Revels. A critic from the Los Angeles Times reviewed it saying that the "dancing of Yvonne de Carlo is especially notable". In December 1941 she was dancing in the revue "Glamour Over Hollywood" at Florentine Gardens. Being a skilled horserider, she also appeared in a number of west coast rodeos. Her last notable screen appearances were in the Civil War drama Band of Angels (1957), with Clark Gable and Sidney Poitier; the Italian biblical epic The Sword and the Cross (1958), with Jorge Mistral and Rossana Podestà; and the western comedy McLintock! (1963), with John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara. De Carlo was in debt by 1964 when she signed a contract with Universal Studios to perform the female lead role in The Munsters opposite Fred Gwynne. She was also the producers' choice to play Lily Munster when Joan Marshall, who played Phoebe, was dropped from consideration for the role. Years later, in 1987, she said: "I think Yvonne De Carlo was more famous than Lily, but I gained the younger audience through The Munsters. And it was a steady job." De Carlo suffered a minor stroke in 1998, and died from natural causes in 2007 at age 84.