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. Her mother wanted Yvonne 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 gathered her up and went 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 three short films, all unbilled, she finally got a part in a feature. Although the film, Harvard, Here I Come!, 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 _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 in the past. The next year was about the same as the previous two years. Her roles were 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 role, and it was a success for Universal. Now she was rolling. Her next film was the western comedy Frontier Gal as Lorena Dumont. After a year off the screen in 1946, she returned in 1947 as Cara de Talavera in Song of Scheherazade, 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. Time after time, Yvonne continued to pick up leading roles, in such pictures as Slave Girl, Black Bart, Casbah and River Lady. She had a meaty role in Criss Cross, 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, Silver City and Scarlet Angel. Her last film for 1952 was Hurricane Smith, a film most fans and critics agree is best forgotten. In 1956 she appeared in the film that would immortalize her best, The Ten Commandments. 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. In the late 1950s and early 1960s Yvonne appeared on such TV programs as Bonanza and The Men from Shiloh. 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. She still wasn't completely through with the big screen, however. Appearances in such films as McLintock!, The Power, The Seven Minutes and Casa de las sombras, La kept her before the eyes of the moviegoing public.



The Ten Commandments (1956): $25,000

Two sons - Bruce Morgan and Michael Morgan. Step-daughter Bari Morgan. Son, Michael, died in 1997. Miss Venice Beach 1938. Measurements: 34C-23-35 (1940s), 36C-24-36 (measured in 1951) (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine) Her maternal grandparents were Sicilian-born Michele De Carlo and Scotland-born Marie Purvis. She drew her stage name from her grandfather. Best known as Lily Munster in "The Munsters" (1964). Her grandmother's name was Margret Purvis. Became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Called off her engagement to Jock Mahoney after she suffered a miscarriage. She had 6 hobbies: spending time with her family, golfing, dancing, drinking wine, listening to music, singing. Before she was a successful actress, she was a dancer and had worked at various nightclubs in Vancouver, British Columbia. Attended King Edward High School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Her ex-"The Munsters" (1964), co-star, Butch Patrick, was her caregiver, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, just several weeks before her death, in a nursing home. Resided at the Motion Picture and Television Hospital from 1998 to 2007, where she died. Was best friends with: Kevin Burns, Charlton Heston, Raymond Burr, and Rock Hudson. While working at Vancouver's Palomar, at age 16, she was allegedly pressured to expose her breasts. In response to the incident, she and her mother left the nightclub. Remained good friends with Butch Patrick, during and after "The Munsters" (1964).