Date of Birth
1 September 1922,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Date of
Death
8 January 2007,
Woodland Hills,
California,
USA (natural causes)
Birth
Name
Margaret Yvonne Middleton
Nickname
Peggy
Height
5' 4" (1.63 m)
Mini Biography
Yvonne De Carlo was
born Peggy
Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922, in
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada (while some sources have her first
Name as
Margaret, most agree it is Peggy).
She was three when her father abandoned the family. Her mother turned to waitressing in a restaurant to make ends meet--a rough beginning for an actress who would,
one day, be one of
Hollywood's
elite. Yvonne's mother wanted her to be in the
entertainment field and enrolled her in a local
dance school and also saw that
she studied dramatics. Yvonne was not shy in the least. She was somewhat
akin to
Colleen Moore who, like
herself, entertained the
neighborhood with impromptu productions. 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. Although the film,
Harvard, Here I Come! (1941), was quite
lame,
Yvonne shone in her brief appearance as a bathing
beauty. The rest of 1942 and 1943 saw her in more uncredited roles in films that didn't quite
set Hollywood on fire. In
The Deerslayer (1943)
She played Wah-Tah. The role didn't amount to much, but it was much better than the ones
she had been handed previously.
The next year was about the same as the previous two years. She played small parts as either secretaries, someone's girlfriend, native girls or
office clerks. Most aspiring
young actresses would have given up and gone
home in defeat, but not
Yvonne. 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) for
Universal Pictures. While critics were less than thrilled with the film, it was at
long last her
big break, and the film was a
success for Universal. Now
She was
rolling. Her
next film was the
western comedy
Frontier Gal (1945) as
Lorena Dumont. After a year off
the screen in 1946,
She returned in 1947 as
Cara de
Talavera in
Song of Scheherazade (1947), and many agreed that the only thing
worth watching in the film was
Yvonne. Her
next film was the highly regarded
Burt Lancaster prison film
Brute Force (1947).
Time after time,
Yvonne continued to
pick up leading roles, in such pictures as
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. At the start of the 1950s
Yvonne enjoyed continued
success in
lead roles. Her talents were again showcased in
movies such as
The Desert Hawk (1950),
Silver City (1951) and
Scarlet Angel (1952). Her last film in 1952 was
Hurricane Smith (1952), a picture most fans and critics agree is
best forgotten. 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). The film was, unquestionably, a
super smash, and is still shown on television today. Her
performance served as a
springboard to another
fine role, this
Time as Amantha
Starr in
Band of Angels (1957). In the late 1950s and
early 1960s
Yvonne appeared on such TV programs as
"Bonanza" (1959) and
"The Virginian" (1962). However, with film roles drying up,
She took what turned out to be the role for which
she will be
best remembered--that of
Lily Munster in the smash series
"The Munsters" (1964).
She still wasn't completely through with the
big screen, however. Appearances in such films as
McLintock! (1963),
The Power (1968),
The Seven Minutes (1971) and
Casa de las sombras, La (1976) kept her before the eyes of the moviegoing public. On January 8, 2007, Miss De Carlo died at the age of 84.
Spouse
Bob Morgan
(
21 November 1955 - 1968) (divorced) 2 children
Trivia
Two sons -
Bruce Morgan and
Michael Morgan. Step-daughter
Bari Morgan. Son,
Michael, died in 1997.Her birth
Name was
Margaret, but
She was known by Peggy
growing up.Miss
Venice Beach 1938.Took the part of
Lily on
"The Munsters" (1964) to
help pay husband
Bob Morgan's medical
bills.
Morgan, an
actor/stuntman, had suffered near-fatal injuries while filming
How the West Was Won (1962). By her own admission, Ms. De Carlo never imagined, at the
Time, that
Lily Munster would become her most
famous role.Measurements: 34C-23-35 (1940s), 36C-24-36 (measured in 1951) (Source:
Celebrity Sleuth
magazine)Ex-sister-in-law of
Jaye P. Morgan,
Charlie Morgan,
Dick Morgan, and
Duke Morgan.Her maternal grandparents were Sicilian-
born Michele De Carlo and Scotland-born
Marie Purvis.
She drew her
stage Name from her
grandfather.
She chose her own
stage Name by using her middle
name and her
mother's maiden name of De Carlo.
best known as
Lily Munster in
"The Munsters" (1964).Guest-starred in the pilot episode of
"Bonanza" (1959) as
gold rush entertainer Lotta
Crabtree.Salary
The Ten Commandments (1956)
$25,000
Yvonne De Carlo
Tribute:
Yvonne De Carlo
Date of Birth
1 September 1922,
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Date of
Death
8 January 2007,
Woodland Hills,
California,
USA (natural causes)
Birth
Name
Margaret Yvonne Middleton
Nickname
Peggy
Height
5' 4" (1.63 m)
Mini Biography
Yvonne De Carlo was
born Peggy
Yvonne Middleton on September 1, 1922, in
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada (while some sources have her first
Name as
Margaret, most agree it is Peggy).
She was three when her father abandoned the family. Her mother turned to waitressing in a restaurant to make ends meet--a rough beginning for an actress who would,
one day, be one of
Hollywood's
elite. Yvonne's mother wanted her to be in the
entertainment field and enrolled her in a local
dance school and also saw that
she studied dramatics. Yvonne was not shy in the least. She was somewhat
akin to
Colleen Moore who, like
herself, entertained the
neighborhood with impromptu productions. 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. Although the film,
Harvard, Here I Come! (1941), was quite
lame,
Yvonne shone in her brief appearance as a bathing
beauty. The rest of 1942 and 1943 saw her in more uncredited roles in films that didn't quite
set Hollywood on fire. In
The Deerslayer (1943)
She played Wah-Tah. The role didn't amount to much, but it was much better than the ones
she had been handed previously.
The next year was about the same as the previous two years. She played small parts as either secretaries, someone's girlfriend, native girls or
office clerks. Most aspiring
young actresses would have given up and gone
home in defeat, but not
Yvonne. 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) for
Universal Pictures. While critics were less than thrilled with the film, it was at
long last her
big break, and the film was a
success for Universal. Now
She was
rolling. Her
next film was the
western comedy
Frontier Gal (1945) as
Lorena Dumont. After a year off
the screen in 1946,
She returned in 1947 as
Cara de
Talavera in
Song of Scheherazade (1947), and many agreed that the only thing
worth watching in the film was
Yvonne. Her
next film was the highly regarded
Burt Lancaster prison film
Brute Force (1947).
Time after time,
Yvonne continued to
pick up leading roles, in such pictures as
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. At the start of the 1950s
Yvonne enjoyed continued
success in
lead roles. Her talents were again showcased in
movies such as
The Desert Hawk (1950),
Silver City (1951) and
Scarlet Angel (1952). Her last film in 1952 was
Hurricane Smith (1952), a picture most fans and critics agree is
best forgotten. 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). The film was, unquestionably, a
super smash, and is still shown on television today. Her
performance served as a
springboard to another
fine role, this
Time as Amantha
Starr in
Band of Angels (1957). In the late 1950s and
early 1960s
Yvonne appeared on such TV programs as
"Bonanza" (1959) and
"The Virginian" (1962). However, with film roles drying up,
She took what turned out to be the role for which
she will be
best remembered--that of
Lily Munster in the smash series
"The Munsters" (1964).
She still wasn't completely through with the
big screen, however. Appearances in such films as
McLintock! (1963),
The Power (1968),
The Seven Minutes (1971) and
Casa de las sombras, La (1976) kept her before the eyes of the moviegoing public. On January 8, 2007, Miss De Carlo died at the age of 84.
Spouse
Bob Morgan
(
21 November 1955 - 1968) (divorced) 2 children
Trivia
Two sons -
Bruce Morgan and
Michael Morgan. Step-daughter
Bari Morgan. Son,
Michael, died in 1997.Her birth
Name was
Margaret, but
She was known by Peggy
growing up.Miss
Venice Beach 1938.Took the part of
Lily on
"The Munsters" (1964) to
help pay husband
Bob Morgan's medical
bills.
Morgan, an
actor/stuntman, had suffered near-fatal injuries while filming
How the West Was Won (1962). By her own admission, Ms. De Carlo never imagined, at the
Time, that
Lily Munster would become her most
famous role.Measurements: 34C-23-35 (1940s), 36C-24-36 (measured in 1951) (Source:
Celebrity Sleuth
magazine)Ex-sister-in-law of
Jaye P. Morgan,
Charlie Morgan,
Dick Morgan, and
Duke Morgan.Her maternal grandparents were Sicilian-
born Michele De Carlo and Scotland-born
Marie Purvis.
She drew her
stage Name from her
grandfather.
She chose her own
stage Name by using her middle
name and her
mother's maiden name of De Carlo.
best known as
Lily Munster in
"The Munsters" (1964).Guest-starred in the pilot episode of
"Bonanza" (1959) as
gold rush entertainer Lotta
Crabtree.Salary
The Ten Commandments (1956)
$25,000
Yvonne De CarloTribute:
Yvonne De Carlo
+36
