MORE THAN MOMMA MUNSTER
Yvonne DeCarlo (1922-2007)
One of my favorite quotable lines from Seinfeld is from Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine. As she realizes that all the waitresses in Monk's Diner have 'something in common,' she wrinkles her nose and says, "It's like a Russ Myer film in here!" Myer, nicknamed 'King Leer,' was a director of psychedelic cult films featuring amazon actresses. Myer cast Yvonne DeCarlo in some of those B features, which was flattering - at first. Having tired of those roles, DeCarlo defined her career by playing Moses’ wife Sephora, opposite Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. The list of stars she worked with reads like a 70's game show panel, but her prolific body of work is admirable.
One of my favorite quotable lines from Seinfeld is from Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine. As she realizes that all the waitresses in Monk's Diner have 'something in common,' she wrinkles her nose and says, "It's like a Russ Myer film in here!" Myer, nicknamed 'King Leer,' was a director of psychedelic cult films featuring amazon actresses. Myer cast Yvonne DeCarlo in some of those B features, which was flattering - at first. Having tired of those roles, DeCarlo defined her career by playing Moses’ wife Sephora, opposite Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments. The list of stars she worked with reads like a 70's game show panel, but her prolific body of work is admirable.
Her portrayal of Lily Munster in the horror-spoof sitcom The Munsters (1964-66) is what secured her as an entertainment icon and moved her work into my generation.
In the early 1970s, she was still going strong in Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical Follies (1971). She was married to Hollywood stuntman, Robert Morgan, who lost his leg while filming How the West Was Won (1963). They had two sons. DeCarlo died Sunday of heart failure at 84.
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