Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922 – January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo. Film and television actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star in the 1940s and 1950s, made several recordings, and later acted on television and stage.
In 1964 she signed a contract with Universal Studios to perform the female lead role in The Munsters opposite Fred Gwynne. She was also the producers’ choice to play Lily Munster when Joan Marshall, who played the character (originally called “Phoebe”), was dropped from consideration for the role. When De Carlo was asked how a glamorous actress could succeed as a ghoulish matriarch of a haunted house, she replied simply, “I follow the directions I received on the first day of shooting: ‘Play her just like Donna Reed.’" She sang and played the harp in at least one episode (“Far Out Munsters”) of The Munsters.
After The Munsters, she guest-starred in “The Moulin Ruse Affair” in The Girl from U.N.C.L.E. (1967) and “The Raiders” for Custer (1967) and episodes of The Virginian. (Wikipedia)
