Feisty Female Friday: Yvonne DeCarlo

The FFF this week is Yvonne DeCarlo.

Yvonne De Carlo, born Margaret Yvonne Middleton, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer, and singer known for her film career in the 1940s and 50s and in her role as Lily Munster in the 1960s sitcom, The Munsters.

By the time Yvonne entered grade school, she had found her strong singing voice but as a teenager she was taken by her mother to Hollywood where she enrolled her in dancing school. Yvonne appeared as a hula dancer in the famous revue Waikiki and worked as a nightclub dancer. Her film career included starring roles for Columbia, Paramount, and Universal in the movies Salome, Where She Danced, Brute Force, Criss Cross, and The Ten Commandments. She is however most widely known for her famous role as Lily Munster in the television series The Munsters, in the feature film Munster, Go Home! and in the TV movie, The Munsters.

Her autobiography, Yvonne, was published in 1987 detailing her life and film and television career. The Hollywood Walk of Fame awarded her two stars for her contributions to motion pictures and television. She was awarded a Top Star, Variety, Laurel, two Box Office and two Blue Ribbon Awards, was named Honorary Mayor of North Hollywood, and honored by Canada for her good will and inspiration to others. She won an International Fanta Vision Award and had a successful Broadway career, and recorded solo, duet, and pop and blues albums.

Yvonne's charity work involved her own foundation which provided financial assistance to breast cancer patients and those wanting to become a nurse. She was also an advocate for disabled children, particularly polio victims, and sponsored many swimming activities for them. Yvonne often showed up in her Lily Munster outfits for her hospital visits. As an actress, she did many of her own stunts and was the inspiration for Morticia Addams in The Addams Family shows and films.

She was divorced, had two sons, and a stepdaughter. Yvonne will always be remembered for her versatility and enduring 50-year career in film and as the beautiful, kind-hearted vampire, Lily Munster.

She lived in CA and died in 2007.