Yvonne De Carlo

[Fibonacci]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Yvonne De Carlo, the beautiful

star who played Moses' wife in "The Ten Commandments" but

achieved her greatest popularity on TV's "The Munsters," has died.

She was 84.



De Carlo died of natural causes Monday at the Motion Picture &

Television facility in suburban Los Angeles, longtime friend and

television producer Kevin Burns said Wednesday.



De Carlo, whose shapely figure helped launch her career in B-

movie desert adventures and Westerns, rose to more important

roles in the 1950s. Later, she had a key role in a landmark

Broadway musical, Stephen Sondheim's "Follies."



But for TV viewers, she will always be known as Lily Munster in the

1964-1966 slapstick horror-movie spoof "The Munsters." The

series (the name allegedly derived from "fun-monsters") offered a

gallery of Universal Pictures grotesques, including Dracula and

Frankenstein's monster, in a cobwebbed gothic setting.



Lily, vampire-like in a black gown, presided over the faux scary

household and was a rock for her gentle but often bumbling

husband, Herman, played by 6-foot-5-inch character actor Fred

Gwynne (decked out as the Frankenstein monster).



While it lasted only two years, the series had a long life in

syndication and resulted in two feature movies, "Munster Go

Home!" (1966) and "The Munsters' Revenge" (1981, for TV).



At the series' end, De Carlo commented: "It meant security. It gave

me a new, young audience I wouldn't have had otherwise. It made

me 'hot' again, which I wasn't for a while."



"I think she will best remembered as the definitive Lily Munster.

She was the vampire mom to millions of baby boomers. In that

sense, she's iconic," Burns said Wednesday.



"But it would be a shame if that's the only way she is remembered.

She was also one of the biggest beauty queens of the '40s and

'50s, one of the most beautiful women in the world. This was one

of the great glamour queens of Hollywood, one of the last ones."



De Carlo was able to sustain a long career by repeatedly

reinventing herself. A longtime student of voice, she sang opera at

the Hollywood Bowl. When movie roles became scarce, she

ventured into stage musicals.



Her greatest stage triumph came on Broadway in 1971 with

"Follies," which won the 1972 Tony award for best original musical

score. She belted out Sondheim's showstopping number, "I'm Still

Here," a former star's defiant recounting of the highs and lows of

her life and career.

[spot]

I chose my username as a token of admiration for her screen talent. She was occasionally mesmeric while performing, I thought she had as much command of her medium in those moments as Garbo and Colbert.

[Richard Bell]

Diuretic;512280 wrote: She was not just a fine actress, she was luminously beautiful.


...and Canadian, too !

Lily Munster was the first Goth chick.

[Richard Bell]

Here's a photo of her in the 1940s:

Attached files

[Rain]

Angel eyes, that's not her I guarantee it.

I was so saddened by this news. Her beauty was so exotic. Imo she was on the same level as Ava Gardner, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, and Myrna Loy. Ever see an early photo of Myrna Loy? Breath taking. All of them. And Yvonne was also a fabulous actress. Hollywood dropped the ball when it came to her. They just didn't know what to do with her. Shame. RIP

[Richard Bell]

Diuretic;513465 wrote:

Where in Canada Richard?


She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia on Sept. 1, 1922 (although some bios say 1924).

[Richard Bell]

Diuretic;513541 wrote: Ah thanks Richard. Vancouver has produced a few notables. From memory Raymond Burr was born in New West. Good actor but no Yvonne De Carlo


Raymond Burr was from New Westminster, BC.

It was revealed a few years ago (long after his death) that he was gay.

FWIW, Pamela Anderson is also a BC native.