There were a lot of talented and attractive actresses back in the day and the stunning Yvonne De Carlo was definitely one of them.
She catapulted to fame through starring in the CBS sitcom The Munsters, only for a tragic accident to suddenly halt her career.
The legendary Yvonne De Carlo was a sultry and versatile actress with a movie career spanning over six decades. Born in 1922, she’s definitely one of the most prominent celebrities to come out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
As a young girl, De Carlo was abandoned by her father. She was raised by her mother in poor circumstances – but she always knew that she wanted to be an actress, and De Carlo wrote her own plays as a 13-year-old.
During her time in Hollywood, the blue-eyed brunette proved that she was the real deal – she could do it all. It wasn’t just the fact that her beauty was overwhelming, De Carlo seemed to be a very down-to-earth lady as well.
Her career in movies and television is a testimony to her strength of character and determination. Among many other things, she played Moses’ wife in the epic film The Ten Commandments – though she’s best known for her role on the tv series The Munsters.
No one could have played Lily Munster better than De Carlo – she really nailed the role of a vampire in the monster sitcom. To this day, many of us can still remember the famous line when Lily, the matriarch of the monster family, says, “I’ve never heard of anything so outrageous in all my LIVES!”
The show propelled Yvonne De Carlo towards TV stardom – the role defined her career, and she gained a whole new generation of fans. It could even be said that The Munsters actually renewed De Carlos’s career. She had a good run in Tinseltown even before the show – she was often called the most beautiful girl in the world, and the audience loved her.
But the truth is that De Carlo’s star quality had begun to fade around the time she was cast in the monster sitcom. The Canadian-American actress had turned 42 when she was offered the role of Lily. And no one could have guessed that The Munsters would be hailed as one of the best television series of all time.
“It meant security,” De Carlo later said. “It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It made me ‘hot’ again, which I wasn’t for a while.”
“But I never estimated it would become this cult thing. It took two hours of makeup to make me seem like that. It ran for two huge seasons, then CBS quarreled with the creators about reruns as we got canceled. A movie in color in 1966 [‘Munster, Go Home!’] showed off everything in reds and greens on my face. Boy, was I ugly.”
After The Munsters, De Carlo continued to appear both in TV series and on stage. As one of the most respected actresses in the business, she had fans in every generation and no problem finding new and exciting projects.
Unfortunately, De Carlo had a pretty tough time of things during the last years of her life. It all goes back to when the actress met stuntman Robert ”Bob” Morgan on set in 1955.
The couple obviously had some chemistry, but Morgan was married at the time and Yvonne didn’t want to take things further. According to herself, she had ”no intention of causing that marriage to break up.”
Her husband lost his leg
When Morgan’s wife died, he and De Carlo met again on the set of The Ten Commandments in Egypt. They fell in love, got married, and had two sons together, Bruce Ross and Michael.
But living with a stuntman and daredevil came with a price. Morgan and De Carlo struggled to make their marriage work, but everything changed when the former was hit by a moving log train while shooting the 1962 movie How the West Was Won.
The accident cost Morgan his leg. He almost died performing the stunt, and the traumatic experience would affect the whole family. After the incident, medical bills piled up and De Carlo worked extremely hard to support her family. Yvonne, who had basically retired from acting by that point, had to go back to work to pay the bills.
“Before the accident, we were on the verge of breaking up, but when they took me to the hospital I just choked up and only one thought filled my mind: I don’t want my husband to die,” she said.
The Hollywood couple stayed together until 1973.
Losing her son
Sadly, De Carlo would once again have to face unimaginable tragedy. In 1997, her son Michael died at age 39. According to his brother, Michael died of brain damage from a stroke.
Her son’s death was a heavy blow for De Carlo. She made her last film in 1995, and after her son’s death never returned to the entertainment industry. She herself suffered a minor stroke in 1998.
According to her other son, Bob Ross, the stroke resulted from the stress and grief De Carlo felt over Michael’s passing.
“It just preyed on her mind to the point that she had a stroke the following year,” James Bawden, a former TV columnist for the Toronto Star, said.
“All she would talk about was her son.”
Yvonne De Carlo cause of death
Yvonne De Carlo passed away in January 2007 at age 84. During the last years of her life, she lived in a semi-retirement home near Solvang, north of Santa Barbara.
Her cause of death was heart failure.
“I think she will best remembered as the definitive Lily Munster. She was the vampire mom to millions of baby boomers. In that sense, she’s iconic,” her longtime friend and television producer Kevin Burns said at the time.
“But it would be a shame if that’s the only way she is remembered. She was also one of the biggest beauty queens of the ’40s and ’50s, one of the most beautiful women in the world. This was one of the great glamour queens of Hollywood, one of the last ones.”
Yvonne De Carlo is just pure legendary! She is what acting is all about and managed to reinvent herself all the time.
No matter her role, she was always on top of her game and portrayed her character in the most elegant and believable fashion. Rest in Peace!
I Was Excited to Meet My Daughter’s Fiancé, but One Look at Him Changed Everything and I Knew This Wedding Couldn’t Happen — Story of the Day
I had been waiting for months to meet my daughter’s fiancé, imagining the perfect introduction. But when I opened the door and saw him, my excitement vanished. This wasn’t what I expected. I knew, in that moment, this wedding couldn’t happen. I had to stop it—no matter what it took.
I had been running around the kitchen all day like a madwoman because today was important—Kira was finally bringing her fiancé and his parents over for dinner.
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I had dreamed of this moment for months, picturing how we’d sit together, laughing over stories, bonding as future in-laws.
But for some reason, Kira had avoided it, always coming up with excuses. “They’re busy, Mom.” “Another time, I promise.” It didn’t make sense. What could be so hard about introducing us?
But now, she had no choice. Marcus had proposed. It was official. And that meant I was meeting him—and his family—whether she liked it or not.
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Bradley sat at the table, flipping through the newspaper, watching me with amusement.
“Sit down for a minute, Jessica,” he kept saying.
I waved him off. “I don’t have time to sit! The roast is in the oven, the table’s not set, and the flowers—where are the flowers?”
Just as I started setting the food on the table, the doorbell rang. My heart pounded. This was it.
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“Oh God, they’re here!” I shouted, yanking off my apron and tossing it onto the counter.
Bradley barely looked up from his chair. “I’ll get it,” he said, calm as ever.
“No!” I rushed to his side. “We have to greet them together!”
Bradley sighed but stood up. I grabbed his arm and straightened my dress, forcing the brightest smile I could manage.
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“Can I open it now?” he asked.
I nodded.
Bradley pulled the door open. There stood Kira, glowing with excitement, her fiancé Marcus beside her, and behind them, his parents. My smile froze. My breath caught. My heart sank.
They were Black.
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I blinked, trying to process what I saw. My mind spun. This wasn’t what I had expected. I glanced at Bradley. His face had gone stiff.
“Mom?” Kira’s voice snapped me back to reality. “Are you going to invite our guests inside?”
“Yes, of course,” I said quickly, my voice strained. I stepped aside, letting them in.
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I led them to the dining table, but my hands trembled. My thoughts raced. I needed a moment.
“Excuse me,” I said. “I just need to bring out a few more dishes. Kira, come help me.” I turned to Bradley. “You too.”
Kira hesitated but followed me. Bradley trailed behind.
As soon as the kitchen door swung shut, I turned to Kira.
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“Is there something you forgot to tell us?”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Your fiancé is Black!” The words burst out before I could stop them.
“Yes, Mom. I know.” Her voice was calm, but her eyes hardened.
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“Why didn’t you tell us?” I demanded.
“Because I knew how you’d react,” she said, crossing her arms. “Just give Marcus a chance. He’s a good man, and his family is wonderful.”
Bradley’s voice cut through the air. “My daughter is not marrying a Black man.”
“That’s not your decision to make!” Kira shot back. Her voice shook, but she stood firm. “Can you two just act normal for one night?”
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Without another word, she stormed out.
Bradley and I carried the dishes to the table in silence. No one spoke much during dinner, though Kira and Marcus did their best to keep the conversation going. The air felt heavy. Every bite tasted like nothing.
After dinner, Kira pulled out her childhood photo albums. She laughed as she showed Marcus old pictures. I watched them from across the room, my stomach tight.
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Beside me, Marcus’s mother, Betty, leaned in. “What do you think of them as a couple?”
I hesitated. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not racist,” I said, lowering my voice. “I just think Kira would be better off with someone… more like her.”
Betty nodded. “I completely agree. I don’t think they’re a good match either. Marcus would be better off with someone who understands our… culture.”
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I exhaled, relieved. “You’re reading my mind.”
Betty straightened. “We can’t let this wedding happen.”
“No, we can’t,” I agreed.
From that day on, Betty and I formed an unspoken alliance.
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We both wanted what was best for our children—or at least, what we believed was best.
We picked fights over everything. Betty criticized Kira’s dress choice, saying it didn’t fit their traditions.
I argued with Marcus over the menu, insisting Kira wouldn’t be happy with his family’s preferences.
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When it came to the church, Betty and I nearly came to blows. She wanted the ceremony at their family church, I wanted it at ours. We disagreed on music, guest lists, even the seating arrangement.
But none of it worked. The more we pushed, the stronger Kira and Marcus became. Instead of seeing their differences, they only clung to each other harder.
So, we had to be smarter.
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I arranged a “harmless” lunch for Kira with my colleague’s son, a polite young man with a stable career and good family values.
Meanwhile, Betty set up a meeting between Marcus and a woman from their church, someone she believed would be a “better fit.”
Of course, we never called them dates. That would have raised suspicion. We just needed them to show up.
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That evening, we gathered at Betty and Rod’s house. Bradley and I arrived early, and while Betty and I whispered about our plan, I noticed something odd—Bradley and Rod were sitting in front of the TV, laughing over beers.
When I got Bradley alone, I hissed, “What’s going on?”
He shrugged. “What? We root for the same team. Rod’s a good guy.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”
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“I am,” he said, taking another sip.
I heard the front door swing open and slam shut. Heavy footsteps echoed through the house.
My heart pounded. I rushed into the living room, where Betty was already standing, her arms crossed, her face tense.
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Kira and Marcus stood in front of us, their eyes burning with anger.
“Are you out of your minds?!” Marcus yelled, his voice shaking.
Kira turned to me, her face red. “Our wedding is in a week, and you’re setting me up on a date?”
I opened my mouth, but Betty spoke first. “We just wanted what’s best for you.”
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Kira let out a bitter laugh. “Best for me? You think lying to me, tricking me, humiliating me is what’s best?”
I took a deep breath. “You could both find someone more… suitable,” I said, keeping my voice calm.
Kira’s whole body stiffened. “I don’t care what color his skin is! I love Marcus. I want to be with him.”
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Marcus stepped forward. “And I love Kira. I don’t want to be with anyone else.”
I looked at Betty. She looked at me. We both stood there, silent.
“We were only doing what we thought was right,” I said finally.
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“Exactly,” Betty agreed, nodding.
Kira shook her head, an empty laugh escaping her lips. “You keep saying how different we are, how we shouldn’t be together. But look at you two! You’re exactly the same. Stubborn, manipulative, always scheming.” She turned to me, her voice sharp. “Mom, you spend more time with Betty than your own friends.”
I opened my mouth to respond. “You don’t understand—”
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Kira cut me off. “No, you don’t understand! I’m marrying Marcus. Whether you like it or not. Accept it.” She turned, glancing at the couch where Dad sat with Rod, watching the game, laughing like nothing was wrong. “Even Dad is sitting here drinking beer with Rod. If he can accept it, why can’t you?”
I swallowed hard.
“If you can’t accept it, don’t come to the wedding,” Kira said.
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“That goes for you too,” Marcus told Betty, his voice firm.
Then, without another word, they turned and walked out the door.
The silence that followed was thick. No one spoke. No one moved. A moment later, Bradley let out a deep sigh, turned off the TV, and stood up. “Time to go,” he muttered.
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I saw the look in his eyes. Disappointment. Not in Kira. In me.
That week, I called Kira. I texted. No response. The silence stretched.
On the night of the rehearsal dinner, I walked into the bedroom and found Bradley tying his tie.
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“Where are you going?” I asked.
“To the rehearsal dinner,” he said, straightening his collar.
“You can’t go!” I snapped.
He turned to me. His voice was calm, but his eyes were firm. “My only daughter is getting married, and I’m not missing it.”
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Then, he walked out the door.
I stood there, staring at the empty space he left behind. My chest felt tight.
Finally, I gave in. I found myself outside the restaurant, watching through the window. Kira and Marcus moved through the guests, glowing, smiling, happy.
A familiar voice spoke beside me. “You couldn’t sit at home either, huh?”
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I turned. Betty stood next to me, arms crossed.
“I’ve been trying to catch them to apologize,” she admitted. “But they’re too busy.”
I sighed. “We should wait. No need to ruin their evening now.”
Betty exhaled sharply. “But we have to apologize. I want to be allowed to see my future grandson.”
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I crossed my arms. “Granddaughter. In our family, girls are always born first.”
Betty scoffed. “Not in ours. It’s always boys.”
For the first time in weeks, I laughed. We were already arguing over grandchildren who didn’t even exist yet.
I looked at her. She looked at me.
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“Oh, we’re going to have a rough time together, mother-in-law,” I said, shaking my head.
“Tell me about it,” Betty muttered.
Then, she sighed, watching Kira and Marcus. “But as long as they’re happy, that’s all that matters.”
I nodded, my eyes fixed on my daughter. She looked happier than ever.
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