Yvonne De Carlo (September 1, 1922 – January 8, 2007) was a stunningly beautiful Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer who, after becoming a glamorous star of Technicolor epics, achieved television immortality as the ghoulish but elegant matriarch, Lily Munster.
De Carlo was launched to stardom in the title role of the lavish Technicolor adventure Salome, Where She Danced (1945). Her exotic beauty made her a top star of the 1940s and 50s, but she proved her dramatic talent in gritty film noirs like Brute Force (1947) and Criss Cross (1949). Her most prestigious film role came when Cecil B. DeMille cast her as Sephora, the wife of Moses, in the monumental biblical epic The Ten Commandments (1956).
In 1964, she took on the role that would define her career and make her a pop culture icon: the vampiric but devoted mother, Lily, in the classic sitcom The Munsters. She also had a celebrated career on Broadway, starring in Stephen Sondheim’s legendary musical Follies. Her ability to excel in musicals, Westerns, historical epics, and campy comedy cemented her legacy as a uniquely versatile and beloved star.
