Julie Adams

Julie Adams, born Betty May Adams (October 17, 1926 – February 3, 2019)

Adams was an actress, primarily in television. She starred in a number of films in the 1950s, including Bend of the River and Creature from the Black Lagoon. She was also known for her roles as Paula Denning on Capitol and as Eve Simpson on Murder, She Wrote. In 1946, at the age of 19, she was crowned "Miss Little Rock" and then moved to Hollywood, California to pursue her acting career. Her first movie role was a minor part in Red, Hot and Blue (1949), followed by a leading role in the Lippert western The Dalton Gang (1949). Adams was featured as the bathing beauty Kay Lawrence in the science-fiction film Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954). Adams co-starred in 1950s films opposite some of Hollywood's top leading men, including with James Stewart in 1952's Bend of the River, with Rock Hudson in The Lawless Breed (1953) and One Desire (1955), with Tyrone Power in The Mississippi Gambler (1953), with Glenn Ford in The Man from the Alamo (1953), with Charlton Heston in The Private War of Major Benson (1955), with Dan Duryea in Slaughter on Tenth Avenue (1957) and with Joel McCrea in The Gunfight at Dodge City (1959). Adams also starred in 1957's Four Girls in Town, a romantic comedy about four young women competing for the leading role in a new movie, featuring an international cast. She appeared with Elvis Presley in the musical-comedy Tickle Me (1965). She appeared on many TV shows, including The Andy Griffith Show, 77 Sunset Strip, McMillan & Wife, Police Woman, The Streets of San Francisco, The Incredible Hulk, Cannon, Quincy, M.E., among others. Adams was married to Leonard B. Stone (1951-1953), and Ray Danton (1954-1981), both marriages ended in divorce. She had two sons with Danton. Adams died on February 3, 2019 in Los Angeles, California, aged 92. She is buried at Oak Ridge Cemetery in Malvern, Arkansas.