Lily Munster RIP

Death of A Scream Queen.

The Goth Queen of the Sixties Yvonne De Carlo. Back when Goth was fun, a parody of early horror films.

Yvonne De Carlo in full makeup as Lily Munster in 1966's "Munster Go Home."

De Carlo chats with James Stewart, who was working nearby, in 1948.

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, 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.

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 was born Peggy Yvonne Middleton in Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 1, 1922 (some sources say 1924). Abandoned by her father, she was raised by her mother in poor circumstances. The girl took dancing lessons and dropped out of high school to work in night clubs and local theaters. She continued dancing in clubs when she and her mother moved to Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures signed her to a contract in 1942, and she adopted her middle name and her mother's middle name. Dropped by Paramount after 20 minor roles, she landed at Universal, which cast her as the B-picture version of the studio's sultry star Maria Montez.

Lily Munster was modeled on the earlier Scream Queen; Vampira.

Maila Nurmi (born Maila Syrjäniemi, December 21, 1921 in Petsamo, Finland — now Pechenga, Russia) created the well-remembered 1950s character of Vampira. Her portrayal of this character as a television horror host and in films was influential over decades that
followed.

Apparently, there remains some rare footage of the Vampira show in the KABC archives, as it remains extremely difficult to view her in the media that made her so popular. A Finnish documentary about Maila was shot in 1995, entitled Death, Sex and Taxes. In 1998, she returned to movies for I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, from an old Ed Wood script and starring Billy Zane. She can still be seen on the star conventions circuit.

Of course Elvira is also modeled on the Vampira character for her camp take off for another LA TV station

SEE:

Grandpa Munster RIP

RIP


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