Yvonne de Carlo

Dazzling Yvonne de Carlo in publicity for the 1945 Technicolor western FRONTIER GAL. She was born Margaret Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In 1937, when Yvonne was 15, her mother took her to Hollywood to try for fame and fortune, but nothing came of it and they returned to Canada. They came back to Hollywood in 1940, where Yvonne would dance in chorus lines at night while she checked in at the studios by day in search of film work. After appearing in unbilled parts in three short films, she finally got a part in a feature “Here I Come!” (1941). Yvonne glowed in her brief appearance as a bathing beauty. The rest of 1942 and 1943 saw her in more uncredited roles such as “The Deerslayer” (1943). She trudged on. The next year, started out the same, with mostly bit parts, but later that year, she landed the title role in “Salome, Where She Danced” (1945). It was at long last her big break, and the film was a success for Universal. Her next film was the western comedy “Frontier Gal” (1945). Yvonne continued to pick up leading roles, in such pictures as “Song of Scheherazade” (1947), “Brute Force” (1947), “Slave Girl” (1947), “Black Bart” (1948), “Casbah” (1948) and “River Lady” (1948). She had a meaty role in “Criss Cross” (1949), a gangster movie, as the ex-wife of a hoodlum. Her talents were again showcased in “The Desert Hawk” (1950), “Silver City” (1951) and “Scarlet Angel” (1952). In 1956, she appeared in the film that would immortalize her best, “The Ten Commandments” (1956). She played Sephora, the wife of Moses (Charlton Heston). Her performance served as a springboard to another fine role in “Band of Angels” (1957). At this time she also appeared on such television series as “Bonanza” (1959) and “The Virginian” (1962). However, the role for which she will be best remembered was that of Lily Munster in the smash series “The Munsters” (1964), playing Herman Munster's glamorous vampire wife. Later film appearances included “McLintock!” (1963), “The Power” (1968) and “The Seven Minutes” (1971). Her final performance in the television film “The Barefoot Executive” (1995). The beautiful star passed away of natural causes on January 8, 2007, aged 84.

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